There’s no rest for Apple. Last night the tech giant officially announced a week of exciting events that will start on Monday 28th October. Experts are predicting a long list of updates and product announcements – including the long-awaited Mac mini and iMac M4 chip update.
While many also anticipated we’d see the iPad mini launched at said event, Apple announced it early on 15th October. The new device will be equipped with the powerful A17 Pro Chip and Apple Intelligence capabilities.
Now, let’s dive into the predictions for the week…
Mac mini
The Mac mini last saw a major overhaul 14 years ago in June 2010, leaving many fans guessing when the next upgrade would be. Fortunately, tech reporter Mark Gurman has received word that Apple will be launching this long-awaited new mini in October.
Expected to have about the same diameter as the Apple TV box, it looks set to be much slimmer than the current version – although it will also be a little taller.
Apple Intelligence
Last month we predicted that Apple Intelligence would take centre stage in October – and we may soon be proven correct. We’re expecting a number of features to be rolled out through autumn, including:
- Apple’s Writing Tools for rewriting, proofreading and summarising
- Newly designed Siri
- New Photos app featuring the Clean Up tool
- Live phone call and voice memo transcriptions
In the months following, Apple have announced that we’ll also see ChatGPT search integrations, Genmoji custom emojis, Image Playground generative art, and Visual Intelligence image searching becoming available on compatible devices.
iMac
According to Mark Gurman, Apple looks set to update the iMac with their M4 chip in the coming weeks. However, no significant design changes are expected. Fans are also still in the dark over whether accessories like the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad will finally switch from Lightning compatibility to USB-C.
MacBook Pro
Gurman is almost certain that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will be getting a chip update in the coming weeks. They’ll be fitted with the more powerful M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, but we probably won’t see the rumoured OLED display screen until 2026 at the earliest.
Lending even more weight to this M4 upgrade, a box for the M4 MacBook was reportedly put up for sale in a private Facebook group. The box featured an identical design to the M3 MacBook Pro, as well as the same default wallpaper. The leak has even been confirmed by a reputable source, suggesting it could be a mockup.
Magic keyboard, mouse & trackpad
Users have long-bemoaned the unintuitive design of Apple’s Magic accessories – particularly the mouse, with its Lightning charging port situated at the base of the product – and we may see these resolved in October.
According to some code found in the iOS 18.1 release candidate these peripherals are in for an upgrade. What these new features are likely to be is still unknown, though they’ll have to switch to Type C charging in line with EU regulations.
MacBook Air and Mac Studio
If you were expecting any announcements regarding the MacBook Air at this event, we’re sorry to disappoint. Gurman reports that Apple isn’t preparing to update their MacBook Air collection with more powerful M4 chips until early next year.
However, when that happens we can expect both the 13- and 15-inch to be upgraded – they’ll also have a similar design to the M2 MacBook Air. We can also expect to see a new Mac Studio released in March of next year.
Stay on top of new tech with Lease Loop
Whatever new hardware Apple surprises us with this October, one thing is always for certain: they’ll come with Apple prices.
As a growing business, staying up to date with the latest tech can be a huge financial challenge. That’s where Lease Loop can help. We’ll supply you with the tech you need, on a flexible leasing plan you can actually afford.
Get in touch to find out more, or read our blog introducing our new ‘Flexscription’ model.
reach out if you’d like a friendly chat about the options available to you.
