Before “Glowtime”: Apple Online Store not accessible | Message

An Apple event 20 years ago was very different from today’s events, if only because of the switch from live stage shows to advertising videos. But one thing has not changed in two decades: when there are new products to show, Apple takes the online store offline for a few hours. This is always the case when the announcements get their own product pages and are available for purchase either immediately or very soon – but only updated software is available to see, the service remains available. Now Cupertino has flipped the switch and the Apple pages only greet visitors who are willing to buy with the well-known message that they need to be patient.

Online shop – only available again after the event
As always, the online store will be back online shortly after the broadcast ends and will then have new product pages. According to the usual schedule, Apple should start accepting pre-orders from Friday, which will then be shipped a week later. The hardware that will soon be available includes the new iPhone models, the Watch Series 10 – and there is also supposedly the fourth generation of AirPods.

It remains exciting to see whether Apple will also have updates for the iPad. The iPad Air and iPad Pro have already received significant revisions this year, but both the iPad mini and the iPad without a name extension are missing. However, current reports assume that Apple will not revise these devices until October or even spring 2025.

Usual marketing for events
It is safe to assume that Apple would be able to implement such changes without taking hours off – but this is a tradition that has been maintained for many years and which further increases the excitement of an event day. It usually doesn’t take long after the last words of the event keynote until full access to Apple’s online store is possible again. The length of the keynote is expected to be around one and a half hours as usual – so it will be over by 8:30 p.m.