For the past five years, Apple has been hosting live media events in September to reveal new Apple products and the stable release for its latest operating systems. This year is no different, and it has a Sept. 15 date, but it may not be the only event coming up before the end of 2020.
The novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic has put a kink in things this year for Apple. WWDC, where iOS 14 was announced, was an online-only conference, and the Sept. 15 event will also be virtual-based. But that's not all. While it's not rare for Apple to hold two events after its summer developer conference, it looks like we'll be getting a second one in October, with a date and agenda yet revealed.
What's Expected This September?
If you assumed the Sept. 15 event would feature the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, we wouldn't blame you. However, rumor has it that Apple won't unveil these products in September because of manufacturing delays caused by the coronavirus. Instead, we might just get an announcement about the announcement later this year. We may even get the time and date for the iPhone event, likely to happen in October.
For the September event, we're not even sure if Apple will highlight iOS 14's release in the presentation. Some believe that Apple will use the time to unveil a new Apple Watch and iPad, but there's really no telling for sure. We likely won't know until Apple takes the "stage" and shows us.
If there is a new iPad, iPadOS 14 and iOS 14 may release shortly after, but in Apple's history, it's never pushed out a big iOS stable version without an iPhone release. This year could be the year that it changes, after 13 years of side-by-side releases.
The tagline for Sept. 15's special event is "Time flies." If there's a cryptic meaning to that message, nobody has unjumbled it yet. But if you visit the Apple Events page and tap the date, it opens up an augmented reality Quick Look page where you can see the Apple logo animated into the event's date. If there's a big AR announcement, we're not sure what it would be.
When Does the Event's Livestream Start?
Apple sticks to a routine when it comes to events and releases, so this event, like so many before it, will start at 10 a.m. PDT from Apple Park on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Unlike events from the past, however, this one is occurring during a global pandemic. That means that there is no live attendance, and we wouldn't be surprised to see Apple roll with a pre-taped event, similar to how they pulled off WWDC this year. So it may not be a "live" stream.
If you don't live on the U.S. West Coast, here are some handy references for when the presentation will be available in your time zone:
- 7 a.m. HST
- 9 a.m. AKDT
- 10 a.m. PDT or MST
- 11 a.m. MDT
- 12 p.m. CDT
- 1 p.m. EDT
What Are the Requirements for Viewing?
Apple hasn't yet released the official viewing requirements for this special event, but we assume the specs won't stray too far from events in the past.
The easiest requirement would be any device that can stream a live video on YouTube (just watch it in the video embedded below!). While WWDC was the first time the developer conference was livestreamed on YouTube, Apple's first YouTube livestream was actually for the September 2019 event. So it's highly likely that we will get a YouTube live video again.
Not big on YouTube? Here are the other devices and software requirements for streaming from Apple's official Apple Events webpage:
- iPad, iPhone, iPod touch using Safari on iOS 10 or later
- Mac using Safari on macOS Sierra 10.12 or later
- Windows PC using Microsoft Edge on Windows 10
- Any smartphone, tablet, or computer with a web browser that supports MSE (Media Service Extensions)
If you're using an Android phone or tablet, even an Amazon Fire tablet, try the Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox app, both of which support MSE (Media Serice Extensions), H.264 (video), and AAC (audio) formats.
Also, you may be able to watch from an Apple TV or the Apple TV app:
- Apple TV (fourth/fifth gen) using the updated Apple Events app
- Apple TV (second/third gen) from the Apple Events channel
- iPad, iPhone, iPod touch using the Apple TV app on iOS 12.3 or later
- Select Samsung, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and LG televisions and media players using the Apple TV app (helpful links: Samsung; Roku; Amazon; LG)
You can also AirPlay the event to an Apple TV (2nd generation or later) or AirPlay-compatible smart TV. You'll just need the latest tvOS version, if using an Apple TV, as well as the most recent version of iOS or macOS, depending on where you're AirPlaying from.
How Can You Watch?
If you want to watch the event on your computer or smartphone, just visit the link below on one of the compatible browsers listed above:
There's a YouTube link already available for Apple's streaming event:
You can watch via the Apple TV app on select smart TVs and streaming media devices, as listed above. Just open up the app, find the "Special Event," select it, and kick back.
If you plan to watch with the Apple TV device, you can use AirPlay to stream the video as long as you have the latest tvOS software on Apple TV generation 2 or higher. If you are using second or third-generation Apple TVs, the event will be available via the Apple Events channel. For fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV, use the Apple Events app.
- Apple TV 2 and later via AirPlay
- Apple TV 2/3 from the Apple Events channel
- Apple TV 4/5 using the Apple Events app
If you want to watch a live Apple event on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV, the Apple Events and Apple TV apps are the most reliable since YouTube livestreams can be buggy. Still, it's not for sure yet that the Apple TV app will livestream the event. If you're on a Mac or PC, or if you'd prefer not to download those apps, use one of the links below to watch the stream in Safari or another compatible browser.
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