While there’s much anticipation for an Apple October product launch event, something happened Tuesday to make one less likely.
But don’t worry: Mac notebooks and desktops with the M4 processor are still expected to premiere soon. Just maybe more quietly.
Apple October event: Maybe, maybe not
There’s always an iPhone event in September. The handset is Apple’s biggest seller and one CEO Tim Cook and Co. inevitably make a big hullabaloo about.
But there aren’t always product-launch events for Macs. The M3 MacBook Pro models got one in October of last year, but the M3 MacBook Air didn’t get one in March, just a simple press release. There were no new Macs to hold an event for in the autumn of 2022 — the MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips launched months later, in January 2023 via press release. Looking farther back, October 2021 brought the M1 MacBooks with M1 processor at the “Unleashed” event.
Based on these various precedents, an Apple October 2024 event seems like a strong possibility but not a certainty.
But on Tuesday morning, Apple introduced the iPad mini 7 with a press release. This is one of the products that had been expected at the event. There seems little reason to announce it in a press release if there’s a big event happening in a week or so. So… no event?
It’s possible Apple decided to make the October event all about Macs running the M4 chip, and left out the iPad mini 7 as a distraction. But that seems a bit unlikely. For more details on what to expect, check out the latest apple event rumors.
Get ready for M4-based MacBook Pro, Mac mini and iMac via press release
This raises the strong possibility that in place of a big Apple October event, there’ll be a series of press releases this month. While perhaps not as exciting, the final effect is the same: the new products will reach customers.
Apple may forgo the event because most of the computers set to launch are reportedly speed-boosted versions of their predecessors. The only significant change is the inclusion of improved chip.
Photo: Wylsacom
The M4 MacBook Pro is expected to be the M3 version with the faster processor. The same goes for the 2024 iMac. It’s likely the earlier version with an M4 processor.
And while the M4 is a big deal — it’s apparently going to bring an approximately 30% performance boost to MacBook Pro — it already launched. Apple took the unusual step of introducing the new processor in the M4 iPad Pro back in the spring.
The exception to the trend is the M4 Mac mini. Rumors point to a revamped design with a smaller footprint.
We’ll get all the official details of these soon. Whether they’ll arrive in press releases or a big Apple October event remains to be seen.
