The iPhone 6 (and iWatch) "will" be unveiled tomorrow at the Flint Center in Cupertino. Apple will finally confirm the features and release date -- expected to be later this month for the iPhone, but next year for the iWatch.
While the company is officially mum, behind the curtain it's leaking rumors like a sieve. Cupertino is desperate to put its iCloud PR troubles behind it before 9/9 (oh, sorry, we're now supposed to call it "9.9," apparently).
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers gear up for yet another Cook keynote, via live stream. Not to mention: a video drone flies over the Flint Center…
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.
Apple [will] present a live webcast of its Sept. 9 event, where the company is expected to unveil...new iPhones and perhaps...the long-rumored "iWatch"...starting at 10 a.m. [PDT] Tuesday. ... Apple will limit [it] to people using Safari on OS X or iOS, or its Apple TV peripheral. Windows users will be out of luck.
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Apple...has not gone live for an iPhone introduction before. MORE
And Brian X. Chen wishes he could say more. Oh, wait:
When Apple wants to make a big splash, it returns to its history. ... On Tuesday, Apple will return to the [Flint] Center to unveil a set of long-anticipated products.
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[A] wearable computer that the media has nicknamed the iWatch...will be the first brand-new product unveiled under Timothy D. Cook. ... It is expected to come in two sizes and combine functions like health and fitness monitoring with...tasks like displaying maps. ... Apple, which is highly secretive, has not officially commented. ... But multiple employees...who were briefed on the products shared some details on the condition that they not be identified.
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And with the two larger phones, Apple will fight back against Samsung, whose big-screen Galaxy smartphones have wrested sales away. [They] will come in two screen sizes, one measuring 4.7 diagonal inches and the other 5.5. [They] have softer, rounded edges similar to those of the latest iPads. ... There will be a one-handed mode that can be switched on and off, two employees said. MORE
But Neil "before Zod" McAllister sounds disappointed at all of the unbagged felines:
In keeping with recent murmurings, [Chen] says the new mobes will come equipped with NFC [for] Apple's rumored new digital payment system...said to have the support of American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. [And that] the iWatch...will come with a "unique, flexible screen" that's protected by a sapphire cover – something else about which we've heard repeated rumblings.
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And as long as we're leaving no rumored stone unturned, [Chen] claims to confirm that the iWatch will recharge its battery wirelessly, which others have been saying since last December, at least. MORE
So Sam Biddle fiddles while the fourth estate burns:
Apple will announce a new phone. ... Coverage of a piece of metal, plastic and glass will dwarf that of human suffering here and abroad. ... That's not an accident—Apple makes reporters do their advertising.
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Almost everything you read about a new Apple product...is engineered by Apple itself...to create hype and in turn drive sales. ... An email from Apple is a favor from Apple. A story from Apple is a great day. You're lucky to be invited.
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Trying to plant stories is something every PR firm in the world does. But no other PR team on Earth is able to manipulate almost the entirety of the media [who are] so afraid of getting blacklisted or chastised that they obey Steve Jobs' ghost-via-press-release. MORE
Want more rumorage? Ben Lovejoy is overjoyed to oblige:
KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo...states that both 4.7- and 5.5-inch models of the iPhone 6 will be launched next week and will both offer 128GB storage option [which] would suggest 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models [or] Apple could keep the 16GB option as a very low price tier and skip 32GB.
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Kuo also predicts that the power button – moved to the side – could be a programmable multi-function key...expects the phone to have a barometer, which could take breath measurements. ... The camera lens will...lose its sapphire coating after failing drop tests. ... The 5.5-inch model will go on sale at a later date.
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The same report predicts that the iWatch will be announced...with 8GB storage, 512MB RAM and two different sizes. MORE
Meanwhile, John Gruber returns to the live stream theme: [You're fired -Ed.]
I wonder how the viewership numbers for these events compares to major TV shows? MORE
Update: Mike Elgan cuts to the chase:
10 years from now, nobody will remember the announcement of the iPhone 6. They will, however, remember the launch of the Apple iWatch. ... Of course it's possible that Apple's iWatch will be a dog. ... But it's even more reasonable to expect [it to] launch another revolution.
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The fact is that people only remember the announcements of the first models of new products -- the first Mac, the first iPod, the first iPhone and the first iPad. ... The most important attribute about any consumer electronics device...is how it changes human behavior or, more accurately, how it mainstreams niche behavior. I believe the iWatch...will mainstream the use of a wristwatch as a credit card [and] will mainstream the 'quantified self' movement.
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Tuesday's announcement will usher in Apple's fifth revolution. ... The iWatch revolution. MORE
And Finally…
UCSC student Sachin Patel flew a video drone over Apple's mysterious structure at the Flint Center