Apple officials are confirming the rumors that they’re ready to conduct a major media event next month in San Francisco, and the expectation is that new iPhones are on the way.
The giant device maker on Aug. 27 sent around media invitations to the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 9 at the Bill Graham Civic Center in the city. The event kicks off at 10 a.m. PT.
Apple isn’t giving away any details, but already there is a lot of speculation in the industry about what the traditionally closed-mouthed company will unveil next week, with new iPhones being at the top of the list. The next-generation devices—the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus—are expected to be unveiled and to come with a faster processor (the A9), 2GB of memory and an upgraded camera.
There also is the belief that the phones will be made from a particular kind of aluminum, and that they will include a technology called Force Touch, which can sense the force of the user’s touch and respond accordingly. The technology already is in the Apple Watch and some of the newer MacBooks.
iPhones probably won’t be the only devices on the menu, if the rumors are true. This could be a big event. Apple may also take the wraps off the latest iteration of Apple TV that will include an A8 chip, more storage and software that includes an App Store and Siri. Other sites also are mentioning that new iPads may make an appearance, including the iPad Pro, with its larger screen, stylus and split-screen capabilities.
The new device would be entering a tablet market that is slowing in terms of shipments and revenues. IDC analysts this week said they expect global shipments of tablets to fall 8 percent this year over 2014 numbers. Earlier this year, the analysts forecast a 3.8 percent decrease.
At the Apple event, there also could be sightings of such software as iOS9, watchOS 2 and OS X “El Capitan.“
And, of course, we’ll see iOS 9, OS X El Capitan, and watchOS 2, all of which should be ready for primetime release.
Whatever happens, don’t expect Apple officials to publicly release any details before the event itself. The media invitation includes part of Apple’s logo with wavy colorful lines and the tagline of “Hey Siri, give us a hint.”
If you ask Siri, she won’t give much away either. A couple of tries ended up with such answers as “The only hint I can give you right now is a hint of lime. And there’s a big announcement on 9 September,” and “Well, I hear there’s something big happening on September 9.”
For those unable to attend the event, the company will be live streaming the activities. According to the company, the live streaming uses Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming technology, which requires an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch running Safari on iOS 7.0 or later, a Mac running Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X v10.8.5 or later, or a second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.
PC users can access the event online if they are running Edge on Windows 10