It feels a bit odd that Apple’s September Keynote is only their second of the year, but here is what I expect to see:

iPhone 5S

Like the 3GS and 4S that came before it, don’t expect the 5S to be a substantial change when compared to its predecessor. Faster? Definitely. More Memory? Maybe. Bigger Screen? I don’t think so.

I think Apple will wait until Auto Layout is a skill that all iOS developers possess before introducing another screen size to the lineup. If we are all being honest, Auto Layout hasn’t been ready for prime until the introduction of Xcode 5.

The 5S’s new feature will be the finger scanning home key, allowing you to secure your device using your finger print rather than a pin code or face recognition. This is an interesting time to introduce the finger print scanner, as some features in iOS 7 such as iCloud Keychain require you to use a passcode. This will give users the added security without the hassle of having to enter a pin code every 5 minutes. I wonder if Apple have the analytics to know that most people don’t have a pin code, and that was the reason for this feature beind added?

The iPhone will be released on Friday the 20th September in the usual markets.

iPhone 5C

I’m sure the marketing team at Apple will say that the C stands for Color, but in reality it stands for Cheap. Since the introduction of the iPhone 4S two years ago consumers have been able to purchase the last 3 models (currently the 4,4S and 5), which has allowed Apple to have a “Free” phone with a 24 month contract.

There are a few problems with this:

• Consumers don’t want to buy a 2 year old device when you can get (one of) this year’s Android phones for the same price. Moreover if you bought the oldest device in the lineup, by the end of a 24 month contract it would have been released 4 years ago … good luck running the latest games on that.
• Without the iPhone 5C Apple would be selling the 5S, 5 and 4S. The 4S not only has the smaller 4 inch screen but more importantly still uses the old 30 pin dock connector. Making the iOS lineup lighting port only, makes it easier for Apple and their accessory partners.
• Although the internal components of an iPhone (CPU, Memory, Storage etc) become cheaper over time, the external components do not to the same degree. Making the iPhone out of plastic would reduce its cost and might have the added bonus of making it more durable.

With all of this in mind I would expect the iPhone 5C to only be $100-$200 cheaper than the iPhone 5S. This isn’t the iPod mini of the iPhone lineup just yet, especially when you consider that buying a subsidised phone isn’t the norm in a lot of countries.

iPad

The iPad lineup is unlikely to see a refresh at this event, and instead will be one of the products unveiled in an event next month, with the larger iPads getting the same case designs as the mini. Like this years iPhone refresh, I wouldn’t expect the updates to be significant when they do come about, in fact the only major question is wether the iPad mini goes retina, become cheaper, or maybe even both?

iOS 7

iOS 7 is the biggest overhaul of iOS since its inception, which has given developers a bit of a headache trying to get their apps ready in time for its release. Since the first beta at WWDC the OS has lots of subtle refinements, the last couple of betas have felt like they are only a few bug fixes away from completeion.

iOS 7 will be released on Wednesday the 18th of September

OS X

OS 10.9 Mavericks was unveiled alongside iOS 7 at WWDC, but once again it was more about refinements rather than a complete overhaul of the OS (which is a good thing). I expect to learn about the release date of Mavericks at this event, more than likely the end of October.

Mac

The majority of Mac updates (including the new Mac Pro) are probably waiting on the release of OS 10.9 Mavericks now.

This is particularly true for the MacBooks, as Mavericks will Apple to advertise that they have extra battery life just because of the optimisations in the OS.

I expect any susbstantial Mac updates to happen later in the year.

AppleTV

Im still convinced that Apple will open up the AppleTV for apps or at least games, and with the introduction of Game Controllers and Sprite Kit in iOS 7 it is just a matter of time. Unless this is the surprise of the Keynote I think we will have to wait a bit longer for the SDK but heres hoping … unless you are Nintendo that is.

iWatch

If this exists it would be one heck of a secret, so I don’t think it will be unveiled at this Keynote.