In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to watch the live Apple special event, on 7th September 2016, that is Apple is set to live broadcast over the internet.
You can watch the event on a Mac, on an iPad, iPhone or on a television via Apple TV. You could even watch in on a PC.
If you miss the live event, all is not lost. I’ll show you how you can you can time-shift your viewing.
About the Apple Special Event
It has already announced that the live Apple special event will take place on Wednesday 7th September 2016 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California in the United States.
The tech press rumour mill, ahead of the event, is in overdrive with speculation that a number of new announcements are anticipated in relation to:
- A new iPhone, in two sizes, possibly called the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
- Apple Watch 2
- OS X 10.12, now renamed macOS Sierra
- iOS 10
- tvOS 10
- watchOS 3
That's quite a lot to cover and, perhaps, too much to fit into a single Apple special event ...but they are the rumours, the mostly educated guesses of industry analysts, the speculation of tech pundits and what has previously been announced by Apple itself.
As always, until the event itself, none of these is guaranteed.
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
The tech press is alive with speculation that the iPhone will lose the 3.5mm headphone socket completely.
New headphones will be bundled with the new iPhone, possibly Bluetooth wireless and possibly as separate items for each ear without an interconnecting cord. These have been dubbed AirPods.
Existing headphones, with the traditional 3.5mm jack, will require a new Apple Lightning to 3.5mm converter lead.
The phone is set to receive updated A10 processor and LTE and faster Wi_Fi chips. The entry level iPhone is likely to be bumped from 16GB to 32GB RAM with the maximum available increasing from 128GB, onm the current iPhone 6S, to 256GB.
It's possible new colours will also be available, such as a glossy Space Black.
Apple Watch 2
On the face of it, the same in appearance as the original Apple Watch, the second iteration is likely to be faster and last longer between charges. And still available in 38 and 42mm sizes.
It is rumoured that GPS and barometer functionality could be added, too.
macOS Sierra
The latest version of the Mac operating system, OS X 10.12 Sierra, has been retitled macOS Sierra. The new moniker of macOS brings the name of the operating system into line with iOS, tvOS and watchOS.
macOS Sierra was previewed at the Worldwide Developers' Conference back in June and has been available as a public beta. The notable change is the integration of Siri. A general release date is likely to be announced.
iOS 10
iOS 10 has also been available as a public beta since originally being previeved at the Worldwide Developers' Conference in June.
Notable changes are likely to be a redesigned lock screen, a redesigned Apple Music app, a new app for HomeKit and the ability to delete or hide stock Apple apps.
Big changes are also expected to Messages.
tvOS 10
The latest version of tvOS is expected to introduce single sign-on authentication which will be a godsend for everyone who has ever attempted to enter an AppleID and password into the tvOS interface.
Other features are likely to include topic-based Siri searchs and extended functionality for apps such as Photos and Apple Music.
watchOS 3
The new iteration of watchOS is likely to introduce new watch faces, a new control centre, a dock for favourite apps, instantaneously opening apps with no loading or lag and a few other features such as activity sharing.
Set the Date
You may wish to set an event in your calendar, as a reminder, so that you do not miss the live-streaming of the Apple presentation.
The Apple special event is being held at:
- 1000hrs PDT—Pacific Daylight Time
- 1700hrs GMT—Greenwich Mean Time (similar to UTC)
- 1800hrs BST—British Summer Time
- 1900hrs CET—Central European Time
- 0300hrs—Australia
It can be all a bit confusing, sometimes, working out what time the event starts in your part of the world.
You can use this event.ics to add the date to your calendar in your time zone.
Requirements
In order to watch the event live, or catch up with it later, you’ll first need to ensure that you have the correct equipment and software in order to view it. This could be a good time to ensure that the software on the device is up-to-date.
Apple's live streaming uses Apple's HTTP Live Streaming, or HLS, technology and requires one of the following devices and depends upon software specification.
Mac
You’ll need a modern version of OS X from the last three years; one of the following:
- OS X 10.8.5 Mountain Lion
- OS X 10.9 Mavericks
- OS X 10.10 Yosemite
- OS X 10.11 El Capitan
In addition, you’ll need to be using Apple’s own web browser:
- Safari 6.0.5 or later
Launch the Safari browser and enter the following URL: https://www.apple.com/live/
iPhone and iPad
If you have an iPhone 3GS or first generation iPad, or any iOS device running iOS 6 or anything prior to it, you’ll be out of luck. Anything else, you should be set.
- Safari on iOS 7.0 or later
Launch the Safari browser and enter the following URL: https://www.apple.com/live/
Apple TV
If you have one of the small, black Apple TV units, ensure that the software is up-to-date. You’ll not be able to stream the event on the original Apple TV, though.
- Apple TV 2nd generation with software 6.2 or later
- Apple TV 3rd generation with software 6.2 or later
- Apple TV 4th generation
On the main screen of the Apple TV there is an icon, Apple Events. By selecting this, you will be able to live stream the event as it happens.
Windows PC
If you are using a Windows PC, Apple is requiring you to be running Windows 10 with the Edge browser. That's right up-to-date and will rule out the majority of current PC users.
How to Watch Later
If, for any reason, you are unable to watch the live event, you'll be able to catch up and view the keynote in your own time.
On a Mac, iPad or iPhone, launch the Safari browser and visit apple.com/live/ ...although you may have to wait a few hours after the keynote is live streamed before you'll be able to watch it here.
On the main screen of the Apple TV navigate to the Apple Events icon.
How to Watch Previous Apple Events
To view the most recent Apple event, and other historic Apple events, visit https://www.apple.com/apple-events/ in a Safari browser on Mac or iOS.
Conclusion
The Apple TV is the ideal way to watch the Apple special event, either live or on catch-up, with the diminutive device showcasing Apple technology by live-streaming the event to the screen in the living room.
If you do not have, or do not have access to, an Apple TV, then the next best thing is an iPad or iPhone. Or watch the event at the desk on a desktop computer.
