The biggest iPhone release ever -- both literally and figuratively -- is likely just hours away. Apple is gathering the media to its annual fall product event on Wednesday, Sept. 12, and a long list of product refreshes are expected to be on deck. Nothing has been officially confirmed, but convincing leaks reported by 9to5Mac point to new iPhones -- including the largest-ever 6.5-inch and 6.1-inch iPhones joining a second-gen 5.8-inch model -- and new fourth-generation Apple Watch models. Additionally, Apple could unveil the first-ever iPad models with Face ID, as well as a long-rumored MacBook Air replacement -- and that's just for starters.
In other words: If you have even a passing interest in Apple products, or even if you're an Android fanboy looking to see what Google needs to counter with its own Oct. 9 event, you'll want to follow this event live. Here's how.
Now playing: Watch this: 2018 iPhone XS launch event: Everything we're expecting
Live coverage here Wednesday, Sept. 12
The 2018 event is following in last year's footsteps: The Steve Jobs Theater at the company's Apple Park campus in Cupertino will be the venue, and CNET will have a group of veteran Apple watchers on the scene, backed up by dozens more around the world.
Watch the CNET live blog and livestream here
Preshow start time: 9 a.m. PT, noon ET (See the start time where you are)
Event start time: 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET (See the start time where you are)
Liveblog from Cupertino: We'll have a full team liveblogging on-site, including Connie Guglielmo, Vanessa Hand Orellana, Scott Stein and Shara Tibken, along with real-time photos from ace photographer James Martin.
En español, tambien: Gabriel Sama will be providing Spanish-language coverage for CNET en español.
Video simulcast: Join Ashley Esqueda, Patrick Holland and Lexy Savvides from our studio in San Francisco for real-time coverage and analysis. Watch embedded above, or here on YouTube.
Live event video: Apple is livestreaming the event. Here's how to watch.
What to expect
Here's what Apple is anticipated to announce, from the most likely to the more longshot possibilities:
We could also see these on Sept. 12. But Apple may wait to unveil them in October, or even later:
Those are just some of the possibilities. Check out our full event preview for more details.
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Another year, another cryptic press invitation for Apple's annual iPhone event. This year's invite inspired conjecture around what the gold-toned ring might suggest about the new devices. Does the circle spell changes to—or the disappearance of—the home button? A revival of the dearly departed click wheel? Tomorrow, you can get the answers to your burning speculations.
Apple's annual iPhone event starts at 10 am Pacific (1 pm Eastern) on Wednesday, September 12. Apple is expected to unveil a new version of the iPhone X, a lower-cost iPhone, a new Apple Watch, an update on iOS 12's release, and possibly more.
Even if you're not in Cupertino, you can catch the festivities via livestream on Apple TV, on an iPhone or iPad, in a browser, and of course, by following along with our Apple iPhone 2018 liveblog here on Wired.com.
How to Watch
You can watch the livestream directly from Apple's website. You'll need an iPhone, iPod, or iPod Touch with Safari on iOS 10 or later. To watch on your desktop, make sure you're using a Mac with Safari on macOS Sierra 10.12 or later, or a PC with Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge. According to Apple's website, you might be able to watch the iPhone announcement using Chrome or Firefox, as long as you're using versions that support MSE, H.264, and AAC. If it doesn't load for you in those browsers, default to the options above.
You can also watch on your Apple TV. Tune in by downloading the Apple Events App from the App Store for Apple TV, or by streaming from your iOS device via AirPlay. Just make sure that your Apple TV is 2nd generation or later, with the latest Apple TV software (for 2nd and 3rd generation) or tvOS (for later generations). Keep in mind that on some older Apple TVs, the Events icon will simply show up on your main menu screen prior to showtime.
Follow Our Liveblog
Whether you're watching the livestream or not, check out our iPhone event liveblog. We'll spend the morning sharing updates about the event, showing photos from the Apple campus, giving our reactions to every announcement, and telling lots and lots of jokes. You can also follow along on Twitter, where we'll be live-tweeting from @gadgetlab and @wired. We'll also be posting Instagram Stories on the @wired account. Finally, our reporters will be offering live, hands-on analysis of any new devices that are announced—watch the @wired Twitter feed to see those streams when they happen.
Can't make it? You can catch the full video of the event on Apple's website after the livestream.
More Great WIRED Stories
On Wednesday, September 12, Apple will announce its next iPhones. Thanks to the usual trickle of leaks in the month leading up to the event, we have a pretty solid idea of what’s coming. We’ll likely get an update to the current iPhone X, as well as a larger version of the premium handset. We may also see a lower-cost version of the iPhone X that uses different materials and components. All signs point to the fact that all new iPhones will have no home buttons and no dedicated fingerprint sensors. Hmm! We’ll get a walkthrough of iOS 12 on the new hardware. Lastly, there’s an off chance we’ll see updates to hardware like iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Mini, though we may have to wait until next month for those iPad and PC announcements.
The event starts at __10 am PDT__, or 1 pm on the east coast. We’ll be liveblogging all the action from Apple’s new campus in Cupertino, California and posting live updates as the event unfolds. Come back right here to this post to read our liveblog starting at 9am PDT. Yes, that’s one hour before the main event, but we’ll have a lot to talk about, so we’re getting an early start.
You can watch live video of Apple’s big show in your browser, on any iOS device, or on an Apple TV. Why do we publish a liveblog even though you can watch the event on video? Because we love liveblogs, that’s why. You probably love liveblogs too. So join us here starting at 9 am PDT, 12 noon EDT. This page will switch to our liveblog once we start. Apple’s presentation then begins at 10 am PDT, 1pm EDT.
Apple is gearing up for a revamp of its iPhone lineup, but it'll need to do a lot more to catch its rivals in some of the world's hottest smartphone markets.
The company's signature device has failed to gain a strong foothold in countries like China and India, as well as other markets in Asia, where most of the growth in smartphone sales is coming from.
"If we are just looking at the Western markets then they are all mature, everyone has a smartphone," Kiranjeet Kaur, an analyst at research firm IDC, told CNNMoney. People in developed markets are also waiting longer to upgrade their phones, she added.
"Companies like Apple, they're only going to see slowed growth because of that," Kaur said.
By contrast, Asia offers huge potential. Hundreds of millions of people in the region have never bought a smartphone, but so far Apple has largely missed out on the opportunity.
The iPhone accounts for only 2% of smartphone sales in India and between 8% and 10% in China — the world's two biggest markets — according to industry estimates. It also has a small share of other Asian markets with huge potential, accounting for 5% of sales in Vietnam, 8% in Thailand and just 1% in Indonesia in the past year, according to IDC.
Innovative Chinese rivals
In addition to its perennial rival, South Korea's Samsung (SSNLF), Apple is facing tougher competition from Chinese players such as Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi.
All four have surged ahead of Apple (AAPL) in China and now control more than 80% of that market, according to research firm Canalys. Huawei overtook Apple as the world's second biggest smartphone brand — behind Samsung — earlier this year.
"In recent years Apple has slid quite a lot in the Chinese market," said Canalys researcher Mo Jia. "The very aggressive tech innovation from Chinese brands is changing the high-end landscape."
The trade war could make life even harder for Apple in China, where overall smartphone shipments suffered their biggest decline ever in the first quarter of 2018.
"The biggest risk for Apple in the future is the current China-US conflict," Jia said, adding that tariffs on components could drive its prices even higher.
Too expensive for India
Prices are already Apple's biggest challenge in India, where around 800 million people have yet to experience the internet, and most of them will likely do so through smartphones.
The country is one of the world's most expensive places to buy Apple devices, with increased tariffs pushing the price of an iPhone X to $1,700 earlier this year.
That puts it out of reach of most Indians, who earn less than $2,000 a year on an average.
"People don't even spend so much on their TVs and other consumer durables," said Kaur of IDC.
Apple last year began manufacturing some lower-end devices at a plant in Bangalore to avoid hefty import duties, but its top models like the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 are still shipped in from overseas.
Samsung and Xiaomi, meanwhile, make nearly all their Indian smartphones locally, and have doubled and tripled respectively their manufacturing capacity in the country in recent months. They have carved out a dominant position in the market.
Apple is also losing out among wealthier Indians, its prime target market. China's OnePlus is the leader in high-end smartphones.
"Apple needs to grow as fast as [that] segment," said Tarun Pathak, an analyst at Counterpoint Research. The top end of India's market is growing by 20% a year, Pathak added, compared to 13% globally.
"India is a very critical market," he said.
Low-end iPhones could become more appealing
Wednesday's launch could see some of the latest iPhone features like Face ID brought to some of its lower-end models. That could drive up the price of iPhones in general but may make the cheaper versions more appealing to cost-conscious Asian consumers, said IDC's Kaur.
Apple may also choose to knock down prices of its older models once the new line comes out.
"For consumers who want to be in the Apple ecosystem but do not want to spend that kind of money, it's a good alternative," Kaur said.
Whatever it does, Apple needs to find a way to sell more in Asia.
"To ignore these markets would not be the wisest decision," Kaur added.
-- CNN's Sherisse Pham and Mary McDougall contributed to this report
