By Sarah Sam Adda
Apple has announced that its annual September event will take place on September 9 at its Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The tech giant is expected to unveil the iPhone 17, new Apple Watches, and other devices. The event invitation carried the tagline: “Awe dropping.”
The September launch is widely regarded as Apple’s most important event of the year, with attention focused on the iPhone, the company’s top revenue driver.
Investors and tech enthusiasts alike will watch closely to assess whether Apple remains a leading innovator in the age of artificial intelligence, especially as consumers navigate tighter budgets.
This year’s stakes are higher following Apple’s delay of a major Siri upgrade, which would have positioned the virtual assistant alongside AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
Despite this, Apple reported strong iPhone sales in July, boosting investor confidence.
Reports indicate that Apple will introduce a super-slim iPhone, described as the “MacBook Air of iPhones,” potentially sparking renewed consumer interest, though a slimmer design may affect battery life and camera performance.
The company is also expected to release standard iPhone 17 and Pro models featuring upgraded processors, advanced cameras, larger screens, and titanium designs.
Apple’s past experiments with iPhone sizes have seen mixed results.
The iPhone Mini was discontinued after two generations, while the iPhone 16 Plus accounted for only 5-10% of shipments as of mid-2024. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts Apple will phase out the Plus model entirely in 2025.
Beyond product launches, Apple faces broader economic challenges. CEO Tim Cook said tariffs under former President Donald Trump’s trade policies would cost Apple $1.1 billion this quarter.
To reduce reliance on China, the company has shifted most U.S.-bound iPhone production to India.
Smartphones are exempt from new tariff hikes, and Trump has hinted that Apple may also avoid upcoming semiconductor tariffs, thanks to its $600 billion investment in U.S. operations, including chip production.
