AP Dhillon, the most-streamed artist to emerge from the South Asian music world and one of the defining global voices of his generation, was among a select group of artists and creators invited to Apple Park in Cupertino for Apple’s annual September keynote, where the company unveiled its first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. The keynote marked John Ternus’s first keynote as Apple’s Chief Executive Officer.
Dhillon spent two days at Apple Park, where he was hosted by Apple’s new Chief Executive Officer John Ternus and the Apple leadership team. The two met for a private dinner on the evening of 8 September, ahead of the keynote, with a photograph of Dhillon and Ternus from the evening quickly circulating across social media.
Dhillon’s presence at the launch marks a notable intersection of music, technology and South Asian culture. As an artist who has built his career and creative process around Apple devices, Dhillon has a longstanding connection with the ecosystem. He created his early music in a homemade garage studio on a MacBook, producing and mixing on Logic Pro, and continues to use Apple devices extensively in his songwriting and production process. He is also increasingly recognised as a leading voice on the role of creative technology in modern music.
His iPhone has also become a constant part of his creative process, with voice-note ideas captured while travelling, backstage and on the move often developing into finished songs, several of which have gone on to become the most-streamed South Asian songs in history. The video for “With You”, now a wedding-season standard from Delhi to Toronto to London, was shot on an iPhone.
AP DHILLON SAID “I made my first songs on a MacBook in a garage, and I still open Logic every day. Half my ideas start as a voice note on my iPhone at 3 a.m. So being at Apple Park on the day Apple introduced a completely new kind of iPhone, and getting to sit with John and talk about what artists actually need from these tools, is something I will not forget. South Asia is one of the most creative places on earth and one of the places that loves Apple the most. I was proud to be in that room representing that.”
Dhillon’s appearance at Apple Park comes as his influence continues to grow globally. With billions of streams, sold-out performances across India, North America, the UK, Europe and Australia, and a landmark performance at Coachella, he has emerged as one of the most recognisable voices from the South Asian music scene worldwide.
His presence at one of the year’s biggest global technology launches further highlights the growing cultural reach of South Asian music and its artists on the international stage.
