Apple is planning a second wave of product announcements in the last week of October, according to MacRumors, which reported that it had heard from several sources. The second wave of announcements would come after a new home devices event on October 13.
The Brief
- Apple has a second wave of product launches lined up for the last week of October, after next week’s home event.
- New Macs are the most likely candidates, though the report does not name a single product, a date or a format.
- Apple has already promised a Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra chip and 512GB of RAM for late October.
- The iPhone Duo also goes on sale October 23, capping an unusually busy month for Apple.
Macs fit the late-October window best
So, this report doesn’t mention whether Apple is having a second event. It’s possible that they’ll simply publish press releases and videos, like they’ve done in the past.
Macs are the safest guess. Top contenders are the OLED laptops that are said to be labeled MacBook Ultra, with a more svelte and light profile. Also potentially in the mix: an entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro and an iMac, both with the M6 chip.
We already know there’s at least one Mac coming. Apple has confirmed that there will be a high-end version of the Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra chip and 512GB of RAM coming in “late October.” This falls directly within the new window. So it seems like a logical assumption to think it’s going to be a Mac-centric announcement.
And what about the iPad mini? The supposed iPad mini has an OLED screen. It’s supposed to have the A20 Pro chip. It’s said to have a landscape oriented front camera. It’s also supposed to have an upgraded speaker setup. The iPad mini could potentially be announced alongside the home devices next week, or with the Macs at the end of the month. Or perhaps on its own schedule.
Next week’s event comes first
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman mentioned over the weekend that Apple will have a full event on October 13. He believes that we’ll see a new smart home hub with a display, new HomePod mini, and a new Apple TV 4K. Previously in his report he shared the date but it wasn’t clear if Apple would be on stage or just release announcements.
Additionally, we should see Apple release quarterly results before the end of the month. So this means that there will be new hardware, iPhone launch, and earning calls all in the same month.
Four questions are still unanswered:
- Which products join the Mac Studio in the final-week batch?
- What exact day has Apple picked?
- Will Apple hold a second event, or ship the news through press releases?
- Does the OLED iPad mini land next week, at month’s end, or later?
Good time to hold off on Mac or iPad mini pricing! Apple should have everything lined out for the season end of October.
Home event next tuesday is a good starting point. If they tease new macs there then we get the final week early date. Otherwise, late oct date for Mac studio is the concrete date that people can plan around for.
