Apple is recording the iPhone 14 & Apple Watch Series 8 event now
Apple has started work on its pre-recorded video for its fall product launch events, with the expected iPhone 14 launch in September set for the first half of the month and be accompanied by the Apple Watch Series 8.
Apple events have, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, been a virtual affair that used pre-recorded videos instead of a live audience. For September, it seems that Apple will be continuing with that presentation style for yet another iPhone launch.
According to Mark Gurman's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, a source claimed Apple has started to record segments for its September event. It is also expected that the presentation will take place in early September.
The event will be the first of two, according to Gurman, with the first focusing on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and Apple Watch Series 8. A second event will probably occur in October, which will feature the iPad and Mac lineup.
The iPhone 14 and Pro are expected to consist of 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch "max" models, rather than a "mini" version. Unlike previous years, it seems that the bulk of the upgrades will go to just the Pro models, including 48-megapixel cameras, an always-on display, an A16 chip, and a pill-and-hole shaped cutout for the True Depth camera.
The Apple Watch Series 8 is expected to incorporate a body temperature sensor, but may not gain a total redesign. A larger "pro" model is rumored to have a rugged design intended for sports and activities, to handle the knocks, movement, and moisture of high-impact workouts.
Read on AppleInsider
Apple events have, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, been a virtual affair that used pre-recorded videos instead of a live audience. For September, it seems that Apple will be continuing with that presentation style for yet another iPhone launch.
According to Mark Gurman's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, a source claimed Apple has started to record segments for its September event. It is also expected that the presentation will take place in early September.
The event will be the first of two, according to Gurman, with the first focusing on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and Apple Watch Series 8. A second event will probably occur in October, which will feature the iPad and Mac lineup.
The iPhone 14 and Pro are expected to consist of 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch "max" models, rather than a "mini" version. Unlike previous years, it seems that the bulk of the upgrades will go to just the Pro models, including 48-megapixel cameras, an always-on display, an A16 chip, and a pill-and-hole shaped cutout for the True Depth camera.
The Apple Watch Series 8 is expected to incorporate a body temperature sensor, but may not gain a total redesign. A larger "pro" model is rumored to have a rugged design intended for sports and activities, to handle the knocks, movement, and moisture of high-impact workouts.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
It's just a shame to see such a beautiful theatre go to waste. To me, the only extra things I see in an online keynote are the fancy transitions which I don't care about. Apple can still hold in-person keynotes with useful information and great marketing at the same time and reach the same audience as its broadcast live. It's not like they've never done this before.
There doesn't seem to me to be a significant benefit of live over recorded if you aren't actually attending the event on campus.
There are often no/little shadows for the presenters, just what is carried over from the green screen even if those shadows make zero sense relative to where the light is coming from in the shot. No reflections despite the fact that many of the "sets" are shiny surfaces including impossibly clean and scuff-free floors, glass, metal, etc.
Infinite depth of field. No backlighting or exposure issues. No optical defects/aberrations, lens flares, etc.
The audio is even more contrived. No echoes whatsoever, even in spaces where the speakers should be difficult to hear (spaces in or around the Steve Jobs Theater, Tim walking through an empty spaceship building ring, etc.) where crisp audio should be impossible. No one ever wears a microphone. Not even the sound of footsteps even when the presenter is wearing shoes that should make noise (e.g., women wearing heels).
The outdoor scenes are hilarious. Apple won't simulate real wind for the presenters' hair in outdoor scenes. Everyone's lighting is perfect despite the fact that most outdoor daytime scenes appear to be midday where the overhead sun should cause sharp and unflattering shadows (like photos from a real estate property shoot). Perfect weather conditions. Out of season foliage in landscape shots.
More sterile and contrived than a utopian sci-fi movie from the Nineties.
I love watching these pre-recorded announcements for the sheer plasticness. It's like a "Where's Waldo?" game trying to identify all of the inconsistencies and incongruities.
One thing for sure, they have excelled at learning to read off the teleprompter. No interminable delay waiting for the video source to switch to the demo machine or the next presenter to step to the right place on the stage.
Everything is faker than Beverly Hills augmentation mammoplasty which still casts real shadows...
I suppose there are some positives to the meticulously produced, i.e., slick, presentations. We get to see a few more Apple employees other than Tim Cook and Craig Federighi. There are no major demo failures. Attendees don’t have to travel. Viewers at home don’t suffer from the FOMO of not being able to physically touch and play with the new toys/products that in-person attendees get to experience. The presentations are available for online viewing immediately after the broadcast. It’s not all bad.
One thing that Apple could potentially do to get us one step closer to the spontaneity of the live presentations would be to have Tim, Craig, et al broadcast live introductions to the prerecorded material as well as the final wrap-up. This would afford them an opportunity to announce late-breaking changes or additions to the prerecorded material and to maybe even (hoping beyond hope here!) throw in a live (or late breaking) “One more thing …” surprise at the end to announce that one thing we’ve all been hoping for.
The hardware was finalized months ago. In fact, Apple's manufacturing partners have been in a pre-production ramp for 4-8 weeks. It's not like Apple can magically come up with a new Apple Watch model from now to mid-September.
For the software, they have picked their major features for the initial release; they know what their product are supposed to do. The only late-breaking change they could conceivably announce would be a delay. It's not like they could add another major feature or whip up a new API in four weeks. The software tree is probably already locked to new functionality and now engineers are feverishly working to reduce the number of bugs.
As for the "one more thing..." none of the current management team has the charisma and chutzpa to pull this off like Steve did. That's why Apple hasn't done this since Steve died.
Even Apple Silicon was expected by industry watchers. The writing had been on the wall for years.
I wasn't implying late breaking product changes. I certainly know that Apple's been ramping up production on their next round of products for months. I was simply floating a way to potentially inject some "live" elements into these presentations so they don't seem so slick and "canned," i.e., going with a hybrid approach to get us pointed back towards the fully live presentations of the past.
The live presentations of the past, including product announcements during the Tim Cook era, have typically included very up-to-date information on the status of the various programs and initiatives at Apple. If there is a several week gap between creating and producing the presentation there is a pretty good chance some things have happened at Apple during that time frame that may be of interest to viewers. Having a live lead-in to the prerecorded material would give Tim a way to get that information out as well as add some spontaneity to what is otherwise a lot of canned presentation material. That is all.
Hey, I'm just trying to add to the dialog and sharing of ideas and perspectives here. You're free to express your ideas and perspectives as well. Let's hear 'em. But ad hominem confrontation doesn't really add anything interesting to the dialog.
Most of Apple's updates of the "here's where we stand right now" are very high level. Whether they say they were working on it yesterday or two weeks ago doesn't make a difference to Joe Consumer. It's not like Tim's going to say Dr. Chandra fixed HAL 9000 bug #65483145 a few minutes ago which will be pushed out in the next macOS update.
The only thing that really counts is product QA at release. No one really cares about what the engineers ate for breakfast if you search for "London" on Apple Maps and it takes you to Ontario instead of the UK.
And how would we know it's a live lead-in anyhow? Tim standing in front of a television with a Wall Street ticker, today's headline plastered on the screen, the score of yesterday's Giants-A's game? Or Tim FaceTiming from his car stuck in I-280 traffic? (which shouldn't be all that bad at 10am PDT and still could be faked/canned). Or maybe he could apprehend the nearest gardener and ask them for the time of day.
Ahahahahahaha!!!!!