Apple Inc. announced that its biggest product launch event of the year will take place on October 13.
The Cupertino, California-based tech giant posted the event date Tuesday with the slogan “Hi, speed.”
Despite a rapid expansion in services and new devices, the iPhone remains Apple’s most important product. The smartphone generates about half of Apple’s revenue and is the central engine of AirPods and Apple Watches sales. The iPhone is also the most widely used device for subscribing to services and downloading applications, which in many cases gives Apple a share of the revenue.
5G wireless support in the new iPhones will put Apple face to face with the latest offerings from Samsung Electronics Co., Google, and others.
The new line will also mark Apple’s largest screen size variation in years, adding a 5.4-inch model and a 6.7-inch version, Bloomberg News reported.
The new phones will have the most dramatic redesign since the iPhone X in 2017, adding square sides to replace the current rounded edges.
The company is also expected to remove the charging wall adapter from the new iPhone cases, a move Apple has said would help the environment. The change could also save the company tens of millions of dollars a year.
Even with next week’s announcement, some of the new models are not expected to be widely available for several weeks due to supply limitations.
Beyond new iPhones, the company is working on headsets and physical device tracking tags that will be introduced this year. Apple also plans to announce Macs with the company’s own custom processors starting in November.
