Apple's annual keynote addresses have long been a form of entertainment in themselves. They are fun, sleekly assembled yet strangely simple presentations that follow a certain formula deliberately engineered to build suspense.
Late CEO Steve Jobs set the tone for these keynotes, affectionately dubbed "Stevenotes," making it his trademark to save the splashy new product announcements for the end. And Apple CEO Tim Cook has chosen to mostly stick to the same formula.
Back when Jobs was synonymous with Apple, the tech visionary had a distinctive low-key keynote presentation style. He eschewed expensive suits in favour of his trademark jeans and black turtleneck. He used just a few slides and short presentation videos, plenty of excited language, and the often-mocked use of pregnant pauses. And he liked to save the best for last.
Audiences left hanging
Audiences learned to expect to be left hanging, eagerly awaiting the moment when Jobs would pretend to be wrapping up before turning back to the crowd to say, "Oh, there's one more thing…"
It was almost always after his last "One more thing…" that Jobs would make the biggest announcements – an amazingly thin new MacBook, for example, a new iPod incarnation, or the launch of Facetime.
In recent years, Apple CEO Tim Cook hasn't strayed far from the path that Jobs laid. The presentation will typically begin with some staid but necessary content, such as a review of the Apple products released in the last year as well as a look at this year's sales figures.
Jokes and jabs
There will be a few jokes and jabs at competitors such as Microsoft and Google. There could be a few flubs.
There could even be a performance this year by U2, one of Jobs' favourite bands. The rumour is the group could play live to promote its new album as well one of Apple's yet-to-be announced new gadgets.
Music has played a big part in a number of Apple presentations. Singer-songwriter John Mayer performed during several Macworld presentations and appeared on stage with Jobs to show off the new iPod mini and to help debut Apple's music production software, GarageBand.
Waiting, and…
Sprinkled somewhere in the presentation will be the announcement about the latest iPhone. Dan Frommer at Quartz.com has calculated that on average, Apple keynotes last about 88 minutes and it takes a full 45 minutes to get to the iPhone stuff.
But that's just the average. At the 2009 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Jobs dragged out the suspense, taking a full 102 minutes before giving the dirt on the new iPhone 3GS. In 2012, Cook took a different approach, waiting just 11 minutes to introduce Apple marketing VP Phil Schiller, who revealed the iPhone 5.
This year, keynote watchers may not have to wait as long. That's because the buzz is that there will be plenty to announce, including a rumoured new line of wearable devices, two new iPhones and perhaps a wireless payment system.
Then, the only long wait will be for the products to actually make it to stores.
