Enlarge Image Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET Apple Event Apple's Sept. 12 iPhone event has come and gone and -- no surprise -- it was about iPhones. Or mostly anyway. Apple also introduced the Apple Watch Series 4, but what about all those other rumored products that Apple supposedly has in the works? The event was otherwise bereft of product news. Now playing: Watch this: Apple iPhone 2018 event: Editors react Here's a look at what Apple didn't give us at its big event today. Some of these products may still arrive in 2018 -- there are rumors of an October event, or at least some additional product releases. But others may slip to 2019, or never materialize at all. AirPods 2 Earlier in the year rumor had it Apple was developing a pair of higher-end AirPods with noise-cancellation, water resistance and wireless charging. Alas, a second-generation model has yet to materialize. But did Apple tease new AirPods in its Mission: Impossible opening video? Nor did we hear about the AirPods Wireless Charging Case. Last September Apple announced its AirPower wireless charging pad, showing an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods case lying on top of it, charging simultaneously. The company never specified a price or release date for the charging pad (beyond sometime in 2018). But the fact that there was an AirPods case with wireless charging in the works got some people excited. However, neither AirPower nor the AirPods wireless charging case have been released yet. Read: All the AirPods 2 rumors and more Now playing: Watch this: iPhone XS vs. iPhone XR vs. iPhone XS Max: How to choose New iPad Pro When Apple debuted the latest iPad in March, adding Pencil support and a faster processor, it narrowed the gap between the entry-level tablet and its much more expensive Pro siblings. Rumors suggest that the company will look to justify the Pro's premium pricing with a major redesign inspired by the iPhone X's design -- shrinking the bezels, dropping the home button and adding Face ID. Bloomberg reports that we'll see two new models -- an 11-inch and 12.9-inch version. While we didn't get any iPad news at the Sept. 12 event, Apple could very well have a separate iPad event in October. Read: New iPad Pro 2018: All the rumors on specs, price, release date New Macs and MacBooks Sure, we got a new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro just this July. But for years hardcore Apple fans have accused the company of neglecting its computer lineup -- especially the MacBook Air, which has remained essentially unchanged for the better part of a decade. According to the rumors, however, Apple may have a slew of new computing products in the pipeline for 2018 and 2019. Here's what we're hearing: Read: MacBook Air 2018: All the rumors on specs, price, release date Remember that the iMac Pro is less than a year old, so a refresh there is unlikely (but not impossible). And Apple has already signaled that the Mac Pro successor won't be unveiled until 2019. Now playing: Watch this: Apple Watch Series 4: Bigger screen with EKG sensor iPhone SE 2 We'd been hearing persistent murmurs that the iPhone SE -- the most affordable option in Apple's phone lineup since its 2016 debut -- would possibly be refreshed this year. The Frankenstein's monster of Apple's lineup, the SE takes all of the components of an iPhone 6S, minus 3D Touch, and stuffs them into the smaller body of an iPhone 5. Apple gave it a modest refresh in 2017, but a major update is way overdue. Rumors suggested that Apple was on tap to deliver yet one more minor makeover in 2018, giving the iPhone SE 2 the same A10 processor used in 2016's iPhone 7. Instead, Apple killed off the SE altogether, chopping the most affordable iPhone from the line. Will an updated refreshed SE arrive in the spring, as the original did two years ago? And will it return with its miniature 4-inch screen and $349 starting price? We still don't know yet. Read: iPhone SE 2: Rumored specs, leaks, price, release date Enlarge Image Apple Apple's streaming service and new TV shows Apple has nabbed big-name deals with Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, M. Night Shyamalan and Steven Spielberg, among many others. It's also hired two top television executives to spearhead the effort. And the company has been deploying a $1 billion budget in the last year to recruit projects from those high-profile film and television stars. The thing is -- we know almost nothing about how and where these shows will be made available. Might Apple create one bundle to rule them all? Read: Apple's rumored TV service: Everything you need to know Smaller HomePod Apple is said to be mulling a smaller, less expensive HomePod. We were hoping Apple might trot it out at the iPhone XS event but we knew that odds were we wouldn't see it. Rumors have it pegged for 2019. And while the HomePod got some software updates, it didn't get a price cut that many had hoped for. Apple TV Sorry, Apple TV fans, nothing new yet. As a product that rarely gets a major annual update, the rollout of TVOS 12, featuring Dolby Atmos support, is the only change coming to Apple TV 4K in the near-term. Read: Apple TV wishlist: 5 things we'd like to see on Sept. 12 for our best case scenario for new Apple TV announcements. Apple-branded noise-cancelling over-ear headphones Apple owns Beats, which make the Beats Studio3 WIreless noise-cancelling headphones (I like them), but earlier this year we heard rumors that Apple might be working on a premium full-size noise-cancelling headphone of its own. That headphone would not only be designed to compete with its own Beats headphone, but the Bose QuietComfort 35 II (which is due to get an upgrade) and the just-released Sony WH-1000XM3, which is arguably the best noise-cancelling headphone currently available. Alas, no Apple-branded full-size noise-cancelling headphones were announced at the event. Now playing: Watch this: iPhone XS and XS Max: Bigger, faster, plus better battery...<doc-sep>Was anyone else left wanting more? Apple held its annual iPhone event yesterday (Sept. 12), where it showed off its latest phones—minor updates to last year’s models—along with an impressive new Apple Watch. But beyond that, there really wasn’t much else on display. Many analysts, journalists, and leakers who watch the company closely had expected a larger trove of gadgets to be announced. AirPower At last year’s event, Apple announced that it expected to ship a product called AirPower in 2018. It was a custom-designed wireless charging mat for Apple products. In the photos Apple showed at the event, the mat charged three devices at once, including an iPhone X, an Apple Watch, and AirPods in a new wireless-charging case. The company never gave a hard deadline on when AirPower would be available, but it hasn’t given an update on the charging technology since last year’s announcement. AirPower was not mentioned in yesterday’s presentation, and there’s barely any trace of it on Apple’s site, barring a short note on the AirPods page saying it’s “currently unavailable.” New AirPods At the same time Apple announced AirPower last year, it previewed a new case for its wireless earbuds that would be compatible with the new charging mat. That new case didn’t materialize at this year’s event. Some had expected that Apple might also unveil a completely new set of AirPods at this year’s event, in order to address minor complaints with the original version that could be satisfied with a longer battery life or stronger microphone. It did not. A new iPad Pro Apple didn’t release a new iPad Pro over the summer, as it did last year, so there was some expectation that it might announce one at yesterday’s event. Apple has reportedly been working on a new iPad with a larger display, no home button, and the same FaceID security technology found in the iPhone X. Perhaps it’ll debut in the spring, when Apple often has another product launch event, or at a separate event. A new Mac Mini Reports earlier in the summer had suggested that Apple was gearing up to revive its Mac Mini, the squat computer that is Apple’s cheapest desktop (it ships without a monitor, mouse, or keyboard) and hasn’t been refreshed in four years. But alas, fans of Apple’s easiest computer to hide behind computers, under desks, and in cabinets, will have to keep waiting. Maybe forever. A new MacBook Air Along with the Mini, Apple was expected to update the MacBook Air, its cheapest laptop, at the event. But other than a quick mention that macOS Mojave, its latest computer operating system, would be out soon, computers were ignored altogether yesterday. A new Apple TV and content Last year’s update to the Apple TV streaming box was a minor one (adding support for 4K streaming), so there was some hope Apple would update the device more fully this time around. But again, no dice. There had also been talk that Apple was preparing to release some of the original content it’s been amassing and filming over the last year or two, and perhaps even offer it to Apple device-owners for free. But other than a brief mention that the Apple TV now supports Dolby Atmos 4K movies—a new surround-sound audio format—the device was glossed over at the event. Literally anything else The late CEO Steve Jobs had a tradition of announcing “one more thing” at Apple events, saving the best new gadgets for last. Many had hoped Apple would unveil connected glasses, autonomous vehicles, or a myriad of other products it’s been developing with the vast sums of money it spends on research and development each year. But apart from a brief mention of the Apple HomePod speaker’s software, no Apple products other than the phones and watch were discussed at the event. Apple’s big reveal at the event was the iPhone Xr, a more affordable version of the iPhone Xs it unveiled earlier in the presentation. While this might be a boon (paywall) to Apple’s business in emerging markets, it’s not exactly the “one more thing” many were hoping for.<doc-sep>While Apple made no mention of AirPower during today’s event, it looks like Apple may be launching AirPower later in 2018 than originally anticipated. Apple has seemingly updated its website today, removing all mentions of AirPower except in one place. Looking at the AirPods product page, Apple mentions the optional wireless charging case, noting that it is currently unavailable. The charging case is placed on what appears to be the AirPower mat, along with the iPhone X. Previously, the iPhone X’s product page mentioned AirPower, noting that it would be available sometime in 2018. However, with the introduction of iPhone XS and iPhone XR, Apple has removed that reference since iPhone X is no longer being sold. Are you still waiting on AirPower to come out? Let us know in the comments below! iPhone X page used to promise 2018 for AirPower (under the wireless section) but iPhone X retired so that page is gone. The AirPods reference to AirPower only focused on the AirPods wireless charging case. Not sure there’s a real change on that page. — Zac Hall (@apollozac) September 12, 2018 So I don’t read that as AirPower erased from Apple’s website as much as just zero update on progress there. — Zac Hall (@apollozac) September 12, 2018 The AirPods page is just severely not updated. Still shows Apple Watch Series 2 Edition and iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black, both long gone. pic.twitter.com/VOyttXzRvE — Zac Hall (@apollozac) September 12, 2018 (That’s not even the 2017 12-inch MacBook based on the Option key :P) pic.twitter.com/rikYU0qpyB — Zac Hall (@apollozac) September 12, 2018 Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:<doc-sep>With a full year since its last mention onstage at Apple’s last hardware event, Apple’s AirPower wireless charger mat is still missing. At the company’s iPhone event this morning in Cupertino, there was little mention of the wireless charging tech present in the new iPhones, but more surprisingly there was not a single word said about the company’s AirPower wireless charging mat that it teased last year as coming in “early” 2018. Apple even had early AirPower mat samples in the hands-on area of the hardware event last year, but it seems delays have left the device out of this year’s show and pushed it further down the product roadmap. While Apple’s website did not show any details on the AirPower charger, there were details about a wireless charging case for the AirPods “coming in 2018” that is designed for the mat. What’s the problem and why the big delay here? Well, new charging tech is a major liability for any tech company, and Apple has been trying some ground-breaking things with the AirPower charger that definitely seems more complex than just sticking three Qi charger coils into a padded mat and calling it a day. First off, the big deal about AirPower is that it is an evolution of the Qi charger standard, (at least some of) the coils have to be smaller to work with the Apple Watch and new AirPods case and the pad also has to be capable of delivering a roughly full speed charge to the phone, something that is likely a major engineering stress test for thermals. What may have been the biggest challenge as a result is that Apple wants you to be able to charge three devices simultaneously without you having to worry about where they are on the pad. That means that unlike today’s Qi chargers, where you have to scoot your phone around to nudge into a position where it can charge, you truly should be able to just drop something on the pad and get to charging. Some of these issues were detailed in a report from Bloomberg earlier this summer. In past years, Apple had some issues with shipping both the AirPods and HomePod within the time horizon they had detailed earlier, but Apple gave an awful lot of details about this product in its tease last year and it’s peculiar that it didn’t even get an offhand mention at WWDC or today’s event. While one of Apple’s hardware devices shipping with a buggy version of iOS might lead to some late-night patches and customers unable to open an app, dealing with power management flaws is a liability cornucopia. If anything is seriously wrong or the wireless charging mat were to make a mistake detecting a device, the paired devices theoretically could catch fire. Given the challenges, it might make sense that Apple has been a little more careful with this one in the testing phase, but it’s also possible the issues haven’t been with design and are instead just with scaling manufacturing. We don’t really know because Apple has said squat; instead, they chose to announce the device last year, perhaps before they had an accurate scope of the issues left to tackle before shipping it.<doc-sep>
Apple’s big iPhone event has come and gone, with the company highlighting its new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR models along with the updated Apple Watch Series 4. But one thing was conspicuously missing — Apple’s AirPower wireless charger, which was announced at last year’s iPhone event, and still has yet to come out. Today marks the one year anniversary of Apple’s AirPower announcement, which was shown off alongside the iPhone X and Apple Watch Series 3. At the time, Apple promised that the AirPower charging pad would be out sometime in 2018, but in the full year since that original announcement, we still haven’t heard official updates from either its March iPad event or at WWDC. It has been a full year since Apple first announced the AirPower pad Now, Apple does still have a few months left in 2018 to make good on its promise, along with a rumored iPad and Mac event for later in the fall where it could announce the charging pad. But the fact that another iPhone and Apple Watch event has passed AirPower by without an update doesn’t bode well for a potential 2018 release, especially given that those are the products that Apple intends customers to use with the AirPower pad in the first place. More concerning, though, is the fact that Apple has scrubbed almost every mention of the AirPower charger from its website, with barely any images or details to be found (the only still-live mention to the device is on Apple’s legal trademark list and a note on the AirPods page about a “Optional wireless charging case (currently unavailable)”). Without any update from Apple, it’s hard to say why AirPower has taken so long to ship. Perhaps the extra layer of software integration on top of the existing Qi standard is proving more difficult to implement, or maybe whatever tech Apple is using to allow multiple devices to charge has encountered a snag. Technological hiccups are no stranger to Apple with regards to a new product type; the company ended up delaying its HomePod smart speaker by several months, after promising a December 2017 release date (it eventually released in February 2018). It’s possible Apple is looking to avoid a similar issue by over-promising and under-delivering with AirPower, but avoiding the topic entirely doesn’t seem like a great solution. With imitators continuing to pop up all over the place, and a whole host of excellent wireless chargers now available on the market (including ones that are designed specifically for Apple’s own phones), Apple is increasingly late to the wireless charger game. And with no release date in sight for the charging pad, it’s almost certain that Apple will be facing a whole lot more competition when — or even, if — it does manage to ship AirPower.