Apple’s iPhone event will be live streamed on Twitter for the first time

Apple’s iPhone press event will be live streamed on Twitter for the first time, TechCrunch has confirmed. This news backs up an earlier report from last month, which claimed Apple would expand the ability to watch the event to Twitter’s platform, instead of only through Safari and Apple TV or Microsoft Edge on Windows 10, as in the past.

Many had been speculating the event would live stream on Twitter, due to the wording Apple is using in its latest Promoted Tweet about the event.

The tweet asks users to sign up for “updates” on event day and follow the action on Twitter via the #AppleEvent hashtag. While Apple has run Twitter ads before, including to those that remind users to tune in and watch, the tweet’s wording this time had hinted that the action may be live streamed on Twitter.

Instead of saying “follow” the event on Twitter, the tweet says “…watch the #AppleEvent live on Twitter.” (Emphasis ours).

“Watch” implies a live stream, and the tweet itself features an animated GIF as another hint.

Join us September 12 at 10 a.m. PDT to watch the #AppleEvent live on Twitter. Tap ❤️ below and we’ll send you updates on event day. pic.twitter.com/i9mGHTKhvu — Apple (@Apple) September 10, 2018

The tweet doesn’t currently appear on Apple’s own Twitter account – something that’s possible with Twitter’s “Promoted Only” ad product, which allows a business to only show a tweet to users targeted in an ad campaign.

Users can heart Apple’s tweet to receive an update about the event tomorrow, it says.

The event kicks off at 10 AM PDT and can also be streamed via Apple TV and Apple’s Events site on the web, as usual. Apple confirmed the Twitter live stream to TechCrunch this morning.

Expanding the live stream to Twitter isn’t an unusual choice for Apple, as of late.

The company has been making it possible for more people to watch its live events online in recent months. For example, this year’s WWDC keynote was the first one Apple allowed Chrome and Firefox users to live stream, too. Before, only Safari or Apple TV users could watch Apple’s events live, along with Windows 10 users via the Microsoft Edge browser.