Apple is promising something huge at next week's special event.
Typically it doesn't spend much time teasing product announcements beyond cryptic invitations to the press. But on Thursday, Apple posted a countdown clock for its next product announcement on Sept. 9.
Yes, Apple has streamed its last few events, but this is the only time in recent memory that it has teased one in full force. Apple CEO Tim Cook chimed in Thursday afternoon:
Apple - Live - Countdown to the Apple Special Event. Wish I could say more. I hope you can join us. http://t.co/2Iudkgv8NW
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 4, 2014
Then there's the giant temporary building it's constructing next to the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, where the event will be held. It's the same location Steve Jobs unveiled the Mac. The structure is big enough to fit a gymnasium.
Why all the fuss?
Sept. 9 will be when Apple kicks off what VP Eddy Cue previously called"the best product pipeline" he's seen in his 25 years at Apple. It's going to be the initial batch in the mother lode of new Apple gadgets.
Apple hasn't released a single new product this year, save for some minor updates to a few MacBook models. Instead, it's waiting until next week to start packing everything into the fall.
Based on media and analysts' reports, the company is expected to announce two new iPhones with bigger screens (one with a 4.7-inch screen and another with a 5.5-inch screen), a wearable computing device, and a mobile-payments system.
Apple's iPhones are expected to provide a mobile-payment system that will blow competitors such as PayPal out of the water, thanks to its fingerprint sensor with near field communication technology and deals with major credit card providers.
Details about Apple's wearable computer, which people have called the iWatch, were recently detailed by Brian X. Chen of The New York Times.
Specifically:
- In terms of software, the iWatch will integrate heavily with new features Apple introduced in iOS 8. This includes HealthKit, which is Apple's new platform for storing health data. Handoff, the feature that makes it easier for different Apple devices to communicate, will also be a big part of how you interact with the iWatch.
- The watch will come with a flexible display covered with sapphire glass, which means it'll be almost completely scratch-resistant.
- The processor nestled inside the iWatch is described by Chen as "about the size of a postage stamp," which should help keep the device from being too bulky.
- It will havea wireless charging method.
- It will include near field communications, suggesting is will be capable of wireless payment.
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