Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 12, 2017, is another of Apple’s annual Special Events where a new iPhone is introduced and a new version of iOS is released, and often other goodies are officially announced and shown off as well.  It’s Apple Event Day!

This year it will likely be not one, not two, but three different versions of an iPhone.  After this past weekends iOS 11 GM leak through 9to5mac.com and macrumors.com, we now appear to know a lot about what is coming tomorrow.  The three iPhones should be the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, iterations on last year’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, but with glass backs, wireless Qi-based charging, new A11 processors, and likely new/upgraded cameras.  And then there will be a third iPhone, the one that’s received the lion’s share of media attention over the last year as the anniversary edition of the iPhone – Apple having introduced the original iPhone 10 years ago back in 2007.

This special iPhone model will depart from tried and true iPhone conventions in several ways and has gone by a number of rumored names, from iPhone 8, iPhone Pro, iPhone Edition, to iPhone X, with the latter looking like the most likely final name.  This model will ditch the LCD screen for an OLED screen, and the screen will nearly fill the entire face of the device – what is being called a “bezel-less screen.”  To do this, Apple will remove the iconic single Home button and its embedded Touch ID sensor, and replace it with… well, some sort of dynamic software and gesture based controls and a new “Face ID” facial recognition security system.  In addition, as a consequence of the bezel-less screen, the screen will increase in size without the body of the phone increasing.  Rumors indicate that the iPhone X will have a screen bigger than the 5.5″ iPhone 7 Plus, at about 5.8″ diagonal, but the body will be only slightly larger than the 4.7″-screened regular iPhone 7.  More screen real estate, smaller body.  Win, win!  Like the iPhones 8, the iPhone X will also get the glass back and wireless charging and A11 processors, and the Face ID feature will bring with it 3D sensors/cameras that will enable the facial recognition and tracking and looks to enable more responsiveness to when you are actually looking at the phone.

However, with all of the added premium features, the new iPhone X is also expected to be priced at a premium price, with most expecting it to start at about US$999.  That compares with the base price of an iPhone 7 (and most new iPhones of the past) at US$649.  The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are nevertheless expected to continue the standard iPhone starting price points of US$649 and US$749 respectively, so fear not, there will still be new iPhones at the usual prices.  Again, fear not, you will still be able to get a brand new, super iPhone 8 at the same price as last year’s iPhone 7 was… there is not going to be an increase in the base price of a new iPhone – Apple is just introducing an even more premium iPhone at a higher price.

Also expected in this event is a third iteration, or third series, of the Apple Watch.  Likely to be named the Apple Watch Series 3, the new Apple Watch will now include an option for a model with LTE cellular communication built in.  Rumors indicate that the LTE Apple Watch will share the cellular phone number of the iPhone to which it is paired, but how carriers will price the addition to your service is still uncertain.  It does seem that this feature will finally enable the Apple Watch to be fully functional and connected to the Internet when separated from its paired iPhone.

In addition, Apple is also expected to introduce an new Apple TV model, an Apple TV 4K.  This Apple TV 4K will, as its name makes clear, have the capability of outputting 4K video to a connected 4K TV.  Presumably, Apple will also introduce some 4K content to go with it, most likely including 4K movies through iTunes downloads from at least some of the big movie studios.

That’s a quick rundown of what to expect.  I’m pretty excited to see what all comes of this, especially all the little details that go beyond the rumors.  How much will those 4K movie downloads cost and which studios will actually participate  (please let there be 4K “Star Wars” or 4K “Star Trek”)?  What will added cellular service cost for the new Apple Watches?  And what will the iPhone X really look like and how well will this Face ID truly work?  Tune in to Apple  to find out tomorrow at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT from your Apple device!