Early this morning, Apple officially announced its iPhone Media Event for October 4th, confirming prior speculation. The announcement also confirms rumors surrounding the location, which will be Apple’s own Town Hall Auditorium. Now that October 4th is the official date and it is clear the event is iPhone 5 /iPhone 4s related, speculation about the invitation image is beginning to surface.
Each of the four icons gives specific information regarding the date, time, place and topic – October 4th, 10:00 (AM PST), Apple Headquarters, and iPhone, respectively. Although, these are the clear indications, it leaves us to wondering what else we can glean from this information.
- Most striking is the #1 badge on the phone app icon. Aside from someone missing a call, several other educated guesses can be formulated. The badge could indicate that only 1 iPhone is being released. If this is the case, the question arises of whether it will be the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5. The iPhone 4S may not be considered a large enough upgrade to be termed “new,” thus the reference may indicate the release of a redesigned iPhone 5.
- “Let’s Talk iPhone,” is the moniker for the event. The “let’s” part is most appealing. Who is us? Is it Apple and the media? That would make sense, considering the invitation is going out to the media. However, it could also mean the iPhone. As in, “iPhone, let’s talk.” This could point toward the rumored advancement in personal assistant voice technology, presumably called Assistant, that will be built into iOS 5.
- The exclusion of any iPod related marketing may indicate Apple’s choice to not update any of the current iPod models, save an iOS upgrade for iPod touch owners.
The good news is that Apple pays very particular attention to their advertising. They are one of the best marketing companies in the world. Every move they make is intentional. This intentionality leads the casual observer to trust every message they send. Knowing Apple is intentional about their advertising may lead us to believe that small mistakes are true. Previously, Apple mistakenly released their Photo Stream graphic updates. This update included an iPhone 5 icon, with larger screen size and a wider Home Screen button. Hopefully, that was a glimpse into the future.
Best case scenario, the badge represents the new “iPhone 5,” which is full of upgrades and new possibilities.
What do you think about the #1 icon badge on the invitation? Let us know in the comments.
