Apple’s Big Launch Event: What to Expect

When Apple announced last week it would be holding its latest launch event at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose (pictured above) this Tuesday, there was a fair amount of head-scratching in the blogosphere.

Why there? Why choose an obscure old-timey theatre for what is likely to be the company's first new product line in years, the iPad Mini?

In recent years, the company has opted to launch gadgets at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco (as it did for the iPhone 5 and new iPad events earlier this year). When it wanted a more intimate venue, as for the iPhone 4S launch last October, the company invited journalists to the Apple campus at 1 Infinite Loop itself.

In fact, the California Theatre already has a storied place in Apple history — and is larger than it looks. Seating just over 1,000 (slightly more than Yerba Buena), this is the venue where Steve Jobs brought Bono and the Edge on stage to launch the U2-branded iPod. That was 8 years ago this week.

I was there for the U2 event, and for the Bono-Jobs press availability upstairs afterwards (which didn't seem quite as historic a moment as it does in retrospect). It's a fine venue, with many classic Art Deco touches, excellent acoustics, and plenty of space for a hands-on afterwards.

There Will Be Music

The state-of-the-art acoustics — and the fact that the venue hosts both Opera San Jose and Symphony Silicon Valley — is a clue that we're going to have another surprise musical guest at the end of the event.

This is a Jobs-era tradition which CEO Tim Cook revived for the iPhone 5 launch in September, when he welcomed the Foo Fighters on stage to do three songs.

Big-name musical guests are a win-win for Apple — not only showing off its considerable clout in the music industry, but also creating more iTunes concert content for your downloading pleasure. The fact that iTunes 11 is expected to officially launch tomorrow is just one more reason a major musical guest is more than likely.

The Highlights

So that's how it will end. How will it start? The way these Apple gatherings tend to do — with a recap of recent activity in various arms of the company. Cook favors chatting about the Apple Store first, frequently screening a video of the latest retail site.

We'll also certainly get updates on Mountain Lion, the Mac OS launched this summer, and iOS 6, which iPhone and iPad users have been upgrading to over the last month. Both no doubt have plenty of eye-popping adoption stats to offer — as does the iPhone 5.

Cook may even pause to address the controversy over Maps, as this would be an excellent opportunity to expand on his apology for problems with the app. He could, for example, tell us how many user-reported problems have been fixed, and highlight some of the more prominent upgrades to the 3D flyover feature (such as the now-standing Statue of Liberty).

Either way, expect Cook to share the stage with other prominent Apple executives, such as marketing chief Phil Schiller and software boss Scott Forstall. Jobs would occasionally invite his exec team on stage, but under Cook they grab far more of the limelight. He's a CEO who likes to lead by getting out of the way.

Minis and Macs

It may even fall to Schiller to introduce the iPad Mini itself, just as he got the key reveal at the iPhone 5 launch. We hope Apple will go for a slightly more subdued unveiling this time around. The iPhone 5 rose from the floor on a pedestal in the dark, which was not only cheesy, it made the gadget of the hour incredibly hard to see.

If the rumors are to be believed, we'll also see a 13-inch Macbook Pro with Retina display, and the retiring of the iPad 2.

SEE ALSO: Everything We (Probably) Know About the iPad Mini

One thing we certainly won't see is a livestream of the event. Apple is all for posting the video online after the fact, probably towards the end of the day, but it's quite draconian about making sure none of the assembled audience stream the unveiling as it happens.

But fear not. Mashable will be reporting on the scene from 9 a.m. Pacific time Tuesday, with all the live updates, pictures and hands-on our team can bring you.

It's the next best thing to being at the California Theatre.