Apple Moves iPhone 16 Rollout Up One Day

Apple has sent out invitations for its September event showcasing devices like the iPhone 16.

As Bloomberg News reported Monday (Aug. 26), the company will host this event at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, home to Apple’s headquarters. The theme: “It’s Glowtime,” an apparent reference to the interface employed by the digital assistant Siri on the Apple’s newest devices.

According to that report, sources said Apple had planned the launch for Sept. 10, but has moved it up one day. Sept. 10, that report noted, is the also the day that presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are due to debate.

The iPhone 16 is set to go on sale Sept. 20. While it will feature larger screens on the Pro models and new camera features such as a dedicated button for taking photos, perhaps the phone’s most high-profile selling point is the inclusion of the new Apple Intelligence artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

Earlier this month, Apple released earnings showing that its quarterly hardware sales crept up to $61.6 billion, with iPhone and wearables sales declining but Mac sales gathering 2.9% to $7 billion. iPad sales jumped 24% in the quarter, to $7.2 billion, bolstered by new launches including the iPad Pro.

During the earnings call, management pointed out the potential for AI to help the company’s efforts to build out its ecosystem.

“It will transform how users interact with technology, from writing tools to help you express yourself to image playground — which gives you the ability to create fun images and communicate in new ways — to powerful tools to summarize and prioritizing notifications,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said.

In other recent Apple product development news, this month also brought reports that the company is working on a device that combines an iPad-like display with a robotic arm, allowing it to perform tasks like adjusting to face the user during a video call.

“Apple envisions the device as a tool for tasks related to smart home management, videoconferencing and home security,” PYMNTS wrote, adding that the company “expects it to be controlled by the Siri digital assistant and Apple Intelligence AI offering; and aims to release it by 2026 or 2027 for around $1,000.”