Apple hints that the iPhone 14 unveiling will include something not seen since iPhone 11

If you've ever viewed the video showing the full unveiling of the original iPhone by the late Steve Jobs on January 9th, 2007 at MacWorld, you'll feel the electricity that came from the live audience. Anyone lucky enough to be in the Moscone Center that day probably told their grandkids multiple times how they were there when the ultimate consumer product was first introduced.

It is hard to believe that more than 15 years have passed since that day and while current Apple CEO Tim Cook isn't a bad host, no one could captivate an audience with humor, promotion, and excitement like Steve Jobs and leave a live audience on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately, thanks to COVID-19, over the last couple of years Apple has had to announce the new iPhone models (the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 13 lines) on streaming video only without a live audience watching.

Yes, Apple has done a masterful job-as has Google-creating interesting videos that keep the attention of the audience at home streaming the event live or on demand. But if Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has read the tea leaves correctly, Apple might have left a clue revealing that it will be introducing the iPhone 14 line in front of real people inside the Steve Jobs Theater. In his weekly Power On newsletter released today, Gurman points out that the expected September 7th unveiling will take place on a Wednesday, unusual for Apple.

Mark's explanation of why Apple would choose what he calls "an atypical day for Apple product launches" makes sense. He says that the company wanted to leave the Tuesday after Labor Day open as a travel day for the media and other guests traveling to Cupertino for the event. And that could mean that the clacking sounds from the keyboards belonging to writers, the "oohs and ahhhs" heard when a new feature is introduced, and the rollicking laughter when a joke is made will be returning to the Steve Jobs Theater.

In other words, it seems that Apple will once again allow a live "studio audience" into the theater to witness the introduction of the 6.1-inch iPhone 14, 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max. Gurman concludes that Apple will continue to use video to show new products and new features online but will also show it on a giant screen to those in attendance.

Apple is clearly marking the dividing line between the cheaper non-Pro models and the more expensive premium Pro handsets. The premium phones will be powered by the new 4nm A16 Bionic chipset while the non-Pro models will continue to use last year's 5nm A15 Bionic (which is no slouch, it should be noted). The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will have better quality AMOLED displays, and a 48MP Wide camera compared to 12MP on the non-Pro variants.

Additionally, the more expensive phones will sport the new "i cut outs" while the cheaper models get to wear the same old notch. While both non-Pro and Pro models get 6GB of memory, the pricier units will have faster LPDDR5 RAM.

Gurman also notes that this will be the earliest iPhone unveiling since the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were met by an adoring public on September 7th, 2016. If he is right, six years later the iPhone 14 series will be introduced with a release date of September 16th.

The early unveiling and release of its most popular device could be huge for Apple and Apple investors. During the company's fiscal fourth quarter (which concludes at the end of next month), Apple will be able to include an extra week of iPhone 14 sales for the three-month period. Gurman points out that Apple was facing a tough comparison with last year's fiscal fourth quarter. For that quarter last year, Apple reported revenue growth of 29%.

Analysts have already hiked their estimates of Apple's revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter to $89 billion. This would handily top the $83 billion in revenue reported by Apple for the same quarter last year.

Along with the new iPhone models, we expect to see Apple introduce three new Apple Watch models including an expensive, rugged Pro model, and the budget-priced Apple Watch SE (2022). In October, Apple is expected to introduce a new entry-level iPad that could include a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, and some other changes. During the same event, we should also see Apple announce the latest iPad Pro series with the 12.9-inch model sporting a mini-LCD display once again, delivering blacker blacks, 1,600 nits peak brightness, and a million to one contrast ratio.