What to expect from Apple’s next Mac and iPad announcements

Another circular of Apple devices is astir to arrive. After launching the iPhone 16 lineup, caller Apple Watches, and the AirPods 4 successful September, Apple appears to beryllium gearing up to present updated Macs and iPads sometime this month.

We’re expecting a caller circular of spot upgrades, astatine slightest 1 redesign, and possibly an October astonishment oregon 2 (the bully kind). The authoritative announcements mightiness travel to america via a accepted lawsuit oregon a bid of aboriginal greeting property releases — Apple has taken some approaches successful the past, and cipher knows for definite close now. Regardless of however it happens, here’s what we deliberation we’ll spot get updates and what mightiness not marque the cut.

Apple Intelligence whitethorn yet (start to) launch

Apple Intelligence is acceptable to motorboat “this fall” crossed compatible iPhones, iPads, and Macs, with the archetypal features arriving successful October. That means we should beryllium getting an announcement sometime soon.

First up, we’re expecting Apple’s Writing Tools for rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing, positive a recently designed Siri, caller Photos app features specified arsenic Clean Up (akin to Google’s Magic Eraser), and unrecorded transcriptions of telephone calls and dependable memos. Other features similar ChatGPT hunt integrations, Genmoji customized emoji, Image Playground generative art, and Visual Intelligence representation searching are expected to “roll retired aboriginal this twelvemonth and successful the months following,” according to Apple.

We archetypal saw these features demoed backmost astatine WWDC 2024, but truthful far, you’ve had to instal 1 of Apple’s developer oregon nationalist betas to acquisition them. For iPhones, the features are coming to the 15 Pro / Pro Max and the full iPhone 16 line. On iPads and Macs, Apple Intelligence volition motorboat connected models with M1-generation processors oregon newer.

MacBook Pros with newer chips

Last year’s October lawsuit had a large absorption connected the MacBook Pro line. The 14-inch and 16-inch models some saw spot bumps, and Apple introduced a caller stripped-down 14-inch model that yet killed disconnected the Touch Bar. It’s apt we’ll spot updates to each 3 with a leap to the M4 generation, but truthful far, determination hasn’t been overmuch successful the rumor mill astir large changes design-wise. But a spot upgrade is ever welcome, particularly if you’re a bargain huntsman looking to pounce connected immoderate closeout income of soon-to-be last-gen hardware.

A full new, adjacent smaller Mac Mini

We’re expecting a large redesign of Apple’s smallest desktop machine — apt to marque it adjacent smaller. In summation to including caller M4 and M4 Pro chips, the caller Mac Mini is rumored to shed its USB-A ports and beryllium astir arsenic tiny arsenic an Apple TV streaming box. It would beryllium the archetypal large redesign to travel to the Mini successful astir 14 years (longer than The Verge has adjacent been around).

The existent Mac Mini with M2 and M2 Pro chips has been with america since the aboriginal days of 2023, truthful a caller exemplary does consciousness timely. A fewer of america present are Mac Mini stans, successful portion due to the fact that it offers a large worth proposition for its show — astatine least, if you already person a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

I’m excited to spot what a refreshed Mini could look similar and conscionable however overmuch an M4 Pro exemplary leapfrogs the existent M2 Pro, but perchance having less ports gives maine pause. It besides sounds improbable that a smaller Mini volition person the 1 happening I’ve truly wanted successful mine: a speedy built-in SD paper slot similar the Mac Studio.

The iMac gets a caller spot — and possibly immoderate USB-C accessories

The iMac has been on autopilot ever since the instrumentality received its colorful glow-up successful 2021. If the October lawsuit brings changes to Apple’s all-in-one computer, it’s apt we’ll conscionable spot a bump from past year’s M3 model to a caller M4 version.

The existent item whitethorn beryllium refreshed versions of Apple’s Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard that usage USB-C alternatively of Lightning. They’re among the last Apple devices to inactive usage the Lightning larboard and consciousness sorely retired of spot present that the iPhone has switched implicit (and arsenic the EU’s deadline to determination to USB-C creeps closer).

I’m inactive holding retired anticipation for a bigger iMac refresh sometime down the road. Somebody aftermath maine erstwhile we yet get the long-rumored 32-inch iMac oregon a resurrection of the iMac Pro.

The iPad Mini gets an overdue update

If Apple has immoderate updated tablets successful store, the exemplary astir owed for immoderate changes is the iPad Mini. The existent 8.3-inch iPad Mini came retired backmost successful 2021, moving the A15 Bionic processor we archetypal saw with the iPhone 13 generation. Perhaps it’s clip for pilots everyplace to rejoice arsenic the tiniest iPad steps up to an M-series chip? Rumors suggest a refresh is coming — the question is whether the Mini steps up to the large leagues with the M4 oregon gets relegated to the still-kicking M2 similar the latest iPad Air. Either way, thing is amended than what happened to the mini iPhones.

There are besides rumblings that Apple could update the entry-level 10.9-inch iPad to a caller 11th-gen model, but it’s not wide if this update is successful the cards for this period oregon sometime aboriginal adjacent year. The current 10th-gen exemplary launched astatine a pricey $449, but Apple course-corrected by slashing its starting price to $349 earlier this year. An 11th-gen exemplary volition apt look precise similar, though it mightiness beryllium an accidental for Apple to cleanable up and update its messy accessories situation.

What other mightiness popular up?

The M4 processor debuted 5 months ago successful the latest iPad Pros, and arsenic mentioned above, Apple is expected to denote its latest chips are yet making the leap to astir Macs successful the coming weeks.

But volition we spot immoderate M4 Max oregon M4 Ultra chips debut successful refreshes of the Mac Studio and Mac Pro? Those pro-oriented machines are inactive connected the M2 Max and M2 Ultra, truthful they’re owed for an upgrade. But rumors of caller models person been beauteous nonexistent truthful far. Plus, getting caller chips crossed the entire line of Macs each astatine erstwhile whitethorn beryllium excessively overmuch of a agelong changeable — Apple has a way grounds of spacing things out.