News

What To Expect At Apple’s Upcoming “Wonderlust” Event

Tuesday’s big event will include a new range of iPhones, Apple Watches, and more.

Published

3 years ago

September 10, 2023

Nour Nasir

Apple

Even though we’re all pretty used to Apple’s yearly iPhone reveals, it’s hard not to get excited when the Cupertino company drops the date for its annual fall press conference.

This year, the September 12 event will be known as “Wonderlust” and will herald the arrival of the latest iPhone 15 series, comprising the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Along with new smartphones, the electronics giant may announce a slew of other products, though pundits are reasonably confident that we can only expect minor Apple Watch and Airpod upgrades.

Here’s what we know so far:

iPhone 15 Models

iphone 15 models

The biggest news about this year’s iPhone 15 upgrade is that all models will likely lose their Lightning Connectors in place of USB-C. Apple will almost certainly tout the benefits of the industry-standard connector, but the reality is that the European Union has forced the company to comply with its legislation on electronic waste.

Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that only the higher-end Pro models will get the faster USB-C data transfer speeds and 35W charging, with “lesser” models throttled to USB 2.0 levels.

Meanwhile, the screen sizes of the various devices will likely remain the same as last year’s models. That means a 6.1-inch screen for the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro and 6.7-inch displays for the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max (which may be renamed “Ultra”). ProMotion 120Hz variable refresh rates will almost certainly remain exclusive to the high-end models.

Dynamic Island — the display cutout that premiered on the iPhone 14 Pro models — is expected to carry over to all handsets for the iPhone 15. However, Pro models could receive a premium upgrade in the form of a titanium chassis with thinner screen bezels.

We’ve also seen leaks of dummy iPhone 15 handsets in the last few days. These replicas are used by case manufacturers to produce products of the correct size before the launch of the real thing. So far, journalists have noticed rounded corners that give an “Apple Watch look” to the iPhone 15. Meanwhile, Pro models also look like they will benefit from a programmable Apple-watch-esq “Action Button” that will replace the mute switch.

Regarding camera upgrades, we expect iterative changes to this year’s phones. However, many experts believe that the iPhone 15 Pro Max (or Ultra) will sport a brand-new periscope lens with an optical zoom that doubles the capability of the existing model.

Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra And AirPods

apple watch series 9 and apple watch ultra

As for the rest of Apple’s lineup, we’re expecting only minor updates. It’s doubtful we’ll see new iPads or Macs, but Apple Watches will likely receive a slight processor and feature spec bump, while Airpods may be upgraded to USB-C to match the new iPhones.

Software Updates

new ios 17

One final thing worth sticking around for will be Apple’s software announcement. We expect to hear details of iOS 17, WatchOS 10 and perhaps even iPadOS 17.

iOS 17 will include a new StandBy mode, voicemail transcriptions, FaceTime video voicemails, contact posters, NameDrop and more. WatchOS 10 will see a more significant update with big changes to the control scheme and a customizable stack of easy-to-view widgets.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.