The event will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater in the new Apple Park campus, the perfect venue for the 10th anniversary iPhone.
Steve Jobs memorably unveiled the original iPhone more than a decade ago. So it’s appropriate that the 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone be held at the theater named in his honor.
Apple sent out the invitations for the launch of its next iPhone (or iPhones) , confirming the rumored date and location of Sept. 12 at the new Apple Park campus.
It marks the first time an event will be held at the campus and at the 1,000-person-capacity Steve Jobs Theater, a fitting venue considering the hype and expectations around the next set of iPhones. The iPhones, after all, haven’t seen many physical changes over the last three years, and the rumored iPhone 8 represents a potentially huge leap over its predecessors.
The event holds special meaning for me. Beyond a first visit to the new campus, this will be my first time at an Apple event ever. Despite covering the mobile world for more than a decade, I’ve never attended Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, or any of its product launches. Samsung, Microsoft, Nokia and Google, sure. But no Apple. Based out of New York, I’ve always deferred to colleagues in San Francisco and watched the action unfold from the comfort of my office. It’s like being a long-time Laker fan and attending Staples Center for the first time.
Apple holding the event at its new “spaceship” campus is an added bonus. The floor plans suggest a venue that’s similar to the flagship Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York, with a grand round glass-encased structure that serves as the entrance to the underground theater. You take a set of curved stairs down to a circular exhibit space, and then you go even deeper to get to the front of the auditorium seats (which I’m planning to nab) .
Those seats will probably be tough to get than last year, when Apple held its iPhone launch event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which holds up to 8,500 people.
I’m already trying to envision what the auditorium will look like. I’m guessing it will take its cues from Apple Stores, which means lots of glass and metal. I’m expecting to see a sleekly designed interior. Perhaps, as a nod to Jony Ive, we’ll see splashes of aluminium (I’m hearing it in a British accent) .
I’ve been warned about the lines, chaos of the demo rooms and the battle for seats and space. I know there’s a ton of pressure to make sure we get all the latest details out to our readers as quickly as possible. But truthfully, I’m excited to be going, getting first-hand experience of the whirlwind of craziness that is an Apple event.
Will I still feel that way once I’m in the thick of it? Ask me on Sept. 13.
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