It’s Glowtime: Apple announces date of this year’s iPhone launch event
Apple on Monday sent out press invites for its upcoming iPhone 16 event next month with the tagline, “It’s Glowtime.” The event will be held on September 9, 2024. It’s a bit unusual for Apple to hold this event on a Monday, as they’re typically held on Tuesdays. As usual, the event will stream on Apple’s website, as well as in the Apple TV app, starting at 10 AM PDT.
The tagline and accompanying artwork is almost certainly a reference to Apple Intelligence, and the new multicolored Siri animation that occurs around the edges of the iPhone display (replacing the glowing orb that Apple has used for years). We’ll certainly get the launch date for iOS 18, and perhaps more specific information about when Apple Intelligence will ship to consumers. As I wrote recently, Apple has already begun seeding some Apple Intelligence features to beta testers starting with the iOS 18.1 beta in the last few weeks, but not every announced Apple Intelligence feature has been available to test.
From a hardware standpoint, it’s a no-brainer that Apple will be announcing the iPhone 16 family of phones as well as new Apple Watch models. Given that an “Apple Watch Series 10” (or will it be X?) is expected at this event, many have wondered if Apple might have some big design shakeup for the Apple Watch on deck.
The likelihood of other new hardware drops off sharply after those two product families, but given that this is a more consumer-focused event, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me if Apple had a new Apple TV model available. (But then again I hope for a new Apple TV model at every Apple event.) I’d expect Apple’s updates to the MacBook Pro to come in October or November, but you can’t rule out the possibility of new Mac models at this event given that it’s been somewhat hard to predict new Mac announcement dates in the Apple silicon era.
Whatever Apple announces on September 9, I’ll be back to break it all down for you.
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