by Jason Snell
WSJ: The next Apple event is Sept. 12
Tripp Mickle and Drew FitzGerald at the Wall Street Journal:
Apple Inc. has scheduled a product-announcement event on Sept. 12, according to people briefed on its plans, reinforcing expectations that the technology giant will release new iPhones and a smartwatch well ahead of the holiday shopping season….
In the past two years it has used San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, but people close to the company say it is aiming to use the 1,000-seat Steve Jobs Theater on its new headquarters campus. The new headquarters, however, aren’t finished, and the construction timetable could affect the timing or location of the event, those people said.
The last two years, the iPhone launch event has been Labor Day week. This date would return it to the slot it held in 2014, when the Apple Watch and iPhone 6 were launched on Sept. 9, eight days after Labor Day.
I have no doubt that Apple wants to hold the event at the Steve Jobs Theater. I also seriously doubt that today, 15 days before this event, that Apple hasn’t decided where to hold it. If Apple’s holding the event off campus, it will need to begin building up demonstration areas and other facilities as it has at previous events at the Flint Center in Cupertino or the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Other possible venues include Moscone West in San Francisco and McEnery Convention Center in San Jose. Presumably Apple booked a few dates at off-site venues in advance just in case the Steve Jobs Theater wasn’t ready in time to launch Apple’s slate of holiday hardware.