The next Apple launch event will take place on September 7. Apple has confirmed it. This is the big iPhone 14 reveal, but we also think the Apple Watch 8 will get its moment in the spotlight on the same date.
It is not the only point in the remainder of 2022 this could happen. But we have four reasons we believe it's going to happen, and we’d bet the iPod touch at the bottom of our sock drawer it will.
Big changes for this year are reported to include a temperature sensor, perhaps a new Watch SE model, and a fresh Apple Watch Pro variant with an even bigger screen. Can't wait for the new Apple Watch? Here’s why you should be marking September 7 on your calendar.
1. History tells us it will happen
Every Apple Watch bar the original has been announced alongside the new iPhones of that year. 2022 may have been rough, but not quite rough enough to throw Apple’s train-like event momentum off course too much. Here’s the history of Apple Watch announcement dates so far, for the full picture:
- Apple Watch: April 2015
- Apple Watch Series 2: September 2016
- Apple Watch Series 3: September 2017
- Apple Watch Series 4: September 2018
- Apple Watch Series 5: September 2019
- Apple Watch SE: September 2020
- Apple Watch Series 6: September 2020
- Apple Watch Series 7: September 2021
The latest model, Apple Watch 7’s availability was delayed a month due to production issues—which have blighted many tech companies since 2020 as a result of the global health crisis. That it was only a month was remarkable in itself.
Apple’s regularity is important not just for its share valuation, that sense of never-ending innovation tech companies seem to live off. If the release window is derailed, Apple’s generally super-high customer satisfaction risks taking a dip if, the next year, Apple decides to release a new model in significantly under 12 months. People don’t generally like their pricey tech to seem out of date that quickly.
2. (Almost) all the analysts agree
A lot of rumors and leaks simply assume the Apple Watch Series 8 will be announced alongside the iPhone 14. It’s business as usual.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who is one of the more reliable sources for pre-release Apple info pegged the Apple launch event for September 7 long before it was announced. He specifically mentions the Apple Watch Series 8 alongside the iPhone 14, and claims the release date will be September 16. This is normal for Apple, with just a slight delay between the launch event and Apple Store availability.
This is from a recent report published on August 17, a bit late for timings to be pushed back by anything aside from an emergency event.
3. Apple can’t let Google steal the spotlight
The two possible points, we know of, when Apple could announce the Apple Watch Series 8 are during September at the iPhone 14 reveal, and in October when a series of iPads are rumored to be discussed.
Other industry rumblings paint the September event as the better option. Google is expected to fully unveil the Pixel Watch in October, after its sneak preview during Google IO. Leaker Jon Prosser claims the date is October 13.
Apple will not want to compete for attention, in the same category, with arguably its biggest rival. This is particularly true in this case, as the Pixel Watch represents a sort-of reboot of Wear OS. Even if this reboot actually started way back in August 2021 with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, the first watch to use WearOS 3.
4. The new features tie in with an iPhone staple
Apple can either launch the Apple Watch Series 8 with this year’s new iPhones, or the upcoming iPads Apple is expected to reveal around a month later in October. When you see the rumored new health-focused features of the watch, and the existing ones which interface with your phone such as accepting and rejecting calls, it becomes clear the iPhone is a better partner.
The Apple Watch Series 8 is likely to have a new temperature sensor, which can be used to alert the wearer to possible oncoming illness, and to help track menstrual cycles. All this stuff feeds into Apple Health, which is commonly discussed — you guessed it — during iPhone launches. And WWDC, but that has already happened this year.
While all the products in a launch event do not have to be entirely tied up like organs in the one creature, Apple does try hard to give its presentations a strong sense of direction and narrative. Having these links between categories does just that.
