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Apple Expected to Unveil Next Generation of iPhones as Company Tries to Reverse Recent Sales Slump

A general view of iPhone 14 models in an Apple store at a mall in Beijing, China, 07 September 2023. (EPA)
A general view of iPhone 14 models in an Apple store at a mall in Beijing, China, 07 September 2023. (EPA)
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Apple Expected to Unveil Next Generation of iPhones as Company Tries to Reverse Recent Sales Slump

A general view of iPhone 14 models in an Apple store at a mall in Beijing, China, 07 September 2023. (EPA)
A general view of iPhone 14 models in an Apple store at a mall in Beijing, China, 07 September 2023. (EPA)

Apple is expected to take the wraps off its next iPhone on Tuesday during what has become an annual late summer rite aimed at giving more people more reasons to buy the technology trendsetter’s marquee product.

The showcase at Apple's Cupertino California, headquarters comes as the company is mired in a mild slump that has seen its sales drop from last year in three consecutive quarters — with management signaling another downturn is likely during the current quarter that will be capped with the release of its iPhone 15 lineup. The malaise is a key reason Apple's stock price has dipped by nearly 10% since mid-July, dropping the company's market value below the $3 trillion threshold it reached for the first time earlier this summer.

As has been case with Apple and other smartphone makers, the next model isn't expected to make any major leaps in technology. The array of iPhone 15 choices, likely to range from lower-priced basic models to more expensive premium versions, are expected to consist of mostly incremental advances to the device's chips, battery and cameras.

The basic iPhone 15 models also may be redesigned to include a shape-shifting cutout on the display screen that Apple calls its “Dynamic Island” for app notifications — a look that was introduced with last year's Pro and Pro Max devices.

If the rumor mill pans out, this year's iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max may feature a periscope-style telephoto lens that will improve the quality of photos taken from far distances. The telephoto lens could boast a 6x optical zoom, which would still lag the 10x optical zoom on Samsung's premium Galaxy S22 Ultra, but would be a significant upgrade from the 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

The improved camera is one of the reasons Apple is also expected to raise the prices of the Pro and Pro Max. The iPhone 14 Pro starts at $1,000 while the Pro Max starts at $1,100. Analysts think the iPhone 15 versions of those models may cost an additional $100 to $200, testing how much consumers are willing to pay for the devices at a time when post-pandemic inflation has been squeezing more household budgets.

One of the biggest anticipated changes that Apple is expected to announce is a new way to charge the iPhone 15 models and future generations. The company is expected to switch to the USB-C cable standard that is already widely used on many devices, including its Mac computers and many of its iPads.

Apple is being forced to start phasing out the Lightning port cables that it rolled out in 2012 with the release of the iPhone 5 because of a mandate that European regulators are imposing in 2024. It's unclear whether Apple will initially limit the switchover to USB-C ports to models made specifically for the European market or make the change worldwide.

If Apple decides it's time to move away from Lightning port cables throughout the world, the transition may not be too inconvenient for most consumers. That's because USB-C cables already are so widely used on a range of computers, smartphones and other devices that many people may already own them. The shift to USB-C cables may even be a popular move since that standard typically charges devices more quickly and also offers faster speeds for data transfers.

Besides its new iPhones, Apple also typically uses this annual showcase to unveil its next generation of smartwatches — a product that made its debut nearly a decade ago. The arrival of the new iPhones also sets the stage for the next version of the software that powers the device.

That operating system, iOS 17, will be available as a free download to previous generations later this month and will include new features such as the ability to read a transcription of a message being left on an unanswered call in real time with an option of deciding to talk to the person on the line before the voicemail is finished.

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One Tech Tip: Here's What You Need to Do Before and After Your Phone is Stolen or Lost

FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
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One Tech Tip: Here's What You Need to Do Before and After Your Phone is Stolen or Lost

FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Phones hold so much of our digital lives — emails, social media and bank accounts, photos, chat messages and more — that if they ever get stolen or go missing, it can cause major disruption beyond just the loss of a device.
In some places, phone thefts have surged so much it's now an everyday problem, with thieves on electric bikes snatching them out of pedestrians' hands, swiping them off restaurant tables or pickpocketing them on the subway, The Associated Press said.
In Britain, where 200 phones are stolen every day in “snatch thefts,” the government has pledged to crack down on the crime and is meeting with tech companies and device makers to come up with solutions.
Here are steps you can take before and after your phone goes missing:
Basic protections There are things you can do to make it less painful if your phone is stolen. Because some of these features are more technical in nature, people often overlook them.
Lock down as much as you can. At a minimum, require a password or biometric scan to unlock the device. You can also add similar requirements to important individual apps — like your banking account, WhatsApp or Signal — to protect your finance or chats from thieves.
Also, activate the find my device feature, which is available for both iOS and Android. Samsung also offers its own service called SmartThings Find.
You'll probably have lots of precious photos saved on your camera roll. It's a good idea to back them up, along with contacts, calendar items and other files. Google and Apple offer cloud-based backup services, although the free versions have limited storage space. You can also back up your files to an external hard drive, memory card or a laptop.
Some police forces and phone companies advise turning off message previews, which prevents thieves trying to break into your accounts from seeing reset or login codes when the phone is locked. To do this on an iPhone, for example, go to the notifications section of your settings menu, and tap Show Previews.
Turn on newer features Recent iOS and Android updates include a number of new functions designed to make thefts less attractive.
IPhone users can turn on Stolen Device Protection, which makes it a lot harder for phone thieves to access key functions and settings. Many thieves will want to wipe the data off and reset so they can resell it, but with this feature on, they'll need a face or fingerprint scan to do so. Apple also recently updated its “ activation lock ” feature to make it harder for thieves to sell parts from stolen phones.
Android phones, meanwhile, can now use artificial intelligence to detect motion indicating someone snatched it out of your hand and is racing away on foot or a bike, and then lock the screen immediately. And there's a feature called Private Spaces that lets you hide sensitive files on your phone.
Jot down your device number Take note of your phone's serial number, also known as an IMEI number. It can link you to the phone if it does eventually get recovered. Call it up by typing (asterisk)#06# on your phone's keypad. If you’ve already lost your phone you can also find it in other places like the box it came in.
If its stolen If you're unlucky enough to have your phone stolen, notify police. Call your insurance company if you have a policy that covers the device. Inform your phone company so they can freeze your number and issue a replacement sim card or esim. Notify your bank so they can watch out for suspicious transactions.
Tracking your device Try to locate your phone with find my device feature. For iPhones, go to iCloud.com/find from a web browser while Android users should head to www.google.com/android/find. Samsung also has its own service for Galaxy phones.
These services will show your phone's current or last known location on a map, which is also handy if you’ve just lost track of it somewhere in the house. Apple says even if a phone can't connect to the internet or has been turned off, it can use Bluetooth to ping any nearby Apple devices using the same network behind its AirTags tracking devices. Google says newer Pixel phones can be located “for several hours” after they've been turned off using similar technology.
You can get the phone to play a sound, even if it’s on silent. You can also put the phone in lost mode, which locks it and will display a message and contact details on the screen for anyone who finds it. Lost mode on iOS also suspends any Apple Pay cards and passes.
If the device shows up in an unfamiliar location on the map, and you suspect it has been stolen, experts say it's better to notify police rather than trying to get it back yourself.
Cybersecurity company Norton says, “Confronting a thief yourself is not recommended."
Final steps If you can’t find your phone, there are some final steps to take.
Log yourself out of all your accounts that might be accessible on the phone, and then remove it from your list of trusted devices that you use to get multi factor authentication codes — but make sure you can get those codes somewhere else, such as email.
Then, as a last resort, you can erase the phone remotely so that there's no chance of any data falling into the wrong hands. However, take note: Apple says that if the iPhone is offline, the remote erase will only happen the next time it comes back online. But if you find the phone before it gets erased, you can cancel the request.
Google warns that SD memory cards plugged into Android phones might not be remotely erased. And after the phone has been wiped, it won't show up on the Find My Device feature.