Apple’s Gather Around Event Sparks A Lot Of Buzz

Apple’s September 12 event teaser released last month has led to a barrage of speculations. In a simple but elegant teaser, Apple invites us to “Gather Around” with a circular logo hovering above the simple golden text. It’s a cryptic message that makes enthusiasts and fanatics alike wonder what it all means.
Some Apple hopefuls speculate that the logo represents the return of the home button. But, if historical data is to be believed, Apple never goes back on their gambles. Remember the headphone jack? Yes, neither does Apple. According to early leaks from reliable sources, with the advent of the iPhone X came the ultimate death of the home button.
Others think that it just represents the Apple Campus in Cupertino where the event is going to be held. We can speculate all we want about what the teaser means but all our woes are only going to be put to rest once the day comes. Until then, we can all just keep wondering. Whatever happens tough, it’s surely going to be an event that’s ripe with hype.
So, what is there to expect from this highly anticipated event?
While the company does an incredible job at keeping things secret, Apple’s suppliers and 3rd party manufacturers are not. Leaks from case manufacturers have already gotten out showing cut outs for camera modules and other physical features while suppliers have been spilling the beans about everything from screen dimensions and the absence of home button cut outs.
Some insiders are also hinting at a refresh at the entry level laptop market. Purely through inferences based on the company’s gadget release habits in the past, people are guessing that a new MacBook Air line of laptops will be announced in the event as well.
Other notable Apple devices that are overdue for upgrades are the Apple Watch Series 3 and the Air Pods. Both peripherals were lukewarmly received but the rumors featured to be introduced in both peripherals are making consumers extremely excited. Specifically, the Air Pod 2’s rumored addition of active noise-cancelling features and the Apple Watch Series 4’s supposed bigger displays are making consumers with less than stellar appreciation of both peripherals consider buying them again just for the upgrades.
Here’s a quick look at the most exciting products in the lineup for Apple this this September 12th:

Brand New iPhones

Whatever the new iPhones will be named, they’re assuredly going to stir up the most excitement in the crowd. These ubiquitous Apple products are the company’s bread and butter and they rightfully get the most attention when it comes to these events.
But this year is a bit different than the last. The product line’s anniversary last year prompted the company to jump the gun from iPhone 8 to iPhone X. This makes this year a weird situation when it comes to naming their smartphones. Rumor also has it that the company wants to axe the “Plus” moniker usually given to the biggest iPhone. So, we’re working with new naming mechanisms in this series. Three new iPhones are going to be launched with an upgraded “iPhone XS”, a larger “iPhone XS Max”, and a lower-specced iPhone 9. This should complete the lineup and get Apple back on track with their naming scheme for the next iPhones.
The phones will sport unsurprisingly larger screen displays than past iPhones with the XS essentially replacing the X with a similar 5.8-inch screen, the XS Max sporting a 6.5-inch screen, and the 9 being equipped with a 6.1-inch display.
The two more advanced models are rumored to be equipped with OLED panels while the cheaper one should have a more traditional LCD. All of them should be powered with the company’s latest and greatest chipsets according to leaks. Aside from the LCD, the only difference the 9 is going to have from its bigger brothers is the absence of secondary camera.
Since the X came out and broke the invisible barrier in smartphone pricing, more manufacturers followed suit. The XS Max is poised to stay the course in the $1,000 entry-level phones with the XS being lower priced at $899. The 9, on the other hand, is going to be the budget model although there’s nothing “budget” about the $600 - $700 trajectory that it’s being projected unto.

iPad Pros

When the latest entry-level iPads launched, the crowd went crazy for the new Apple Pencil input compatibility borrowed from the iPad Pro line of tablets combined with a price tag that barely moved. It’s a relatively huge upgrade that did not make much dent on the pricing. It leads people to ask why Apple would do such a thing.
A possible answer is that Apple might be planning even better things for the iPad Pros. This makes the rumored announcement of the product at the September 12 event much more interesting. To pique our interests even more, there are new connectors or sensors at the back of the tablet in their initial leaks. Aside from that, the leaks also show that the new tablets are going to sport the same edge-to-edge displays seen only on the iPhone X. This would definitely enhance the content consumption experience on the already stellar screens of the current generation iPad Pros.

Next-Gen MacBook

The latest upgrade of the MacBook Air was in 2015. It’s one of Apple’s most successful products. But, at 3-year-old, it has become quite dated.
Rumor mills are saying that this year could be the year that the Cupertino-based company will release a new MacBook Air that will serve as their entry-level laptop. Features like thin bezels and updated internals are already exciting enthusiasts.
It’s especially interesting to hear that they’re going to include Thunderbolt 3 ports in these new laptops.