Apple turns 50 — we’re live tracking the celebration, surprises, and more

Apple employees are scoring some free 50th gifts

Apple's no stranger to serving up some exclusive swag, usually in the form of pins or clothing, to its employees, and it's safe to say the 50th stuff is pretty sweet.

According to a post on X, Apple employees are receiving a poster, a t-shirt, and an epic enamel pin to commemorate the 50th Anniversary.

Test your Apple knowledge

If you're keen to test your knowledge about Apple and the many, many devices and software it has shipped since its inception in 1976, look no further than TechRadar's Big Apple 50th anniversary quiz.

It was crafted and created by our Editor-in-Chief, Marc McLaren, and let us know how you do in the comments below.

Apple Park has some special displays

Apple Park is clearly getting in the spirit of the 50th anniversary as the team at Apple has set up some pretty neat displays around the campus, according to images shared on X (formerly Twitter).

First up is a real-life version of the 50th Anniversary Apple logo as a statue in a spot in the main ring building. It's the classic Apple colors mixing together as if drawn with an Apple Pencil on an iPad within the logo, and it looks pretty sizable.

Elsewhere within Apple Park, there's a walk down Mac memory lane showing off the many versions of the iMac. It starts with the iMac G3 and works its way to the modern iMac with the M4 chip inside.

And similarly, potentially closer to Cafe Mac, Apple has every iPhone on display from the original, first-generation to the most recent iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air.

Apple Park is getting ready for big celebration

Apple, it seems, is saving the best and biggest for last, as just hours after hands-on with the AirPods Max 2 dropped, it seems that Apple Park is getting ready for a true party to celebrate the 50th Anniversary. Likely one that will start in the evening and continue into April 1, 2026.

Judging by a post on Reddit (r/apple), the Rainbow Stage is being put to good use in the center of Apple Park, and employees – including CEO Tim Cook and SVP of hardware John Ternus – will be treated to a performance by none other than Paul McCartney.

Paul live at Apple from r/PaulMcCartney

The festivities did kick off earlier in the day, though, as the NASDAQ brought the opening bell to Apple Park and let Apple CEO Tim Cook ring it, ultimately starting the 50th celebration very early in the morning California time.