It’s official. After an full period of waiting, Apple has revealed that immoderate Mac-related announcements are coming conscionable adjacent week. The nonstop timing of nan announcements, on pinch what devices will beryllium launched, however, are still yet to beryllium confirmed.
That being said, nan leaks and reporting connected this motorboat person been reasonably robust, truthful we person a reasonably bully thought of what could beryllium successful nan works. Refreshing Macs pinch nan M4 spot will beryllium nan attraction of nan event, but location whitethorn beryllium a fewer much surprises too.
When will Apple motorboat its caller devices?
Mac (😉) your calendars! We person an breathtaking week of announcements ahead, starting connected Monday morning. Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/YnoCYkZq6c
— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) October 24, 2024
On Thursday, Greg “Joz” Joswiak complete astatine Apple announced that nan institution has an “exciting week of announcements ahead, starting connected Monday morning.”
Now, this is peculiar successful a number of different ways. First of all, it’s very uncommon that Apple gives nan nationalist a heads up connected incoming announcements a fewer days before. Either there’s a general arena announcement a week aliases 2 earlier aliases announcements are conscionable published via property merchandise without notice.
The different unusual point astir nan station is that it says we’re successful for a “week” of announcements, meaning it whitethorn commencement connected Monday but widen passim nan week.
Mark Gurman has reported that Apple is “inviting media/creators” to Los Angeles for immoderate benignant of event, but besides states that location won’t beryllium a accepted “event” successful Cupertino to spot nan products firsthand.
M4 MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro was past updated successful October 2023 to springiness it M3-series chips. Speculation has been rife that Apple wants to move to an yearly refresh rhythm for its devices, and that suggests nan MacBook Pro’s clip could travel this October. As good arsenic that, Apple has already rolled retired nan M4 spot successful nan iPad Pro, truthful it makes consciousness for nan MacBook Pro to travel suit soon after.
Bloomberg newsman Mark Gurman believes nan MacBook Pro is simply a shoo-in for October. Gurman says location will beryllium updates crossed nan line: nan entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro will get an M4 chip, while nan different 14-inch models and nan 16-inch MacBook Pro will person nan M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.
As good arsenic that, a bid of huge leaks surfaced successful precocious September and early October, and these seemed to showcase nan upcoming M4 MacBook Pro successful each its glory. Not only did these leaks shed ray connected nan MacBook’s performance but they besides revealed immoderate intriguing creation changes that are apparently coming to nan caller products.
For 1 thing, nan entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro looks to beryllium getting a caller Space Black colour (previously reserved for nan variants pinch Pro and Max chips) and double nan starting memory, up to 16GB from 8GB. There was different tasty morsel successful nan leaks, too: nan 14-inch MacBook Pro could get 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports, an betterment complete nan 2 Thunderbolt 3 slots connected nan existent MacBook Pro.
Unusually, if nan leaks are to beryllium believed, it looks for illustration nan M4 MacBook Pro’s container could picture nan aforesaid wallpaper utilized connected nan M3 MacBook Pro. Apple has ne'er recycled a wallpaper successful this way, but pinch reliable sources for illustration Mark Gurman convinced that nan leaks are genuine, it looks for illustration Apple mightiness beryllium taking this different measurement for 1 logic aliases another.
Redesigned M4 Mac mini
The creation of nan Mac mini has remained mostly nan aforesaid for years — its past awesome ocular overhaul was successful June 2010, complete 14 years ago. Fortunately, we shouldn’t person excessively agelong to hold for nan adjacent redesign, arsenic Mark Gurman has reported it’s group to person a caller look astatine Apple’s October event.
This should consequence successful nan Mac mini having a footprint about nan size of an Apple TV box, which is noticeably smaller than nan existent Mac mini’s dimensions. In return, nan Mac mini is expected to get a small taller.
That’s not nan only alteration coming to Apple’s smallest desktop Mac. Leaked macOS codification suggests it could get five USB ports (up from nan maximum 4 connected nan existent Mac mini), and Gurman says those ports will each beryllium USB-C, replacing nan existing USB-A slots. Two of them will beryllium connected nan beforehand of nan device, making them overmuch easier to access, while 3 will beryllium connected nan rear. We tin besides expect M4 and M4 Pro chips connected nan inside.
M4 iMac
A caller iMac is simply a beardown stake for October, but arsenic pinch nan iMac’s M3 update successful 2023, it’s only expected to spot insignificant tweaks this clip around. The main alteration will beryllium nan preamble of an M4 chip, but we shouldn’t expect thing much powerful (such arsenic nan M4 Pro).
There’s besides a beautiful bully chance that Apple’s iMac accessories — for illustration nan Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad — could get USB-C charging ports to switch nan existing Lightning connectors, and this is thing that has been bolstered by codification uncovered by MacRumors. Apple has been switching retired its devices’ Lightning ports to comply pinch European Union regulations, truthful it seems inevitable that nan iMac’s peripherals will travel suit.
Everything we don’t expect to see
There are plentifulness of rumored products for Apple’s October event, but besides a fewer others that are improbable to beryllium unveiled connected nan day. For instance, while nan show will beryllium Mac-focused, immoderate Apple computers almost surely won’t make an appearance.
That includes nan Mac Studio and nan Mac Pro — though they were some past updated successful 2023, they’re not expected to subordinate Apple’s yearly upgrade rhythm (perhaps owed to nan longer improvement times needed for their high-end chips). Instead, nan caller Mac Studio will astir apt debut astir nan mediate of 2025, while nan Mac Pro should beryllium updated earlier nan extremity of nan year.
Likewise, rumors propose that nan MacBook Air will beryllium upgraded successful outpouring 2025 alternatively than astatine nan October show. The M3 MacBook Air launched successful March 2024, truthful a 2nd upgrade wrong nan aforesaid almanac twelvemonth is astir apt not successful nan cards.
The iPad and iPad mini were antecedently seen arsenic possibilities for this October, but that thought took a rustle erstwhile Apple updated nan iPad mini via a property merchandise successful mid-October, ruling it retired of nan M4 event. At nan aforesaid time, Apple tweaked nan entry-level iPad to little its value and region nan charger from its container successful nan European Union, which made it very improbable that Apple would denote different alteration soon afterward astatine its October event. What’s more, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says he expects a caller entry-level iPad to debut successful 2025 (specifically, “later successful nan year”).
Finally, location are a fewer different products that, successful each probability, won’t beryllium fresh successful clip for October, contempt apparently being successful nan works. That includes a caller iPhone SE, upgrades to nan AirTags tracker, and a caller Apple TV box. Chances are these are each coming successful 2025.