The theatre of the new product launch

The glitzy launch event yesterday, at which Sir James Dyson took over Tokyo Tower to reveal the robot in from of the assembled press, looks like it took almost as long to develop as the product itself.

Big tech brands have long known that a razzle-dazzle launch event is the best way to get the press and public engaged in a new product and to overlook key questions (Such as in Dyson’s case the fact that there is currently no price or release date for the 360 Eye).

Dyson teased the launch event with a pre-release video that asked viewers to guess what ‘project N223’ might be – most correctly concluded that it was a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Samsung, which also had some major product releases this week, took a similarly high-profile launch tactic. Its Gear VR headset, Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge smartphone were unveiled at simultaneous events in Berlin, Beijing and New York as part of the ‘Unpacked’ launch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bWLnUO_p5w

The master of the major product launch is, of course Apple. The brand even warrants its own ‘Apple Media Events’ Wikipedia page, which runs over past highlights such as the 2007 iPhone launch and the 2011 iPad 2 unveil, which was presented by Steve Jobs despite him being on medical leave.

Apple’s next big launch is planned for 9 September – and the company is rumoured to be about to release updates to the iPhone and iPad alongside a smartwatch.

The launch will be at the Flint Centre in Cupertino, California, the site where Jobs introduced the new Mac.

Speculation has hit fever pitch after an aerial video revealed a huge new building being created around the Flint Centre to host the Apple event. Whatever Apple does unveil next week, it looks set to do it in the boldest, biggest way possible.