Imagine an iPhone. But slightly bigger. And slightly faster. Okay, now add another button to the side. Make it gold. You in?

Apple’s next event is on Monday, and the rumors and reports have been swirling for months about what we will and won’t see. New iPhones are a safe bet. New Apple Watches seem to be on the docket, and there’s strong evidence we’ll get some new AirPods, too. There’s even some smoke suggesting a new Mac Mini is in the offing... but that’s probably coming a bit later.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we discuss all the rumors, reports, speculation, and blatant wishful thinking surrounding the event. We talk a lot about cameras because that’s frankly mostly what iPhones are for now, and we talk a lot about AI because that’s what Apple wants iPhones to be for going forward.

Once we finish with Apple, we talk about the gadget news of this week, which is all the stuff coming out of IFA. It’s a big year for phones, laptops, smart home stuff, and much more, and it’s an especially big year for wild new ideas about how screens are supposed to work. We dig into all of what’s happening in Germany this year.

Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about Verizon’s boomerang purchase of Frontier, Snap’s turn toward in-your-face ads, Concord’s brutal flop, and a new way to make money in the fediverse. Turns out the business of the internet, no matter which part of the internet you’re working on, is complicated.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with Apple:

• Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event is set for September
• Apple’s iPhone 16 event: how to watch and what to expect
• Apple’s rumored Mac Mini redesign may ditch the USB-A port
• Is our long FineWoven nightmare almost over?
• Ted Lasso could come back for a fourth season
• From MacRumors: What Not to Expect at Apple Event on September 9: ‘It’s Glowtime’

And on IFA gadgets:

• IFA 2024: all the news from the big Berlin tech show
• The Remarkable Paper Pro is as outrageous as it is luxurious
• Honor’s superthin foldable is another cool phone the US won’t get
• TCL’s new Nxtpaper phones have a dedicated button for maximum monochrome
• The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is TCL’s new Nxtpaper phones have a dedicated button for maximum monochrome
• Our first official look at Huawei’s tri-fold.
• Acer’s first handheld gaming PC is the Nitro Blaze 
• DJI’s $199 Neo selfie drone is going to be everywhere
• Acer’s Project DualPlay concept laptop has a pop-out controller and speakers
• Acer’s 14-inch laptops claim 24 hours of battery life from Intel, Qualcomm, or AMD
• Qualcomm’s new eight-core Snapdragon X Plus makes these Windows laptops cheaper
• IFA 2024: hands-on (and off) with Lenovo’s Auto Twist AI PC concept
• Intel strikes back against Windows on Arm

And in the lightning round:

• Nilay Patel’s pick: Verizon looks to expand Fios with $20 billion purchase of Frontier
• David Pierce’s pick: Snapchat to put ads next to chats with friends
• Alex Cranz’s pick: Concord was worse than bad — it was forgettable
• Nilay’s other pick: Sub.club is here to help the fediverse make money