You can pretty much set a watch to Apple’s big iPhone event each year, and 2023 doesn’t look to break from tradition.
The company is expected to hold its launch event on September 12 or 13, with the iPhone 15 phones coming out on September 22, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The phones are expected to include changes like thinner bezels to the frame for the Pro models, as well as the base iPhone 15 phones eschewing the notch and adapting the Dynamic Island from last year’s Pro models, Gurman noted.
A spokesman for Apple wasn’t immediately available to comment on the report.
The upgrades couldn’t come at a better time, with the broader smartphone market in decline and even Apple posting a retreat in quarterly iPhone sales last week. Sales have ebbed as big leaps of innovation in phones are harder to come by, making it difficult to get exciting about new versions. The broader market fell by 24% in the second quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.
The high cost of premium smartphones — especially iPhones — and the fact that they can do more and last longer, means consumers are less willing to upgrade as frequently, especially in an environment where even basic goods and gas are have seen dramatic price hikes.
Apple, however, has shown a consistent ability to defy expectations. It’s also one of the few companies that can reliably draw in big attention when it releases a new product.
Whether the company will be able to see the same kind of success will depend on how big the upgrades are on the upcoming family of iPhone 15 phones are, and whether consumers will shell out more money for them.
The only area where there is excitement and growth is in the foldables market, but that remains a small fraction of the total smartphone business, and is an area that Apple isn’t playing in yet.
Apple still has a chance to bring back that excitement in September, in which case the last quarter’s disappointing results could just be a blip. It’ll depend on how effectively Apple can convince people they actually need an iPhone 15 and will serve as a test to see if it still has that mojo when so many other phone makers have lost it.