Apple’s It’s Show Time event will kick off in a little more than an hour. A few weeks ago, I made an attempt to preview what I thought was going to be announced today. Since then I have been proven wrong, sort of. Since then, Apple seemed to clear the slate of everything hardware related.

Services

News

The event will focus mostly on Apple’s new services. I’ve gone into depth about Apple’s New service in my last preview piece, and nothing has really changed on that front.

Video

Some new information has come out about Apple’s streaming video service though. At the event today, I would expect to see some information about Apple’s attempts at exclusive videos. They’ve poured billions of dollars into making video content, and I’d expect to see some trailers today, and some launch details.

The new information is that Apple is going to revamping the TV App. Apple is going to try to broker streaming services inside the TV similar to what Amazon already does. I think the details will be made clear today, and we will see a revamped TV App.

Games

Another rumor that has picked up steam has been games services. This will be different than GameCenter but might be integrated with the dying Game system.

For a monthly subscription, Apple will allow you to play games for free. This will be focused on paid games and not the free-to-play model that has taken over the app store.

This could be intriguing for gamers. It could improve the quality of games on the iPhone if developers actually get paid to create good games instead of pay-to-win or pay-to-play games.

Just like the other services, I think the story and the price here is what will drive success with this service.

Hardware

In my first piece, I guessed that we would see new iPad hardware, new AirPods, and finally the release of AirPower.

Last week, we got a new iPad Air and Mini, a refreshed iMac, and new AirPods. It’s an interesting feeling going into an Apple event with the hardware deck almost completely clear.

There have been rumors that AirPower has been cleared to manufacture and could be coming soon, so I’m not ruling out that it could be announced in a few hours. However, I feel like it would have made more sense being announced before the AirPods were released. That way, people that were ordering could decide if you want the wireless charging case or not.

There have also been rumors of an updated iPod Touch, which hasn’t seen the light of day yet. It could still be mentioned on stage today. It would be a nice way to show off the video streaming service if it was updated.

We shall see.

Software

Also a sure thing today is the release of iOS 12.2, macOS 10.14.4, and watchOS 5.2.

The new AirPods require the latest version of iOS to enable everything and with them getting into the hands of customers tomorrow, the updates have to come today.

For a refresher on how to update, check out this article.

With the update to iOS 12.2, Apple TVs and recently announced TVs with Homekit integration will tie into the home app. You’ll be able to ask Siri on your phone or HomePod to play videos, episodes, or movies on your TV. I’ll provide more info once the release drops.

Wrap up

So that’s pretty much what the rumors and analysts are saying. Get ready for more monthly fees, and a wave of new tv shows.

Stay tied to the site, and I’ll be providing live updates as they happen, and I’ll also be live tweeting on the sites Twitter account.

See you on the other side!