Apple to Kick Off Product Blitz With iPhone Xs Line and New Watches

Apple will kick off a blitz of new products this week, ending a year of minor updates and setting the technology giant up for a potentially strong holiday quarter, according to Bloomberg.

Through the rest of 2018, the world’s most valuable public company will launch three new iPhones, revamped iPad Pros, Apple Watches with larger screens, a new entry-level laptop with a sharper screen, a pro-focused Mac mini desktop computer and new accessories like the AirPower wireless charger.

The product launches will begin on Wednesday in the Steve Jobs Theater at the company’s Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California. The focus will be on Apple’s latest iPhones. There’ll be a trio of new smartphone models that look and act like the iPhone X from last year.

An upgraded version of the iPhone X with a 5.8-inch screen, but adding a faster processor and upgraded cameras. This device is likely to be called the iPhone Xs, which would follow Apple’s naming approach for new iPhones that look like the previous models but add new bells and whistles.

We can also expect a larger version of iPhone X with a nearly 6.5-inch screen. That would make it one of the largest mass-market phones ever sold and about an inch larger than the screen on the iPhone 8 Plus. To signify the even larger screen, Apple is likely to give the phone a new name: "iPhone Xs Max," according to people familiar with Apple’s internal deliberations.

The third phone, a new low-cost version of the iPhone X, could be the hit of the product roll out. It’ll have a roughly 6.1-inch screen with LCD instead of newer OLED technology. It will also use aluminum instead of stainless steel edges, and come in several additional colors. Apple has considered calling the phone the "iPhone Xr," one of the people said.

The phones may raise the iPhone average sales price, boosting revenue and profit, while expanding the total number of active Apple devices to support sales of accessories and digital services. Still, none of the phones will feature breakthrough new features, with more significant changes planned for next year, the people said.

While the iPhones will be the main attraction, Apple’s growing smartwatch business will see stage time, too. The company plans to introduce new Apple Watches with larger screens that go nearly edge-to-edge, showing the user more information. Beyond phones and watches, Apple is planning a series of other products later this year. Not all of them will be revealed on Wednesday.