Apple’s September event may not have been Apple’s final event of 2026 – another launch could be coming on October 13.

Apple typically has four main event windows each year: a spring event, WWDC in June, the iPhone event in September, and sometimes a further event in October. The company rarely confirms dates far in advance, and there’s no guarantee it will hold an event in every window. That leaves Apple fans – and anyone considering a new Apple device – wondering when the next event will happen and what might be announced.

Fortunately, Apple’s annual schedule is fairly predictable, while reliable rumours often provide additional clues about what’s coming. That means we can make informed estimates about the timing of future keynotes and the products most likely to appear.

Here’s everything we know about the event Apple could hold later in 2026 and beyond.

Apple event calendar 2026: What has Apple launched this year?

Timescale	Event theme	Dates	Products
March	Special Experience	2-4 March	Launched: iPhone 17e, MacBooks Neo, Pro & Air, iPad Air
June	WWDC	June 8	Unveiled plans for: iOS, macOS, other software, AI and Siri
September	iPhone event	September 9	Launched: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Duo, new Apple Watch, AirPods 5
October	Rumored smart-home launch	October 13 (rumored)	Possible: HomePad, HomePod mini, Apple TV
Late 2026	Other possible announcements	Unconfirmed	Possible: Touchscreen MacBook, iPads
Spring 2027	TBC	TBC	Expected: iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, iPhone Air 2

Apple has held three events so far in 2026, although the first was not an event in the traditional sense. On March 4, the company invited select media to hands-on “experiences” in multiple locations. In the run-up to that date, Apple launched several products via press release, including the iPhone 17e, M4 iPad Air, and M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro, M5 MacBook Air and the MacBook Neo.

The second event was WWDC, which began with a keynote on June 8. At the WWDC keynote Apple outlined the upcoming changes to its operating systems, including iOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate.

In August Apple issued press releases to announce the new Mac mini and Mac Studio.

At the September 9 event Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, a foldable iPhone Duo, a new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, and AirPods 5.

Jamf Threat Labs has posted a report on new malware that attacks macOS. The malware installer presents itself as a Zoom installer that actually installs the app, but it also installs an infostealer dubbed CloudSyncD that works in the background to capture data and send it to the attacker.

The installation is presented as an app icon that is dragged to the macOS Applications folder, a common method of installation. However, because the malware lacks the proper signatures, macOS’s Gatekeeper will not allow it to run. To bypass Gatekeeper, the installer window has a background image with instructions for the user on how to override Gatekeeper.

The installation of the app appears legitimate and mounts as a disk image named Zoom laid out to look like any ordinary Mac installer with the application icon on the left and an alias to the Applications folder on the right. However, it also includes user instructions to bypass macOS’ Gatekeeper security,

If CloudSyncD is installed, it monitors and records data that the user has entered. It can send reports to the attackers as frequently as every 8 seconds. CloudSyncD can also be used be the attacker to remotely execute commands.

How to protect yourself from malware

The easiest way to protect yourself from malware is to avoid downloading software from unfamiliar repositories. Apple has vetted software in the Mac App Store, and it is the safest way to get apps. If you prefer not to patronize the Mac App Store, then buy software directly from the developer and their website. If you insist on using cracked software, you will always risk malware exposure.

Never open links in emails or texts you receive from unknown and unexpected sources. If you get a message that looks like it is from an entity that you do business with, check the sender’s email address and inspect the URL carefully. If you see a link or button, you can Control-click it, select Copy Link Address, and then paste it into a text editor to see the actual URL and check it.

Macworld has several guides to help, including a guide on whether or not you need antivirus software, a list of Mac viruses, malware, and trojans, and a comparison of Mac security software.

After years of complaints about its limitations and poor overall performance, Siri finally received its long-overdue AI-centric overhaul with iOS 27. The virtual assistant now has a large language model (LLM) foundation, allowing it to comprehend natural speech and discuss a wider range of topics, uniquely analyze what’s visible on your screen, surface your personal data, and perform in-app actions when prompted.

But while Siri AI undoubtedly addresses many of our main issues with its knowledge, its position in iOS 27, while technically still in beta mode but very much available to everyone, introduces a whole new set of drawbacks. From questionable design decisions to lingering unreliability, the new Siri still has a long way to go.

Stealing the Spotlight

Spotlight Search was once one of the best tools to find any local file, launch apps, define words, run shortcuts, calculate, and much more. It was predictable, and it worked well; you swipe down anywhere on the Home Screen to reveal the search bar, start typing, and on-device results would instantly populate and update as you enter your keywords in real time. That was until Siri AI stole its spot and downgraded the entire system.

As of iOS 27, the same gesture reveals a Search or Ask field powered by Siri. Instead of immediately showing you a list of all relevant, on-device results, it now tends to highlight only one local item and prioritizes relaying your search query to Siri. You still get a button to show all results, but the overall workflow is now unintuitive and time-consuming. I often find myself quickly hitting search to locate something, only for Siri AI to take over and give me something I didn’t want.

I get why Apple decided to merge the two functionalities, but many users agree that Spotlight Search and Siri are two very different tools that serve unique purposes. Taking away Spotlight’s predictability defeats the point of the quick search feature. And don’t get me started on the smaller touch target for the Notification Center.

Writing fools

Spotlight Search isn’t Siri AI’s only new home. iOS 27 also brings Writing Tools under the broader Siri umbrella, degrading the user experience in the process.

Since its initial debut a couple of years ago, I’ve actively relied on the Proofread feature to pinpoint typos and double spaces in my articles. Unlike asking an AI chatbot to proofread, it strictly amends language errors, sparing you from the infamous robotic recommendations and unwanted stylistic tweaks. It’s also less prone to hallucinating or skipping through the text.

With the latest update, Writing Tools are now part of the Write with Siri feature, which prioritizes generating text from scratch rather than simple editing. When I select a passage, the Proofread button doesn’t always show up—and manually asking Siri to proofread the selection gets me a subjective AI chatbot response rather than triggering the objective editing flow.

Even when the native Proofread button appears, its functionality has been botched. The system used to offer arrows to jump between applied edits to review and revert them as needed; I might be missing it, but it’s seemingly gone now, along with the change counter on macOS. So I have to carefully scan the entire text manually to detect the subtly underlined words where edits were made for the final revision. The whole thing is just unintuitive.

Pushy buttons

Siri AI’s takeover can be perceived across the entire system—beyond Spotlight Search and Writing Tools. You’ll notice there’s a new Ask Siri button in context menus all over iOS 27, a design choice that is both intrusive and nonsensical. Siri has a dedicated hardware button, a voice command trigger, and a new universal software gesture; it is accessible anywhere at any time through three distinct methods.

A simple splash screen or onboarding flow informing users about the assistant’s upgraded capabilities would’ve been sufficient for them to learn they can ask Siri about anything now. The same could be said about the new persistent Siri mode in the overloaded Camera app, when Visual Intelligence has long been accessible via the Control Center toggle, Action button, and Camera Control button.

Willful ignorance

Having lived abroad for half a decade, I often come across social media posts written in foreign languages. Prior to Siri AI’s launch, I’d simply its predecessor to have ChatGPT explain what’s on my screen. This would intuitively upload a screenshot to OpenAI’s servers and deliver the response through Siri’s native interface.

With iOS 27, you can still ask Siri for ChatGPT responses, but ChatGPT’s ability to see what’s on your screen is neutered. Given that Siri AI can now handle the task itself, one would shrug it off—except that Siri AI isn’t as smart as OpenAI’s offering.

When I ask Siri AI to analyze foreign text on an image and break down the context, it tends to bring up an instance of Apple Translate, which is exceptionally unreliable at understanding casual, online lingo. So, I need to repeatedly rephrase my prompt and beg Siri AI to eventually agree to analyze the text itself using its knowledge rather than Apple Translate. This adds unnecessary friction and complication to a feature that had long worked smoothly. Siri AI is perfectly capable of handling cultural nuances and foreign slang, and its LLM-powered responses should be the default for this type of request.

Severed servers

Have you missed classic Siri’s “I’m not sure I understand” responses? You’ll be delighted to learn that they live on through Siri AI’s “Something went wrong” error message. While the AI chatbot now does understand most queries, the service frequently gets interrupted and disconnects from Apple’s servers. This often forces you to start over a conversation, which is particularly problematic given that Siri AI cannot recall previous conversations or build and maintain a memory.

Beyond randomly slowing down or failing altogether, the Siri app itself feels half-baked. The interface isn’t as fluid as other native apps, and it sometimes silently defaults back to asking Siri while conversing with the in-app ChatGPT model. Other annoyances include repeatedly mishearing voice commands and asking for clarification on whether I meant X or Y—an issue I never encountered with the old Siri. The app could also use a true voice mode and fewer or more subtle “I’m an AI, please verify info” alerts.

Whatcha say?

The Siri app’s poor performance is even worse when accessing it from your wrist. watchOS 27 infamously dropped support for all Apple Watches older than the Series 9—presumably to ensure fluidity. Nevertheless, Siri AI is almost unusable on all recent models, taking much longer than before to perform basic tasks and often failing completely. Given that complaints are all over the web, this certainly isn’t an isolated bug. Virtual assistants are designed to speed up life and make it easier, and sadly Siri AI is failing at its core purpose.