Not all those who wonder are lost

At 1 pm ET today, Apple’s Wonderlust event kicks off at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. And, much like Ron Burgundy, it’s kind of a big deal.

Here’s what the company is expected to unveil:

• The iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max.
• A new Apple Watch/upgrade to the Apple Watch (aka a better processor).
• A better look at the Vision Pro, the company’s mixed-reality headset it debuted earlier this year.
• And, since the new iPhone is expected to get rid of its Lightning charging port in favor of USB-C, rumors have been swirling about the company also unveiling a standalone AirPods USB-C charging case (if they don’t showcase a new AirPods model altogether).

The event comes as Apple is under some pressure

The company’s revenue has dropped for three straight quarters amid an industrywide slowdown in smartphone demand. And should sales slide again in Q4, it would be Apple’s longest losing streak in two decades.

The company blamed currency headwinds for hurting its most-recent financial results (Q3), but also admitted US shoppers aren’t spending on its products the way they used to, Bloomberg reports. Apple sales in the US paled in comparison with China, which CEO Tim Cook called out as a highlight of the quarter.

However – that was before news of the Chinese government banning its officials from using iPhones broke. China’s move wiped ~$200 billion off Apple’s market cap last week, and is expected to boost the country’s domestic smartphone makers, including Huawei, which was previously the world’s biggest smartphone seller before the US trade ban took effect.

But there are some bright spots for Apple. On the company’s Q3 earnings call, it cited advertising and Apple Music as two record-setting categories, and also added that its Apple TV+ partnership with Major League Soccer is performing better than anticipated.

Plus, the upcoming holiday season is typically Apple’s biggest sales period of the year. Meaning we should be able to tell over the next few months whether slowing demand for Apple’s hardware products is nothing more than a short-term blip, or just the new normal.