Apple to Host 50th Anniversary Celebrations Around the World - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple to Host 50th Anniversary Celebrations Around the World

Apple today announced that it will be celebrating its upcoming 50th anniversary by hosting gatherings "around the world" throughout the month of March.

Apple 50 Logo Feature
Apple's 50th anniversary is on April 1, 2026. The company has yet to reveal exactly where and when it will be hosting additional celebrations, but possibilities include major cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tokyo.

"Each gathering highlights human creativity and ingenuity in action, and showcases the remarkable things people can do when they have the right Apple products in their hands," said Apple, in a press release.

"Stay tuned for more updates," said Apple.

17-time Grammy Award-winning music artist and producer Alicia Keys kicked off the celebrations today with a surprise performance at Apple's Grand Central store in New York. Apple invited selected content creators to the impromptu concert, which was also open to the public for anyone who happened to be in the area at the time.

Alicia Keys Grand Central
Apple's CEO Tim Cook, hardware engineering chief John Ternus, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, retail chief Deirdre O'Brien, and others were in attendance at Grand Central.

"Thinking different has always been at the heart of Apple," said Cook. "It's what has driven us to create products that empower people to express themselves, to connect, and to create something wonderful. As we celebrate 50 years, we are deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of this journey and who continues to inspire what comes next."

Tim Cook Alicia Keys
Cook previously shared a "50 Years of Thinking Different" letter.

The letter touches on the upcoming 50th anniversary and says that "the world is moved forward by people who think different." For those unaware, "Think Different" was a famous advertising slogan used by Apple in the late 1990s to early 2000s.

"At Apple, we're more focused on building tomorrow than remembering yesterday," said Cook, in the letter. "But we couldn't let this milestone pass without thanking the millions of people who make Apple what it is today."

Popular Stories

Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 CarPlay Light mode 250609

Six Popular iPhone Apps Now Available on CarPlay

Thursday May 14, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's CarPlay system for accessing iPhone apps on a vehicle's dashboard screen has received six popular apps in recent weeks: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and the indie artist streaming platform Audiomack. Make sure you have the latest version of each app and they will automatically appear on CarPlay. ChatGPT Starting with iOS 26.4, CarPlay supports voice-based...
ipad mini 7 blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Thursday May 14, 2026 5:08 am PDT by
According to the latest rumors, Apple is close to launching its next-generation iPad mini. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...

Top Rated Comments

ThomasJL Avatar
9 weeks ago

Would be nice if they remember to invite The Woz.
And Ronald Wayne. Apple was founded by Jobs, Woz, and Wayne.

The 50th anniversary marks the anniversary of the founding of Apple, so therefore the two living founders, Woz and Wayne, should be invited. This is their day, so they should be the central focus of the celebration.

But considering how clueless and mediocre Tim Cook is, it wouldn’t be surprising if Wayne was neither invited nor even mentioned.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9 weeks ago
Would be nice if they remember to invite The Woz.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
9 weeks ago
... or even better, they could have released the first foldable iPhone as a special 50th Anniversary Phone ("FAP").
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
9 weeks ago

I seem to recall that Steve absolutely hated it though. He viewed it at the time as a symbol of a dying Apple. He also despised the Newton, and wanted it killed off. Mainly for the image it held - e.g. - The Simpsons joke where "beat up Martin" was translated to "eat up Martha" due to the Newton's poor handwriting recognition. Amazing how they reinvented the market with the iPhone, then iPad.


It was a great joke, but it's a little unfair to call it bad handwriting recognition when it was the only such device with handwriting recognition at the time. It was extremely impressive technology for its time, years before the Palm Pilot came out with Graffiti (which worked very well, but was a system of simplified gestures rather than true handwriting recognition).

And of course, Apple's work on the Newton led to them investing in a little startup called ARM. Which went on to become the foundation of the chip architecture which underpins all of Apple's devices today.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9 weeks ago
Pretty weird that a 50 year celebration of Apple only seems to involve inviting influencers-of-the-day who are all under the age of 25.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
9 weeks ago
It's just too bad the new OLED MacBook won't be ready in time for the 50th birthday celebrations. They could have released a special edition and called it the 50th Anniversary Mac ("FAM")!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)