Scoring my Apple Event predictions

So with the Apple Event behind us, its time to score my predictions of what the event would contain.

General

• ❌ The hardware announcements will be the iPhone 16 lineup, Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 3, and AirPods 4 
  • To my massive disappointment, no Ultra 3 this year. Also the AirPods Max was updated
• ✅ They will announce rollout timing of Apple Intelligence
  • Rollout starts "next month" (October) mentioned
• ✅ We will get specific dates for the release of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11 and macOS Sequoia 
  • Not technically during the event but immediately after on apple.com.
• ✅ I believe the event will clock in at around 1.5 hours
  • Just above

iPhone

• ✅ Pro line will get a slightly larger screen 
  • Sure did, both models got larger screens
• ❌ The new capture button will be a thing, but only on the Pro lineup 
  • Both regular iPhone 16 and 16 Pro models get capture button! That's great but not what I expected.
• ✅ The new capture button will be capacitive, letting you zoom or change modes but simply sliding your finger up and down it
• ✅ The 5x optical zoom will come to both sizes of Pro models (not just Pro Max as is today)
• ✅ The ultra-wide camera will get a massive upgrade 
• ✅ There will be new Apple Intelligence features, potentially unique to the iPhone 16 models, discussed 
• ❌ I believe there is a chance preorders will start Thursday rather than Friday. But gun to my head I say still Friday
  • I mean, I did say "gun to my head still Friday", but I still deducted this point

Apple Watch

• ✅ At least one of the models will get a larger screen, and potentially larger physical dimensions
  • Very correct. Both models did.
• ✅ There will be a new health feature (not necessarily sensor!) announced
  • Sleep apnea detection for the win!
• ✅ There will be a new watch face 
• ✅ Apple Watch bands will still be compatible with previous generations

Other

• ❌ Fall lineup of Apple TV+ shows will be highlighted through a promo reel
• ❌ Emmy awards will be mentioned
• ✅ Apple Vision Pro will be discussed (briefly)
  • Discussed in the various spatial video and photo segments
• ✅ They will announce some new environmental initiative or feature of the new products
  • Lots of mentions of this
• ✅ FineWoven will not be cancelled as popularly believed. I think it stays at least one more year 
  • Cancelled only for the phone cases but remain in new Apple Watch bands and the MagSafe wallets
• ✅ Apple Fitness+ will be discussed, either just as a mention or more likely some sort of a update
  • This barely gets a point as only mentioned in the intro video, but still

Conclusion and comments

I think I did pretty well! I remain very surprised by the omission of an Ultra 3 this year, especially with the information flying around that they sell a ton of them (and I see them everywhere), so why not capitalize on that by keeping it fresh. I am sure they have their reasons, I just can't imagine what they are.

For the other misses, the event was already pretty long and packed, and I think right move to not bog down further with Apple TV+ stuff. I am sure instead we will see it in a later October event. As soon as that event is officially announced, I will come back with predictions for that one. (It will be Mac and iPad focused, I can say already).

With regards to my feelings for the rest of the event - I loved it! Key highlights for me were the hearing health features coming for free to all AirPods Pro 2 users, the Series 10 look like an amazing upgrade in all variants, I cannot wait to play with Camera Control, and the improved battery life on the iPhone lineup is welcome and impressive.

I remain pissed at the EU for not letting me play with the newest Apple Intelligence feature announced yesterday, visual intelligence.