Apple event - as it happened: iPhone 14 Pro, new AirPods and Watch Ultra unveiled
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Your support makes all the difference.Apple has held its biggest event of the year, announcing the latest version of its most popular product.
The company hosted a live streamed event to show off the new iPhone 14 range, revised Apple Watches and even a new update to its AirPods.
There were four new iPhone 14s: a small and large version of the Pro and non-Pro. Apple aslo introduced a new “rugged” or “Ultra” Apple Watch.
It began at 10am local pacific time (6pm BST) on Wednesday, 7 September, when Apple boss Tim Cook introduced proceedings with a pre-recorded segment from the Apple Park campus.
It was the first time media has been invited to the event since the pandemic. Recent editions involved Apple showing off its new products in spectacular, special effects-heavy livestreamed productions.
You can follow all the news and updates from the event as they happened right here.
Google announces launch for its new phone
With interesting timing, Google has said that it will be holding its own livestreamed event – on October 6. The event will probably see the release of a Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, as well as a watch, all of which have been teased by Google already.
The announcement of the event came just a day before Apple’s big launch.
iOS 16 release date
As well as all the hardware, today will probably be the day that we get a release date for iOS 16, the new software update for iPhones.
The changes are focused on personalisation, and are relatively modest. They are also likely to make more sense when the new phones come out: the new update changes the lock screen, for instance, in ways that seem set up for the new iPhone’s rumoured always-on display.
We probably won’t get a release date for iPadOS 16. That software update has run into issues, and been delayed – most likely we’ll hear about it at the October event, when new iPads are expected.
Apple Store goes offline
The Apple Store has gone offline, ahead of the event later on.
That’s all normal. The website seems to need to be taken down for Apple to make big updates to it, when new products come out.
There is something changed, though. The warning message that tells people they can’t use the site directs them to the livestream, which should at least explain what’s going on to anyone who visits.
Apple event to include satellite-enabled iPhone?
One of the rumours surrounding today’s Apple event is that the iPhone 14 will include emergency satellite connectivity.
This follows a number of other smartphone giants like Huawei, which just unveiled the Mate 50 series capable of sending texts via satellite commnication, as well as smaller startups like the UK phone maker Bullitt.
The speculation surrounding Apple’s interest in the feature comes from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said the Cupertino company has already completed the hardware development and has secured a satellite internet partner for the service.
Apple event - live: Tim Cook promises ‘stellar’ show
Apple boss Tim Cook is already up and about ahead of today’s event.
He shared a photo at 6am this morning of a rainbow appearing to emanate from the rainbow stage at the centre of the Apple Park campus. He promises a “stellar” show for us.
Apple event - live: Back to normal?
Today’s event will be the first time Apple has held an in-person iPhone unveiling event since before the pandemic.
My colleague Andrew Griffin opened this week’s IndyTech newsletter (which you can sign up for here) mulling on what this means, not just for Apple, but for everyone.
There are lots of things Apple wants the new iPhone’s launch to be: anticipated, discussed, exciting, charismatic. There’s one thing it probably doesn’t want it to be: normal.
But normal is definitely what it feels like. That’s primarily because Apple is holding the event in person, marking the first time it has done so since before the pandemic.
Apple and other tech companies were among the world’s leading companies as the coronavirus crisis approached, and by shutting down offices and taking other measures they led where other less nimble businesses followed. Many of them were pioneering in their adoption of remote work, with some companies such as Twitter announcing that its staff could work from home forever if they wanted to.
But now those same companies are leading the charge to decide what we want our return to something like normal life to be. And Apple have suggested that the past looks a lot like the future: asking its staff to come back to the office, and asking the media to come back to its campus.
But what one of the many questions that will be answered during the Apple event is just how much that vision of normal life has been changed by the intervening period of very un-normal times. Will it hold onto the flashy, movie-like productions that have characterised Apple events during the pandemic? They have been entertaining in a way that the stage productions weren’t, and it would be a shame if Apple’s attempt to going back to normal went back to those events feeling ordinary.
Apple event - live: iPhone 14 expectations
With the iPhone now 15 years old, there has been some grumbling in recent years that it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between the later models.
Rumours suggest that while the iPhone 14 Pro may see significant upgrades, the standard iPhone 14 will stay largely the same as the previous generation: same chip on the inside, same design on the outside.
This has inevitably led some to make fun of the anticipation surrounding today’s Apple event:
Apple event - live: Thousands tune in to Far Out stream
There used to be a time when Apple would only make the live streams of its iPhone events available to people who already own Apple products and software.
Fortunately, these days anyone can watch it on YouTube. The holding page is now available, and with 90 minutes to wait until it’s live there’s already more than 50,000 people waiting to watch. Keen.
Apple event - live: Charged up
There’s just an hour to go until we get underway, and as the crowd begins to charge up, one of the questions still lingering about this year’s iPhone is whether it will finally adopt the near-industry-wide standard USB-C charger.
It’s already present on other Apple products, including Mac desktops and laptops, but could 2022 finally be the year that the iPhone gets it? There are also rumours that Apple might ditch the tech entirely and go for an all-wireless system. It would be a bold move but having been the first major smartphone maker to ditch the headphone jack, it wouldn’t be out of character.
Apple event - live: iPhone more dominant than ever
One of the big stories this week was the iPhone market share in the US hitting an all-time high, demonstrating Apple’s dominance in its home market.
It was the first time ever that more than 50 per cent of smartphone users owned iPhones rather than Androids.
A separate report also found that Apple continues to dominate the global market for premium smartphones, despite inflationary pressures.
I’d be surprised if Tim Cook doesn’t make mention of one or both of these stats in his opening monologue.
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