As we count the weeks until the iPhone event, a Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman caused a bit of a stir this week. It wasn’t about features, design, or pricing—rather, it was about staffing at the September event.
According to a memo seen by Bloomberg News, Apple has instituted a lottery to give retail workers “the opportunity to participate in the Event Support Experience Program.” According to the memo, the event will take place the first two weeks of September, and winners will be selected by Aug. 17, per the memo. Winning employees will help “organize lines, check in guests, greet attendees, offer directions and support the security teams.”
Gurman says that Apple has long used retail employees for events like these, but I can’t remember a report like this previously. I searched for anything about a lottery or staffing opportunity and couldn’t find anything about a similar program in prior years. So opening the opportunity to head to Apple Park to all U.S. workers appears to be a new thing.
Here’s where the plot thickens, so to speak. In a post on X promoting the story, Gurman wrote, “NEW: Apple gears up for in-person iPhone event in the first half of September, asking retail employees to apply for a lottery to work the event.” The story he links to doesn’t mention anything about an “in-person” event, but obviously the employees will need to be on-site to work the event.
The use of the phrase “in-person” is a loaded one. Apple hasn’t held a live keynote since September 2019 when it unveiled the iPhone 11 and Apple Watch Series 5. Since then, it has presented prerecorded online keynote presentations, sometimes inviting members of the press to watch at Apple Park.
However, there are signs that Apple could be returning. Back in March, Apple unveiled the MacBook Neo at events around the world to small crowds. It wasn’t anything resembling a full keynote, but at the New York event, incoming CEO John Ternus (then VP of Hardware) was on hand to introduce the new machine and lead attendees to the hands-on area. And he just happens to be taking over as CEO on September 1, mere days before the iPhone event.
If there was going to be a perfect time when Apple would return to in-person events, it’s this now. Not only is it John Ternus’ first event as CEO, but it’s also widely expected that Apple will introduce its first folding phone at the event as well. That easily makes it one of the most anticipated events of the past decade, so what better time to gather people for an old-fashioned live keynote?
Whatever the format, Apple will likely hold its iPhone event on Wednesday, September 9, or Tuesday, September 15. Along with the folding iPhone, Apple is also expected to release the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, and possibly Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini refreshes.
