Apple confirms Oct 13th event to announce new 'iPhone 12' family

AppleInsider

Apple has revealed it will be holding its second fall special event on October 13, one that is anticipated to feature the launch of the "iPhone 12" generation, as well as other products like "AirTags."

Apple's "iPhone 12" event is on October 13

Following the same pattern as the earlier "Time Flies" announcement, Apple said on Tuesday that it will be holding a second special event on October 13 at 10 A.M. Pacific time. As with the first event and WWDC, it will be a virtual affair that takes place over a video stream.

After the success of Apple's WWDC keynote and the "Time Flies" presentation, it is highly likely the upcoming event will follow a similar heavily-produced style, a video made in advance by Apple. Normally iPhone events occur on stage with a large live audience, but the issues of COVID-19 social distancing makes such an event difficult to adequately produce.

AppleInsider will be covering the event live, providing full analysis during and after the event, and will include details of all of Apple's product launches.

What to expect at the event

As the Time Flies event handled the iPad Air 4, an updated 10.2-inch iPad, the Apple Watch Series 6, and the Apple Watch SE, this new event will almost certainly center around the iPhone.

The "iPhone 12" generation is rumored to be made up of the 5.4-inch "iPhone 12," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Max," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Pro," and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 12 Pro Max." Aside from the name, the Pro models are expected to have better displays, supporting 120Hz ProMotion and 10-bit color.

Physical mock-ups of three 'iPhone 12' models

On the back, the standard models will probably use 12-megapixel ultra-wide and wide-angle cameras, while the Pro adds on a telephoto lens. There have also been rumors of the inclusion of a LiDAR sensor on the back of the Pro models, giving it similar depth mapping capabilities as the iPad Pro.

Video capabilities across the board are expected to be improved to include 4K slo-mo at up to 240fps, as well as discussions of an "Enhanced Night Mode" and "Advanced Noise Reduction."

Powering the models will probably be the "A14" SoC, which may have double the transistors of the A13, and supported by either 4GB or 6GB of memory. Storage on the non-Pro units is anticipated to be 128GB and 256GB, rising to 512GB on the Pro models.

The addition of 5G connectivity is widely expected, though there are questions as to how it will be implemented. There is the possibility all will include support for sub-6GHz bands, but only some models may offer the high-speed mmWave support.

Along with the new iPhone, Apple is still expected to reveal "AirTags," its object tracking accessory. Taking advantage of Ultra Wideband and Bluetooth, the accessory could attach to keys or other objects, and could be found via the user's Find My app, by using the existing network of iPhones in the world to help locate the tag.

There have been rumors the "Find My" app may work with "AirTags" in an unusual way, with some speculation it could be more direct in advising where the tag is by using AR on a real-world camera view.



Read on AppleInsider

ArjunMarphatia

Finally Iphone12

flydog

This must be the 5th event where the mythical AirTags are supposed to be announced.

curtis hannah

Well 4 circles confirms there will be 4 new iPhones. Hi speed pretty much confirms we're going to see the fastest processor to date, so unless it's a surprise iPad Pro refresh, we might see the first ARM Mac announcement.

Japhey

That Apple logo inside the golden circle looks very similar to several concept renders for AirTags that have been floating around out there. 

 Also, I just discovered that “AirTags” is now a keyboard suggestion that I never noticed before. Has anyone else?

mr. h

curtis hannah said:

 Hi speed pretty much confirms we're going to see the fastest processor to date

I took that to be a reference to 5G, not processor speed

mr. h

AppleInsider said:

The "iPhone 12" generation is rumored to be made up of the 5.4-inch "iPhone 12," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Max," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Pro," and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 12 Pro Max."

I was under the impression that the names were expected to be iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max? I know that Apple marketing has had some questionable moves in the past, but I don't recall them ever doing anything as dumb as having two different sized models with the same name - there's no way they're going to have a 6.1" phone and a 6.7" phone both called "Max".

docno42

flydog said:

This must be the 5th event where the mythical AirTags are supposed to be announced.

I hope they are announced - my dad keeps misplacing his glasses cases and these would be a perfect solution for him.  Heck I misplace a few things where these would be very handy indeed.  

bakerzdosen

Seems like the perfect time to announce the AirPower charging pad. Absolutely NO ONE is expecting it now...

22july2013

The word "Hi" (in the invitation's slogan: "Hi, Speed") in my opinion probably alludes to the upcoming U1 chip's ability to find things in the Find My app. Of course, when I make predictions I'm usually wrong. Regardless, I'll reiterate my other prediction that the new Apple Silicon Macs will drop the name "Mac" and replace it with "Apple", i.e., Apple Mini, Apple Book Pro, Apple Air, etc. That's because the word "Apple" has a strong positive brand image but "Mac" has a mixed image. And the new internal chips combined with a new external design language is the only time a new brand name can be appropriate. Also, the balloon images in the invitation also refer to the Find My app's balloons. In fact the innermost balloon in the invitation with the Apple logo actually looks like an AirTag! (Sorry Japhey, I just noticed that you commented on this before me.)

Another guess of mine is that the backside of an AirTag has a recess so you can loop a string through it to tie it to something.

wood1208

Not sure but should Apple announce it's upcoming(close to release) products every month in 2-3 announcements between Sept-Nov or just one long announcement in September ?

22july2013

wood1208 said:

Not sure but should Apple announce it's upcoming(close to release) products every month in 2-3 announcements between Sept-Nov or just one long announcement in September ?

Depends what you mean by "should". Do you mean for aesthetics? Do you mean for maximizing sales? Do you mean for creating excitement? Do you mean to maximize press coverage? I see nothing wrong with the way Apple does it now.

mdriftmeyer

New Speaker.

curtis hannah

22july2013 said:

Regardless, I'll reiterate my other prediction that the new Apple Silicon Macs will drop the name "Mac" and replace it with "Apple", i.e., Apple Mini, Apple Book Pro, Apple Air, etc. That's because the word "Apple" has a strong positive brand image but "Mac" has a mixed image. And the new internal chips combined with a new external design language is the only time a new brand name can be appropriate. Also, the balloon images in the invitation also refer to the Find My app's balloons.

I doubt we're at that point. Mac and iOS have been distinguished by the clear Mac and i or Apple labels(and the i labels look like they are being phased out). Unless the new Macs can run iOS and are a laptop/ tablet hybrid, I think they will continue to use Mac for macOS devices to avoid confusion. Not to mention iPad Air and MacBook Air, Mac mini and iPad mini are conveniently distinguished by this.

mr. h said:

AppleInsider said:

The "iPhone 12" generation is rumored to be made up of the 5.4-inch "iPhone 12," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Max," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Pro," and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 12 Pro Max."

I was under the impression that the names were expected to be iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max? I know that Apple marketing has had some questionable moves in the past, but I don't recall them ever doing anything as dumb as having two different sized models with the same name - there's no way they're going to have a 6.1" phone and a 6.7" phone both called "Max".

Their naming has been terrible already, so it wouldn't be a surprise. The Plus versions being formally the Max versions, and the iPhone 11 Pro being the successor to the iPhone 10S and 11 being successor of the XR. Although I can't imagine them downgrading the flagship name model again, so you're probably right that there will the equivalent of a max and mini version.

22july2013

curtis hannah said:

Unless the new Macs can run iOS ...they will continue to use Mac for macOS 

The new Apple Silicon Macs will be able to run iOS apps. Does that meet your requirement for a branding update?

Proof: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2020/10114/ says: "Apple Silicon Macs can run many iPad and iPhone apps as-is"

Anyway my prediction for a branding change is at Apple's discretion but it's perfectly plausible, and it's based on your requirement that the new Macs can run apps from iOS.

But you got me thinking... if the word "Mac" is out of favour, then "macOS" would likely also have to be rebranded as "AppleOS."

mr. h

curtis hannah said:

mr. h said:

AppleInsider said:

The "iPhone 12" generation is rumored to be made up of the 5.4-inch "iPhone 12," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Max," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Pro," and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 12 Pro Max."

I was under the impression that the names were expected to be iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max? I know that Apple marketing has had some questionable moves in the past, but I don't recall them ever doing anything as dumb as having two different sized models with the same name - there's no way they're going to have a 6.1" phone and a 6.7" phone both called "Max".

The Plus versions being formally the Max versions

That's not really accurate. They introduced "Max", partly because at the time they still sold the 8 Plus, and partly because the "Max" phones were bigger than the "Plus" phones. Although it's possible they would have just retained the "Plus" brand if they'd phased out the old ones at the same time as launching the XS Max, I'm pretty sure they still would have gone with "Max" to emphasise the larger size.

jcs2305

mr. h said:

AppleInsider said:

The "iPhone 12" generation is rumored to be made up of the 5.4-inch "iPhone 12," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Max," the 6.1-inch "iPhone 12 Pro," and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 12 Pro Max."

I was under the impression that the names were expected to be iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max? I know that Apple marketing has had some questionable moves in the past, but I don't recall them ever doing anything as dumb as having two different sized models with the same name - there's no way they're going to have a 6.1" phone and a 6.7" phone both called "Max".

For months the rumor was 12/12 Max and 12 Pro/12 Pro max from what I have seen and read.  Adding mini the to the smallest size iPhone 12 is very recent. I like mini for the smallest and max for the largest personally.  My thought was that two max phones would become confusing when purchasing for people outside of us hardcore fans/customers. 

tommikele

flydog said:

This must be the 5th event where the mythical AirTags are supposed to be announced.

Apple never said they introducing were Air Tags, but tech media kept saying they were and kept saying tomorrow is the day. If you buy into the hype you get what you get - disappointment.

ronn

"Apple event invites are often a red herring, as the designer making the invite knows nothing about the event or what it will entail."

I love seeing all the wild predictions based on the invites.    I'll take a couple of the largest phones announced next week.

cgWerks

mr. h said:

curtis hannah said:

 Hi speed pretty much confirms we're going to see the fastest processor to date

I took that to be a reference to 5G, not processor speed

Yeah, though let's hope not. If this is mostly about 5G, that would be as boring as all heck.

22july2013 said:

In fact the innermost balloon in the invitation with the Apple logo actually looks like an AirTag! (Sorry Japhey, I just noticed that you commented on this before me.)
Another guess of mine is that the backside of an AirTag has a recess so you can loop a string through it to tie it to something.

Unless of course, it is about AirTags. It would be hard to get more boring than that.

22july2013

cgWerks said:

Unless of course, it is about AirTags. It would be hard to get more boring than that.

AirTags are exciting. I would spend more money on AirTags (hundreds of dollars) than on new iPhones (nothing) or iPads (nothing). The first thing I would do with an AirTag is put one into my car in some non-obvious location. Then I'd attach one to each portable valuable that I own. I'd even tape one to my Apple TV remote because that thing gets lost so easily. Then I'd attach one to each key ring that I hold, plus each key ring that I hold for other people on trust. Then I would attach one to my main flashlight because that is very hard to find when there's a power outage (my iPhone would still have power in an outage to let me find my flashlight.) I might even attach one to certain important documents like the deed to my house or my will, which I tend to misplace.

I hope the "red balloon icon" reportedly being used in the Find My app is customizable with a bunch of different icons/colours to choose from, like a car icon, a key ring icon, and so on.