Apple event launch live blog: all the latest news on Apple’s new TV platform

The latest Apple event – the one that’s almost certain to see Tim Cook unveil a new streaming service from the Cupertino brand – is now merely hours away from beginning.

Last week gave us a huge amount of new products from Apple; we saw the Airpods 2, the iMac 2019 and 2019’s iPad Air and new iPad mini – all of which preceded the ‘big event’ this week.

It was an interesting move from Apple, which usually would have certainly brought media down to see such a plethora of new hardware unveiled to the world. Instead, it seems the much-vaunted streaming service, along with a news and magazine subscription platform as Apple pushes more into the world of services.

We’re going to be bringing you all of the action as it’s unveiled at Apple’s Cupertino Steve Jobs Theater, complete with analysis and reaction on all the announcements as they happen. Keep refreshing the page below to get the latest morsels of juicy gossip.

All times in US Pacific Time (PDT)

11:46 – Oprah is off, Tim is back. Looks like we’re wrapping up, which is great for my fingers. This is been a long one and I’ve needed the toilet for a long, long time. 

And yep – that’s it. He’s done. And with no hands on reviews to be done with the services, this seems like a much easier ride for your favorite TechRadar folk. 

Except for the fact we’ll now be noodling away at the big news, features and analysis on what’s just been announced. Apart from that.

11:43 – She’s making one of the biggest book clubs on the planet, Oprah and the author streamed to every device and Apple Store. To connect everyone with books, is Oprah’s dream.

11.41 – Oprah has joined forces with Apple – to create meaningful ways to initiate positive change.

She has two documentaries in the works – Toxic Labor (talking about the scourge and toll of sexual harassment in the workplace), and an unnamed one that focuses on mental health and how scenarios that cause problems decimate life. She wants to replace stigma with compassion and honesty… lofty goals there.

11.39 – Oprah just came on stage (possibly) clutching vouchers for cars. iPrah in the offing?

She’s talking about the way we all crave connections. How we want to be heard but also need to listen. 

If she announces the Airpower mat I’ll be impressed.

11:37 – There’s no word on pricing yet – that’s a real shame. It’s a huge part – but Tim says ‘this is just a sneak peek’ as he wanders back on stage.

Wait, there’s one more ‘remarkable story teller’.

11:36 – Apple TV+ will come across all your Apple devices and smart TVs. It’s an ad-free subscription service, on demand and coming this Fall with new additions every month, focusing on Apple Originals.

11:33 – Original shows and movies will be coming to the Apple+ platform. ‘To brighten our day and make us think that anything is possible.’

The message, again, is about quality. When will it be coming, and how much though?

11:29 – Sara Bareilles and JJ Abrams are on stage, talking about their new project: Little Voice, a romantic comedy about what’s ‘wonderful and transformative’ about someone having to find their way through their voice. 

Sara is having a sing of theme tune for us now. It’s a nice time to try and rest the fingers and tidy up this blog… no, she’s just finished! SING MORE DO AN ENCORE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. 

Nope, it’s too late.

11.26 – I’m watching Sesame Street for work. I never knew this day would come, but suddenly it’s here. There’s a new pre-school show called Helpsters, with a little muppet called Cody. And it’s about coding! 

This is related to Apple’s Swift Playgrounds, you just watch. 

11.25 – There’s a lot about worthy storytelling here. Apple has been making a big, big push about quality elements today, that there’s some gravitas to everything that it’s doing. 

AS I WRITE THAT BIG BIRD COMES ON STAGE. Thanks Apple.

11.24 – He’s going to be pushing a program called Little America, with small stories from immigrants – and the directors are either immigrants or children of immigrants. 

‘We hope Little America will help people to understand there is no other, there is only us’.

11:20 – Kumail Nanjiani is on stage, the actor from Silicon Valley. He’s just chatting about his life now, making some jokes. This is a very different Apple event, to be honest.

11.16 – Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard are on stage to talk up the new programming where the world is blind after a virus wipes out sight and most of the human race, in ‘See’, a new show coming to Apple TV+.

11:15 – This trio will be the main characters in the show – the characters with which the issues are lensed. ‘Shining a light on the fault lines in our society’.

11:14 – Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are now on stage – they’re doing ‘The Morning Show’ on Apple TV as well. An insiders view into the lives of the morning newscaster. An ‘honest look’ at the complex relationship between women and men.

Steve Carrell just wandered late on stage. He’s making jokes about not knowing whether it’s his turn.

11.11 – The video is over, the audience has gone crazy to Steven Spielberg to come on stage. He likes Apple, apparently.

He’s, once again, talking up how important storytelling is. Spielberg is going to be resurrecting ‘Amazing Stories’ for Apple TV.

11:08 – The video is still going on, the normal Apple ‘enchanting’ video, where the world of creativity, the wonder it presents, makes the viewer want to be part of it. To want to be involved in the Apple world.

11:07 – Actors are talking about how they ‘imagine’ what the character would be thinking when they embody them. Thanks for that.

11:06 – Spielberg is talking about how stories are so important. ‘The best stories have come to me when I least expected them.’

11:04 – The power of stories is important. ‘Here at Apple we know incredible stories begin and end with the artists that create them’.

We’re going to meet some of them. This service is dedicated to ‘the best stories ever told’. This sounds interesting… the ‘art of great storytelling’.

11.03 – And here’s the big news: Apple TV+. Everyone has lost their minds suddenly here.

Tim’s pals Zack and Jamie are on stage now to talk about it. Let’s hear more…

11:02 – That’s all on that – everything all together. Tim’s back to say what ‘more Apple has to contribute to the TV experience’. What could that be? Because we don’t know how much Apple TV channels will be… this isn’t a subscription service, is it?

11:00 – They’re on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, and it’ll be coming to all devices in May. Apple’s TV app is also coming to the Mac this Fall.

Ooh, this is a bigger one: Apple TV is coming to smart TVs – Samsung, LG, Vizio and Sony, along with Roku and Amazon Fire stick / TV.

That’s not really new – we heard about that at CES already.

Apple TV is going to boost up to 100+ countries as well now.

Again, no personal info sharing. Apple is really hammering this one hard.

10.58 – You can easily click in and start free trials of services within the app… that got tepid applause. So what’s really great here other than a slicker bundling method?

There’s a kids section as well, with things like Paw Patrol, Daniel Tiger and Sesame in the mix.

This is a ‘safe place’ to explore together. This is all they’re showing off? ‘The best place to watch TV on all my devices?’… how so? I’m a little lost here.

10.57- This is everything bundled together – so are you going to pay a bit to Amazon Prime, a little to Hulu, something to cable providers? Surely Apple would be controlling the pipe there?

10.55 – There’s a new ‘Watch now’ area that will show you what you can grab right there for you straight away.

There’s a link to rent or buy iTunes movies, and get notifications when your sports games are tight… this seems very familiar with what’s there already, but with a new skin.

10.53 – That’s coming with Apple TV Channels. The new name for the platform that Apple’s been going on about quietly for a while.

You can choose where you get your movies from – iTunes, for instance. Programming from Hulu. Sports from your cable provider.

With one place, the Apple TV app has been redesigned to see how to find everything.

10.51 – If you subscribe to cable or satellite services, or Hulu, PS Vue or Fubo, you can access all of them inside the app. OK, we’re understanding so far, Pete.

‘For some of us the big bundle is more than we need’.

But Apple wants to make it piecemeal, you can do it all in one app, pay for waht you want, on demand, without ads, offline and with great picture and sound… plus you can share it with your family.

10.50 – Tim is back on stage to talk about TV – lauding the new TV app that everyone is loving, apparently.

But there’s an all new Apple TV app, and Peter Stern is up to talk about it.

It’s about movies to start…

10.47 – Apple Arcade will be available for all members of the family – at no extra cost. What the cost will be is yet to be seen.

The Apple Arcade release date is going to be ‘Fall’ for the US and other countries around the world…but no word on pricing? 

10.41 – It’s only flipping making Apple Arcade, that’s what.

These are some brand new games, and they’re curated to bring the best to the forefront.

The games developers are just talking about great games – using flow dynamics, 3D dioramas… yeah, we know that beautiful games live on Apple devices.

Apple Arcade is a single subscription, offering over 100+ games. It’ll be a tab on the App Store – this is basically Apple’s Playstation Plus play.

Every game will be playable offline too, so there’s going to be some downloading involved.

10.40 – There are free games, and paid-for games. That’s a fact, Anne. 

Some are freemium, some are paid-for up front. ‘Some of the most critically-acclaimed games ever made’.

But these aren’t as popular as they could be, as they can’t compete with freemium… so what is Apple going to do?

10.39 – Now we’re talking about games, because iOS is the largest gaming platform in the world.

‘We want to make gaming even better’. Here we go… 

10.37 – Tim is back, and thinks that Apple is going to do something seismic in the credit card game. Well, he would say that.

Let’s go to the App Store now… this is going to be a long one, isn’t it?

10.36 – What about if you’re somewhere that there isn’t an Apple Pay vendor? Well, let’s watch a video to find out.

Apple has made an actual bank card, apparently. It’s made of titanium and has your name laser etched onto it. With no card number, signature or anything on it – so how can it be used if you want to sign?

You only get 1% Daily Cash with this card though.

Apple Card will be coming to the Wallet app ‘this summer’ for the US.

10.34 – It’ll be powered by Mastercard, so you’ll be able to use it world over.

Now we’re talking about privacy – so each purchase is authenticated by Face ID or Touch ID, and every purchase needs a random ID so your credit card number can’t be used without your say-so.

Bailey is making a big deal about the data never being sold to third parties – that privacy message is strong here.

10.32 – You can make more frequent payments if you fancy it, to help people take better control of your money.

Actually, this will help: no fees at all with this card. No late fees, international fees… any fees at all.

The interest rate won’t change even if you’re late, so no penalty interest charges.

Apple needed a bank to help with this: Goldman Sachs, as it’s a new player in the consumer space.

Isn’t Apple Bank going to be a bit of a clash here?

10.30 – Apple’s Daily Cash comes in every day – it just depends on which merchants are using it. Wait, it’s 2% of Daily Cash on everything you spend. That’s pretty good.

If you’re using Apple services, you get 3% cashback. Honestly thought it would be more…

The amount of cash you receive every day is also unlimited. Apple is trying to say it’s giving away free money here…

10.29 – Now we’re talking about Apple Card rewards too – you get cashback every day with Apple Card – it’s called Daily Cash.

10.28 – Apple is now saying that it’s trying to make things better, to improve financial info. Using Apple maps, random retailers and addresses will be translated in the app. That’s pretty helpful.

Like so many online cards, you can collate your spending by category and show you how your spending is trending week by week, or month by month.

10.27 – You get the Card on your phone in minutes when you apply – is that definitely a good thing?

The Card lives in the wallet and shows you how much you’ve spent and how much you need to pay back. 

You can also message the Apple Card team through messages and they’ll offer help where possible.

10.25 – ‘Today is introducing a brand new service – and we call it Apple Card’.

Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay, is coming on to explain that.

‘We’ve rethought the credit card’. Here we go.

10.24 – Apple Pay for transit coming to Portland, Chicago and New York later this year – we’re looking for more though. Let’s do it to hire private jets.

Wait – Apple wants to disrupt the credit card industry too. The brand wants to lower interest rates, simple applications, no fees and better security. What’s about to happen?

10.23 – 10 billion Apple Pay transactions could happen this year – which is huge. There’s over 70% in the US, but 85% in the UK too. In Australia there’s an impressove 99% acceptance with mechants, with 40+ Apple Pay countries by the end of the year.

10.22 – Tim Cook is back again now, saying Apple wants to contribute to society by pushing the quality of journalism.

‘And now let’s talk about… APPLE PAY!’

10.20 – Apple News Plus will cost $9.99 per month – probably £7.99-£9.99 per month in the UK, although there’s no sign it’s coming to that region.

That will be offered on Family Sharing as well for no extra cost- and the Apple News+ release date is March 25 (AKA, today).

Apple News+ is coming to Canada though – and The Star newspaper is going to be added.

Oh, wait – it’s coming to Australia and the UK later this year. So there you go.

10.19 – Apple News is still very much private – so multiple groups of articles are downloaded and the machine works out what you might want. Apple can never know what you read, and advertisers can’t track you.

That’s pretty important – the more push on privacy, the better online.

10.18 – ‘Nobody has ever made digital magazines as gorgeous as this’.

Oh, there’s more in there as well, with things like The Skim and Vulture being bundled as well. The LA Times is in there as well – if you’re into that.

Also there’s the Wall Street Journal on offer as well, if you subscribe. 

10.16 – We’re seeing all the different ways we can use this now – you can tap on cover headlines to see what’s happening in each issue. No need to leaf through looking for the feature and getting caught on perfume samples.

You can open the same article on an iPad as well, with an adaptation to the new  size of screen to show off the photography better.

I mean, this is fine, but we’re just looking at magazines on a tablet. This is hardly a new feature – let’s see if the subscription model helps.

We’re back to Rog.

10.11 – We just saw a lovely video about why journalists are amazing. Yes indeed. Now it’s Roger Rosner, VP of apps at Apple is on stage, telling us that Apple has 3,000 magazines in Apple News+…

… wait, no, he meant 300. That could throw off a lesser man, but not Roger. He’s steamrollering along.

Now we’re looking at how the app looks differently. Apple News+ is definitely a subscription.

There’s a thing called ‘Live Covers’, which is a moving photo basically. Under the ‘how is a phone different to a piece of paper?’ move.

10.08 –  ‘Magazines tell stories that bring a new perspective’… that’s the reason Apple is launching News+.

Bet this is going to have a cost associated with it, after what Tim said earlier.

10.07 – Apple is bringing magazines to Apple News – that’s the first bit of news here today. Tim says he loves the news stand for that reason… so Apple is trying to munch it up.

10.06 – Now we’re talking about Apple News. Tim reading out a quote about how Apple News is designed to look for quality content over clickbait headlines.

5 billion articles read each month – Apple News is now the number one news app, apparently.

10.03 –  Talking about iCloud, Siri and Apple Maps. All the things that Apple does that isn’t a bit of hardware. Apple Pay getting a nod too – Messages and FaceTime as well.

Basically, Apple is saying ‘we’re all about things that aren’t hardware, honest. Remember iBooks?’

Tim is pointing out that some of them are paid for – ‘We take the same approach at Apple with our services as our products: Easy to use, attention to detail and keep your information private and secure.’

10.02 – Even though this is all about the services side of Apple’s systems, we’re hearing how great and integrated the iPhone is. That’s totally hardware, Tim. 

10:01 – ‘This is going to be a very different event’ says Tim Cook. Oh no. 

‘We’re creating a great set of services – and that’s what today is all about’.

10:00 – And we’re off! There’s a fun ‘TV intro style theme, a ’70s vibe ‘featuring’ the top hardware from Apple. ‘Written by Apple Pencil’ ‘Director of Photography #shotoniPhone’ etc.

09:56 – Speculation that the AirPower wireless charging pad could finally be shown off today. Seems unlikely we’ll get getting any hardware at this services event.

09:53 – Tim Cook is back, getting down wit’ the emojis:

09:50 – Ten minutes awat now and there’s Beats One pumping around. Things are starting to hot up. You know when the dulcet tones of Zane Lowe appear that a night of pure magic is in the offing.

09:43 – Just time for another recap of what we’re expecting, what might happen and what probably won’t be coming:

09:37 – Apple execs are apparently wandering around outside at the moment, as the event is down to just minutes away.

Tim Cook’s done his traditional ‘I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE EVENT’ early morning Tweet. You just know that man gets up at a grown-up time of the morning, even on his days off, just to welcome the day and prepare his thoughts.

09:00 – We’re an hour away now from the launch, and we’ve just had another look at the survey – apparently most of you are looking forward to Tim Cook officially announcing his name will be changing to Tim Apple, to conform with the will of the POTUS.

(Apologies for the radio silence of the last hour – our site failed to save a few new updates. We’re clear for the main event though, promise).

Just a reminder of some key pages to keep an eye on:

07:45 – Let’s go back to the Apple job board on LinkedIn and see what else we can dig up – oooh, Apple Aperture. That must be the name of the camera division.

Nope – there’s nothing good in there. Let’s head back to Caffe Apple… we’ve got a corker here:

Going to go out on a limb and say that one’s filled.

07:30 – It’s now two and a half hours until the event kicks off, which means the buzz is likely beginning over in Cupertino. As you probably know, if Apple does go for a Netflix rival, it’ll be big news.

But make sure you cast your vote in our special poll above – when I asked our Home Tech Editor Gerald to put it together, I hoped he’d make it a little more interesting.

07:15 – OK, there’s no Head of Pranks. But there is a ‘Caffè Macs iCup Supply Specialist’. 

What’s iCup? Glad you asked:

“The Apple iCup service is specially designed to provide a fresh brew coffee to all Apple employees within their department. The iCup Supply Specialist is responsible for service and supply of this equipment and is also available on call during business hours of operation.”

So there you go.

07:10 – Did you know that Apple chucked out a fake live stream last night, where security guards wandered across the stage, Chris Evans (AKA Captain America) calling in and other ‘secret tidbits’ offered up.

Oh Apple. You do love a bit of mischief. Thinking about it, that stunt would have cost a lot of time and multiple meetings within Cupertino. Does Apple have a Head of Pranks? To LinkedIn…

07:00 – It’s the big day! If you’re thinking that Monday is going to be another dull, hard  slog into the working week, then think again. There’s an Apple event and it’s going to be the start of something new for the brand: a streaming service, of all things.

Given it skipped a hardware unveiling event for iPads, computers and headphones, one has to assume that Apple is going go big on this one, as it ushers in a new era of services being more important than some devices.