Apple is changing its release cycle, plus M4 MacBook Pro rumors

Apple is moving away from its long-time release model, which could help with getting hardware and software ready to release without delays, and perhaps even bring back an element of surprise.

Per a recent article written by Apple news and rumors guru Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple is shifting away from its long-standing release patterns to help with innovation and get products and software out the door without delays. Case in point, many of the Apple Intelligence features weren’t even part of the initial iOS 18 release; most but not all will appear in iOS 18.1.

You could set a clock to when Apple would announce and release the new iPhones, in September, and iPads and Macs around the same time in October. The WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) in June would highlight upcoming software like macOS, iOS, and more, and usually a preview of the next version of Apple silicone. Heck, at one point, you knew there’d be a major Final Cut Pro family update around NAB in April.

Time to mix up the timetable...

But Apple is changing all of that, which will lead to more releases throughout the year, hopefully eliminate delays, and even bring back an element of surprise. Many of those delays come from Apple updating most of their major products at the same time, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and accessories like the Apple Watch and AirPods. Of course, releasing those in the latter part of the year takes advantage of holiday sales.

Apple has already started the change: The Scary Fast event in late October 2023 was a little bit of a surprise since it was outside the usual iPad and Mac announcement, and allowed them to unveil the M3 Mac’s. And while many of us expected the M4 to be introduced at WWDC 2024, Apple shocked everyone with the M4-powered iPad Pro in early May. They even released new Macs and a HomePod back in January 2023.

Certain software and OSes can have a more staggered release, allowing for bugs to be taken care of, for the most part, and new features and updates ready to go. These are just my thoughts, but it could make sense to release iOS and watchOS in the fall; iPadOS, tvOS, and visionOS in the spring; and macOS in the summer, right after its debut at WWDC. Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor seem to get regular updates throughout the year, but they have been known to still be released around NAB in April.

Gurman also points out that not every product needs an annual upgrade, including the iPhone SE, Apple Watch Ultra and SE, and other hardware that may not be as popular (think Mac Studio and Mac Pro). A two-year cycle for those products makes more sense, which is one reason why we didn't see an M3 Max and Ultra Mac Studio and an M3 Ultra Mac Pro in 2024.

Did someone get their hands on an M4 MacBook Pro?

Meanwhile, back in early October, a Russian YouTuber named Wylsacom (pictured above)shared a video of what he claimed was the new, unreleased M4 MacBook Pro. It set the Apple rumor world on fire, and if true (and the aforementioned Mark Gurman says it is) it could be the worst leak since 2010 when an Apple employee supposedly left an iPhone 4 at a bar prior to the announcement.

The YouTuber says the M4 MacBook Pro has a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU M4 SoC, 16GB of RAM (vs. the 8GB standard for the base model), 512GB SSD, 14-inch screen, MagSafe 3, and USB-C. These are all features that have been rumored for the base model M4 MacBook Pro.

So is the M4 MacBook Pro real? Some sleuths say the box looks like that for an M3 with different labels, plus the laptop itself could be an M3. (Hat tip: AppleInsider.) There's also a rumor that different M4 MacBook Pro models are on sale on a Russian classifieds site. But as of yesterday Gurman says that they are real, were probably stolen in Europe as Apple looks to fill its warehouses ahead of an announcement, and then shipped into Russia (Apple shut sales there in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine).

Regardless of the ins and outs of all this, it all points to Apple hosting an event at the end of October to announce the M4 MacBook Pro and perhaps other Macs, much like it did last October with the ‘Scary Fast’ M3 Mac announcements. We’ll know more likely very soon.

tl;dr

• Apple is changing its release patterns to reduce delays and bring back an element of surprise.
• The company is planning to release products throughout the year, instead of sticking to the traditional annual cycle.
• These changes could lead to staggered software and OS releases and a two-year upgrade cycle for certain products.
• There are rumors about the M4 MacBook Pro, with leaked details sparking speculation about its features and potential release. 
• Rumored release date for new Macs is November 1.