Apple Inc. is preparing for its largest product rollout of the year, and it is using a lottery to pick the behind-the-scenes team. US store employees can enter a drawing for roles at the September iPhone event, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News.
The event is still a few weeks away, but the chosen workers already have a clear job description. The employees who win the drawing would handle line management, guest check-in, attendee greetings, directions, and security-team support.
The winners will be doing the unglamorous work while the people on stage get the attention.
Apple has used store staff as launch support for years. The lottery is a chance to join what Apple calls the Event Support Experience Program, and the memo says Apple is "excited to offer US store team members the opportunity to participate."
Store employees have until Aug. 8 to apply.
Apple will notify selected employees by Aug. 17. Employees who worked last year's iPhone launch or this year's Worldwide Developers Conference are not eligible.
An Apple spokesperson in Cupertino, California, declined to comment.
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Apple has not named a specific day for the event, only saying it will happen in the first half of September. In past years, the company has held its September iPhone event on the month's second Tuesday or Wednesday.
Labor Day lands on Monday, Sept. 7. That points to a Wednesday date, since Apple has customarily left a workday travel window for attendees.
This launch is not just another product cycle. John Ternus is set to succeed Tim Cook as CEO on Sept. 1, which makes this his first major rollout as chief executive.
It also means Ternus takes the biggest stage of the year just days after taking the top job.
The event should feature a foldable iPhone for the first time. It should also show off the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, updated Apple Watch models, and other hardware.
A foldable iPhone would be a brand-new product category for Apple, not just a faster version of the same phone. The launch question is simple: will a new shape convince people to trade in a phone that already works?
The employee lottery is invisible to most people, but the launch itself is not.
For investors, the key question is whether the foldable iPhone creates a new wave of upgrades. If it does, the effect would show up in future earnings.
If it does not, the pressure lands on Ternus to find the next big thing.
The foldable iPhone, if it arrives, is the first big test of Ternus's product strategy. It is also the thing most likely to catch the attention of people who usually wait a few years between upgrades.
The September event is where Apple makes its pitch for your attention and your wallet. The products shown there are the ones you will be weighing for years, and the ones that will help decide how Apple's stock performs.
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