Apple's September event: What the wonks are expecting from Wednesday's event

Fanboys and fangirls of the almighty malus, Wednesday at 10 a.m. Apple executives are expected to descend from Cupertino for their latest press event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.  

Apple has been promoting their September press event with the tagline "Hey Siri, give us a hint." And if you ask the iPhone's oracle this question, you'll get a bashful and baffling response (or five) that seems impervious to interpretation.

Nevertheless, the wonks have been reading the tea leaves for us. Here's what Apple's expected to reveal this time around:

iPhone 6s

An iPhone announcement is a pretty solid bet, given that they've announced a new iPhone every fall for years and every year, it seems to pay off. In between major releases, they typically use their annual event to announce minor upgrades, and this is one of the years for one of those not-quite-as-cool announcements.

Several Apple websites, including MacRumors, suggest that the new iPhone is expected to get a new processor and double the phone's base RAM, as well as upgrades to the front and back cameras.

iPhones are also expected to include new gradients in the touch, meaning the amount of force you use to push a button on your phone could produce different results (promising a whole new way for you to screw up telling your phone to do something). You may also soon be granted the option to purchase a phone that's colored rose gold, in case just plain old gold isn't good enough for you.

So go get in line for your nearest Apple Store immediately.

New era of Apple TV?

Many users said Apple TV didn't live up to its original meager promise to revolutionize television, and the streaming device has since been lapped by others like the Roku and the Chromecast, not to mention devices with similar functions built in like smart TVs and many DVD/Blu-Ray players.

It's been a long time since the Apple TV got any significant updates, but it looks like one's coming to offer you more opportunities to stare at a screen. The expected features include a full app store (yay, more chance to buy things!), a touch-based remote significantly different from other remote controls (including a motion sensor), more storage on the device itself — and integration with Siri.

That app store opens up a lot of possibilities. TechCrunch is reporting that a Periscope app is on the way, for instance. There has also been speculation that Apple may use the Apple TV to push into the world of home gaming, using the new app store and that motion-sensing remote. If you're tired of playing Angry Birds on your mobile devices, this could be your salvation.

Rumors of an actual television set from Apple have never come to pass, but there's also talk they could use this device to launch their own streaming service in the not-too-distant future, including original content.

iPad Pro

One of the less impressive but still notable moves for Apple is a new extra large iPad, which MacRumors speculates is expected to come in at 12.9 inches. According to the site, it's seen as a possible shot at the business enterprise market. So if your office has lots of brainstorming meetings, this may be the device your middle management holds up during meetings going forward.

However, longtime Apple/Mac observer John Gruber of Daring Fireball predicts that the iPad Pro will be held off until a separate October event. That's not based on any inside source, but on his reading of Apple's past announcements.

Some of the smaller items that would be discussed at one of these two events, according to Gruber:

• New Apple Watch OS: The slow but intriguing device is adding third-party apps, new watchbands and other accessories.
• Apple Music update: Gruber predicts this could happen at either the September or October event, and will include a musical performance to close one of those events. The free Apple Music streaming service trial for all users ends at the end of September, so it would seem like a good time to talk about the service and where its future lies.
• New Mac hardware and system software: Along with announcing new hardware, like new desktop Macs, an October event could also be a good time to talk about all of the cool stuff that's in the new system software. It was already discussed at an Apple event earlier this year, but both that and the new iOS will be refined at this point, and this could be the time to roll out those enhancements.

We'll be watching whatever happens, and updating you on the latest from Apple once it's announced.