In just a few hours, Apple is going to hold its much-awaited March 25 event. The press invite for the event, which was sent a couple of weeks ago, had the tagline “It’s show time” followed by a black and white countdown reminiscent of old Hollywood movies. Unlike past March events, this year’s Apple March 25 event is going to steer clear of hardware.
Loyal Apple fans wouldn’t want to miss this event. But not everyone will get a chance to attend it in person. Fortunately for its fans, Apple will live stream the event so that you could watch it from the comfort of your home. Let’s dive into all the details right here.
Apple March 25 event start time
The event is taking place at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. The keynote address is scheduled to start at 10 AM Pacific Time on Monday, March 25th. It will focus on the services business – mainly video streaming and news subscription – rather than hardware. Here’s the start time in different time zones around the world:
- New York City: 1 PM Eastern Time on March 25
- London: 5 PM on March 25
- Paris: 6 PM on March 25
- Berlin: 6 PM on March 25
- Moscow: 8 PM on March 25
- Dubai: 9 PM on March 25
- Mumbai: 10:30 PM on March 25
- Singapore: 1 AM on March 26
- Shanghai: 1 AM on March 26
- Tokyo: 2 AM on March 26
- Sydney: 4 AM on March 26
If you don’t live in any of these cities, use this time zone converter on TimeandDate.com to find the exact time and day of the event in your nearest city.
How to watch
Head over to the dedicated events page on Apple’s website to watch the whole thing right from the comfort of your home or office. The livestream is best experienced in Safari browser on an iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Mac. Make sure that your iOS devices are running iOS 10 or later and the Macs are running macOS Sierra 10.12 or later.
Windows PC users can watch the event by going to the events page in Microsoft Edge browser. Apple also supports the recent versions of Chrome and Firefox browsers. If you have an Apple TV, download the Apple Events app and the livestream will kick off 10 minutes before the start time.
In a playful take, Apple has already started live streaming of the Steve Jobs Theater on its website, but the actual event will begin at 10 AM Pacific Time. The stream has so far shown people cleaning the stage, an incoming call from Chris Evans of Captain America, and empty seats. According to the rumor mill, Chris Evans is working with Apple on an original TV show.
Just to make it clear, Apple is streaming a CRT-stylized CGI version of the keynote theatre with different camera angles and every now and then they throw in something weird around the room or onscreen to troll us with. Think Five Nights at Freddy's, but Apple https://t.co/LO2yPRrYXC
— Steve Troughton-Smith (Archived) (@stroughtonsmith) March 24, 2019
Captain America is calling in on the Apple livestream lol https://t.co/aZ3Y3H7anL pic.twitter.com/Cb1ACh4CT6
— Benjamin Mayo (@bzamayo) March 24, 2019
As many people have noticed, the stream is not genuinely live. It appears to be a pre-recorded video with faux-CRT CGI effects.
Steve Jobs Theater live stream fun continues…@tim_cook: So you're at Apple Park?@KDTrey5: Yeah.
Kevin Durant at the Apple Event tomorrow? Apple ordered a TV series about the NBA star's early life for its streaming video service. pic.twitter.com/ihUB120DFA
— MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) March 24, 2019
What will Apple launch at the event?
First things first. Don’t expect any new hardware at the March 25 event. Apple unveiled the new iPad Air and iPad mini a few days ago. It has also launched the second-generation AirPods wireless charging earbuds and upgraded the iMacs. All these announcements in less than two weeks have ensured that the new hardware products have been pushed out the door before the March 25 event. It’s going to be all about services.
Video streaming service
Apple is going to unveil its long-rumored online video streaming service to take on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and others. The tech giant has spent over a billion dollars in Hollywood to produce original content for the upcoming streaming service. It has signed popular celebrities such as Christ Evans, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and others.
The streaming service will be launched worldwide, according to Reuters. Apple will distribute it through the App Store, which is currently available in more than 100 countries. The streaming service will not only offer Apple’s original programming but also resell subscriptions from Starz, Showtime, Viacom, and CBS Corp. Apple is also in talks with HBO to become part of its service. Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings has confirmed that Netflix would not be part of Apple’s streaming service.
Apple is rumored to offer at least some of its original programming to iDevice users for free, but the full-fledged service is going to cost up to $15 per month. Subscriptions to outside services such as HBO, Showtime, and Starz are rumored to cost $10 per month each. Apple is going to face tough competition in the online streaming market, which is dominated by established players such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. Disney is also planning to enter the streaming market.
News subscription service
Apple will also launch a subscription news service at the event. It will be a premium subscription plan on the Apple News app. The news subscription service is expected to cost $10 per month. It will give you access to content from different magazines and newspapers for a fixed monthly fee.
Many publishers – especially those with their own subscription business model such as the New York Times and Washington Post – are reluctant to join Apple’s service. That’s because Apple is taking 50% of the revenue from the service.
The news subscription service has been rumored since Apple acquired the news aggregator startup Texture last year. Apple will reportedly roll out the news subscription service as part of the iOS 12.2 update, which is currently in beta stage.
A credit card
We are not absolutely sure about this, but it could debut at the March 25 event. According to Bloomberg, Apple has partnered with Goldman Sachs to launch a co-branded credit card. It will likely live in the Wallet app of your iDevice. The credit card is said to work similar to a regular credit card, offering cashback and reward points.
Which upcoming Apple service are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below.
