Apple to host a special event tonight at 6 UK time – 10 AM PST. Time Flies is the event name.

The event show a moving graphic that is a tad intriguing. On the screen it traces the Apple logo. However it is more complex than that.

However when you scan your screen with your phone you can open the graphic in the ART viewer and then look at it move in 3D space.

The graphic moves around and spells out 9.15 – That’s today’s date.

What can we expect tonight from Apple?

If this was a normal year we would be expecting the new iPhones. But this year id far from normal and we know from the last earning call that the iPhones are pushed back a few weeks.

So Apple has some product announcements ready now (Apple Watch Series 6, for sure, and updated iPad Airs seem likely), and iPhones soon. Options on the table for Apple:

1. Hold one event now, and unveil the new iPhones now and make consumer wait a full month or longer before availability.
2. Hold one event in October, and make the Apple Watch and iPad Air wait.
3. Hold separate events in September and October.

Apple has obviously chosen option 3. I’m in the camp who believes there often aren’t any noteworthy clues in the logos or event names for Apple events, but you don’t have to be a genius to guess that “Time Flies” implies that Apple Watch is the headliner at next week’s event, which, in turn, means that there will be no iPhones announced.

Apple doesn’t like saying in advance what will be announced at an event, but they do like setting accurate expectations for what won’t be announced. If there are no new iPhones being announced next week, they want everyone not to expect them. They want the products that are being announced to get attention, not products that aren’t being announced.

Many commentators have announced that they are not expecting new iPhones at today’s event.

Wall St Journal for example:

Apple’s September Event: No Crowds, a New Watch but Likely No iPhone

CEO Tim Cook is expected to feature watch and iPad with an iPhone reveal anticipated later in the fall

What can we expect?

What else could Apple announce? We’re waiting on a bunch of products to be officially revealed: A new iPad Air that copies the design of the iPad Pro, AirPods Studio over-the-ear headphones, a smaller and less expensive HomePod, AirTags trackers, new Macs with Apple silicon, even an upgraded Apple TV. Any of these, or none of them, may be revealed along with the iPhone 12 models.

And let’s not forget about services. Apple’s big into services, and we’ve heard rumors of both a new fitness service and a services bundle to be called Apple One apparantly.

We first heard about Apple One back in August, when Bloomberg published a report having spoken to “people with knowledge of the effort”. According to the report, Apple One will consist of  “a series of bundles that will let customers subscribe to several of the company’s digital services at a lower monthly price”.

There will apparently be several tiers, with the basic Apple One package including both Apple Music and Apple TV Plus, while a pricier version would also add Apple Arcade. Another step up would add Apple News Plus, and the top tier would additionally give you more iCloud storage.

There might even be a new service in the mix too; rumor has it that Apple is about to launch a digital health and fitness subscription, similar to those offered by Fitbit and Peloton, which will be included in Apple One.

Tonight

All will be revealed in a few hours time. The Stock, AAPL, will either go up, go down or stay the same.