Apple adds ~37 hardware identifiers ahead of Surprise and Shine
Aaron Perris spotted nearly 40 new Apple backend hardware IDs — including seven iPhone19,* strings — less than a day before the September 9 event.
Less than a day before Apple’s September 9 “Surprise and shine” event, the company’s backend appears to be stocking new product identifiers.
As spotted by Aaron Perris and reported by 9to5Mac, Apple has added nearly 40 new hardware identifiers spanning iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watches, Apple TV, and HomeAccessory entries. Perris’s list includes seven iPhone19,* strings — one more than the six models usually counted in the full iPhone 18-generation rumor set.
What’s on the list
According to the 9to5Mac write-up of Perris’s findings, the new identifiers break down roughly as:
- 7 iPhone entries (
iPhone19,1throughiPhone19,7) - 9 Mac entries (
Mac17,*andMac18,*) - 8 iPad entries
- 9 Apple Watch entries
- 1 Apple TV entry
- 3 HomeAccessory entries
Most of those strings cannot yet be mapped to named products. 9to5Mac notes the extra iPhone identifier could be a regional or cellular variant of an already-rumored model rather than a seventh distinct device.
How that lines up with Wednesday’s rumored slate
Current reporting still points to three iPhones on stage Wednesday — iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max plus the foldable — with the rest of the 18-generation line expected later. Watch refreshes (Series 12 / Ultra 4), a possible new Apple TV, and longer-horizon Home / Mac / iPad projects are among the products 9to5Mac says could eventually match some of the new IDs.
Treat the mapping as inferred, not confirmed: backend identifiers are a preparation signal, not an announcement. Apple has not commented.
What to watch at the keynote
Stream details are in our how to watch Surprise and Shine guide (10 a.m. Pacific / 1 a.m. HKT Thursday). After the keynote, the useful check is which of these identifiers — especially the seventh iPhone string and the HomeAccessory trio — show up in public model pages versus staying reserved for later 2026 / early 2027 launches.
Source: 9to5Mac — Apple adds 37 hardware identifiers ahead of ‘Surprise and Shine’ event, via Aaron Perris.