LIVE: Apple is minutes away from announcing new iPhones at its biggest event of the year

Lisa Eadicicco/Business Insider

Steve Jobs Theater at Apple's campus in Cupertino, California.

• Apple is holding an event on Tuesday where it's expected to debut its new iPhone lineup and new Apple Watches, among another announcements.
• The launch will be as important as ever for Apple as it grapples with falling iPhone sales and begins to lose ground in the global smartphone market.
• Follow our live blog below to get live updates from the event as it unfolds.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. 

CUPERTINO, California - Apple is holding its annual September keynote on Tuesday, an event that usually signals the introduction of the firm's new iPhone lineup and has come to be known as Apple's biggest moment of the year. 

Apple typically debuts its new iPhones in September, and this year is expected to be no different. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant reportedly has three new smartphones coming this year, designed to be successors to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and less expensive iPhone XR.

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The biggest draw will likely be the addition of a triple camera for its high-end iPhones - a feature that would bring the iPhone's camera up to speed with that of rivals like Samsung. Apple could also reveal new versions of the Apple Watch and disclose additional details about the Apple TV Plus and Apple Arcade gaming services it announced in March.

Apple never discusses announcements before it's ready to publicly reveal them, but that hasn't stopped the press and other industry observers from speculating by dissecting Apple's event invite. This year's invite features the Apple logo divided into horizontal slices of different colors, which has led some to believe this could be a reference to the rumored new colors for Apple's iPhone XR sequel. 

Apple's iPhone launches are always closely watched, but this year's event comes at a particularly critical moment for the company. Apple has increasingly focused its efforts on growing burgeoning businesses like its services and wearables categories as it seeks to downplay reliance on the iPhone amid an industry-wide decline that's persisted for seven consecutive quarters.

Apple recently lost its spot as the third-largest smartphone maker in terms of market share to Chinese player Oppo, according to IHS Markit, and the company also said in its most recent earnings report that iPhone sales fell by 12%. Plus, Apple, like many other tech giants, must grapple with the upcoming tariff on products made in China, which will impact the iPhone starting in December. There's no doubt that Wall Street will be watching closely to asses whether Apple will be able to encourage iPhone upgrades leading into the ever-important holiday season.

See below for live updates as Apple's big event unfolds.