What to look forward to at the next Apple Event

It’s that time of year again when Apple rejuvenates the consumer market with new technologies that will have people in a frenzy. Rumor has it that the event is expected to take place on September 12^th, 2017 at the newly constructed Apple Park. The Apple events have become an annual tradition for many within the tech industry and avid users of Apple products, with its popularity rising in recent years due to predictability of them announcing the latest version of the iPhone. Apple is expected to release details on the S-series of the iPhone 7, an updated Apple TV, and a new Apple Watch. However, in addition to all that, this year provides some added suspense as it marks the iPhone’s 10^th anniversary building anticipation for many looking to see the new iPhone 8 (unofficial name but we’ll use it for the purpose of this blog), a complete redesign compared to last year’s iPhone 7.

The anticipation of the newly designed iPhone 8 has already been impacting the market, with their market cap increasing by 36%, hovering close to $826 billion, compared to the start of the year. Analysts at Nomura Instinet predict that Apple will move roughly 50 million iPhones by the end of the Q3; 10% more than the same period last year. The new iPhone 8 is, as expected, going to be the most technologically advanced model yet. While nothing has been confirmed by Apple, it is rumored to include:

• An edge-to-edge display (5.8-Inch, largest iPhone display yet)
• OLED panel for a brighter and more colorful display
• Facial-recognition technology by utilizing a 3-D sensor on the front of the device
• Fingerprint reader on the back of the device
• Wireless charging capabilities (finally!)
• “Waterproof” – it will be interesting if Apple actually deems the next generation of devices as waterproof as that carries a lot of liability. I expect it will have more advance water-resistant capabilities.

While the new features will have consumers clamoring to get their hands on one, the price may steer some to stick to the 7s versions which will most likely have updated hardware but primarily mirror the iPhone 7 that was released last year. The new iPhone 8 is rumored to be priced around $999 and climbing upwards of $1400 depending on the chosen memory capacity. That’s a substantial, almost 50%, increase from the $650-$750 that we consumers have become accustomed to paying. It will be interesting to see if the higher price due to the increased technology will ultimately become a deterrent for consumers.

While the iPhone 8 will definitely steal the show at the next Apple Event, it’s worth noting the improvements that will be made to our other beloved Apple devices:

• Apple Watch: expected to include an LTE cellular chip that will enable the watch to directly connect to wireless services and independently from the iPhone transmit emails, phone calls, and texts.
• Apple TV: The updated model will be capable of supporting 4K resolution which will deliver twice the current viewing quality (at 1080p). In addition, look for updates to the TV app that was rolled out in 2016. It is rumored to be able to aggregate programming from apps that support live streaming (Sling, DirecTV NOW, Hulu, etc.).

Now we look to (hopefully) September 12^th to discover the next chapter of what Apple hopes to disrupt the market with. With the main focus of the event being the rumored iPhone 8, it will be interesting to learn what’s actually included and, in true Apple fashion, everything else that we didn’t even fathom having included in a cellphone, watch, and streaming device.