Apple has invited press to in-person “Apple experience” events in Shanghai, New York and London on 4 March, scheduling the three gatherings to run simultaneously. The invitation for the Shanghai event sets the start at 10:00 p.m. China Standard Time on 4 March, matching a 9:00 a.m. start in New York, and carries a 3D Apple logo but no hint of product designs or a public livestream.
Holding coordinated, city-based events across three continents signals a push for a controlled, global narrative while leaning on local, in-person engagement. The absence of a public livestream and the emphasis on an “experience” rather than a classic keynote suggest Apple is prioritising hands-on demonstrations for media, partners and select guests rather than a mass broadcast.
The timing comes amid a more sobering internal story: Apple’s long‑planned overhaul of Siri has run into testing problems in recent weeks, forcing the company to consider moving several anticipated AI features out of the iOS 26.4 update slated for March. Those functions may now be staged into iOS 26.5 in May or deferred as far as iOS 27 in September, a delay that complicates expectations for any software-driven headlines at the March events.
That technical setback matters because Apple has been positioning Siri and broader on‑device intelligence as pillars of its product roadmap. A postponement highlights the engineering challenge of integrating large‑scale generative and conversational capabilities into tightly curated hardware and privacy frameworks, and it narrows the scope for dramatic new user‑facing features at an event that many will read as a spring product moment.
Choosing Shanghai as one of three simultaneous host cities is politically and commercially significant. China remains one of Apple’s largest markets and an important node in its supply chain and retail footprint; staging a flagship, in‑person event there not only reassures Chinese consumers and partners but also signals confidence in operating large‑scale media events in the country at a time when geopolitics complicates tech narratives.
For observers looking for new hardware, Apple has quietly been seeding developer previews — iOS, iPadOS, visionOS and watchOS 26.4 betas have been released — while rumors of incremental iPhone models persist. The most likely outcome is a hybrid message on 4 March: hands‑on demonstrations and selective product reveals paired with the company managing expectations about headline AI features until the software is fully ready.
The net effect for investors, competitors and users will be mixed. Apple retains the marketing muscle to create a global occasion without a traditional livestream, but delays to visible AI improvements hand rivals an opening on the software front and force Apple to sequence hardware and software rollouts more cautiously than fans had hoped.