To those of us who follow technology news closely, this time of the year is dominated by the barrage of CES news. But it often seems as though Apple, which doesn’t attend the exhibition, also has some of its biggest days in the press – coincidentally, or not. This was brought to light again yesterday as Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac published details of a rumoured 12” MacBook Air and a timeline for the Apple Watch launch. I have no idea whether the information leaked to Gurman was timed to coincide with CES or not – it may very well just be completely unrelated.[1]

But regardless of the intention of Gurman’s leaker, I was curious to see whether Apple really did have big news days during CES in past years as I had remembered. So I ventured over to Techmeme (which links to big technology stories every day) and went into their archives to look at what was on their front page at 7:10 PM on every day of CES since 2007. Whenever a big Apple news story appeared, I made a note of it. This is the result.

If I was to take an estimated guess at what is happening, I’d say that Apple will gladly delay or bring forward an announcement if they can – but I certainly don’t see it as a deliberate or methodical goal to distract the CES frenzy every year. But I’ll let you judge for yourself.[2]

CES 2015: January 6 - 9

January 6: 12” MacBook Air to be substantial redesign (News Report/Rumor)

January 6: Apple Watch launch expected in March, retail training set for mid-February (News Report/Rumor)

January 6: Apple now selling SIM-free unlocked iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the US, from $649 (Apple Announcement)

CES 2014: January 7 - 10

January 7: App Store Sales Top $10 Billion in 2013 (Apple Announcement)

CES 2013: January 8 - 11

January 8: A Low-Priced iPhone Awaits (News Report/Rumor)

January 9: T-Mobile USA to soon sell iPhones, cut subsidies: CEO (News Report/Rumor)

January 10: Schiller on low-end iPhones: Apple won’t blindly chase market share(Interview with Apple Executive - see update below)

January 11: Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with China Mobile chairman, hopeful sign for big deal (News Report/Rumor)

January 12: Update: Apple Never Denied the Cheap iPhone Rumor After All (News Report/Rumor)

January 12: Next-Generation iPad and iPad Mini Rumored for March Launch (News Report/Rumor)

CES 2012: January 9 - 12

January 11: Apple announces special event in New York on Jan. 19[3] (Apple Announcement)

January 13 (day after CES): Apple Is Said to Ready iPad 3 With Sharper Screen, LTE Access (News Report/Rumor)

CES 2011: January 6 - 9

January 6: Apple’s Mac App Store Opens for Business (Apple Announcement)

January 7: Mac App Store Downloads Top One Million in First Day (Apple Announcement)

January 7: Verizon Event Set for Tuesday–iPhone Time (Apple/Verizon Announcement)

January 8: Verizon iPhone Announced (Apple/Verizon Event)

CES 2010: January 7 - 10

January 7: Apple Reveals New Touch Screen Technology for iPhone & MacBook Tablet (News Report/Rumor)

January 8: Apple tablet supply chain points to Q2 launch (News Report/Rumor)

January 9: Apple tablet may ship with multi-touch version of iWork (News Report/Rumor)

CES 2009: January 7 - 10

January 6 (day before CES): Macworld Keynote - DRM free iTunes Music, new 17-inch MacBook Pro (Apple Event)

January 10: iPod touch use “exploded” Christmas day (News Report/Rumor)

CES 2008: January 7 - 10

January 7: Andrea Jung Joins Apple’s Board of Directors (Apple Announcement)

January 7: Apple Closes In on Hollywood (News Report/Rumor)

January 8: Apple Introduces New Mac Pro[4] (Apple Announcement)

CES 2007: January 8 - 11

January 9: Apple announces the iPhone at Macworld (Apple Event)