Apple is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary on April 1, and the company has already kicked things into gear with a private Paul McCartney concert for employees at Apple Park. Ahead of the event, Apple has been handing out exclusive merchandise to its staff. The gifts, which include a T-shirt, a limited-edition poster, and an enamel pin, carry the tagline “50 Years of Thinking Different” – the same phrase Tim Cook used in his open letter marking the milestone.
Photos of the packages have started circulating on X, shared by accounts Mr. Macintosh and L0vetodream.
What Does The Apple Employee Gift Set Include?
Each gift set comes with three items: a commemorative T-shirt, a limited-edition poster, and an enamel pin.
First spotted by @L0vetodream and has a nicer picture!https://t.co/d2KENckRtk
— Mr. Macintosh (@ClassicII_MrMac) March 31, 2026
The designs draw from Apple’s heritage rainbow colors, and the message included with the package reads:
“1976-2026. 50 Years of Apple. Inspired by our heritage rainbow colors and crafted by hand – a commemorative T-shirt, limited-edition poster, and enamel pin are here for you.”
The merch is employee-exclusive and features Apple’s 50th anniversary logo alongside the “50 Years of Thinking Different” tagline. The post, obviously, attracted many users to comment on the ‘gifts’ Apple gave to its employees, and they were not happy. Check these tweets below:
A Trillion dollar company, thanks its staff by giving them a T-shirt. Meanwhile Tim Cook will cash in more of his stock later this year for hundreds of millions, not a bad gig if you can get it eh.
— Paul (@PaulWBhoy) March 31, 2026
Multi trillion dollar company btw.
— Faisal Aldosari (@Fai5alAld0sar1) April 1, 2026
Limited edition, apple has about 200 thousand employees.
— Marcohard (@personwithansia) March 31, 2026
Kids, repeat after me: LESS T-SHIRTS, MORE STOCKS. 🎁
— #Quimi 🏴☠️🧪 (@GoldenTriumph) April 1, 2026
How Has Apple Been Celebrating Its 50th Anniversary?
The Paul McCartney concert at Apple Park is not the first event Apple has organised for the occasion.
The company held a concert at Grand Central in New York City last month, featuring Alicia Keys, as part of a series of anniversary celebrations held across the world.
Apple’s official 50th anniversary falls on April 1, 2026. The company is also marking the day with a special Apple Music playlist put together by Parker Ortolani, with more posts planned in the days ahead.
The anniversary traces back to April 1, 1976, when Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded the company that would go on to become one of the most recognised names in technology.
