Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo released his predictions for Apple"s event on Wednesday (via 9to5Mac), and some of them were pretty interesting.
For one thing, Kuo says that the 6.1-inch iPhone will be called the iPhone Xr (other suggestions have been iPhone 9 and iPhone Xc), and it will ship in late September to early October because of quality issues. To be fair, any rumor about iPhone delays and supply chain shortages ahead of launch should probably be taken with a grain of salt at this point, since we hear these rumors every year.
What"s more interesting is that the iPad Pro will be switching to USB Type-C, if the rumor is correct. The charger will be bumped up to 18W from 12W as well. The new iPhones will still use Lightning, and what"s odd about that is that Apple will continue to ship them with a 5W charger.
One of the things that we noted when we reviewed the iPhone X is that while the new devices support fast charging, they don"t actually come with a fast charger. You"ll need two new accessories for that, a 29W USB-C adapter, and a USB-C to Lightning cable, which will run you $74. Many might have thought that this year"s iPhones would ship with a higher watt charger, being that all competing devices with fast charging actually come with a fast charger.
Next up is the new low-price MacBook. According to the report, this will replace the 12-inch MacBook in Apple"s lineup, which frankly is the only way that such a device would make sense. It also might include Touch ID, but with no Touch Bar.
We already know what the Apple Watch Series 4 will look like, with narrower bezels. Apparently, it will support ECG, which could help for heart health. They"ll also all have ceramic backs, which is interesting because currently, only the LTE models have ceramic backs. This might imply that the Apple Watch Series 4 will only come in an LTE flavor.
Finally, as expected, AirPods 2 will show up, as will AirPower, the wireless charging pad that was announced at last year"s event.
It"s also entirely possible that Apple might only announce some of these things at its event, and then either release the rest in a press release or have it just show up on its website. The company does do that sometimes, and these are a lot of products to fit into one event.