Apple posts a countdown for product launch event next week

What you see above is a somewhat unusual move for Apple. Typically, the company doesn't spend much time teasing product announcements beyond cryptic invitations to the press. (There was that time it teased the Beatles coming to iTunes, but that was also an anomaly.)

But on Thursday, Apple posted a countdown clock for its next product announcement, which will be on Sept. 9.

Yes, Apple has streamed its last few events, but this is the only one in recent memory that it has teased one in full force. Apple CEO Tim Cook even chimed in on social media on Thursday afternoon.

hen there's the giant temporary building its constructing next to the Flint Center in Cupertino, Calif., where the event will be held. It's also the same location where Steve Jobs unveiled the original Mac. The structure big enough to fit a gymnasium.

Why all the fuss?

September 9 will be when Apple kicks off what VP Eddy Cue previously called "the best product pipeline that I've seen in my 25 years at Apple." It's going to be the initial batch in the mother lode of new Apple gadgets.

Apple hasn't released a single new product this year, save for some minor updates to a few MacBooks models. Instead, it's waiting until next week to start packing it all into the fall.

And there's going to be a lot on Sept. 9: Two new iPhones with bigger screens (one with a 4.7-inch screen and another with a 5.5-inch screen), a wearable computing device, and the introduction of a mobile payments system.

It sounds like this won't be your typical Apple event. It's going to be huge.