By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
At long last, Apple’s September 9 event has been confirmed as the company sent out invitations earlier to select media outlets.
All of a sudden, Apple and their expected products to be announced, are trending everywhere and this is only going to get more frenzied as we near the launch event.
The invitation to the 9.9.14 event is uncharacteristically bare. It’s based on a white detail of the Apple logo but with some shades and shadows, very mysterious and subtle. The tagline this time reads, “Wish we could say more.”
The biggest clue as to the magnitude of this event is, of all things, the chosen venue.
While the Flint Center for the Performing Arts, in Cupertino, seems like a sensible enough venue to hold an Apple event, you need to really consider the importance of this particular location to Apple’s history.
Apple’s used the Flint Center for the Performing Arts for major events twice before.
It was here that the original Macintosh was revealed to the world in 1984 and it was also here that Apple kickstarted itself after near bankruptcy by launching the first Bondi Blue iMac around 16 years ago with Steve Jobs returning to the company as iCEO.
The Mac, and the iMac. These two revolutionary announcements literally changed the world, or at the very least, the computing and consumer electronics worlds. For Apple, these two products are beyond legendary.
These products represent two of the most critical transitional periods for Apple. The Mac came as the people’s computer and was aimed at everyone who could afford it, but it’s long list of innovations enabled Apple to survive beyond what it had created with the Apple II.
The iMac, similarly, was a highly innovative product. One that saved Apple during the time when it needed a rallying point, and a totem - the iMac was both. Ushering in “Think Different,” the Internet age, OS X, iDevices, the iMac set the stage for the larger comeback.
Not only has Apple chosen the Flint Center for the Performing Arts, a venue that can take around 2,700 guests, they’ve also reportedly built a three-story structure next-door which is shrouded in complete secrecy.
The structure being built right next to the Flint Centre in Cupertino
Building an adjunct structure for a launch is a first for Apple, who predictably hold iPhone events either in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, or the more intimate auditorium in 4 Infinite Loop, Cupertino.
Now, Apple is going back to the Flint Center for the Performing Arts for the third time in 30 years and anyone who has followed the company, knows that this is both homage and a sign of evolution. Apple is moving on to the next stage in its history.
What’s the adjoining structure for? It could be anything from an expansive product demo area, a concert space for Dr. Dre and friends, or something way bigger.
Sure Deals
The invitation for Apple's iPhone event in 2007
September has become the yearly iPhone event and 2014 will be no different. Consider that it has been seven years since the iPhone was launched and while there has been constant and massive change in the hardware and supporting ecosystems the iPhone has remained recognizable through the years.
This isn’t an ‘s’ year, we will be getting a whole new iPhone, and if the varied reports are correct we’re getting at least two new iPhone models. We got two iPhone models last year, too.
The iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c were the first products to fork the iPhone line in one year. It’s quite possible that the strategy will continue even if the differentiator between the two phones is size rather than materials and pricing.
iOS 8 is sure to break ground in this event and we expect a refresher on the new features. HealthKit and HomeKit are hot ticket items and so are mobile payments.
Some sources are saying that NFC will finally make it to the iPhone but not just as a lame-ass feature for sending files but as a bona-fide payments platform integrating into iTunes (and an estimated 800 million credit card accounts already on that platform). Nobody has cracked mobile payments on a wide scale and NFC has been around for years, perhaps we’ll finally see some progress.
Let’s not forget that iBeacon has also gained a lot of interest from retailers so there could by a symbiotic circle benefitting iOS users where they can receive pertinent information from nearby retailers and also make purchases at will with their devices. Wouldn’t that be something?
We should expect some news on OS X Yosemite, possibly a shipping date and maybe a new Mac or at least some refreshed models in time for the holiday buying season. iPads have historically had their own events, usually in October, so it’s unlikely we’ll get any tablet news.
Leakproof
While various iPhone 6-related leaks have surfaced, mostly questionable components from Asian sources or craftily rendered Photoshop images based on case manufacturer’s models, nothing has come up about Apple’s anticipated wearable device.
What we have are some hints from noted Apple watchers like Daring Fireball’s John Gruber who seems to have a handle on the wearable as well as some of its functionality.
“.. about NFC and a new secure enclave where you can store your credit cards, so you can pay for things at brick and mortar retail stores just by taking out your iPhone, but only if it’s one of the new iPhones.”
“It would be cool, and would make a lot of sense, if the new wearable thing had the same magic payment apparatus.” Gruber adds.
Stay tuned for my coverage live from the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9 where we find our for sure what Apple has in store for us.