Apple Confirms Sept. 12 Launch -- WSJ

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (September 1, 2017).

Apple Inc. on Thursday confirmed plans to hold its annual product launch event on Sept. 12 at its new headquarters, making it the inaugural public showcase at the $5 billion campus.

The announcement, confirming an article Monday in The Wall Street Journal, formally sets the stage for the unveiling of a new iPhone model loaded with features like facial-recognition technology and wireless charging. High expectations for that device have helped fuel a surge in Apple's stock price this year, capped by a nearly 10% run in August.

Apple said the event will be held at the Steve Jobs Theater in the new headquarters campus, which is still being completed. The 1,000-seat auditorium is located inside a circular, glass-walled structure with a heavy, carbon-fiber roof that was designed to resemble a MacBook Air suspended in space.

The company is expected to unveil three iPhones, including the pricier new model to mark the product's 10th anniversary and updates to the two iPhone 7 models that debuted last year.

Apple is projected to ship 25 million units of the pricier iPhone in the quarter that ends next month, according to Susquehanna International Group, even though sales of the phone aren't expected to start until Sept. 22.

Apple also is expected to unveil a new Apple Watch with an LTE cellular chip that can access wireless services like emails, texts and calls without being tethered to an iPhone. And the company is likely to show off a new version of its streaming-media device compatible with 4K televisions that offer more than 8 million pixels a frame -- significantly sharper than traditional high-definition video.

Write to Tripp Mickle at Tripp.Mickle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 01, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)