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What Investors Need to Know Ahead of Apple's Keynote Event

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Shares of Apple (AAPL - Free Report) climbed on Monday morning, just one day before the technology giant is set to unveil its newest offerings—including the 10th anniversary iPhone—at a keynote event in Cupertino.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook will present—for the first time ever—inside the new Steve Jobs Theater on Tuesday at 10 a.m. PDT. The most valuable technology company in the world will likely reveal its newest iPhones, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

Speculation surrounding the highly anticipated event, and the new iPhone, has swirled for more than a year. And tomorrow’s event is likely to prove vital for Apple ahead of the company’s upcoming holiday quarter.

Apple saw its stock price pop 1.2% premarket, and its shares jumped over 2% during Monday morning trading.

What Is Set To Be Unveiled?

A few large Apple-focused news outlets – such as 9to5Mac, MacRumors, and AppleInsiderbegan to share over the weekend the most up to date rumors about the new iPhone based on leaked information and unreleased versions of the phone.

Apple's new iPhones will reportedly be called the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. Based on previous leaks and rumors, it was assumed that the company would debut its now-customary updates to its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus along with the iPhone 8, or 10th Anniversary model.

The new iPhone is projected to feature a nearly-edge-to-edge OLED display, wireless charging, and the complete removal of the home button. The button will be replaced with a virtual bottom bar, which will be used to access the home screen, switch apps, and more. The bar will also supposedly be able to be manipulated and moved.

Apple’s new iPhone will likely feature a 3D facial recognition scanner and may include a gesture system, which would be similar to those used for the iPad. The iPhone X will run on the new iOS 11 GM operating system and will feature a much-improved camera, as well as a more crisp display.

The phone is set to revert back to a glass body encased by a stainless steel frame—similar to the iPhone 4—in order to support wireless charging. The device is similar in size to the iPhone 7, but will be smaller than the iPhone 7 Plus. The rear camera will be vertical instead of horizontal.

Apple Watch and TV

The Apple Watch is set to be able to work, for the most part, without an iPhone present. The new watch will be able to use fast LTE data in order to play music and other data driven functions. The design of the company’s 3rd generation smartwatch won’t change much, but a new range of bands will reportedly be available.

The updated version of Apple TV will feature 4K video streaming and support High Dynamic Range (HDR) video. Apple is currently negotiating with companies to try to offer 4K movies for $20, but content providers want to charge around $30 a film.

Bottom Line

Apple has essentially become an iPhone company, as the phones account for roughly 63% of revenues. The year before the iPhone debuted in 2007, Apple’s sales were $19 billion. In 2016, with almost a decade worth of iPhone sales and more than seven iterations of the game-changing smartphone under its belt, Apple reported revenues of over $215 billion.

The iPhone is seemingly immune to big-time competition, especially in the U.S. But the $1,000 price tag might mean Apple will have to really blow customers and fans away tomorrow when it unveils the iPhone X.

If the new 10th anniversary iPhone doesn’t prove to be a game changer, Apple’s holiday quarter could also prove to be less than stellar.

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

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