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THE USEFUL TECH
5️⃣ THE USEFUL FIVE · FRIDAY ROUNDUP · ISSUE #007
👋 HEY, IT'S RAJA
Apple's event is on Wednesday. Five days from now, and it is a bigger one than usual for reasons that have nothing to do with cameras.
Here is everything you need before it starts, including the one fact that will matter most to the largest number of you and that Apple will not be putting on a slide.
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1️⃣ When it is, and how to watch
Wednesday, September 9, 10:00am Pacific. That is 1:00pm on the US east coast, 6:00pm in the UK, and 10:30pm in India, so plan accordingly if you intend to watch it live rather than read about it on Thursday.
It is at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park, and it streams on Apple's website, the Apple TV app, and YouTube. Apple's event page has a one-click link to drop it straight into your calendar. The tagline is "Surprise and Shine," which Apple watchers have already decided is a hint about the folding iPhone, or possibly about colours, or possibly about nothing at all.
2️⃣ There is a new CEO, and this is his first keynote
The genuinely historic part of Wednesday. John Ternus took over as Apple's CEO on September 1, with Tim Cook moving to Executive Chairman. Ternus ran hardware engineering before this, and Wednesday is his first product launch in the top job.
Cook's first keynote as CEO was the iPhone 4S in 2011. Fifteen years later this is only the second time anyone has stood on that stage for the first time as Apple's chief executive. Whatever gets announced, that is the thing to actually watch.
3️⃣ What is expected
Six products, roughly:
iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, on the new A20 Pro built on a 2nm process, possibly with an upgraded variable aperture rear camera but otherwise close to the current Pro models.
The first folding iPhone, widely expected to be called the iPhone Ultra. Supply is reported to be tight, so if you want one, be ready on pre-order day rather than thinking it over for a fortnight.
Apple Watch Series 12, rumoured to bring back a ceramic case option for the first time since the Series 5.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5.
4️⃣ What is not coming, which matters more
There is no standard iPhone 18 this year.
Apple is splitting its release schedule. The regular iPhone 18, the cheaper 18e, and the second-generation iPhone Air are all held back to around March 2027. September is Pro and folding only.
If you buy the standard model every few years, as most people sensibly do, there is nothing for you on Wednesday. Your options are to buy a Pro, buy a discounted iPhone 17, or wait roughly six months. Nobody is going to say this clearly during the keynote, so I am saying it now.
5️⃣ Expect the prices to go up
Price increases are widely expected, driven by an industry-wide memory shortage rather than anything Apple invented.
The Mac line is the evidence. The Mac mini went from $599 to $799 in June when Apple raised prices across the range over component costs, then to $899 last week with the new M6 model. Same pressure, same direction, and no particular reason the iPhones escape it.
If you were holding out for prices to come back down before upgrading, this is your sign to make a decision based on what you need rather than on a discount that is not arriving.
One bonus, if you were waiting on a Mac
The Mac announcements already happened, quietly, on August 25. New Mac mini with the M6, new Mac Studio with the M5 Max and M5 Ultra, all shipping September 22 and orderable now. Do not sit through Wednesday waiting for a Mac; go and read the deep dive from earlier this week instead, where I make the case that most of you should not buy one.
📘 While you wait: The Ultimate Claude Playbook for Apple Users ($49) is the system I run across the Apple devices I already own, and it works just as well on the ones you are not replacing on Wednesday.
Keep it useful,
Raja · The Useful Tech
P.S. Enjoyed this? Forward it to a friend who loves their Apple gear a little too much.