October Surprise Mac Release Bingo
Apple swooping in at the 11th hour with a week of Mac-centric announcements starting on Monday, October 28.
On Thursday, October 24, Apple SVP Greg Joswiak took to Twitter announcing for us to “Mac (😉) your calendars! We have an exciting week of announcements ahead, starting on Monday morning. Stay tuned...” There had been uncertainty about if and how Apple would announce new Macs heading into the fall, and Thursday served as a tantalizing confirmation that 1) new Macs are inbound and 2) that while there may not be an Apple Event proper, we should expect a series of staggered Mac announcements next week.
This sent me into a frenzy to finish up this entry and the corresponding Bingo Board. I had made some progress on a board “just in case” Apple held a late October Mac/iPad event, but many of my picks were iPad related, but we got an iPad announcement last week. And so, sleep-deprived and 37,000 feet in the Air, I am writing this entry to finalize my picks and predictions for this upcoming week of Mac-centric announcements. Many of these predictions are informed by rumours swirling around the Apple community; some are stagecraft guesses, and a few are my own wishes and prognostications.
The predictions for this board were collected between October 10-23, and finalized on Thursday, October 24.
Bingo Board
My Picks Explained
Magic Accessories Get USB-C
iPads have it, iPhones have it, and now so do all the AirPods. It's finally time for Apple's Magic accessories, including the Keyboard, Trackpad, and Mouse, to leap from Lightning to USB-C. With these announcements rumoured to be so focussed on the Mac, including their desktops, this feels as good a time as any to put the final nail in Lightning's coffin.
An Apple Intelligence Key Added to Keyboard
With Apple brazenly pushing Apple Intelligence, a dark horse pick on this bingo board is that Apple will include a physical keyboard function key on new Macs and Accessories to Access Apple Intelligence - much like Expose or Spotlight are featured on existing Mac keyboards.
iMac Updated to M4
All I've seen rumoured regarding the iMac is that Apple is expected to update its all-in-one desktop to the M4 chip introduced this spring. I don't think there's any chance we'll see larger screens, new colours, or any other significant changes besides a memory bump and chip upgrade.
Base Model MacBook Pro Gets Space Black Finish
Last year, Apple Distinguished the M3 Pro & Max MacBook Pros from the M3 Pros with a new Space Black anodized finish, with the M3 MacBook Pro maintaining the old Space Grey colour. However, if certain sketchy Russian M4 MacBook Pro unboxings are to be believed, the new base M4 MacBook Pro will be updated to the Space Black finish in line with its Pro and Max kin.
A Mac mini Model Gets a Front-Facing USB-C Port
When Apple last updated the Mac mini with the M2, it created a separate M2 Pro configuration. I wouldn't be surprised to see subtle hardware differentiation between the M4 and M4 Pro Mac mini, which is rumoured to be announced this week. One change I see as a possibility is an extra front-facing USB-C port for the Mac mini's M4 Pro configuration.
Macs Now Start with 16GB of Unified Memory
For over a decade - going back to the 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina Display - Apple has stuck with 8GB of memory on their entry point Pro laptops. Now, I know times have changed, and that single number doesn't tell the whole story about what a Mac can and can't do, but it's frustrating that Apple has dug in their heels on this, up to and including claiming that its 8GB is equal to 16GB on the other guy's rig (it's not the size of the RAM, it's how you use it). To this day, 8GB remains the default memory for some pricier Macs, including the 1,799.00 M3 MacBook Pro and 1,699.00 iMac.
Finally, it appears that the compute demands of Apple Intelligence are pushing Apple to, for the first time in over half a decade, increase the base level of memory from 8GB to *hopefully* 16GB across the lineup (though knowing Apple, a bump to 12GB wouldn't surprise me in the least). Since Apple is expected to update the mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro during the week, I hope all three get a memory boost, with the Air updated during its next refresh cycle.
iMac Colours Remain the Same
I expect only a processor and internal hardware spec bump, so the five current iMac colours (and silver) will stay the same.
Smart Accessory Switching
AirPods have long had the feature of automatically switching to the device playing media. This feature is equally marvellous and occasionally maddening, but at its core, pairing to the device being used automatically is beautiful. One area missing this feature is Apple's keyboard and pointer peripherals. I would love to see Apple incorporate the same intelligent switching between devices currently on the AirPods, moving seamlessly between typing on the Mac to putting on Vision Pro, and continuing to use the trackpad and keyboard without needing to open Bluetooth settings and pair connect every time.
We Pay a Visit to Apple's Chip Lab
With these announcements expected to focus on the Mac and likely emphasize the M4 chips, I hope we'll see a video descending into the Apple Chip Lab to discuss all the new features and capabilities of the expanded M4 family.
Three Days of Product Press Releases
With Joz teasing "an exciting week of announcements ahead" I expect at least three days of new hardware press releases across the week: One day for the Mac mini, one for the MacBook Pro, and one for the new iMac.
If I were to guess:
Monday: Mac mini (M4 & M4 Pro), & USB-C peripherals
Tuesday: MacBook Pro (M4, M4 Pro, M4 Max)
Wednesday: M4 iMac
Thursday: Apple’s earning call.
Friday: Nothing
USB-A Removed from Mac mini
USB-A is gone from the iMac and MacBooks; it's time for it to be removed from the rumoured redesigned Mac mini.
Mac mini Entry Price Remains the Same
Currently, the entry-level iPad mini starts at $599. I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple attempt to keep the price the same for the entry-level config (even if that means a potentially binned M4 and/or less storage).
Mac mini Gets a Space Black Option
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple added a Space Black option to the updated Mac mini, perhaps making it an exclusive colour option for the higher-end M4 Pro spec.
Gaming on the Mac Highlighted
Apple loves a good gaming demo highlighting its App Store and the power of Apple Silicon. I imagine we'll have a preview of a new or exclusive game highlighted across the videos/press releases explicitly mentioning the capabilities of the M4 chip.
Mac mini Gets Even More mini
Since 2010, the Mac mini has remained the exact same size: 1.4" H x 7.7" W x 7.7". Back then, that was to accommodate an optical drive and enough thermal support to cool those fiery Intel Chips. But with both of those constraints banished to the annals of history, the Mac mini is free to take on whatever shape it damn well feels like. This year, rumours suggest that a redesigned Mac mini could end up being nearly as small as the current generation AppleTV—1.22" H x 3.66" W x 3.66"—less than 1/5th the volume of the outgoing model!
Apple Intelligence on the Mac Highlighted
Apple is bound to emphasize the capabilities and upcoming features of Apple Intelligence on the Mac at some point in the press releases or product videos.
A Minimum of 3 Graphs are Presented
Historically, Apple hasn't been able to help themselves by presenting vague, axis-less graphs touting the elevated performance of its own silicon. Despite there not being an Apple Event proper, I still expect them to slip in a few graphs highlighting the performance benefits of the M4.
Max MacBook Pro Memory Increased to 192GB
Currently, the M3 MacBook Pro maxes out at 128GB of Unified Memory. With M4, I could see Apple cranking up the configurable memory to 192GB, equaling the maximum amount of memory currently available on the M2 Ultra Mac Studio and Mac Pro.
John Ternus Appears in a Video Wearing Black
Banking that Apple releases a video (or two) to accompany some of its latest Macs this week, and that one of those feature CEO-in-waiting John Ternus wearing black.
"AI" Capabilities of the M4 Chip Emphasized
Like it or not, Apple is all in on AI, err.. Apple Intelligence. I expect we will see them recap (either via press release or video) some of the Apple Intelligence features in macOS 15.1, their roadmap ahead, and how the M4 is uniquely specialized to take advantage of Apple's AI capabilities.
M4, M4 Pro, & M4 Max MacBook Pros Announced
Sometime during the week (I'm betting Tuesday), Apple will announce that the MacBook Pro line has been updated to the new M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Mac chipset. Russian leaks have already hinted that the entry-level MacBook Pro gets at least 16GB of unified memory, a Space Black (vs. Space Grey) finish, the M4 chip, and an additional Thunderbolt port.
Johny Srouji Makes an Appearance in a Video
A perennial staple to Mac-focused events, I hope we see a video that includes SVP of Hardware Technologies Johny Srouji cover the details of Apple's new M4 chipset.
Apple Announces First Carbon Neutral Mac
A really ambitious pick, but I wonder if we'll see Apple announce the first Carbon Neutral Mac during this week of announcements. Apple is already shipping MacBook Airs that consist of 50% recycled materials, but Apple 2030 also includes the Apple offsetting the expected energy use of a product across its lifespan.
Some Macs Available Starting November 01
Mark Gurman has been prognosticating that Apple might have at least some models of their latest Macs available starting November 01.
