Apple event rumors live blog — last-minute iPhone 14, Apple Watch 8 and AirPods Pro 2 leaks

First is the rumored larger battery for the iPhone 14 Pro, which some say could be 3,200 mAh. Considering how good the iPhone 13 Pro’s battery life was last year, I have high hopes that the iPhone 14 Pro will crush our battery life test.

Second, I can’t wait to see if iPhones finally get an always-on display. This is a feature that’s been on Android for years and I really hope I get it back on my iPhone.

Third, the rumored 48MP camera upgrade has me intrigued. The iPhone 13 Pro is already a camera champ, but the extra resolution ought to help it in low-light photos. While Apple is certainly one of the better night mode options out there, it’s not the king. A larger and higher-res sensor might help with that.

Jordan here, Phones Editor for TG, and I’m taking over for the next few hours. As we close in on the big Apple event tomorrow, I got to thinking. What rumors have you the most excited? A few come to mind for me.

I’m looking at the iPhone 14 Pro as my next upgrade, having found myself dissatisfied with the monstrous iPhone 13 Pro Max. But I have three rumored things that get me hyped for tomorrow: battery life, always-on display, and the 48MP camera upgrade.

And here’s editor and video maker extraordinaire Kate Kozuch with a rundown of all the AirPods Pro 2 rumors you’ll want to pay attention to. 

Check it out below. 

OK, so lets talk AirPods Pro 2 for a moment. We’re expecting a new design and a whole suite of new features, but should you be poised to buy them if they are announced at the Apple event? 

Well take a look at our AirPods Pro 2 vs AirPods Pro rundown to get a feel for the biggest upgrades to expect. We’re rather hoping that the AirPods Pro 2 really shake things up on the wireless earbuds front.  

If those rumors have got you excited about the Apple Watch 8, and you already have an Apple Watch you are keen to upgrade from, then we’ve got you covered. 

Take a look at our guide on how to trade in your Apple Watch, and how you can get credit towards a new smartwatch. 

There are a lot of Apple Watch 8 rumors to dissect and rationalize. And that’s exactly what editor Kate Kozuch has done. 

Check out the Apple Watch 8 rumors explained video below for a lowdown of what to expect, as well as what not to get your hopes up about. 

One of the more compelling rumors to have bubbled up to the surface lately is the claim that the iPhone 14 Pro will feature an always-on display. 

Why is that a big deal? Well it would give the iPhone 14 Pro the scope to further challenge some of the best Android phones around, as well as offer a much neater way of seeing information at a glance. Phones writer Richard Priday has chewed over all the iPhone 14 always-on display rumors so far. 

To help you break down some last-minute iPhone14 rumors, editor Kate Kozuch has pulled together a video that collates some of the best tidbits of information we’ve put our eyes on. 

Take a look at it below. Oh, and like and subscribe! 

Based on the rumored specs for the iPhone 14 Pro, it looks like the next-gen iPhone to get — with the only question being whether 6.1 inches is enough, or if you want a larger 6.7-inch display. 

However, we don’t reckon you should dismiss the standard iPhone 14 entirely. 

As managing editor and phones expert Philip Michaels discusses: “The importance of getting all the valuable things the iPhone 14 promises — great cameras, solid performance, a stellar design — without having to pay more for the privilege can’t be overstated, especially at a time when prices are ballooning all around us. 

“The iPhone 14 Pro may be getting some impressive enhancements, but in this environment, the attractive price of the iPhone 14 could wind up being the most compelling feature of all.”

Speaking of options and specs, we’ve pulled together a specs table for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max based on the rumors so far. 

With the exception of screen and battery size, the two phones look set to be very similar. That’s the same deal as with the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, but in contrast to the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, which had differing camera capabilities. 

Check out the specs list below. 

But one way Apple could justify a price hike for the iPhone 14 Pro at least, could be a new entry-level storage tier. According to some rumors, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro max will start at 256GB of storage space rather than 128GB. 

However, this iPhone 14 Pro storage boost has been shot down in a report from Haitong International analyst Jeff Pu, who claims that Apple will be keeping storage the same as it was with the iPhone 13 Pro, which means sticking with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options. 

Camera upgrades are all well and good but one of the worrying rumor doing the rounds is how the iPhone 14 range will be more expensive than the iPhone 13 range, with the Pro phones set to rise by $100. 

But Market intelligence firm TrendForce (opens in new tab) has predicted that the jump in price won’t be overly severe, with prices rising by $50 instead. Supposedly, this will be a means for Apple to be more cautious with pricing when global inflation in on the rise. We’re not sure how much we buy into that, but we’d much rather no price hike at all, especially if the standard iPhone 14 isn’t changing much.  

Just in! A new iPhone 14 Pro rumor. This time it’s an image of what’s claimed to be an iPhone 14 Pro case over an iPhone 14 Pro, with the big take away being the camera lenses of the next-gen iPhone could be notably larger than those of the current Pro phones. 

What does this mean in practical terms? Well larger lenses can let in more light and that can mean more detail is captured by a phone’s cameras. With the iPhone 14 Pro already tipped to get a 48MP main camera, letting in more light and boosting low-light photography too, could see it top our best camera phone list; though we’d need to put it through some through testing before drawing any conclusions. 

As for the Apple Watch 8 itself, we’re not expecting to see a host of major changes, but a Pro model has been tipped. 

And going by some alleged leaked case photos, it looks like the Apple Watch 8 Pro will be a seriously rugged smartwatch able to withstand the elements and rigorous outdoor activities while still offering access to a suite of watchOS 9 features. That’ll likely be thanks to additional buttons and a titanium construction by default. 

Shifting away from iPhones, we’re expecting to see at least two new Apple Watch models on Wednesday. But there’s also the Apple Watch SE 2 that may make an appearance. 

This would be a replacement for the Apple Watch SE, Apple’s cheapest smartwatch, but is could also spell the end of the Apple Watch 3, which looks set to be killed off this week. 

If you’re wondering whether you should be prepared to buy the iPhone 14 when it launches, or if you should wait for 12 months and get an iPhone 15, then phones writer Richard Priday has chewed over the iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15. 

It’s looking like the iPhone 14 Pro will be the phone to get. But if you’re on an iPhone 13 Pro, you may want to consider waiting as the 2023 iPhone model could bring in some major changes, such as USB-C connectivity and a periscope camera. 

One of the key iPhone 14 rumors is that the standard models will stick with the current A15 processor, but that Pro models will get a new A16 Bionic chip.

However, we’ve now heard a new variation on this theme — namely that the A15 chip in the iPhone 14 will be an enhanced version.

This is according to the Wall Street Journal (opens in new tab), citing “people familiar with the plans.” There’s no indication as to how the A15 will be enhanced — but we’d guess that it would offer slightly higher performance than the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, which offered one extra GPU core compared to the A15 used in the base iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini.

The dual chip approach is one we’ve heard lots about already. For instance, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has also tipped the regular iPhone 14s to stick with A15, while the Pro models get an upgrade. 

On the one hand, this would be disappointment — Apple almost always puts new chips inside new phones. But on the other, you could argue that the A15 Bionic is so powerful that having it in the iPhone 14 is going to be no bad thing anyway. And if the version of the A15 used is more powerful than that in the iPhone 13, there’s even less reason to worry about it.

One of the latest rumors to surface ahead of the Apple event concerns a battery boost for the iPhone 14 Pro range. 

That’s according to well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who writes in his Power On newsletter (opens in new tab) that “beyond the notch, I’m told to expect the iPhone 14 Pro models to appear slightly larger overall and include slimmer bezels. They will have bigger batteries too.”

Slimmer bezels are nice, but a battery boost could help the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro max win a spot on our best phone battery life list, replacing the iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro respectively. 

Good morning and welcome to our Apple event rumors live blog. We’ll be updating this regularly over the next day-and-a-bit leading up to the event itself, which is due to start at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. BST tomorrow (September 7).

There’s certainly no shortage of last-minute leaks and speculation around the various devices tipped to launch tomorrow, so read on for our thoughts on each one.