Apple iPhone 8 launch: Company prepares live coverage of new handset's release date event

The event will be the first at Apple's brand new Steve Jobs theatre, the change confirms

Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, discusses the audio features of the iPhone 7 during a media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016 (Reuters)

Apple is preparing its live coverage of the huge iPhone announcement that is coming in days.

The company has updated its special Events app on the Apple TV, readying it ahead of the launch on 12 September.

Apple's new page features the same colour scheme as the invites that were sent out to journalists, and encourages people to watch "the first-ever special event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California".

The Steve Jobs theatre is part of the brand new Apple Park campus, which will be opened for the first time to the public as part of the launch of the iPhone 8.

Apple's new handset is rumoured to pack in a range of new features, including an edge-to-edge screen and technology that allows people to unlock their phone with their face. It's expected to be launched alongside a new Apple TV, Watch and updated versions of the iPhone 7.

It will be launched at the California event on 12 September. Pre-orders will likely open a few days later, and the handset will actually go on sale about a week after that.

The news confirms that Apple will run a livestream of the event. As well as showing it on the Apple TV, the company will almost certainly livestream the event on web browsers that can be viewed on laptops and mobile phones – though like always, that will be restricted only to some devices.

Of course, there's almost no chance that Apple wouldn't livestream the iPhone launch event, despite holding closed launches in the past. The company has reliably livestreamed most of its events for the last five years or so, and has been adding new ways to do so – apps like the one for Apple TV, as well as liveblogging on other platforms like its own website.

You can follow all the latest on the brand new iPhone here.