Yesterday, certain members of the press received invitations from Apple to a product announcement event that will take place on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at 10 Pacific / 1 Eastern. As always, Apple is not revealing what will be announced, but it is pretty easy to make at least one guess. In 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012, Apple held an event in early September at which it introduced a new version of the iPhone. Thus, I feel quite confident that we will see new a new iPhone introduced next week.
What else will Apple announce? Maybe a second-generation Apple Watch. Maybe some new Macs, although Mark Gurman of Bloomberg (who has a great track record for these type of predictions) says that the new Macs won't be announced until October. I don't expect new iPads or a new Apple TV, but I suppose that anything is possible.
Suffice it to say that if you know of anyone planning to buy a new iPhone this week, I would strongly discourage them from doing so. My guess is that the new iPhones won't be actually in stores until mid to late September, but anyone who can wait a few more weeks to get an iPhone should definitely wait.
Here is the graphic in the invitation itself. Sometimes, Apple's invitations contain clues as to what is going to be announced. When I first looked at this picture, my only thought was that it was a neat bokeh effect — which is how a nice SLR camera can make objects in the distance appear blurry to add more depth. But John Gruber of Daring Fireball wonders if the bokeh effect is actually a clue that Apple is bringing SLR-quality pictures to the new iPhone, although perhaps only to the larger plus model. There is a rumor that the larger model will have two lenses on it, which will combine to create one improved picture.
