As Apple's upcoming September product announcement approaches, rumors are surfacing about what they have planned for this release cycle. A new report from Bloomberg claims Apple will launch three new iPhone models, Apple Watches with larger screens, updated AirPods, an AirPower wireless charger and updated iPad Pros.
These three new iPhones will keep the same bezel-less screen as the iPhone X, but will come in varying sizes and price ranges to appeal to more customers. The largest model will come with a 6.5-inch OLED screen, making it the largest iPhone ever. The next step down will have a 6.1-inch LCD screen and is meant as a replacement to the iPhone 8. Finally, the iPhone X's replacement will be a 5.8-inch OLED model with a faster processor and improved camera. All three devices will come with Face ID.
Apple's first $1,000 phone, the iPhone X, was not as successful as some had hoped with many customers shying away from the costly upgrade. The company has over 1 billion active devices and have seen annual growth slow to under 5% as smartphone markets continue to saturate. In order to maintain sales, Apple is looking to bump up device prices and will also continue to focus on markets outside of the US where they have less than a 25% market share.
Bloomberg's sources, who requested anonymity, are calling this an "S Year." That means new iPhones will generally have the same design as the previous generation, but will have updated internal components and features. Next year's launch will come with more significant changes.
Besides those iPhone details, not much is known about the other products yet. The new Apple Watches will be very similar in size to previous models, but will come with a larger screen and smaller bezels. The iPad Pros will likely come in 11-inch and 12.9-inch variants and just like the iPhone X, will remove the home button in favor of Face ID.