Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event might be the most anticipated iPhone keynote in 10 years. It all kicks off Wednesday morning, and like you, we can’t wait. So join us as we count down the hours and minutes to the big show with all the latest rumors, leaks, and guesses leading up to the big event on Wednesday morning at 10 am PT.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: How to watch
You can watch the full keynote right here using the embedded YouTube link below or on Apple.com on your iPhone or Mac. The “Watch Now” tab in the TV app on the Apple TV will also show the stream live.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: What we expect
Apple might have dubbed this the “Surprise” event, but we have a pretty good idea what Apple is going to announce Wednesday morning. Here’s what we expect to see:
iPhone Ultra: Apple is almost certain to launch its first folding phone this week. We’re expecting a passport-style design with a 5.5-inch cover display and a near-8-inch inner display when opened.
iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: We expect a similar design with a faster chip and a better camera system, possibly including a variable-aperture lens for the first time.
Apple Watch Series 12: The latest Apple Watch update will reportedly be a minor refresh with a new chip, all-day heart-rate tracking, and maybe the return of a ceramic finish.
Apple Watch Ultra 4: Like the Series 12, the Ultra 4 is expected to be a minor refresh largely focused on a new chip tuned for Siri AI.
AirPods 5: Apple is rumored to be launching a new pair of low-end AirPods, but we don’t know much about them.
Smart home: It’s less likely that Apple’s rumored smart-home hub arrives at this event, but we could see an updated Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: Live blog
iPhone pre-orders might start on Saturday
Generally, Apple opens up pre-orders for all the new iPhones and Apple Watches on the Friday following the Apple event at 5am PT. However, with 9/11 falling on Friday this year, it’s likely that Apple will delay the launch one day out of respect for the anniversary. Pre-orders instead are expected to begin on Saturday at midnight PT.
No iPhone 18 this week
In case you haven’t been following the rumors, Apple isn’t expected to launch a new iPhone 18 this week. That means the iPhone 17 will be on shelves alongside the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus for another six months. This would be the first time (other than the budget SE and e models) that Apple has spilt the new iPhones into separate launches and could create some serious FOMO for annual updaters.
Read our 100% real keynote leak*
Just like last year, we’ve gotten our hands on Apple’s iPhone event keynote script ahead of the big reveal, and we’re sharing it all with you: the bad jokes, clever marketing, outrageous prices, and big surprises. Read it all before it happens.
*May not be real
Follow along with all the latest updates
Welcome to the Surprise and Shine live blog! You don’t need to wait till Wednesday to get up to speed on everything Apple’s releasing. Over the next two days, we’ll share rumors, features, roundups, thoughts, reader comments, and lots more. Stay right here for everything you need to know.
