Skip to main content

Aerial video shows Apple’s ‘spaceship’ HQ nearly complete

Apple’s striking “spaceship” campus in Cupertino is now only six months away from completion, with the latest flyover video offering dramatic shots of the main donut-shaped building as well as other parts of the complex such as the eye-catching entrance to the underground auditorium and a view of the research and development buildings.

Using a DJI Phantom 3 Professional quadcopter, drone enthusiast Matthew Roberts has been offering monthly updates as the massive construction project nears its conclusion. According to his latest video, serious progress has been made with the huge solar panels on the roof of the main building. It’s estimated that once up and running, the panels will be able to take care of around 75 percent of the building’s energy needs during peak time. Work is also well underway on fitting the building’s 3,000 floor-to-ceiling glass panels, as well as the canopies to help shield staff from the California sun.

Recommended Videos

We also get to see the auditorium lobby now fitted with the world’s biggest carbon-fiber roof. The auditorium itself, which has around 1,000 seats, is underground, which explains the piles of geofoam nearby. The material will be used beneath the mud landscaping above the auditorium, with its light weight helping to ease the pressure on the cavernous space beneath.

The large research and development facility looks almost ready, a place where Jony Ive and his team will be endeavoring to cook up Apple’s next big thing, or simply bashing out ideas for tweaks to future iterations of the iPhone.

Roberts also gives us a decent view of the 100,000-square-foot fitness center, as well as the parking areas, described as “95 percent complete” and which also feature solar panel roofs.

The campus covers about 176 acres and will incorporate office space across four floors. The structure, which’ll be home to some 14,000 Apple employees when it opens toward the end of this year or early next, is the work of the acclaimed British architect Norman Foster, though the project was the long-time ambition of Steve Jobs, who helped develop the plan until his death in 2011.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
iPhone: Apple video highlights 10 cool features on its handset
iPhone 12 range

Apple has just dropped a new video highlighting 10 useful tips to help you get the most out of your iPhone.

10 helpful iPhone tips | Apple Support

Read more
Apple works with TSMC on its own 5G modems to complete breakup with Qualcomm
The rear panel of the Apple iPhone 13.

Apple is reportedly in talks with Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing giant TSMC to produce its own in-house 5G chips for next-generation Apple products. According to Nikkei Asia, the move is primarily aimed at reducing Apple’s dependence on Qualcomm for 5G cellular chips.

The first generation of in-house 5G modems from Apple is likely to be based on TSMC’s new 4nm manufacturing process. When developed, the chip will incorporate Apple-designed components for radio frequency and millimeter-wave. Apple has also started work on a power-management chip designed specifically to work with this modem. Mass production of these Apple 5G modems, however, will only begin by 2023.

Read more
Apple video focuses on the differences between iPhone 13 models
iPhone 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21.

Deciding to buy the new iPhone is one thing, but choosing the particular model to buy is another challenge altogether.

All of the different sizes, colors, storage options, features, and prices may have left your mind in a muddle as you try to work out which of the many permutations is best for you.

Read more