iPhone che segnano le 9:41

iPhones always show 9:41 in advertisements: do you know why?

Two different generations of iPhone showing 9:41 on the lock screen. Credit: Apple.

Every time you see an advertisement iPhone or, more generally, of a product made by Apple, pay attention: the clock on the display signals 9:41. The reason why i Apple products in advertisements always show 9:41 has its roots in the first presentation of the iPhone by Steve Jobswhich occurred in the now distant past 2007. On that occasion, Jobs unveiled the first iPhone at exactly 9:41, and since then this time has become a real distinctive sign in the promotional images used by Apple, a sort of “trademark”. Until a few years ago, the company organized its keynotes in such a way that the announcement of the main product took place approximately 40 minutes from the start of the event. So, to ensure that the time shown on the screen corresponded (more or less) to the current one, they set the render images of the product to 9:41.

The origins of the 9:41 “tradition”.

This thesis was confirmed a few years ago Scott Forstallformer senior vice president of iOS software who, intercepted by the developer Jon Manning in an Apple Store, said:

We design keynotes so that the big product reveal happens about 40 minutes after the presentation begins. When the large product image appears on the screen, we want the time shown to be close to the actual time on the audience’s watches. But we know that we won’t reach exactly 40 minutes.

To be honest, preferring to arrive early rather than late, the Apple team literally gave themselves two minutes more than the scheduled timetable and that’s why they initially “set” 9:42 in the clock of the renderings of the iPhone. During the tests for the presentation of the iPhone, however, we realized that Jobs took a minute less than expected to get to the key moment of the presentation and, as a result, the promotional image of the iPhone was changed to set the time to 9:41.

The January 9, 2007 everything went according to plan since, when Jobs unveiled the first iPhone at MacWorld in 2007, the first image of the phone with the screen turned on that appeared on the presentation screen coincided with the current time: 9:41 in fact! From that moment, the time was set to 9:41 for all future promotional images of the iPhone and several other “bitten apple” products, such as the iPad and Mac.

iMac showing 9:41
Detail of an Apple advertising image showing the time 9:41 in the macOS menu bar. Credit: Apple.

Apple Watch: here’s why it doesn’t show 9:41 like iPhone, iPad and Mac

The only exception to this rule concerns theApple Watchthe smartwatch marketed by the Cupertino giant, which in promotional renderings is always represented with the hands pointed at 10:09. This choice is not random: it is a “rule” followed by analogue watch manufacturers, whose hands are arranged in that position to create a pleasant visual symmetry, as well as to highlight the company logo in promotional images.