On the eve of Apple’s annual announcement of all things new and shiny, Phil Whelan of Radio HK3 and I caught up to chat about what might be, why it might be and what won’t be but gee it would be nice if it was.

The first safe bet is that the newest iPhone will be 6S and not 7. Apple has set up a pattern of alternate year naming devices this being the year of the “s” and next year being the upgrade to a new number (so in 2016 we’ll get the iPhone 7).

This new device will more than likely be slightly thicker than the current one to accommodate some new features, but except for this and possibly a new Rose Gold colour, the phone will be almost identical.

Inside though we should see the launch of “Force Touch”, or perhaps a new name for it, allowing you to apply different levels of finger pressure to the screen in order to get it to different things or access different levels of information or actions.

There also should be an upgraded 12 megapixel rear camera (up from 8) and an ability to shoot 4K video.

In addition to the 6S one of the other major announcements is likely to be the introduction of the iPad Pro a larger form iPad Air that is set to take on Microsoft’s Surface and fill in the gap for those that don’t want a laptop, but do want a larger tablet screen to work on.

The other major announcement should be a revamped Apple TV a plug-in device Apple has had for many years but it has never taken the market by storm. The imperative here is that this is last screen that Apple has to conquer, it has the mobile, the tablet, the computer, the laptop and the watch and needs to plant a firm flag here as well to allow its ecosystem to fully integrate between all devices.

The thought is here that this device, which plugs in to the back of any existing TV, will give you an Apple type experience on your TV full of apps, iTunes type downloads and other Applesque features.

All these are great and necessary for Apple, but two questions remain do we really need a new iPhone? – most probably not for existing users whose phones are still working well, but definitely yes for those that have to have the newest and shiniest Apple toy, but for me the thing that is missing is the “next big things”.

Apple will have to one day take itself into Augmented and Virtual Reality land. It will one day likely push further into the car with on board connectivity and entertainment and maybe even one day by partnering with or building its own motor vehicles.

It also should push more into retail and beef up iBeacon and other in-store opportunities and look at becoming a greater force in the Internet of Things.

Far be it for me to tell Apple, the worlds biggest brand and seller of 6 iPhones every second, but I would love to see them take up their old mantle and WOW us with their ingenuity and offerings, instead of just bringing out the expected.

I don’t for a minute think they are going to become irrelevant or unnecessary, but 9 years ago Nokia was the default global mobile phone and we were still being wowed and lining up to buy Microsoft’s’ newest, and always flawed, Windows which we bought for $300 plus, installed and immediately began to complain about, but use.

Come on Apple, as much as we love what you’ve done for us, bring it on – let’s go big and bring is some really new wicked cool fully sick tech toys.

Have a listen now and then share your thoughts on what you’d love to Apple to bring to market.

Update 10 September 2016: All’s good, announcement made and no real surprise – yeah/yawn!