Hey Tim, here’s one more thing: It’s called Brooklyn!
Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook took the stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House for nearly two hours on Tuesday, unveiling gizmos including new MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and iPad Pro models while cheering on the city he said is home to some of the most creative people in the world.
“It is so great to be in New York,” Cook said when he took the stage in front of a giant, super-high definition monitor with the slogan “♥NY” behind him.
Cook only mentioned the borough he was actually in by name when saluting the host opera house as an historic center for the arts that for more than 150 years has “showcased the work of adventurous and cutting-edge performers from all around the world, while serving the creative community here in Brooklyn.”
The head honcho of the Silicon Valley tech titan then quickly segued to salesman, not mentioning Brooklyn by name for the remainder of the day, and defaulting back to “New York” when mentioning his locale.
But that doesn’t mean the County of Kings wasn’t front and center.
Brooklyn played a big part of the event’s opening video montage featuring New Yorkers using their Apple products to the tune of Cole Porter’s “I Happen to Like New York.” Among other Brooklyn scenes, Fort Greene–bred filmmaker Spike Lee showed up in front of his iPad Pro, and the footage ended with a shot of the opera house’s stage with dancer stretching while keeping their Apple iPads and iPhones close at hand.
And when it came time to preview the latest version of NBA 2K for the new iPad, the game’s designer showed off a high-res recreation of the Barclays Center with the Nets taking on the champion Golden State Warriors.
Spoiler alert: the Nets lost.
The program drew a heavy police presence to Lafayette Avenue and other streets surrounding the venue, many of which were closed off to traffic.
Guests feasted on a breakfast spread from caterer Great Performances — which included fresh fruits and a sampling of cured meats — before taking their seats inside the theater, where the brand’s ubiquitous single-leafed apple logo hovered above the stage before Cook made his grand entrance.
Afterward, those lucky enough to get inside were walked over the old Williamsburgh Savings Bank building lobby, which was transformed into a touch tank for Apple lovers, who got a chance to play with the newest creations, which will be available for purchase next week.
