What to anticipate from Apple’s ‘week’ of Mac bulletins

One other spherical of Apple gadgets is about to reach. After launching new iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods in September and a brand new iPad earlier this month, Apple is now gearing as much as launch up to date Macs. After weeks of rumors and hypothesis, Apple SVP Greg Joswiak got here out and straight teased the arrival of recent computer systems to be introduced through the last week of October.

We’re anticipating a contemporary spherical of chip upgrades, not less than one redesign, and possibly an October shock or two (the great sort). Since there was no hyped-up save-the-date despatched out for an in-person or livestream occasion, we’re anticipating a sequence of early morning press releases — previously, Apple has tended to drop them round 9AM ET.

Joswiak’s teaser talked about a “week” of bulletins, so no one is aware of for sure proper now if the information will probably be unfold out over a number of days or if we’re going to be inundated by a mountain of Macs on Monday morning. No matter the way it occurs, right here’s what we expect will get up to date and what won’t make the lower.

Apple Intelligence is ready to launch “this fall” throughout appropriate iPhones, iPads, and Macs, with the primary options arriving in October. The tip of October has practically arrived, and Apple has confirmed it’s coming a while subsequent week.

First up, we’re anticipating Apple’s Writing Instruments for rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing, plus a newly designed Siri, new Images app options comparable to Clear Up (akin to Google’s Magic Eraser), and reside transcriptions of telephone calls and voice memos. Different options like ChatGPT search integrations, Genmoji customized emoji, Picture Playground generative artwork, and Visible Intelligence picture looking are anticipated to “roll out later this yr and within the months following,” in line with Apple.

We first noticed these options demoed again at WWDC 2024, however thus far, you’ve needed to set up considered one of Apple’s developer or public betas to expertise them. For iPhones, the options are coming to the 15 Professional / Professional Max and the entire iPhone 16 line. On iPads and Macs, Apple Intelligence will launch on fashions with M1-generation processors or newer.

Final yr’s October occasion had a giant deal with the MacBook Professional line. The 14-inch and 16-inch fashions each noticed chip bumps, and Apple launched a brand new stripped-down 14-inch mannequin that lastly killed off the Contact Bar. We don’t count on a lot of the lineup to alter past a bump to the M4 era, however Apple could have greater plans for that entry-level 14-inch Professional. Latest leaks appear to point out a house black 14-inch Professional with a base M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and a 3rd Thunderbolt port, which might neatly tackle most of our complaints with the M3 model. Even a chip bump is welcome, although, particularly when you’re a cut price hunter trying to pounce on some closeout gross sales of soon-to-be last-gen {hardware}.

As for the MacBook Air line, the newest rumors point out they gained’t make the leap from M3 to M4 chips till early within the new yr.

We’re anticipating a giant redesign of Apple’s smallest desktop laptop — more likely to make it even smaller. Along with together with new M4 and M4 Professional chips, the brand new Mac Mini is rumored to shed its USB-A ports and be about as tiny as an Apple TV streaming field. It will be the primary main redesign to come back to the Mini in about 14 years (longer than The Verge has even been round).

The present Mac Mini with M2 and M2 Professional chips has been with us for the reason that early days of 2023, so a brand new mannequin does really feel well timed. A couple of of us listed below are Mac Mini stans, partially as a result of it presents an ideal worth proposition for its efficiency — not less than, if you have already got a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

I’m excited to see what a refreshed Mini might appear like and simply how a lot an M4 Professional mannequin leapfrogs the present M2 Professional, however probably having fewer ports offers me pause. It additionally sounds unlikely {that a} smaller Mini can have the one factor I’ve actually needed in mine: a speedy built-in SD card slot just like the Mac Studio.

The iMac has been on autopilot ever for the reason that machine acquired its colourful glow-up in 2021. If subsequent week’s bulletins carry modifications to Apple’s all-in-one laptop, it’s probably we’ll simply see a bump from final yr’s M3 mannequin to a contemporary M4 model.

The true spotlight could also be refreshed variations of Apple’s Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard that use USB-C as an alternative of Lightning. They’re among the many last Apple gadgets to nonetheless use the Lightning port and really feel sorely misplaced now that the iPhone has converted (and as the EU’s deadline to maneuver to USB-C creeps nearer).

I’m nonetheless holding out hope for a much bigger iMac refresh someday down the highway. Any person wake me after we lastly get the long-rumored 32-inch iMac or a resurrection of the iMac Professional.

The brand new iPad Mini is already right here (and we reviewed it)

A brand new iPad Mini was anticipated to launch across the identical time because the upcoming Macs, however it got here to us a pair weeks early by way of a press launch announcement. The refreshed 8.3-inch pill was upgraded to the A17 Professional chip initially discovered within the iPhone 15 Professional and given help for the Apple Pencil Professional stylus. There’s actually not an entire lot extra to say on this replace, which is possibly why our personal David Pierce thought it was simply principally okay.

There There have been additionally rumblings that Apple might replace the entry-level 10.9-inch iPad to a brand new Eleventh-gen mannequin, however at this level it looks as if an early subsequent yr announcement — particularly contemplating the Mini’s early arrival. The present Tenth-gen mannequin launched at a dear $449, however Apple course-corrected by slashing its beginning worth to $349 earlier this yr. An Eleventh-gen mannequin will probably look very related, although it is likely to be a possibility for Apple to scrub up and replace its messy equipment scenario.

The M4 processor debuted 5 months in the past within the newest iPad Execs, and as talked about above, Apple is anticipated to announce its newest chips are lastly making the leap to most Macs within the coming weeks.

However will we see any M4 Max or M4 Extremely chips debut in refreshes of the Mac Studio and Mac Professional? These pro-oriented machines are nonetheless on the M2 Max and M2 Extremely, in order that they’re due for an improve. However rumors of recent fashions have been fairly nonexistent thus far. Plus, getting new chips throughout the whole line of Macs unexpectedly could also be an excessive amount of of an extended shot — Apple has a observe document of spacing issues out.

Replace, October twenty fourth: Up to date to mirror the newest bulletins and Apple’s occasion teaser.