Apple Music Award Design Features Apple's Custom Silicon Wafer

The inaugural Apple Music awards take place tomorrow at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, and in typical Apple fashion, the company has designed a series of unique vinyl-inspired awards to be presented to the winners.

Apple announces first Apple Music Awards hardware award 120219
Each award features a polished sheet of glass and a machined and anodized aluminum body, between which is suspended Apple's custom 12-inch silicon wafer – the same chips that power the company's iPhones and iPads, and included in the commemorative design as a "symbolic gesture," says Apple.

The wafers start as a perfect 12-inch disc of silicon with nanometer level flatness. Copper layers are deposited and patterned by ultraviolet lithography to create connections between billions of transistors. The result of this multi-month process, before it is sliced into hundreds of individual chips, is stunning and distinctive. In a symbolic gesture, the same chips which power the devices that put the world’s music at your fingertips sit at the very heart of the Apple Music Awards.

The ‌Apple Music‌ Awards will kick off with a bespoke performance from Billie Eilish, whose full-length debut album WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? was the most played album on ‌Apple Music‌ this year.

Eilish will be awarded ‌Apple Music‌'s Album of the Year as the most streamed album of 2019, with more than a billion streams on ‌Apple Music‌. Billie will also receive the award for Songwriter of the Year, which will go to both her and her brother FINNEAS.

Also during the event, the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award will be presented to Lizzo, while the Song of the Year award will go to Lil Nas X, for the track "Old Town Road."

This ‌Apple Music‌ Awards will be streamed live around the world on Wednesday, December 4 at 6:30 p.m. PST. More information on the ‌Apple Music‌ Awards is available in the Apple Newsroom.

Popular Stories

Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

10 Products Still Coming From Apple in 2025

Friday April 11, 2025 4:14 pm PDT by
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then. We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025. iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There have been complaints about ...
iPhone 6s MacRumors YouTube

Apple Says These Products Are Now Vintage

Tuesday April 15, 2025 9:53 am PDT by
Apple today updated its vintage products list to add the 2018 Mac mini and the iPhone 6s, devices that will get more limited service and repairs now that they are considered vintage. The iPhone 6s initially launched in 2015, but Apple kept it around as a low-cost device until 2018, which is why it is only now being added to the vintage list. The iPhone 6s had Apple's A9 chip, and it was...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:16 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, a minor update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4.1 comes two weeks after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.4. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. According to...

Top Rated Comments

frou Avatar
70 months ago
First plaque to score more than 1,000,000 on Geekbench.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gplusplus Avatar
70 months ago

They have one main source of revenue. ONE. The iPhone/

If that iPhone revenue dries up they are dead in the water. lmao at trillion dollar company.
You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you own Apple stock and listen to the earnings announcement every quarter? I don’t even need to ask; I know the answer is no with the misinformation you’re spewing.

Apple makes the most money right now with wearables: Apple Watch and AirPods. They also make a lot of money with iPhones. They make a lot of money with services, too, like Apple Music, iCloud, and AppleCare. They make the least amount of money with Mac computers, but it’s still a lot.

Additionally, Apple has tons and tons of cash on hand.

And beyond all of that, Apple has already laid out the plan for tapering off the iPhone’s revenue and they are already executing this plan, successfully if I might add.

This is all public information you can learn about in their earnings reports.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
70 months ago
I hate to sound negative, and I’m not tryin to hate. But this doesn’t really seem like the direction I would like to see Apple gravitate towards.

Cutting edge software matched with groundbreaking hardware use to be Apples wheel house.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
70 months ago
In other words, these are reject silicon wafers that have been repurposed instead of being recycled.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gplusplus Avatar
70 months ago

I hate to sound negative, and I’m not tryin to hate. But this doesn’t really seem like the direction I would like to see Apple gravitate towards.

Cutting edge software matched with groundbreaking hardware use to be Apples wheel house.
They’re a trillion dollar company. They can have multiple wheelhouses. Relax.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
70 months ago

Wow! Thought this was a dramatically-styled new iPad design…
Or the biggest iPod click wheel ever designed.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)