I've lost all hope that Apple is going to 'surprise' me in any way with its iPhone 18 Pro event
Surprise and shine. Apple's September 9 launch event tagline doesn't excite me much, and I don't think the products set to be unveiled on that date will (pleasantly) surprise me either.
The September 9 "Surprise and shine" event, of course, might have an entirely different and potentially groundbreaking (in a way) protagonist, but at least for the time being, that doesn't excite me much either, especially after one of the juiciest iPhone Ultra leaks to date proved to be... bogus. But let's start from the beginning.
Apple's marketing is falling off
Quick, can you name me a memorable Apple commercial from the last couple of years or so? I'm not talking about lazy, star-studded product plugs making questionable claims on the AirPods Pro 3's key selling point, mind you, but something with the emotional impact and dramatic pull of the AirPods Pro 2 "Heartstrings" campaign from the 2024 holiday season, for instance.
Apple's September 2025 launch event generated a lot more buzz with its Awe dropping tagline. | Image by Apple
Similarly (or perhaps unrelatedly), the tagline used to build hype around this year's central Apple event feels... dull and uninspired, largely failing (at least as far as I'm concerned) to achieve its desired goal of intriguing and raising the curiosity of the company's fans ahead of what I honestly once expected to be an epic product launch ceremony.
While it's certainly not unusual for Apple to not actually reveal anything of substance about an upcoming device with its event slogans and invites, some of the mottos from the last few years were at least... cool or thought-provoking, teasing big breakthroughs and exciting changes (which were sometimes real and sometimes overhyped).
Recommended For You
Awe dropping. Scary fast. Far out. Peek performance. Unleashed. Hi, Speed. Time flies. By innovation only. Now those were effective taglines, building excitement, promising evolutions (or revolutions), and yet keeping things nice and simple.
How excited are you for Apple's September 9 event on a scale of 1 to 10?
In contrast, "Surprise and shine" doesn't really make me feel... anything, sounding like a generic catchphrase that an Android device manufacturer would adopt for one of its half a dozen boring yearly releases. And there's one more thing.
The (pleasant) surprises might be missing
Now this is by far my biggest problem with the way Apple has chosen to promote its upcoming iPhone 18 Pro launch event. I don't know what the "shine" is all about (maybe a shiny new color or some sort of screen brightness upgrade), but I'm pretty sure the Cupertino-based tech giant doesn't have a lot of legitimately surprising things in store.
Y’all know how you shine things? With a polishing cloth. This is just a PR event for the second gen polishing cloth.
MrTimofTim on Reddit, August 26, 2026
A lot of hardcore Apple fans over on Reddit seem to agree with me, having a field day in mocking the company's "surprise" reference by expecting "Polishing Cloth Pro Max" (ha, good one!) announcements and excessive iPhone Ultra pricing.
Granted, with such pessimistic rumors floating around the interwebs of late, there's definitely a chance the foldable iPhone Ultra will surprise us with an above-expectation initial production run and below-expectation price point, but for some reason, I'm not very hopeful that's going to happen.
Here are more news stories about upcoming Apple devices:
The non-iPhone launches are also unlikely to "surprise" or "shine"
While I'm definitely not very eager to welcome the world's first earbuds with built-in cameras for obvious privacy concerns, I certainly hoped Apple was working on something... interesting for an announcement alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max, and Ultra next month.
The AirPods 4 are almost certainly getting a (boring) sequel soon. | Image by PhoneArena
Now, I'm certainly not expecting these products to be bad, but they could be far too repetitive and potentially even overpriced to save Apple from disappointing its most devoted fans... and critical journalists like myself.
Google Pixel 9 flash sale! Limited time offer!
Save $30 on Google Pixel 9 - Unlocked from Back Market. Discount automatically applied at checkout. Offer ends 30 August 2026 at 23:59.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: