Apple is now previewing the new Apple Watch Ultra 2
Jeff Williams is now previewing the new high-end Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2. –Rohan Goswami
Apple’s top environmental executive is now on stage
Apple provides updates on their environmental initiatives.
Source: Apple Inc.
Former EPA administrator and top Apple executive Lisa Jackson is now discussing the company’s ongoing efforts to step up its clean energy and manufacturing processes.
It’s a complex endeavor for the company, but Jackson said the company was committed to reducing its Scope 3 emissions, or emissions from a corporate supply chain. The company also signed a letter reiterating that commitment earlier this month. –Rohan Goswami
Actress Octavia Spencer makes cameo in environmental video
Tim Cook meets with Mother Nature.
Apple Inc.
The award-winning actress Octavia Spencer made a cameo as “Mother Nature” during the event in a long video about Apple’s environmental initiatives. Apple’s Lisa Jackson, the head of environment, public policy and social initiatives, appeared in the video too.
Tim Cook also joined in on the fun and cracked a couple of jokes. –Ashley Capoot
Apple is putting a lot of emphasis on its “neural engine,” which is its AI accelerator
The “neural engine” is a part of Apple’s chips made for machine learning and is Apple’s main AI play — it should improve Apple’s own chips to run AI on phones and watches using less power. It has been mentioned several times already as executives discuss the new chip in the Apple Watch. The company’s approach is strikingly different from the server-based approach from companies like OpenAI and Google, which uses more power. —Kif Leswing
There’s a new Apple Watch feature: Double Tap
Apple Watch users can now use their index finger and thumb to interact with their Apple Watch without ever directly touching the screen. All they have to do is tap their index finger and thumb together to interact with their watch, allowing for a one-handed user experience.
It’s powered by the heart sensor and the gyroscope, along with a machine-learning algorithm to track changes in blood flow, an Apple executive said.
— Rohan Goswami
The Apple Watch has a new Find My iPhone feature with more accuracy
The new Apple Watch has a better, improved “Find My iPhone” feature. Instead of just pinging the device, the new Watch will be able to point you to exactly where you left your iPhone, like in your pocket.
— Kif Leswing
The Apple Watch has a new S9 chip, which Apple is calling its most “powerful yet”
Right off the bat, Apple is focusing on its new S9 chip, which the company is describing as its most powerful processor in a watch to date. It’s the first major upgrade in some years, and it comes after years of upgrades to other features, such as screen size or sensors.
— Rohan Goswami
Tim Cook gives a quick nod to Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro
Tim Cook quickly mentioned Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, which the company announced this summer, but he didn’t reveal any new details.
“The Apple Team is making great progress with Vision Pro, and we look forward to shipping early next year,” Cook said.
— Ashley Capoot
Apple’s number-two executive is presenting updates to the Apple Watch
Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams has taken to the stage to present the new Apple Watch.
— Kif Leswing
Tim Cook has confirmed that updates are coming to the iPhone and Apple Watch
I’m here in the Steve Jobs Theater. Tim Cook has just said we can expect updates about “two essential products” — the new iPhone and Apple Watch. First, the company is going to demo new updates to the Mac.
— Kif Leswing
Apple begins the event with a new ad spot, highlighting its products
An ad runs ahead of the Apple event in Cupertino, California, Sept. 12, 2023.
Source: Apple
The opening ad focuses on how the Apple Watch can help people’s health, featuring people who say it could have saved their lives, citing heart rate monitors and Apple’s emergency SOS feature. The company emphasized its emergency features in a launch event last year, in an unusually serious tone for the company.
— Kif Leswing
Tim Cook kicks things off
Apple CEO Tim Cook has kicked off the event.
“We strive to make the world a better place in all things we do and today’s event advances that mission in a number of ways,” Cook said.
— Ashley Capoot
Tim Cook is on stage as stream begins early with more than 1 million people already tuned in
Tim Cook is on stage. Apple’s launch events get major attention from consumers and investors alike. The stream has just begun and there are already more than 1 million people waiting in the YouTube stream, available here.
— Rohan Goswami
We’re in our seats and the lights are dimming
Attendees seated at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, Sept. 12, 2023.
Kif Leswing | CNBC
We’re seated in the Steve Jobs Theater and the lights are dimming. It’s almost go time.
— Kif Leswing
Silicon Valley angel investor Ron Conway spotted chatting with Apple executives
Ron Conway, founder of SV Angel, speaks during the TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2015 conference in New York, May 4, 2015.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Silicon Valley angel investor Ron Conway was spotted at the event, chatting with Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, and Eddy Cue, Apple’s services senior vice president.
— Kif Leswing
A plane is flying a banner above Apple’s campus, urging the company to fight exploitative material
A plane flies above the Apple campus in Cupertino, California, with a banner that reads, “Dear Apple, Detect Child Sexual Abuse in iCloud.”
Steve Kovach | CNBC
High above Steve Jobs Theater, a small aircraft is flying a banner urging the company to do more in the fight against child sexual abuse material, or CSAM.
“Dear Apple, Detect Child Sexual Abuse in iCloud,” the banner reads. Apple canceled the rollout in December of a tool that would help identify known or suspected sexual abuse material inside user iCloud drives and storage after backlash over potential privacy intrusions.
— Rohan Goswami
Check out the snack spread
Drinks and snacks on display at the Apple event in Cupertino, California, Sept. 12, 2023.
Kif Leswing | CNBC
People are enjoying snacks such as juice and fruit as they wait for the event to start.
— Ashley Capoot
We’re about to take our seats
People walk through the Steve Jobs Theater prior to an event at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, on September 12, 2023.
Nic Coury | AFP | Getty Images
People are milling about at the Steve Jobs Theater, a building on Apple’s campus built specifically for launch events. Some are beginning to take their seats.
— Kif Leswing
Apple Store website temporarily down, per tradition
The Apple website is down as Apple gears up for a product event in Cupertino, California, on Sept. 12, 2023.
In keeping with tradition, the Apple Store website is temporarily down as the company prepares to launch its new devices.
The Store should be back up and running shortly after the event.
— Ashley Capoot
Apple CEO Tim Cook’s cryptic message on social media
Apple CEO Tim Cook posted a cryptic message ahead of the event’s start, as he has done in years past. “It’s almost Time!” Cook wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a photo of the sun rising above the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple’s Cupertino, California, campus.
It could allude to the anticipated new Apple Watch lineup. The company has been reportedly experimenting with titanium casings and 3D printing in the manufacturing process.
— Rohan Goswami
The new iPhone may be made out of titanium
Apple’s invite to its Sept. 12 event.
Apple
Apple’s iPhones could now have a lighter body made out of titanium, as compared to the stainless steel used on current iPhone 14 Pros. Apple’s event invite showed an Apple logo that resembled titanium.
Apple’s watches will also receive updates and will likely be billed as Series 9. The company could update some of its accessories that previously used a Lightning charger to the new USB-C charger as well.
— Kif Leswing
New USB-C charging port expected
An iPhone 14 Pro with a Lightning cable (left) and a USB-C cable (right). Apple will most likely replace its in-house Lightning connector with USB-C after the European Union decided that phone manufacturers must use the USB-C standard by the end of 2024.
Christoph Dernbach | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
This year’s new iPhone will likely be branded as the iPhone 15, and the biggest change for the device could be a USB-C charging port. The USB-C port would replace Apple’s proprietary Lightning charger, which has been incorporated into iPhones since 2012.
The USB-C charging port, which was required by new European regulations passed late last year, will mean that iPhones share a charger with Android phones, newer laptops, iPads, most wireless headphones and other gadgets.
— Kif Leswing
We’re here at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino
An Apple event pass shown in Cupertino, California, Sept. 12, 2023.
Steve Kovach | CNBC
We’re here live in Cupertino, California, at Apple’s headquarters, where the company is getting ready to unveil its new devices. Press and analysts will start filtering in over the next couple hours, but I’m already parked on the broadcast risers outside the Steve Jobs Theater. This year’s badges sport a blue logo, matching the one from the invitation Apple sent a couple weeks ago.
— Steve Kovach
