Last night, Apple sent out invitations to its next event, scheduled for March 25 at its in-house Steve Jobs Theatre. The motto of the event is "It's show time"—and not for the first time.
The upcoming Apple keynote has been eagerly awaited for weeks. Previous rumors have already suggested the date. Apple chooses a unique theme for each event—a repeat is essentially out of the question. But last night came a surprise: the theme, "It's show time," is similar to a keynote from 2006. Only the spelling is different. Back then, Apple hosted the event in September 2006 under the theme "It's showtime."
birth of iTV
In September 2006, Apple presented the iTV for the first time - the first generation of what would later become the Apple TV. Analysts and fans were very enthusiastic. However, the big breakthrough came later. Today, almost 13 years later, the Apple TV seems to be slowly losing its importance. Both Samsung and other TV manufacturers announced a new cooperation with Apple at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. As a result, iTunes will be available on Smart TVs. Apple's AirPlay 2 should make it possible to stream Apple devices directly to third-party TVs.
Apple Music has shown the way
In the past, this was only possible with the Apple TV. Market observers see this step as part of a change in strategy. The iGroup has already made Apple Music available on Android devices - Apple's music service has also recently been available on Amazon's Echo speakers - but initially only in the USA. Apple wants to generate more revenue with its own services. Previously, Apple devices were the prerequisite for this. Now Cupertino seems to have wanted to relax this policy for some time and make implementation less dependent on its own device sales.
New era from the end of March?
Now a keynote is scheduled under the same motto as back then – It’s show time. Observers interpret this as a hint of a new TV streaming service. This is supposed to be different from iTunes itself. In the past, there have been repeated reports about Apple’s own TV and film productions. According to this, Apple wants to become a competitor to Netflix and Amazon Prime. Whether the new subscription service will be launched on March 25th It remains to be seen whether it will actually be introduced. It is also impossible to predict with any certainty whether it will be available worldwide immediately. New services are often first introduced in the USA and only made available in other countries later.
