What Not to Expect at Apple Event on September 9: ‘It’s Glowtime’

Apple’s annual fall event takes place on Monday, September 9, when it is expected to unveil the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, and some new Apple Watch models. It may also make some additional new products available, but there are a handful of rumored upcoming devices that we don’t expect to make an appearance this month.

To help set expectations ahead of Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event, we’ve compiled a list of products that Apple is unlikely to announce in September, but rather later on in the year or in 2025 and beyond.

M4-Powered Macs

Apple is developing new Macs powered by the company’s next-generation M4 chip, which is built on chipmaking partner TSMC’s second-generation 3nm technology and features a new display engine, resulting in significant performance and power efficiency improvements over the M3 chip that Apple’s most recent Mac models are based on.

The first of Apple’s new M4-powered Macs are expected to arrive later in the year. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s sources, Apple is planning to refresh the MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac with M4 chips this year, and we are likely to see the new models announced sometime in October, with a possible November launch.

Four machines that Apple has been testing reportedly have base-level M4 chips, according to developer logs. Three of the Macs have a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. The fourth machine has an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU, which is not an M4 configuration that we’ve seen so far. All four of the M4 Macs have either 16GB or 32GB of Unified Memory.

Meanwhile, Apple’s supply chain is reportedly beginning mass production of next-generation 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. If Apple repeats last year’s launch pattern, these machines are around two months away from being released.

iPhone SE 4

Following the release of the iPhone 16 lineup in September, Apple will release the fourth-generation iPhone SE as early as the beginning of 2025, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.

The fourth-generation ‌iPhone SE‌ is rumored to feature an iPhone 14-like design, Face ID instead of Touch ID, a USB-C port, an Action button, an Apple-designed 5G modem, an A18 processor, and an all-screen look that does away with the Home Button.

The device’s display is expected to grow in size from 4.7 inches to 6.06 inches and use OLED for the first time, and the device will almost certainly come with 8GB of RAM, up from 4GB in the 2022 model, due to the hardware requirements of Apple Intelligence.

The device could be released ahead of the Lunar New Year in January 2025. However, all three existing iPhone SE models were announced in March over the years, so a March 2025 release seems quite possible too.

HomePod mini 2

Apple’s HomePod mini will be four years old in October. Gurman was first to highlight Apple’s work on a second-generation HomePod mini in August 2022. He also expressed skepticism about what a new ‌HomePod mini‌ could offer since “the latest ‌HomePod‌ doesn’t include any major new functions that aren’t already in the $99 mini.”

In February 2023, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple would begin mass shipments of the second-generation HomePod mini in the second half of 2024. But given how long ago Kuo made the claim, it’s not clear how much weight should be given to it. And since then, rumors about the device have been scant.

That said, it would be reasonable to assume a new model would feature improved sound and microphones, along with an updated S-series chip and new color options. If Apple wants to keep up with Amazon’s rumored new Claude AI-powered Echo devices, Apple Intelligence could also factor into a next-generation HomePod mini.

Talking of colors: In an unusual development, Apple replaced the Space Gray with a practically identical Midnight finish just a few months ago, which would make it seem odd to expect a new model to be unveiled anytime soon, and almost certainly not at Apple’s upcoming iPhone 16 event.

AirPods Pro 3

Apple is expected to release a redesigned version of the AirPods Pro in 2025, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. The update will likely include enhanced audio quality, an improved design, and a faster chip.

Apple may introduce a new hearing test feature for the AirPods Pro, potentially capable of detecting hearing issues. Additionally, new health sensors are under development, which could enable features such as reading body temperature from the ear canal and enhancing hearing-related functions like Conversation Boost and Live Listen.

The next-generation AirPods Pro are rumored to have significantly improved Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) compared to the AirPods Pro 2, although specific details on how ANC will be enhanced are not yet available.

New Apple TV

Apple is reportedly developing a new Apple TV with a faster processor while retaining the same design as the current model. Initially, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman suggested a 2024 launch for the new Apple TV, but he later indicated that an update is not imminent, leaving the timeline unclear.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the next-generation Apple TV could be more affordable, and that would fit a pattern of Apple reducing the price of the device. The second-generation (2010) and third-generation (2012) models of the Apple TV were both launched in the U.S. at a price of $99. Apple later reduced the price of the third-generation model to $69, establishing a precedent for a sub-$100 Apple TV that could better compete with low-cost streaming devices from companies like Amazon and Roku.

A future version of the Apple TV might feature a built-in camera for FaceTime and other video calling apps, as reported by Mark Gurman. While Apple introduced a FaceTime app for the Apple TV in tvOS 17, which works via a connected iPhone or iPad, this could be a step toward an Apple TV with an integrated camera.