As you're reading this, I'm probably sitting on the beach drinking a mojito, enjoying one of the final weeks of summer. When I return, we'll all be headed into the most exciting four months on the Apple calendar. Though mostly quiet, the past week still offered news and compelling predictions about our favorite technology company and what's to come. Here's a recap of everything that went down this week in Apple land.
What's important about Sept. 6?
As recently noted on our iPhone 14 prediction page, we're still probably a month away from the first of what's likely to be two Apple fall events. That event, possible on Tuesday, Sept. 13, should include iPhone 14 series and Apple Watch Series 8 reveals, with announcements about new iPads and Macs following sometime in October.
Although Apple may invite some press members to both events, as it did for the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, most of the action will be recorded and streamed worldwide on Apple TV, Twitter, and the Apple website. This kind of setup means Apple can take its good sweet time and not even announce the September event for a few more days.
Assuming Sept. 13 is the iPhone event, we can expect an announcement one week earlier on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Pre-orders for the iPhone 14 and the new Apple Watch series should begin on Friday, Sept. 16, with a Sept. 23 launch date.
Good and bad news about iPhone 14 prices
This week, we received some news about the iPhone 14 series that shouldn't come as a surprise. According to Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple's expected to increase the price of the iPhone 14 Pro series handsets by around 15%.
Currently, in the U.S., the base iPhone 13 Pro is $999, while the least expensive iPhone 13 Pro Max is $1,099. These numbers could rise to about $1,150 and $1,265, respectively. Even with today's near-record inflation rates in many parts of the world, these numbers seem excessive. However, Apple has never increased the price of the iPhone Pro lineup since the iPhone 11 Pro series launched in 2019, so I guess it's fair.
On a more positive note, the flagship iPhone 14 isn't expected to feature a price hike. Like the iPhone 13 (the best iPhone currently on the market) before it, this model should start at $799. However, Apple will still see increased revenue on the regular iPhone 14 series since it's likely to replace the iPhone mini with an all-new iPhone 14 Max in the lineup. The iPhone 13 mini starts at $699, while the new Max model is expected to launch at $899, according to the latest iPhone 14 rumors.
iOS 16: It's getting weird
With new iPhones expected to launch in just a few weeks, we're nearly finished with the iOS 16 beta cycle. Generally, by this time in the process, Apple has stopped making significant tweaks to the software updates. And yet, iOS 16 developer beta 5 (and iOS 16 public beta 3) surprised us. These betas feature the return of a battery indicator number on the iPhone Home screen, which Apple removed beginning with the iPhone X. Unfortunately, the early reviews have been mixed.
It could prove difficult to find any long-term iPhone user upset by Apple's decision to reverse course and include a battery percentage number on the iPhone Home screen. But, unfortunately, the new look isn't necessarily a great one. Because of spacing issues, the new design is somewhat strange, as it features a battery number (not the sign) on top of the icon.
Here you can see the difference between the battery indicator on the iPhone home screen and Control Center:
Some iOS 16 beta testers have also said the new battery icon looks odd with specific backgrounds or Dark mode. I haven't run into those issues, although I haven't done many tests to prove this.
There's one final point that's been brought up about the new iOS 16 battery indicator: Some early users have reported that it doesn't work on some iPhone models, including the iPhone 11 Max, iPhone 12 Max, and iPhone 13 mini.
All these concerns are warranted, although it's possible (even likely) that Apple will tweak the new design before the official iOS 16 release, so stay tuned.
Headed out the door ...
That's it for me, at least for a few days. To recap, we've got lots to look forward to in the coming months as Apple gears up to release several new products as well as the official debut of iOS 16, macOS 13 Ventura, watchOS 9, and more. Some may not be too happy about the battery percentage icon, but there are still lots of other exciting updates coming in the new version of iOS that we can all look forward to. Although, maybe the new iPhone 14 prices, not so much.
Anyway, in my absence, be sure to stay plugged into iMore for the latest Apple news and excitement, as always.
— Bryan
