Apple is poised to reveal its next big thing today, which is expected to be a smartwatch or bracelet equipped to monitor health and help manage homes.

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is poised to reveal its next big thing today in a crucial attempt to prove its technological tastemakers still have the power to mesmerize the masses.

The trend-setting company is expected to rouse the still-slumbering market for wearable computers with a smartwatch or bracelet equipped to monitor health, help manage homes and even buy merchandise.

Apple is a late arrival to this relatively new niche: several other companies already sell smartwatches that are being greeted with widespread indifference.

If any company can transform the landscape, it’s likely to be Apple after the company shifted the direction of digital technology with the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Other MP3 music players, smartphones and tablet computers were first to market, but the devices didn’t enthrall consumers until Apple imbued them with a sense of elegance, convenience and wizardry.

“It means more to us to get it right than to be first,” Apple CEO Tim Cook explained to analysts.

Apple is likely to provide the first peek at its wearable device at an event set today in the same Silicon Valley auditorium where Apple’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, unveiled the industry-shifting Mac computer 25 years ago.

Rumors have been swirling that U2, one of Jobs’ favorite musical groups, will perform live to promote its new album, as well as Apple’s latest gadgetry, which is likely to include an iPhone with a larger screen.

As usual, Apple hasn’t said what’s on tap, though the company’s top executives have repeatedly promised major breakthroughs.

“The location suggests this will be a historic event and the historic aspect will be their movement into a new category,” predicted technology analyst and longtime Apple watcher Tim Bajarin.

After today’s glimpse, it still may be several months before people get a chance to wear the device. There’s speculation the smartwatch won’t be available until early next year, although Apple is expected to take orders during the holiday shopping season.

A smartwatch or high-tech bracelet would mark the first time that Apple has rolled out a new product line since the iPad’s release nearly four-and-half years ago. In that time, the Cupertino, Calif., company, has been sprucing up its selection of iPhones, iPads and Macs with new models each year since Jobs died in October 2011 after a long battle with cancer.

The innovation void raised questions as to whether Apple’s creativity was fading under Cook, Jobs’ hand-picked successor.

Those concerns have waned in recent months amid high hopes for the products Apple has lined up for the holiday shopping season. The fervor propelled Apple’s stock to new highs last week.