First-order effects

• Sprint becomes the latest US carrier to sell the iPhone, immediately reshaping its handset lineup against Verizon and AT&T, while Tim Cook fronts an event the press has framed as his stage rather than Jobs'.
• Assistant's debut gives Apple a marquee software feature to anchor the announcement, shifting attention from hardware specs alone to what the phone can do.

Second-order effects

• A three-carrier iPhone narrows the exclusivity advantage AT&T and Verizon paid for, pushing US carrier competition toward pricing and network quality rather than device access.
• If Assistant lands as reported, rival smartphone platforms face pressure to answer with their own voice-assistant offerings, making assistants the next feature battleground after screens and speeds.

Third-order effects

• The open question — whether Jobs appears or Cook carries the keynote alone — points at the structural issue underneath every Apple launch: how much of the company's announcement theater is transferable to a post-Jobs presenter.
• The no-stream decision, if it holds against last year's live-streamed precedent, suggests Apple treats event access itself as a lever, keeping control of the narrative even as speculation outlets like Techmeme aggregate the demand.