The Apple Event Quiz
Apple’s keynotes are iconic. How well can you remember them?
Apple’s product events have always been more than sales pitches — they’re essentially technology entertainment: presentations that run as long as feature films and make bold promises about how technology is changing and why Apple’s new products are (supposedly) the ones leading the charge. The events are undeniably popular. Apple’s last iPhone event, in September 2022, has 31 million views on YouTube alone.
If you’re here, you’ve certainly seen coverage of Apple’s keynotes. Maybe you’ve tuned in live for a few of them (or a whole bunch, as all of us at The Verge have). We dug through our memories for some trivia questions to see just how well you remember Apple’s keynotes and the culture around them — or whether you’ve been paying attention at all.
Which was the first iPhone that Tim Cook presented as Apple CEO?
CorrectGood try
Correct: Tim Cook became Apple CEO in August 2011, two months before the iPhone 4S was released. Its flagship new feature? Siri.
Incorrect: Not quite. Tim Cook became Apple CEO in August 2011, two months before the iPhone 4S was released. Its flagship new feature? Siri.
Which of these musicians joined Apple onstage to introduce Apple Music?
CorrectGood try
Correct: Good memory. Drake later struck a deal to make Views an Apple Music exclusive at launch, bringing in 250 million streams in just one week.
Incorrect: You’d think! Dre, Bono, and Sia all have connections to Apple, but it was Drake who appeared onstage. He later struck a deal to make Views an Apple Music exclusive at launch, bringing in 250 million streams in just one week.
Which iPhone design decision did Phil Schiller attribute to “courage?”
CorrectGood try
Correct: This one stings a bit less now that the wireless earbud market is more mature, but the world very much was not ready for this in 2016. (And now that Gen Z is bringing back the wired earbud… maybe it still isn’t.)
Incorrect: Come on, you don’t remember how upset we were about the headphone jack?
Which of these products skipped the stage and was announced by Apple in a press release?
CorrectGood try
Correct: You’d think the AirPods Max would be a bigger deal, but Apple simply put out a press release one morning in December 2020.
Incorrect: That one made the stage! It was the AirPods Max that didn’t get an onstage presentation. Apple simply put out a press release one morning in December 2020.
Which of these is the U2 album that Apple cursed every iTunes user with during the iPhone 6 event?
CorrectGood try
Correct: This incident is burned into our memories, too.
Incorrect: Not quite! It was Songs of Innocence. Guess that’s not still stuck in your iTunes library…
Tim Cook has used “one more thing” five times to introduce new products. Which of these products did not get the honor?
CorrectGood try
Correct: Good memory. The AirPods were an important new product category, but they were presented as part of the iPhone 7 introduction because of the whole “no headphone jack” situation.
Incorrect: The AirPods were an important new product category, but they were presented as part of the iPhone 7 introduction, rather than as “one more thing” — probably because of that “no headphone jack” situation.
Which of these people is the real Tim Cook?
CorrectGood try
Correct: Okay, that was a softball. These images show a Cook-inspired villain in Jurassic World Dominion, Keegan-Michael Key playing Cook in a sketch, and Hank Azaria playing Cook in Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.
Incorrect: You missed that one on purpose, right? These images show a Cook-inspired villain in Jurassic World Dominion, Keegan-Michael Key playing Cook in a sketch, and Hank Azaria playing Cook in Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.
Apple has, on occasion, made announcements on stage that are later delayed or canceled. Which of these stalled plans actually came to pass?
CorrectGood try
Correct: Apple Pay Later was supposed to launch with iOS 16 in September 2022 but only made it out the door in March 2023. FaceTime was never opened up, and AirPower was eventually canceled. The Apple Silicon transition took three years.
Incorrect: Apple Pay Later was supposed to launch with iOS 16 in September 2022 but did in fact make it out the door in March 2023. FaceTime was never opened up, and AirPower was eventually canceled. The Apple Silicon transition took three years.
Which website has, for more than a decade, posted “spoiler-free” links to Apple keynotes so that fans can watch the presentation without seeing any prior coverage?
CorrectGood try
Correct: If you needed more proof that Apple keynotes are entertainment, look no further than this (and thank MacRumors for their service).
Incorrect: MacRumors was the site that identified the demand for this — all the proof you need that Apple keynotes are entertainment.
Each of these theaters is regularly used to host tech events. Which one is not used by Apple?
CorrectGood try
Correct: The Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View is regularly used by Google for Google I/O. These other theaters have been standbys for Apple events and WWDC over the years.
Incorrect: The Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View is regularly used by Google for Google I/O. These other theaters have been standbys for Apple events and WWDC over the years — they should look familiar if you’ve read a lot of Apple live blogs, where reporters post photos while queuing up outside.
Jony Ive described the iPhone 5C’s plastic back using which of these phrases?
CorrectGood try
Correct: An iconic Ive-ism. Apple unapologetically canceled the C-line the following year.
Incorrect: Ive said the iPhone 5C was “beautifully, unapologetically plastic.” Apple unapologetically canceled the C-line the following year.
Apple’s event in September 2015 ran for 2 hours and 20 minutes, making it the longest September event in the past decade. What new product was announced there?
CorrectGood try
Correct: Yeah, it was a long one. It’s less that the iPad Pro was more important and more that Apple events have gotten shorter over the years. (The iPhone X, AirPods, and Apple Watch events all ran for about two hours.)
Incorrect: The iPad Pro event ran the longest. But it’s less that the iPad Pro was more important and more that Apple events have gotten shorter over the years. (The iPhone X, AirPods, and Apple Watch events all ran for about two hours.)
Apple’s event artwork is torn apart for clues every year. Which invite is for the iPhone 15 event?
CorrectGood try
Correct: Clearly you’ve been reading our website.
Incorrect: That’s a recent one — but not the iPhone 15 invite. Apple is calling this event “Wonderlust.”
Results
They should call you the Mac Pro
You know your Apple stuff. You follow Apple news and read keynote roundups to stay up to date with the latest. You’ll get the latest iPhone if you happen to be up for an upgrade, but otherwise, you’ll wait till next year. Your Apple fandom has limits (iPads are not laptops okay??), but you’re committed to the blue bubbles through and through — don’t even try to get in the group chat without an iPhone.
You’re tuned in
You’ve followed Apple Events here and there over the years. You fondly remember the fun iPod commercials of the early 2000s and vaguely recall when Apple announced the first iPhone. You dragged your feet on getting a Mac, because what about Windows?? But once you did it, it wasn’t so bad. You’ve definitely experimented with having an Android phone but switched back to an iPhone because that life is just too hard.
Maybe check your iCloud settings
Apple history is not your strength. Sure, you know about the Apple event because it’s all over the news, but it’s just not your thing. You ask your friends “did Apple announce anything good?” and move on with your life. You are not impressed by the new camera or wowed by whatever a “Liquid Retina XDR display” is. Google’s Pixel is more your speed. You have an Android phone and are proud of it.
Answers
Songs of Innocence
Shoreline, Mountain View
You’re living the iLife
You’re an Apple history buff. You take off work to watch — and livetweet — the Apple Event every year and always upgrade to the newest iPhone the second it comes out. You’re all about the iOS betas, only buy gear with Pro in the name, and expense your new tech straight to an Apple Card. You’re infinitely looped into Apple Event history.