Apple has promised a whole week of announcements next week kicking off on Monday morning. What can you expect to see?
New Macs just don’t seem to get the love nowadays. While other product lines often see the world’s tech media and analysts invited to Cupertino, a new Mac is just as likely to creep out in a press release. This is obviously a big tick in the sustainability box — schlepping the world’s media to California to watch a video presentation is the sort of stunt that will probably make our children’s children explode with fury — but it does make the Mac sometimes feel a bit vestigial to Apple’s overall ambitions.
At least the week got trailed, albeit rather cost-effectively via a tweet from SVP of marketing Greg Joswiak. And, the video of the Finder logo morphing into the Apple logo definitely further reinforces the Mac-related theme.
So, and with apologies to readers who already think that we cover too much Apple — you just wait until a whole week of it! — what’s likely to be coming down the pipe?
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro line was overhauled a year ago with the addition of M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips and a minor display update. It would be reasonable to expect Apple to rinse and repeat the same formula, keeping the updates to a minimum while upgrading the chipset to the M4.
The infamous Russian YouTube leak reckons on a 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.
All round Apple guru Mark Gurman reckons that it’s too soon since the M3 update in the spring, and that the cheaper MacBook Air is now moving to a springtime release cycle. Both models (currently 13 and 15-inch) will get an M4 bump while the overall design won’t change much, but that won’t be twill sometime next year..
If the rumours hold true, this is actually probably the biggest deal of the lot. The Mac Mini hasn’t changed much since 2010, but consistent reports say that it has been totally redesigned and will shrink considerably, resembling a taller Apple TV as much as anything. It too will get the M4 upgrade, likely in both M4 and M4 Pro configurations, and see base RAM increased to 16 GB. Connectivity will be supplied by up to 5 USB-C ports.
The Mac Mini has always been an interesting proposition and, at times, has represented immense value over its desktop brethren. We could be heading back to that point in the cycle where its price advantages are just too compelling to ignore.
The last time the iMac received a decent zhuzh was in 2021 and not much is expected from the 2024 iteration beyond the move to the M4 chip. Base specs RAM is also likely to be bumped up to 16 GB.
MacRumours reckons it has spotted code in iOS 18.1 that reference a new Magic Mouse 2, new Magic Trackpad 2, and several Magic Keyboards, with and without versions with Touch ID and number pads. Given that these are still limping along in their old Lightning port configurations, a refreshed line up with USB-C ports would make sense.
There is even a chance that possibly the world’s single dumbest design decision, the recharging port on the bottom of the Magic Mouse, may be relocated somewhere more practical (ie anywhere) much to the collective joy of everyone who has ever owned one.
Moving beyond the hardware, the first Apple Intelligence features look set to power up on compatible devices on Monday 28 as part of the releases of macOS Sequoia 15.1, iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 respectively.
For those that can access them, Monday’s releases will bring the following new Apple Intelligence tools
Siri enhancements, including product knowledge, more resilient request handling, new look and feel, more natural voice, the ability to type to Siri, and more
Plenty more is to come as Apple slowly rolls out everything it announced at WWDC in June. The AI features are not going to be available everywhere, though. We’ve talked about this before and here’s Apple’s latest statement on availability
For European Union residents: Apple Intelligence will not currently work if you are in the EU and if your Apple Account Country/Region is also in the EU. If traveling outside of the EU, Apple Intelligence will work when your device language and Siri language are set to a supported language.
For China residents: Apple Intelligence will not currently work for iPhone models purchased in China mainland. For supported iPhone models purchased outside of China mainland, Apple Intelligence will not currently work if you are in China mainland and if your Apple Account Country/Region is also in China mainland.
Once Apple Intelligence is available in the EU or China mainland, previously purchased iPhone models that support Apple Intelligence will be able to activate and use it in that region.
All in all, it’s going to be a busy week, especially if you have a new phone and live in the US or Canada. Tune in for regular updates. It looks like there will be a lot of them…