Apple CEO Tim Cook in Austin on Friday to Share Announcement Ahead of September Event [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook is on work-related travel this week, and his trip appears to include a stop in Austin, Texas on Friday, based on both flight information and comments shared by the city's mayor Steve Adler.

Tim Cook at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June​

There are plenty of reasons why Cook could be in Austin, which has become a major tech hub in the United States. He could be planning to visit Apple's large seven-building campus there, or the Flextronics factory that assembles the Mac Pro, as he did in 2014. There is also Austin's annual Pride Parade on Saturday.

Apple's campus in Austin, Texas via The Austin American-Statesman​

Meanwhile, MacRumors received an anonymous tip earlier this week from a reader who claims Cook plans to announce the date of Apple's rumored September event at an undisclosed location in downtown Austin on Friday.

No sources have confirmed this information, however, so treat this rumor with a proverbial grain of salt for now. Apple typically announces its September events in late August by sending invites to members of the media via email, and Cook simultaneously announcing the event would certainly be out of the ordinary.

The tipster informed us that Apple may have selected Austin due to its growing presence of AR/VR startups, so it's possible Cook's announcement could be related to ARKit. Cook has repeatedly expressed his profound interest in augmented reality. Or, it's quite possible he might not announce anything at all.

Earlier today, Cook visited Cincinnati Test Systems in Harrison, Ohio, a small city in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area. CTS is a leading manufacturer of leak testing equipment that helped ensure the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 are as water resistant as advertised.

Cook then met with Iowa governor Kim Reynolds in Waukee, Iowa, part of the Des Moines area, shortly after Apple announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot data center in the city at a cost of $1.3 billion. While in the area, Cook also visited Waukee High School and an Apple retail store in West Des Moines.

Apple has hosted special events in September for five consecutive years, dating back to the iPhone 5 introduction in 2012. This year's event is rumored for September 12, but September 6 would also be a suitable date.

Update: At a town hall meeting, Austin mayor Steve Adler said Cook will be announcing a training program of some kind that will be launched across the United States. Cook likely has other plans on his agenda throughout the day. Skip to the 48:15 mark in this video for Adler's comments.

Update: Apple today announced that its "App Development with Swift" curriculum will be adopted by more than 30 community college systems across the United States, including the Austin Community College District. It's possible Cook has other announcements to share later today.

(Thanks, Scott H. and Joe D.!)

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook in Austin on Friday to Share Announcement Ahead of September Event [Updated]

 

[farewelwilliams]

nothing mentioning about the hurricane?

 

[macduke]

So it has come down to stalking Tim Cook’s jet around the country. Huh. Is it just me or is this getting out of hand? The announcement will be coming soon regardless.

 

[nikster0029]

So it has come down to stalking Tim Cook’s jet around the country. Huh. Is it just me or is this getting out of hand? The announcement will be coming soon regardless.

Hilarious

 

[jacobh101]

so basically; Apple may or may not have chartered a flight from San Jose, and Tim may or not be on the plane heading to Texas, and you heard from someone anonymously that Tim may reveal something on Friday, and no sources confirmed the information...Great investigative reporting!

 

[jonblatho]

nothing mentioning about the hurricane?

Meh, Austin will be fine tomorrow. Harvey’s not gonna plow inland like most tropical cyclones do.

 

[Geert76]

jeez people...this is getting insane! just wait for the damn Keynote announcement! ppfff

Oh wait, I saw Tim Cook writing an email...yesss this must be it!

 

[Porco]

That is really taking the business of rumours seriously!

A rumour of a possible flight to a place where someone might possibly announce a rumoured announcement at an undisclosed location! Lol

I love it, and I am possibly going to travel to my computer to announce that someone might hold an event to say 'keep up the good work guys' in a forum post somewhere soon on an undisclosed website.

Update: I also likely have other plans on my agenda throughout the day.

Update: It's possible that I have further announcements to share later today.

 

[duervo]

Invites to the announcement about the upcoming September announcement will be forthcoming, followed by invites to the latter. #hypeisreal

 

[DotCom2]

Anyone know what he was wearing ? /s

 

[kahkityoong]

So basically at the end of all that I'm none the wiser.

 

[toomanydatsuns]

I'm blown away that some human being, somewhere, is tracking charter flights leaving SJC and trying to match them up with TC's location. Seems a bit... uh... extreme?

 

[KiwiAdventure]

This article is rubbish and fake news. WHAT LOW LIFE IS STALKING PEOPLE

 

[dlucks]

Tim’s private jet seems much snappier!

 

[LoveToMacRumors]

Anyone got more picture of Tim Cook's crotch area?

If you know what I'm talking about

 

[scott523]

I'm blown away that some human being, somewhere, is tracking charter flights leaving SJC and trying to match them up with TC's location. Seems a bit... uh... extreme?

Not very hard at all, especially for a flight dispatcher, like me.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EJA152

In this case, a simple entry of DSM / AUS in the FlightAware home page will bring the flight in question along with any detail publicly available on the flight (operator, flown route/altitude/speed), its previous legs, and even upcoming legs (which shows it’s scheduled to return to SJC tomorrow evening before tropical storms conditions become an issue). Of course, trying to look up Air Force 1 won’t work.

 

[LoveToMacRumors]

Not very hard at all, especially for a flight dispatcher, like me.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/EJA152

In this case, a simple entry of DSM / AUS in the FlightAware home page will bring the flight in question along with any detail publicly available on the flight (operator, flown route/altitude/speed), its previous legs, and even upcoming legs (which shows it’s scheduled to return to SJC tomorrow evening before tropical storms conditions become an issue). Of course, trying to look up Air Force 1 won’t work.

Too bad we don't know the passengers on the plane haha

 

[9594864]

I would give anything to be in the room with Tim when he found out someone looked up flight info to ascertain where he was headed. Hearing what he thought would be great

 

[Analog Kid]

He wants the announcement that the annual announcement in early September will happen in early September to be a complete surprise, I'm sure. I hope he picks someplace in Austin with real symbolic meaning to announce the coming announcement of the thing that's announced every September. Otherwise this would be a real waste of an opportunity.

As a shareholder, I'm glad that he chose such a big state to announce the announcement in. I'm sure sales will be depressed in the non-announcement-announcement states because of the perceived slight of not announcing the announcement in their states. I'd have been happier though if he'd taken this more seriously and gone on a 50 state announcement announcement tour before stopping in at major international capitals to share the news that someday soon there will be news.

 

[tpham5919]

I'm blown away that some human being, somewhere, is tracking charter flights leaving SJC and trying to match them up with TC's location. Seems a bit... uh... extreme?

Yup, someone with too much down time or has an unhealthy obsession with TC

 

[scott523]

Too bad we don't know the passengers on the plane haha

Haha true, but I’m sure you know who they consist of based on the news of his whereabouts today and even the timing on some of his tweets (sent not too long before it left for DSM).

I bet he changed planes in Des Moines just to throw us off track.

Unless he decided to fly United/Southwest or test drive his Apple Car, he’s on that plane to make another appearance tomorrow. Flight tracking shows same aircraft registration number from San Jose. (N152QS)

 

[Mr. Dee]

He is gonna announce that you should not buy the iPhone 7 at this time, a new one is coming soon.

 

[Analog Kid]

Too bad we don't know the passengers on the plane haha

Zoom in on the map, you can see him sitting in the third window back from the door.

 

[tpham5919]

Zoom in on the map, you can see him sitting in the third window back from the door.

He's ordering a drink so you'll probably see the back of his head. Yup that's him alright.

 

[mgauss7]

Apple CEO Tim Cook is on work-related travel this week, and his trip may include a stop in Austin, Texas for a major announcement tomorrow.

Tim Cook at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June​

Public flight data shows that, on Thursday, a private jet landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, nearly two hours after departing from Des Moines International Airport. The plane is chartered by a company that provides business professionals like Cook with partial access to private jets.

FlightAware, a website that provides live flight tracking, shows the aircraft earlier flew from Mineta San Jose International Airport, near Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, to Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport.

While there is no way of confirming that Cook was aboard these flights, the private jet's recent trajectory from San Jose to Cincinnati to Des Moines lines up with Cook's visits to those cities over the past 24 hours.

There's plenty of reasons that Cook could be in Austin, which has become a major tech hub in the United States. He could be planning to visit Apple's large seven-building campus there, or the Flextronics factory that assembles the Mac Pro, as he did in 2014. Maybe, though, he has bigger news to share.

Apple's campus in Austin, Texas via The Austin American-Statesman​

MacRumors received an anonymous tip earlier this week from a reader that claims Cook plans to announce Apple's rumored September event at an undisclosed location in downtown Austin on Friday.

No sources have confirmed this information, however, so treat this rumor with a proverbial grain of salt for now. Apple typically announces its September events in late August by sending invites to members of the media via email, and Cook simultaneously announcing the event would certainly be out of the ordinary.

The tipster informed us that Apple may have selected Austin due to its growing presence of AR/VR startups, so it's possible Cook's announcement could be related to ARKit. Cook has repeatedly expressed his profound interest in augmented reality. Or, it's quite possible he might not announce anything at all.

Earlier today, Cook visited Cincinnati Test Systems in Harrison, Ohio, a small city in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area. CTS is a leading manufacturer of leak testing equipment that helped ensure the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 are as water resistant as advertised.

Cook then met with Iowa governor Kim Reynolds in Waukee, Iowa, part of the Des Moines area, shortly after Apple announced plans to build a 400,000-square-foot data center in the city at a cost of $1.3 billion. While in the area, Cook also visited Waukee High School and an Apple retail store in West Des Moines.

Apple has hosted special events in September for five consecutive years, dating back to the iPhone 5 introduction in 2012. This year's event is rumored for September 12, but September 6 would also be a suitable date.

Update: At a town hall meeting, Austin mayor Steve Adler said Cook will be announcing a training program of some kind that will be launched across the United States. Cook likely has other plans on his agenda throughout the day. Skip to the 48:15 mark in the video below for Adler's comments.

(Thanks, Scott H. and Joe D.!)

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook in Austin to Make Announcement(s) Tomorrow Ahead of September Event

The hurricane Harvey is gonna be a 3 or a 4, linger weather for 5 days on Texas and be an extremely dangerous flood threat. Better to gift some money to Texans, and reschedule the event.