Apple Store goes offline ahead of possible new hardware at WWDC

Like clockwork, Apple takes its online store offline ahead of any major new production introductions. Today’s live-streamed WWDC keynote is no exception: with just a few hours left until the keynote presentation begins, Apple Online Stores around the world have gone offline with a message saying “We’ll be back. We’re busy updating the Apple Store for you. Please check back soon”.

The rumor-mill, Apple analysts and pundits have been saying that the iPhone maker will unveil some new hardware products at WWDC, which is normally a software-centric event.

Some of the gadgets that could be formally introduced at WWDC include a dedicated Siri speaker, a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro model,  as well as refreshed MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks with Intel’s Kaby Lake chips and updated system architecture.

Though Apple’s been criticized for its seeming inability to update store listings without taking the whole web store down, risking losing potential sales, this is now more of a marketing vehicle designed to drum up excitement ahead of major events than it is a technical issue.