Apple rumor points to an iPhone 16, Watch, and AirPods launch event next month

When will we meet the iPhone 16 and other new items from Apple, like MacBook Pro laptops with M4 chips inside?

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says that based on his sources, a launch event on September 10th could reveal the new iPhone 16 lineup, as well as the Apple Watch Series 10 and two different sets of new AirPods in time for them to go on sale as soon as September 20th. Bloomberg reports that the new phones will be similar to last year but with larger screens on the Pro models (reportedly going from 6.1 inches to 6.3 on the Pro and from 6.7 to 6.9 inches on the iPhone 16 Pro Max) and the addition of a dedicated camera button.

The other big updates may be new Apple Intelligence features that are in testing now and are due to start rolling out in iOS 18.1 after the launch of the new phones. For bigger changes to the hardware, Apple phone users may have to wait until next year, which could see the launch of a new "iPhone 17 Slim."

As for new laptops with the fourth-generation Apple Silicon chips that first appeared in the latest iPad refresh, Gurman points to developer logs showing Macs in testing with four different versions of the M4 chip. Three pair the same 10-core CPU setup from the iPad Pro with a 10-core GPU, while the fourth one reports a CPU with eight cores evenly split between high performance and efficiency - but all of the ones noted have either 16GB or 32GB memory.

Apple doesn't usually launch new Macs at the same time as its iPhones, but if these debut later this year, it's possible that making room for local AI models will squeeze 8GB RAM models out of existence.

Last but not least, the Apple Watch Series 10 family is apparently getting thinner but with larger screens. And the AirPods lineup could supplant the current offering of either 2nd generation or 3rd generation earbuds with two new sets, as Gurman reported last fall. He's said they will look more like a cross between the 3rd gen AirPods and the AirPods Pro, and the upgraded mid-tier set will bring active noise cancellation to the regular AirPods for the first time.