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It’s time for Apple’s first event of 2015, and it’s sure to be a big one.
The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant will host an event at 10 a.m. PT on March 9 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. The company has held many of its product introductions in the downtown venue, which is larger than the Town Hall auditorium on its campus. Its most recent event held at Yerba Buena was the introduction of the iPad Air in October 2013.
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CNET will be out in full force to bring you all the news, photos and commentary from the event. We’ll kick things off at 9 a.m. PT with a live video show from CNET’s San Francisco headquarters (just a couple of blocks from where the Apple event is taking place). Ashley Esqueda and Donald Bell will guide you through the entire event and follow up with post-game analysis.
The March 9 event comes about five months after Apple’s last event, in October, at which it showed off the iPad Air 2 and new Macintosh computers. In September, the company hosted one of the biggest events in its history, taking over the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in its Cupertino hometown to show off its bigger screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones and its first wearable device, the Apple Watch. It also introduced Apple Pay, a new mobile payments service that has spread quickly since its October launch.
See also
- CNET’s thoughts on Apple Watch
- What to expect from Apple’s March 9 event (hint: more than just the Watch)
- Apple’s 2015: Building on an already huge 2014
- Apple rings up big holiday sales thanks to larger-screen iPhone 6
- Eddy Cue: Here’s how Apple Pay works on an Apple Watch
It’s the Apple Watch that likely will be the star of the March 9 event. Apple has said it plans to start selling the smartwatch, which starts at $349, in April, and there are still some details it hasn’t yet revealed — including just how much the 18-karat gold version will cost. We also could hear more about where and how Apple will be selling the device, and we’re sure to learn more about some apps that will be offered on Apple Watch.
On Friday, March 6, Apple exec Eddy Cue talked a bit about how Apple Pay would work with the Apple Watch and with the older iPhone 5, 5C and 5S models, and about the company’s partnership with the Golden State Warriors basketball team.
Wearable tech is the first major new category for Apple since it launched the iPad in 2010, and it’s the first new major initiative under CEO Tim Cook’s leadership. It’s vital for Apple to give people a reason to buy Apple Watch. So far, reception toward wearables has been tepid at best. But Canalys Research believes sales of smartwatches and basic fitness bands combined will more than double to 43.2 million this year, largely helped by Apple Watch.
While the watch is a given at the March 9 event, Apple may also use the time to refresh other product lines, including its Macintosh computers, its Apple TV streaming media box and possibly even its iPads.
Apple watchers have long been waiting for the company to incorporate its high definition Retina Displays in its MacBook Air laptop. The thin and light device, which set off a rush by rivals to create lookalikes, has helped Apple’s Mac business go through a resurgence while many competitors are struggling. Revenue from Macs reached a record high in Apple’s fiscal first quarter that ended in December. The MacBook Air is the only laptop in Apple’s line that doesn’t yet come with the option for a Retina screen.
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We also could see a bigger screen iPad, dubbed the “iPad Pro.” Apple’s iPad line has been struggling in recent months, with sales dropping four quarters in a row. Apple’s newest tablets hit the market in October, but analysts say the incremental changes likely aren’t enough to attract buyers in droves. An iPad Pro is expected to sport a 12.9-inch display, putting it more in line with Mac computers than Apple’s tablets, which currently top out at 9.7 inches.
Then there’s Apple TV. Apple hasn’t updated the $99 hardware for its streaming media box in three years, though it has continued to add more software features. The hardware is long overdue for an update, and recent reports say the company also is working on a service that allows users to watch live TV over the Internet. Apple has hinted for quite some time that it’s working on a more complete, over-the-top video streaming service. However, there have been no signs such a product is close to ready, which largely has been attributed to difficulties securing content deals at reasonable rates.
Another possibility at the March 9 event is the release of more details about what Apple’s doing with Beats, which it bought last year for $3 billion. The company plans to launch a new paid streaming music service that’s Apple-designed but uses Beats’ technologies and music content, recent reports said. Still we may not see this service until Apple’s developer conference in June or even later.
Tune in to CNET for full coverage of Apple’s March 9 event.
Editors’ note: This story was originally published March 2 at 12:00 p.m. PT.
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