According to those familiar with the matter, pple Inc. will hold a launch party on September 7th to showcase the iPhone 14 range. The event is to roll out the most recent version of a product that has more than 50% of its total sales.
New iPhones are the beginning of a busy fall product year that will include new Macs and iPads with low and high-end features, as well as three Apple Watch models.
Apple updates its flagship product in a difficult time for the sector. The slowdown in smartphone sales is due to consumers’ struggles with inflation and the economy. But Apple appears to be faring better than its peers: The iPhone sold well last quarter, and the company has signaled to suppliers that it doesn’t foresee a dropoff in demand.
Apple Watches are just some of the other products that the Cupertino-based tech company often announces alongside its iPhone. The company usually releases the new iPhone in stores about a week and a half after it’s unveiled, and Apple is expected to stick to that pattern this year. A few retail employees were instructed to get ready for major product releases on September 16.
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New York trade saw Apple gain almost 1%, to $174.54 The stock remains down 2% this year, though it’s climbed back from a much deeper rout in recent months.
The company intends to stream the event online—rather than holding an in-person gathering—continuing an approach it adopted at the start of the pandemic. Apple launches are highly polished affairs, and employees have already begun recording the presentation’s segments over the past few weeks, Bloomberg News has reported.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the event’s timing. Given that the announcement is still about three weeks away, the company’s plans could change, but Apple usually unveils the latest iPhones in the first half of September.
The company held its last event in June to announce its next set of software updates— iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS 9 and macOS Ventura—and invited press and developers to its campus to watch a video of the presentation. That arrangement was part of Apple’s slow shift back to more normal operations, a push that has included a return to the office.
The company informed its corporate employees that they will be working in person three days per week starting Sept. 5th, two days prior to the product announcement.
The standard iPhone 14 will look similar to the iPhone 13, though the company will eliminate the 5.4-inch “mini” version and add a model with a 6.7-inch screen. Apple will be the first company to launch a non-Pro iPhone that has a screen of this size.
For the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple plans to make even more changes. Apple is replacing the notch at the front of the camera with a pill-shaped hole to accommodate Face ID sensors, and a camera-sized hole punch. Users will have slightly more screen area. Additionally, the company will add a faster chip in the iPhone 14 Pro. Apple is retaining the A15 chips from iPhone 13 models in regular iPhone 14 models.
Most significant changes to iPhone 14 Pro will be made to the camera system. This will make it appear slightly bigger to customers. Pro models will receive a 48-megapixel wideangle camera and 12-megapixel ultrawide, telephoto sensors. Apple plans improvements in video recording and battery lifetime.
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For the latest Apple Watches, known as Series 8, Apple will add features for women’s health and a body-temperature sensor. Although the Series 7’s standard model watch will be identical, there will be a Pro version for those who are more active. The watch will feature a bigger display and a rugged titanium case. It also has new fitness tracking features. Apple also plans to release a new Apple Watch SE (its low-cost smartwatch), with a faster chip.
iOS 16 will be available for the iPhones’ next generation, as well watchOS 9 which is the new operating system for the Apple Watch. And the company plans to launch macOS Ventura in October alongside iPadOS, the iPad’s operating system. Due to issues with Stage Manager’s multitasking system, the delay in this software was about one month.
Bloomberg News reports that Apple is currently working to develop a new low-end iPad, with an A14 chip, USB-C port and new iPad Pro models. It’s also looking to launch new Macs before the end of the year as it works on versions of the Mac mini and MacBook Pro with M2-based processors.
Updates with shares at fifth paragraph.
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