Apple's got something of a tradition now for hiding Easter eggs in its event invites. The invite for its next event on 18 October has followed suit, hiding an augmented reality treat that suggests its warp speed ahead for some much-anticipated product launches.
Apple's expected to reveal new Macs and AirPods at the event. To built anticipation, it's sneaked an easter egg into the invitation, which features an Apple logo stylised with trails of light heading towards the viewer. When viewed with an iPhone, the trails come into motion, forming streams of stars like the effect often used to suggest travelling through space at speeds faster than light. The Apple logo and the date of the event also flash up. Need an iPhone? See our iPhone 13 Pro review, our iPhone 13 review, and the best iPhone 12 deals.
Click on the shape of the logo on the Apple Events site to open the AR experience (Image credit: Apple)
What does it all mean for Apple's Unleashed event? It's not entirely clear whether there are any clues here as to what's in store (we don't expect the company to announce a spacetime travel device), but it seems that speed may be a big theme – more specifically very fast laptops. Recent rumours have suggested we'll see the revealing of new 16-inch MacBook Pro and a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an updated M1X chipset, which may very well feel like the computing equivalent of warp speed.
The rumoured MacBook Pro M1X would be a lot more powerful, with eight high-performance cores and two high-efficiency cores, allowing even hefty software like Photoshop and 3DS Max to run much faster.
However, if the idea is to create an impression of heading boldly into the future with a giant leap in technology, fans have been quick to point out the similarity between Apple's AR experience and the effects used in science fiction films for decades, with users on Twitter comparing it to everything from Star Wars to Spaceballs. "Who else thinks Apple is copying the Millennium Falcon?" one person asked on Twitter.
I see, I see :))#AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/nw9puGwBXGOctober 12, 2021
Not received an invite to the event? No worries. You can still see Apple's AR Easter egg via the Apple event webpage. Using an iPhone, click on the shape of the Apple logo (right above where it says 'Apple Event') to unlock the AR experience. The site will launch the iOS's ARKit augmented-reality viewer, which allows you to place and view the AR object in the environment around you using your phone.
Like with September's California Streaming event, Apple's used a .reality file for the invite rather than the USDZ files it's used for AR Easter eggs in the past. If you don't have an iPhone handy, Apple’s head of marketing, Greg Joswiak, posted an extended version of imagery on Twitter (see below), which gives an idea of what the visual looks like.
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Unleashed! These next six days are going to speed by. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/0ops2bVPvlOctober 12, 2021
We'll discover all at Apple's Unleashed event, which starts at 10am Pacific Time (6pm UK) on 18 October. In the meantime, with new Apple MacBook Pros and AirPods likely to be on the way, it might be a good time to start thinking about grabbing a bargain on the existing models. Take a look at the best current prices on Apple's MacBook range below.
