We typically avoid posting a story each time the Apple Store goes offline for updates. While the Apple online store famously goes offline to introduce new products, it also goes down for routine maintenance.
Tonight's downtime is likely related to maintenance or other non-product tweaks, but notably the "We'll be back soon" graphic that should be quite familiar to long time Apple followers has been changed.
The original graphic (above) was on a sticky note and has been in place for many years. Every time Apple's online store goes down, visitors would be greeted with this yellow sticky. Tonight, we see a new graphic overlaying a linen background that has been popularized in iOS.
Apple has several product lines that are due for updates soon, including the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro. These overnight downtimes, however, are more typically related to routine maintenance rather than new products. The change in "We'll be back" graphic may foreshadow other graphical tweaks to the online store.
Update: The online store returned without any notable changes.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker.
Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
Anyone notice that the wording also slightly changed from "shortly" to "soon"?
"Soon" would seem to imply a longer duration than "shortly"... so it sounds like they might be updating two product lines at once. I'll go ahead and place bets that the two are:
1) New MacBook Pros with Ivy Bridge
2) Updated iPad 3 with new display tech to fix yellow screen issue
