It’s that time of year again – tomorrow at 6pm GMT, all eyes in the mobile industry will look towards Apple’s Californian headquarters in anticipation of the autumnal tradition that is iPhone Release Day.
Although the first four iPhone releases actually took place over the summer months, since 2011 Apple has been more or less consistent in unveiling a new suite of devices to the world every September or October. And with that level of consistency comes a sense of expectation – now, as summer enters its latter stages, we can all play the game of “I wonder what we’ll see in the next iPhone?”
First of all, the date for Release Day. Last year, we had to wait until October for Apple to unveil the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR, but this year, things are happening a lot sooner – September 10th. In terms of what the new series will be called, it looks as if Apple has settled on iPhone 11.
But in terms of how many devices Apple will be releasing in the series, that’s where the rumours start to conflict. Tom’s Guide has it at three – the core iPhone 11 to replace last year’s iPhone XR, and two iPhone 11 Pro variants to replace the XS and XS Max. CNet, on the other hand, believes we should be expecting four new models, which it refers to as the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11R and 11 Max.
Evolution not revolution
On to the stuff that really matters – what juicy new technologies are Apple going to wow us with this year? There has been a lot of talk about how the last few iPhone releases have lost something of their edge in terms of technological innovations, with consumers left underwhelmed by big price hikes for what has essentially been a series of incremental upgrades – an evolution of features that have appeared previously, rather than anything truly groundbreaking. It has also not been lost on commentators that during this period, Apple has slipped to third in the smartphone manufacturer’s table behind Samsung and Huawei.
According to CNet, 2019 looks like delivering more of the same, with Apple holding back some major innovations for a massive start-of-new-decade push in 2020 – things like a 5G iPhone and a folding iPhone. But for this year, we can expect the iPhone 11 series to look and function much like previous models, but with the expected performance upgrades in key areas.
For one, all iPhone 11 models will be fitted with Apple’s latest A13 processor, which is expected to be faster than anything currently available on Android phones. There are rumours that the larger and higher spec models could feature a third rear camera, probably an ultra wide angle lens, and improved multi-angle Face ID. In a nod to popular features on Samsung Galaxy devices, some iPhone 11 models could allow reverse wireless charging so you can charge other devices simply by touching them to the back of the handset, and there could even be an Apple Pencil – long since a feature of Galaxy Note devices.
Summary
So all in all, anyone waiting for something truly revolutionary to come out of the Apple labs is going to have to wait another year at least. But for iPhone fans who are already in love with everything Apple does, you can be safe in the knowledge that you’ll be getting plenty more of what Apple does best.
As always, with any introduction of a new iPhone, you can be confident in a rush of trade ins to flood the used mobile device market, including iPhone X, XS and XS Max.
