The iPhone 16 event is already breaking all the rules

If you thought the last week of August was going to be a slow one, Apple had other plans. Just before 9 am PT on Monday, Apple sent out invitations for the iPhone 16 event to be held on September 9 with the curious tagline, “It’s Glowtime.”

Apple’s event invites are always the focus of intense speculation, but this one takes it to a different level. For one, the event is on a Monday, which is an incredibly rare day for any Apple event but especially an iPhone event. The last time Apple held an iPhone event on a Monday was in 2010 when Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 4 during the WWDC kickoff keynote. Every standalone iPhone event since has been held on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Of note: September 9 is exactly 10 years to the day since the Apple Watch was unveiled, which could mean Apple is planning an anniversary edition.

Then there’s the invitation itself. The Apple logo is surrounded by a neon glow that matches the color scheme used in the Apple Intelligence logo. That makes sense since the iPhone 16 lineup will be the first to fully support Apple Intelligence and it’ll be a major selling point. However, the first features won’t be arriving until iOS 18.1, which presumably won’t be pre-installed on the new models. So Apple could be implying that there will be some Apple Intelligence features that are exclusive to the new models in iOS 18.

The tagline is another story. Generally, Apple’s taglines are somewhat vague but could apply to any number of things:

• iPhone 15: Wonderlust
• iPhone 14: Far Out
• iPhone 13: California Streaming
• iPhone 12: Hi, Speed
• iPhone 11: By Innovation Only
• iPhone XS: Gather Round
• iPhone X: Let’s Meet at Our Place

None of these taglines tell us anything other than there’s an event (iPhone 13, XS, X), the new iPhone will be better (iPhone 12, 11), and you should be excited (iPhone 15, 14). This year’s tagline, however, is a bit more specific. Glowtime can’t really refer to a new chip, a better camera, or a new color.

It could refer to a glowing Apple logo on the back of the iPhone, which is highly unlikely. It could also refer to the new Siri interface, which is far more probable given the Apple Intelligence-inspired color scheme. But that’s not a feature exclusive to the iPhone 16 so it would be strange to use it as a unique feature of the latest iPhone—especially one that’s not coming for several weeks after the phone arrives. Maybe it has nothing to do with the iPhone at all.

At any rate, this event is shaping up to be one of the more unconventional ones. So if you’re as excited as us, you can follow along with all the rumors in our iPhone 16 superguide leading up to the big day.

iPhone 16 is the next iPhone to arrive in September 2024, and will be followed in 2025 by the iPhone 17 and iPhone SE 4. The new iPhone will arrive at a September launch event – find out how to watch the Apple September event live stream. For iPhone SE 4 and other new Apple products, see when is the next Apple event. You might also like our iPhone buying guide, best iPhone deals, and comparison of every iPhone that is available to buy today.