Apple let the world know Thursday that its much-anticipated October event won’t be a traditional one. Instead, it’ll be a week of announcements of new products via press releases.
What the PR blitz will bring is supposed to be a secret, of course. But we already know much of what’s likely coming: MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini, all running the M4 processor, plus the iPad 11.
Get ready for a week of Mac launches during Apple October event
Rumors and leaks on all the upcoming Macs brought excitement starting in September and building in October. But as the month went on, people really began wondering when Apple would send out an invitation to the expected October event.
Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, answered the question Thursday. “Mac (😉) your calendars!” he wrote on X. “We have an exciting week of announcements ahead, starting on Monday morning.”
Mac () your calendars! We have an exciting week of announcements ahead, starting on Monday morning. Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/YnoCYkZq6c
— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) October 24, 2024
So we won’t see a glitzy October streaming event during which Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives show off new products. Instead, we will receive a week of announcements. Joswiak didn’t reveal when these will go out, but Apple often issues press releases at 6 a.m. Pacific.
Here comes the M4 MacBook Pro
Although Apple won’t give the agenda for the October non-event event, the star of the show is almost certainly going to be a MacBook Pro upgraded with an M4 processor.
We already know quite a bit about this computer. We expect the design from the previous model to carry through to this one, though Apple might make a few tweaks.
So the big change will be the M4 processor, but that shouldn’t bring any surprises, as the base version of the chip launched in the spring in the M4 iPad Pro. Adding to our available info: An unboxing video for the M4 MacBook Pro already appeared online. Benchmark tests show a roughly 32% performance boost.
Read our rumor roundup, “What to expect from the speedy M4 MacBook Pro” to learn more.
And M4 iMac and Mac mini
MacBook Pro won’t be the only computer getting a new processor at the Apple October event, if rumors prove correct. An M4 Mac mini and an M4 iMac should come next week as well.
Just like the MacBook Pro, the 2024 iMac supposedly will receive a speed boost without a major design change. But the M4 Mac mini is the opposite. Rumors indicate Apple redesigned the small desktop computer, significantly shrinking its already-small dimensions.
Read “What rumors reveal about the upcoming M4 iMac and Mac mini” for additional details.
And maybe a new iPad?
Apple might have “one more thing” in play during next week’s wave of PR: a new tablet. The iPad 11 with a faster chip (and maybe other tweaks) reportedly will arrive soon.
If so, it’ll join the iPad mini 7 that Apple introduced via a press release last week.
