Apple Event for September 9th?

[CWallace]

what's to say that apple arent going to announce/reveal the new product/s and all the details some time then start shipping later so that they don't need to give away details then risk them being leaked...Maybe this new product is too special (if there even is one) to risk. See my post before where i talk about announcements, followed by launches...

But if it is so special and groundbreaking, why announce it in September with iPods at Apple's HQ when media coverage will be (relatively) limited?

Why not wait till MacWorld 2009 and have it "the one more thing" event? Everyone and their grandmother is there and it would be the best place to generate the hype that will need to carry it until it ships a few months later.

After all, this is how they launched the iPhone.

 

[iMacmatician]

Well, those invites look pretty nice. Whether they are fake or real, doesn't the pinkish one give a date of Sept 16, and the other one Sept 9?? Maybe I missed it in the thread, but what's the explanation for that?

Two events.

If these invites are true, it's gonna be FUN!

I actually prefer 16:10 because then you can run full 720/1080p and still have the controls/menubar. I'm okay with blackbars in fullscreen mode.

Same here. I have the controls displayed all the time, so I don't want them covering any part of the movie.

I'm pretty sure this image is a modified frame from the AppleTV startup movie.

Fake? Or Apple tv updates?

 

[coolchaz]

Maybe this new product is too special (if there even is one) to risk. See my post before where i talk about announcements, followed by launches...

The fact that they are having the event at HQ would lend support to that theory. By keeping it on campus, they avoid some potential leaks that would be present at any other venue.

Edit: "fact" = not a fact, but rather that the "invitation" says that it is in Cupertino. If it is, in fact, a fact (lolz) then it makes sense.

 

[PeterQC]

But if it is so special and groundbreaking, why announce it in September with iPods at Apple's HQ when media coverage will be (relatively) limited?

Why would it be limited? They're Apple. No blog/media would like to miss it. There'll be more then enough coverage. And waiting until January is 4 full months. 4 full months of lost sells of brand new iPods and Macbooks of people buying PC or others thing because of the wait for the centrino 2 update.

 

[liptonlover]

if this event is real, I have a feeling it's more special than usual. We've got a lot of devices waiting for upgrades, the always lurking potential for something completely new, and just the general electricity in the air. Whatever it is, I can't wait.

In those pictures of the new nano, what does the bottom button say? I can't tell... I find it odd that the play/pause button would be moved to the middle.

 

[urbanskywalker]

Where did this image come from? Two events in two weeks seems a bit odd to me.

 

[jojo13]

Bring the new macs

3 lines for 3 new products :
macbook
mac mini
macbook touch (maybe)

 

[Clayne]

if this event is real, I have a feeling it's more special than usual. We've got a lot of devices waiting for upgrades, the always lurking potential for something completely new, and just the general electricity in the air. Whatever it is, I can't wait.

In those pictures of the new nano, what does the bottom button say? I can't tell... I find it odd that the play/pause button would be moved to the middle.

All fake ipods, chinapods, say "Vol" on the bottom button. Apple's has the Play/Pause logo. That's why those "leaks" aren't leaks at all.

 

[jojo13]

Where did this image come from? Two events in two weeks seems a bit odd to me.

a lot of products need refresh
THEY MUST HAVE 2 EVENTS
if they're not 2 weeks in a row, they are gonna be 4 weeks between them max and for me it's still odd : 2 events in two months
So 2 weeks in a row would be so cool and it would do a lot of noise

 

[CWallace]

Folks should not be confusing their wants with Apple's needs.

Apple is projected to ship 3 million Macs through next month and that projection was based on no new Mac models being released. And each of those Macs will be sold at a roughly 30% profit margin, as opposed to the roughly 10% profit margin a Wintel machine brings in for their OEMs.

Last quarter, Apple shipped 1.5 million Macs while Dell shipped a bit over 5 million and HP 4 million. So even with one-third the volume, they're matching the margins. And unlike Dell and HP, which were seeing their margins shrink during that time, Apple's were holding steady.

Now, Apple has admitted margins will be falling next quarter, but that implies volumes will likely be increasing because Apple is either going to lower prices or improve specifications without raising prices and either one will drive more sales.

So even if Apple margins drop to 25%, if sales increase to 4 million, they're still going to come out better overall, financially.

 

[madmaxmedia]

Now, Apple has admitted margins will be falling next quarter, but that implies volumes will likely be increasing because Apple is either going to lower prices or improve specifications without raising prices and either one will drive more sales.

Based on Apple's MO, I think they will more likely improve specs and features without raising prices. Which is absolutely fine by me.

The sole exception would be perhaps the starting MacBook and maybe Mac Mini- I think it favors Apple to hit those magical starting price points of $999 and $499 if possible. They're not too far off as is.

Of course bargain shoppers can find both at substantial discounts in the Apple store anyway.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised to see an iPod Touch at the $199 or $249 price point, even if its just for 8GB. I think that could significantly expand the user base for the iPhone/Touch OS, if Apple would like to start migrating users from other iPods to the Touch or iPhone.

That would actually be of huge benefit to Apple, as it further 'locks in' customers who not only invest in music, but in applications as well. The App Store has surpassed most all expectations, and no doubt is a huge selling point for Apple.

 

[iMacmatician]

If these invitations are real…

Wouldn't it make more sense for the Mac tablet to come out at the September 16 Mac event rather than the September 9 iPod event? This could mean that the Mac event would parallel last year's iPod event.

[B]Event:                              iPod (2006)   iPod (2007)     Mac (2008)[/B]
Simple update                       iPod          iPod shuffle    MacBook Air
Redesign                            iPod shuffle  iPod nano       MacBook Pro
Redesign with case material change  iPod nano     iPod (classic)  MacBook
New product                         Apple tv      iPod touch      MacBook touch

Based on Apple's MO, I think they will more likely improve specs and features without raising prices. Which is absolutely fine by me.

Apparently so.

Again, I can’t get in to what we will do in the future but as I look at our products today, I think we are incredibly well-priced from a competitive perspective. With the iPod, we start at $49 and go up to about $400, with many choices in between for customers, and I think we are as competitive today on the Mac as we’ve even been in the 12 years that I’ve been with Apple, so I’m very comfortable with our pricing.

 

[urbanskywalker]

Perhaps the profit margin shift is mostly to do wit the student deal of giving away free ipods.

Folks should not be confusing their wants with Apple's needs.

So even if Apple margins drop to 25%, if sales increase to 4 million, they're still going to come out better overall, financially.

 

[gazfocus]

Apple is projected to ship 3 million Macs through next month and that projection was based on no new Mac models being released. And each of those Macs will be sold at a roughly 30% profit margin, as opposed to the roughly 10% profit margin a Wintel machine brings in for their OEMs.

Last quarter, Apple shipped 1.5 million Macs while Dell shipped a bit over 5 million and HP 4 million. So even with one-third the volume, they're matching the margins. And unlike Dell and HP, which were seeing their margins shrink during that time, Apple's were holding steady.

If last quater, Apple shipped 1.5 million Macs, and they expected to ship 3 million Macs in one month (next month), the only logical way to predict this, would be if they were planning on updating the Macs.

 

[Freelancer91]

When they release the new macbook pro, do you think we'll see a price reduction like we did with the 3G? That would be awesome!

 

[CWallace]

Perhaps the profit margin shift is mostly to do wit the student deal of giving away free ipods.

And yet they do this promotion every year, but this is the first year they specifically noted it would eat into margins (or at least said margin loss was not due to the promotion).

If last quater, Apple shipped 1.5 million Macs, and they expected to ship 3 million Macs in one month (next month), the only logical way to predict this, would be if they were planning on updating the Macs.

Well the folks making the claims didn't say it was due to new models expected, but perhaps they implied it. Just with the average 40% quarterly growth, Apple would be on track to sell two million Macs this quarter compared to last. Add in the boost of back to school, and you could see another 10-20% right there, which would put you near 2.5 million units (at 60% growth).

When they release the new macbook pro, do you think we'll see a price reduction like we did with the 3G? That would be awesome!

More likely we will see better specs (larger HDDs and better video). We might see a CPU boost, as well (2.5GHz replacing the 2.4 as standard and 2.6 as a cheaper BTO option). There is also the chance of a 2.27GHz quad-core option at about the same price point as the current 2.6GHz option.

 

[Roessnakhan]

I don't think the market isn't big enough for a touchscreen computer.

 

[Mal]

If Apple was releasing a MacBook Touch in a bit over a week, manufacturing would have begun weeks ago and somebody would have discovered the FCC filing for it and posted it since even with the "stealth" period, we'd likely be around the time they had to make the filing available for public review.

Plus somebody would have like seen the case it would be in and leaked it. Or an accessory (a "body sleeve" or something).

You do realize that almost never happens, right? Apple's notorious for secrecy for a reason. They rarely have their new products revealed ahead of time (at least more than a day or so). FCC filings shouldn't have any connection either, because there's no new wireless technology in there. I don't think they would have to file if they're simply using the existing Airport (802.11n) technology in this device. They would if it would be 3G, but I find that unlikely.

jW

 

[t0mat0]

And yet they do this promotion every year, but this is the first year they specifically noted it would eat into margins (or at least said margin loss was not due to the promotion).

First time in a while it's been in the main section prior to Q&A, but definitely not the first time it's been mentioned with regards to gross margin and Back to school in Earning calls. It only got really emphasised because P.O. mentioned it in the main text, and the hacks questioned him relentlessly about it (over a half dozen times by my counting).

 

[t0mat0]

And yet they do this promotion every year, but this is the first year they specifically noted it would eat into margins (or at least said margin loss was not due to the promotion).

First time in a while it's been in the main section prior to Q&A, but definitely not the first time it's been mentioned with regards to gross margin and Back to school in Earning calls. It only got really emphasised because P.O. mentioned it in the main text, and the hacks questioned him relentlessly about it (over a half dozen times by my counting).

Think that's what your'e getting at anyhow

 

[gazfocus]

Well the folks making the claims didn't say it was due to new models expected, but perhaps they implied it. Just with the average 40% quarterly growth, Apple would be on track to sell two million Macs this quarter compared to last. Add in the boost of back to school, and you could see another 10-20% right there, which would put you near 2.5 million units (at 60% growth).

Yes, but even that would be 2.5 million Macs (at 60% growth) over a quarter (3 months)...The folks making the claims say 3 million Macs in a single month.

 

[CWallace]

FCC filings shouldn't have any connection either, because there's no new wireless technology in there. I don't think they would have to file if they're simply using the existing Airport (802.11n) technology in this device. They would if it would be 3G, but I find that unlikely.

I would expect Apple would have to prove that even existing wireless technologies in this new form-factor would not cause problems.

And Apple knew the iPhone would be leaked before June, which is why they showed it off at MacWorld in January. As such, my argument was not that they could not announce such a product for future release, but that they likely could not offer it for sale the same day of the event.

 

[iMacmatician]

More support for "real"?

Some people predicted two events: September for iPods and iTunes, and October or so for Macs. Some others predicted non-event Mac updates on September 16. But few people if any predicted two events so close together. So these invitations, out of the ordinary and unexpected, may be more likely to be real.

As such, my argument was not that they could not announce such a product for future release, but that they likely could not offer it for sale the same day of the event.

If they do announce but not release the tablet, that would support the lack of leaks on the tablet.

 

[andyjam]

Some people predicted two events: September for iPods and iTunes, and October or so for Macs. Some others predicted non-event Mac updates on September 16. But few people if any predicted two events so close together. So these invitations, out of the ordinary and unexpected, may be more likely to be real.

If they do announce but not release the tablet, that would support the lack of leaks on the tablet.

Or the lack of rumors could lead to say that there is actually no tablet at all. I really do not believe that apple is stupid enough to enter this failing market. What's more likely is some type of touch screen remote thing, like we saw iun all the patents (iMac with thing sticking iout the side) where a user can control the computer over the WIFI network. Same basis as the remote app for iphone/touch. Otherwise - no new touch products...

 

[kabunaru]

I just want to see the new MacBooks and Cinema Displays the most.