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Tim Cook
Source: Apple

Apple is holding its annual iPhone event on Tuesday, the company’s seventh virtual launch in a row due to the ongoing pandemic. The company is expected to introduce new iPhones and updates to its AirPods and Apple Watch, according to analysts.

Apple’s hype-filled fall launches are a signature quirk of the company. They garner worldwide media attention, millions of viewers on YouTube and Apple’s website, and set the stage for a holiday season marketing blitz when Apple’s sales are the highest.

All of Apple’s product segments have been on a tear this year as people continue to work from home. Last quarter, iPhone revenue was up 50% year-over-year, Mac revenue was up 16% year-over-year and iPad revenue was up 12% year-over-year. Its “other products,” business which includes devices like watches and AirPods, was up 40% year-over-year. Apple can keep the momentum going with a fresh slate of new products ahead of the holidays.

Last year, due to Covid, Apple revealed its new watches in September and then followed that event with an October iPhone 12 event. The iPhone 12 introduced an all-new design and 5G.

New iPads and MacBooks Pro laptops are due for an update this fall, too. It’s unclear whether Apple will pack all of its fall launches into one release event or if it will spread them out over multiple streaming events as it did last fall.

Here’s what Apple could launch on Tuesday.

iPhone

iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Todd Haselton | CNBC

Apple’s most important product is the iPhone, accounting for half of Apple’s 2020 sales. The company has announced new models every September since 2012, until last year when iPhones were revealed in October.

In 2020, Apple released four iPhone models: a smaller $599 iPhone 12 mini, the $829 iPhone 12, the higher-end $999 iPhone 12 Pro and the $1,2099 iPhone 12 Pro Max. All of the iPhone 12s came with 5G connectivity and a new, more squared-off design.

Expect this year’s lineup to be similar to last year’s with the same screen sizes and prices. Research from TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a leading Apple analyst, suggests the big change this year could be a smaller notch cutout at the top of the iPhone’s screen, which holds the device’s facial recognition cameras. The size of the notch has remained the same since it was introduced in 2017.

The new iPhones could also have bigger batteries and a slightly heavier weight thanks to a new internal-space-saving design, according to Kuo. In previous years, new iPhones have come with camera and processor upgrades, and that’s almost certain to happen this year, according to Kuo.

We don’t know yet what Apple will call the new iPhones. Apple has named some previous devices “S” devices, which signify that they mainly have internal changes, which would fit in with this year’s expectations. That means it could be called the iPhone 12s, or it could be named the iPhone 13 if Apple decides the changes are enough to warrant it. We don’t know yet.

Apple Watch

Apple Watch Series 6 in blue
Todd Haselton | CNBC

Apple has released new Apple Watch models every September since 2016. It’s a key product in Apple’s wearables business, which accounted for 11% of Apple’s 2020 sales.

Last year, Apple introduced the high-end Series 6 and the mid-range Apple Watch SE. This year’s high-end Apple Watch is likely called the Apple Watch Series 7. Kuo predicted last year that the 2021 models would be a “significant form factor design change.”

The design will also include a slight increase in screen size, according to Bloomberg News, which would be equivalent to 16% more pixels on the watch’s display. Bloomberg said Apple will introduce new watch faces to take advantage of the larger screens, including one that would allow a user to see all 24 time zones simultaneously.

Some Apple Watch models may be in short supply due to production issues. Nikkei Asia said this month Apple delayed manufacturing because of assembly challenges. The report also suggested Apple could add blood-pressure sensing this year, but The Wall Street Journal said and Bloomberg have said the feature won’t come this year. Apple declined to comment on Watch production.

In past years, when Apple has had issues producing millions of devices ahead of a launch, it delayed the release date by weeks or months after the launch presentation. In 2017, for example, it announced the iPhone X in September but didn’t ship it until November.

AirPods

A man shows AirPods Pro at an Apple store on East Nanjing Road on October 30, 2019 in Shanghai, China. Apple’s new AirPods Pro with active noise cancellation are on sale on October 30 in China.
Wang Gang | VCG | Getty Images

AirPods are a key component of Apple’s wearables business, which accounted for over $30 billion in annual revenue in 2020, a 25% increase over the year before.

Although the product is growing in importance to Apple, the company hasn’t launched new AirPods since October 2019 when it introduced the higher-end AirPods Pro with a new design and noise canceling. The most recent regular $159 AirPods, without noise canceling, were announced in March 2019.

In a note to investors over the weekend, Kuo said Apple will launch new AirPods 3. He said Apple may continue to sell the current AirPods at a lower price. The re-design will likely make the AirPods look more like AirPods Pro, with a wider case and shorter stems, according to Bloomberg.

iPad

The 5th generation iPad mini
Todd Haselton | CNBC

If Apple announces new iPads, it will emphasize how important the product has become for the company as the Covid-19 pandemic forced people to work and learn from home and driving a boost in computer sales.

In the three quarters reported so far in Apple’s fiscal 2021, the company has reported $23.6 billion of iPads revenue, over a 39% increase from the same period last year.

Apple last updated the iPad Air, a mid-range option, with an edge-to-edge screen in September 2020. Apple’s also updated the chip in its least expensive iPad, a $329 tablet which it simply calls iPad, at the same event. Those are due for a refresh this fall, though it’s unclear if that will happen on Tuesday or at a second event. But the iPad Mini, last refreshed in March 2019, is most overdue for a refresh.

The iPad Mini could be getting a redesign by the end of the year to make it look more like its siblings, according to Bloomberg. The report said it won’t have a home button and will have a more square design like Apple’s iPad Air and Pro. That means it could have a fingerprint reader in the power button like the iPad Air, or Face ID like the iPad Pro.

Everything else

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, speaks during an Apple Event on April 20th, 2021.
Source: Apple Inc.

This is a product event, so don’t expect any commentary from Tim Cook on recent controversies including its plan to scan iCloud uploads for illegal material, the recent mixed decision in the App Store lawsuit against Epic Games, or thoughts on the company’s decision to delay a return to in-office work until next year.

However, Apple sometimes uses its iPhone launches to highlight non-product projects the company is working on, such as its efforts to become carbon neutral across its supply chain in the next 10 years.

If Apple talks about its climate efforts, expect VP Lisa Jackson to address the audience. Past events also have included musical guests or celebrity appearances.

Apple sometimes releases new services at fall launches, such as Apple One, its bundle of subscription services, which launched last year. But the big update to iOS is announced in June, at the company’s developer conference, and is typically released to everyone in the fall.

There’s another wildcard. Apple’s biggest, fastest MacBook Pro laptop, the 16-inch model, hasn’t been updated since November 2019, and still sports Intel processors even as the company moves to its own chips in laptops and desktops.

However, in the past decade, Apple hasn’t launched new Mac computers at the same event as new iPhones. There may be a separate event in October or November if new Macs are in the fall pipeline.

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Google hires Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, others in latest AI talent deal

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Google hires Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, others in latest AI talent deal

Chief executive officer of Google Sundar Pichai.

Marek Antoni Iwanczuk | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Google on Friday made the latest a splash in the AI talent wars, announcing an agreement to bring in Varun Mohan, co-founder and CEO of artificial intelligence coding startup Windsurf.

As part of the deal, Google will also hire other senior Windsurf research and development employees. Google is not investing in Windsurf, but the search giant will take a nonexclusive license to certain Windsurf technology, according to a person familiar with the matter. Windsurf remains free to license its technology to others.

“We’re excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf’s team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding,” a Google spokesperson wrote in an email. “We’re excited to continue bringing the benefits of Gemini to software developers everywhere.”

The deal between Google and Windsurf comes after the AI coding startup had been in talks with OpenAI for a $3 billion acquisition deal, CNBC reported in April. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move ratchets up the talent war in AI particularly among prominent companies. Meta has made lucrative job offers to several employees at OpenAI in recent weeks. Most notably, the Facebook parent added Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead its AI strategy as part of a $14.3 billion investment into his startup. 

Douglas Chen, another Windsurf co-founder, will be among those joining Google in the deal, Jeff Wang, the startup’s new interim CEO and its head of business for the past two years, wrote in a post on X.

“Most of Windsurf’s world-class team will continue to build the Windsurf product with the goal of maximizing its impact in the enterprise,” Wang wrote.

Windsurf has become more popular this year as an option for so-called vibe coding, which is the process of using new age AI tools to write code. Developers and non-developers have embraced the concept, leading to more revenue for Windsurf and competitors, such as Cursor, which OpenAI also looked at buying. All the interest has led investors to assign higher valuations to the startups.

This isn’t the first time Google has hired select people out of a startup. It did the same with Character.AI last summer. Amazon and Microsoft have also absorbed AI talent in this fashion, with the Adept and Inflection deals, respectively.

Microsoft is pushing an agent mode in its Visual Studio Code editor for vibe coding. In April, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said AI is composing as much of 30% of his company’s code.

The Verge reported the Google-Windsurf deal earlier on Friday.

WATCH: Google pushes “AI Mode” on homepage

Google pushes "AI Mode" on homepage

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Nvidia’s Jensen Huang sells more than $36 million in stock, catches Warren Buffett in net worth

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Nvidia's Jensen Huang sells more than  million in stock, catches Warren Buffett in net worth

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, holds a motherboard as he speaks during the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, on June 11, 2025.

Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unloaded roughly $36.4 million worth of stock in the leading artificial intelligence chipmaker, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The sale, which totals 225,000 shares, comes as part of Huang’s previously adopted plan in March to unload up to 6 million shares of Nvidia through the end of the year. He sold his first batch of stock from the agreement in June, equaling about $15 million.

Last year, the tech executive sold about $700 million worth of shares as part of a prearranged plan. Nvidia stock climbed about 1% Friday.

Huang’s net worth has skyrocketed as investors bet on Nvidia’s AI dominance and graphics processing units powering large language models.

The 62-year-old’s wealth has grown by more than a quarter, or about $29 billion, since the start of 2025 alone, based on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. His net worth last stood at $143 billion in the index, putting him neck-and-neck with Berkshire Hathaway‘s Warren Buffett at $144 billion.

Shortly after the market opened Friday, Fortune‘s analysis of net worth had Huang ahead of Buffett, with the Nvidia CEO at $143.7 billion and the Oracle of Omaha at $142.1 billion.

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The company has also achieved its own notable milestones this year, as it prospers off the AI boom.

On Wednesday, the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker became the first company to top a $4 trillion market capitalization, beating out both Microsoft and Apple. The chipmaker closed above that milestone Thursday as CNBC reported that the technology titan met with President Donald Trump.

Brooke Seawell, venture partner at New Enterprise Associates, sold about $24 million worth of Nvidia shares, according to an SEC filing. Seawell has been on the company’s board since 1997, according to the company.

Huang still holds more than 858 million shares of Nvidia, both directly and indirectly, in different partnerships and trusts.

WATCH: Nvidia hits $4 trillion in market cap milestone despite curbs on chip exports

Nvidia hits $4 trillion in market cap milestone despite curbs on chip exports

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Tesla to officially launch in India with planned showroom opening

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Tesla to officially launch in India with planned showroom opening

Elon Musk meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Blair House in Washington DC, USA on February 13, 2025.

Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images

Tesla will open a showroom in Mumbai, India next week, marking the U.S. electric carmakers first official foray into the country.

The one and a half hour launch event for the Tesla “Experience Center” will take place on July 15 at the Maker Maxity Mall in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, according to an event invitation seen by CNBC.

Along with the showroom display, which will feature the company’s cars, Tesla is also likely to officially launch direct sales to Indian customers.

The automaker has had its eye on India for a while and now appears to have stepped up efforts to launch locally.

In April, Tesla boss Elon Musk spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss collaboration in areas including technology and innovation. That same month, the EV-maker’s finance chief said the company has been “very careful” in trying to figure out when to enter the market.

Tesla has no manufacturing operations in India, even though the country’s government is likely keen for the company to establish a factory. Instead the cars sold in India will need to be imported from Tesla’s other manufacturing locations in places like Shanghai, China, and Berlin, Germany.

As Tesla begins sales in India, it will come up against challenges from long-time Chinese rival BYD, as well as local player Tata Motors.

One potential challenge for Tesla comes by way of India’s import duties on electric vehicles, which stand at around 70%. India has tried to entice investment in the country by offering companies a reduced duty of 15% if they commit to invest $500 million and set up manufacturing locally.

HD Kumaraswamy, India’s minister for heavy industries, told reporters in June that Tesla is “not interested” in manufacturing in the country, according to a Reuters report.

Tesla is looking to recruit roles in Mumbai, job listings posted on LinkedIn . These include advisors working in showrooms, security, vehicle operators to collect data for its Autopilot feature and service technicians.

There are also roles being advertised in the Indian capital of New Delhi, including for store managers. It’s unclear if Tesla is planning to launch a showroom in the city.

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