Apple has confirmed what everybody in the consumer gadget press already thought to be true: The company is making an iPhone announcement at its Cupertino, California, headquarters on October 4 at 10 am PT.
The confirmation, of a report originally made by All Things D, came by way of a simple and semi-cryptic press invitation from Apple with the words “Let’s Talk iPhone,” and featuring four iOS app icons: One of a calendar featuring the date of the event, Tuesday, October 4, one of a clock with the time, a Google Maps icon showing the location of the company’s headquarters and an iPhone icon with the number 1 in red, signifying one new update.
The question still remains whether Apple will unveil its much-hyped, all new iPhone 5, a less exciting updated iPhone 4S, a white iPod touch, a long-delayed Facebook iPad app and new Facebook iPhone app update, or some combination thereof.
Still unclear also is just when any of the new products would be available. Earlier reports noted that a defect in the iPhone touchscreen manufacturing line could hamper the supply chain.
Beside the usual hype that surrounds an Apple product launch, the move comes at an especially interesting time for the company, following the resignation of Steve Jobs on August 24 and the appointment of Tim Cook to the position of CEO. Cook is expected to lead the October 4 event. This will be his first time helming an iPhone launch.
Meanwhile, Amazon is expected to announce what’s being called the “Kindle Fire,” its own competitor to the Apple iPad on Wednesday, September 28.
It’s also been over a year since the last iPhone was unveiled in June 2010, marking the longest time between new models since the first iPhone was unveiled in 2007.
And yet, the mystery over a lost Apple prototype phone, purported to be the iPhone 5, still remains unresolved. The latest update in that bizarre case, in which San Francisco Police officers escorted Apple employees on their search of man’s home for the phone, came on Monday, when SFPD officials reportedly requested surveillance footage from the bar where the prototype was thought to be lost, Cava 22.
TPM’s Idea Lab has reached out to the San Francisco Police Department and Apple and will update when we get a response.
