The launch is crucial for Apple, which has suffered from weak sales of its smartphones and wearables in recent quarters | Photo: Bloomberg
By Mark Gurman
Apple Inc. is planning to hold its biggest product launch event of the year on Sept. 10, when the company will unveil the latest iPhones, watches and AirPods, according to people familiar with the situation.
While a date has not yet been announced, the company is making preparations for that date, which falls on a Tuesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. The unveiling will be followed by the phones going on sale on Sept. 20, in line with Apple’s typical approach in recent years.
A representative for Apple, based in Cupertino, California, declined to comment.
The launch is crucial for Apple, which has suffered from weak sales of its smartphones and wearables in recent quarters. The Sept. 20 launch of the new iPhone 16 would mean that some of the device’s revenue would be booked in the current period (Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter), when the company expects sales to grow about 5 percent from a year ago.
A larger share of sales will come in the next quarter, which coincides with the holiday season. Analysts have forecast revenue will rise 7 percent to $128.4 billion in that period.
The iPhone 16 will have larger screens on its Pro models and new camera features, such as a dedicated button for taking photos. The company is also implementing a suite of artificial intelligence tools called Apple Intelligence. Overall, though, the phones won’t be much different than last year’s models.
Meanwhile, Apple’s wearables are getting bigger changes. Apple Watch Series 10 models will be slimmer but feature larger displays. And Apple is refreshing its AirPods line with new low- and mid-range versions. For the first time, the company will offer noise cancellation on its mid-range AirPods, and the entry-level model will be updated for the first time since 2019.
The company is also planning to start switching its Macs to M4 processors later this year, but Mac updates typically don’t arrive until about a month after the annual iPhone launch.
To that end, the company has stepped up testing of four new Mac models to ensure compatibility with third-party apps, according to developer test logs seen by Bloomberg News. It’s a key step ahead of the new machines’ release. The Macs that did appear are labeled with the identifiers “16.1,” “16.2,” “16.3” and “16.10.”
All of them are models with entry-level versions of the M4 chip. Three of the Macs have 10 total cores in their central processing units, or CPUs, while a low-end version includes eight total cores, a measure of performance. Versions with 10-core CPUs also have 10-core GPUs, or graphics engines. Meanwhile, the model with an eight-core CPU has an eight-core graphics engine. All have either 16 or 32 gigabytes of memory.
The 10-core CPU has the same specs as the iPad Pro’s M4 processor, including four high-performance components and six efficiency-focused cores. But the fourth chip seen in developer logs only includes eight cores total, split between four high-performance components and four efficiency cores.
Bloomberg News has reported that a smaller Mac mini, new MacBook Pros and updated iMacs with M4 chips are all coming later this year.
First published: August 24, 2024 | 8:39 a.m. IS
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.