Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ event - live: New Macs and spooky surprises expected at shock live launch

Hallowe’en event rumoured to bring fast new professional computers

Apple Holding Keynote Event on Monday Night

Apple is set to hold its latest event – and is promising that it will be “scary”.

The event will begin the day before Hallowe’en and is rumoured to be bringing a host of new Macs. The company teased it with an invitation reading “Scary Fast” and apparent references to the Mac operating system.

It is Apple’s third major event of the year, after the iPhone launch in September and its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. At WWDC, Apple revealed its new augmented reality headset, which might also feature in the upcoming launch.

Otherwise, Apple is rumoured to be updating its iMac with a new chip, and putting new processors in its high end, 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

It will begin at 5pm local pacific time, which is 8pm eastern or midnight in the UK. It will be livestreamed on YouTube as well as Apple’s website.

[31 October 2023 00:02 · Andrew Griffin]

Event begins

Everything has kicked off with a video. (It’s all about Macs, and it’s not spooky.)

(Apple)

[30 October 2023 23:39 · Andrew Griffin]

Apple Store goes down ahead of event

The Apple Store has gone down after all. While the main pages are still up, clicking into any specific product (such as the MacBook Air, here) shows that it’s offline. That’s the same for all products – even the iPhone.

“Be right back,” the message reads. “We’re making updates to the Apple Store. Check back soon.” It then directs visitors to Apple’s event page.

[30 October 2023 23:31 · Andrew Griffin]

No last-minute rumours

In a development that might mean that there’s no major announcements coming, or might not mean anything at all, there haven’t really been any last-minute leaks about what Apple will be launching today.

All the rumours remain the same: some new Macs, and maybe some new Mac accessories. You can read them all here.

[30 October 2023 23:11 · Andrew Griffin]

Watch the Apple event live on YouTube (and elsewhere)

You can watch the Apple event in a variety of places, including on Apple’s devoted events page, here. But in my opinion the best place to do so is YouTube, which works on almost every platform, is very reliable, and even lets you sign up for a notification when the event starts. Here’s the YouTube video:

[30 October 2023 23:04 · Andrew Griffin]

One hour until the event

There’s one hour* left until the event starts and we get to see whether Tim Cook has dressed up, and how he will vary his usual “good morning” greeting.

* That’s 5pm local pacific time, 8pm eastern, or midnight in the UK. It’s slightly more confusing (and less late) in the UK than it would normally have been, because the clocks have gone back there already, but haven’t yet done so in the US.

[30 October 2023 22:55 · Andrew Griffin]

Apple Store stays online

Apple usually takes its online store down in the hours before events, seemingly so that it can put new products up on it. This time around, that hasn’t happened – even on the Mac part of the store. (You can find it here.)

Does that mean that Apple isn’t planning on announcing anything that’s available to buy straight after the event? Are the newly announced products going to be so niche that they won’t cause any particular strain on the website and can be updated quickly? Or has Apple finally built its website so that it doesn’t need to go offline?

We’ll find out in an hour or two...

[30 October 2023 17:05 · Andrew Griffin]

Apple event comes with unusual timing

There’s a lot that’s odd about the ‘Scary Fast’ event: it’s late in the month for an Apple launch, and it was announced closer to the actual event than usual. But the weirdest thing about it all is the timing.

Apple’s recent events have always started at 10am local pacific time. But this will be held at 5pm pacific. It’s more than a little strange. (And unsociable and difficult to watch for those in Europe, though undoubtedly better for some other time zones.) Tim Cook has become well-known (and sometimes mocked) for starting his events by saying “good morning”, but he won’t get to do that.

Why is it doing that? It’s still not clear. Some have pointed to a possible tie-in with people in other time zones, such as the launch of Resident Evil for Mac, which might have some involvement from people in Japan. Or perhaps it’s just to chime with the spooky theme.

All will be revealed in a few hours. (Or maybe it won’t, and Apple won’t mention the time.)

[30 October 2023 17:02 · Andrew Griffin]

‘No tricks, just treats'

Tim Cook is looking forward to the event – seemingly both referencing and disavowing the Hallowe’en theme. He doesn’t give any clue to what will be launched, but does look like he’s confirming that the event will be dark and shot at night.

[30 October 2023 16:58 · Andrew Griffin]

Hello and welcome...

... to The Independent’s live coverage of Apple’s “Scary Fast” event.