Rumour: New M4 Macs and iPad mini to come as early as Nov 1

A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims that not only are there potentially three new Macs on the horizon and an iPad mini refresh, but some of these products should hit store shelves on November 1.

As with previous rumours, Gurman predicts that a slate of M4-powered computers, including MacBook Pros, iMacs, and a redesigned Mac mini, will be on display at the event. Since he claims that some of the items will be released on the first of November, it’s expected that Apple will hold the reveal event sometime in the last week of October. In 2023, Apple held a similar event on October 30.

Over the weekend, a Russian YouTuber also claimed to have gotten his hands on an M4 MacBook, but to me, this seems extremely unlikely, so I’d take this video with a grain of salt.

Beyond that, the new Mac mini is the most exciting update since it’s supposedly getting a redesign to make it much smaller and more in line with the Apple TV, but taller. Personally, I’m most excited about the possibility of an iPad mini refresh since the previous version hasn’t been upgraded since 2021, and the chip and screen are starting to show their age. A new chip and RAM array that supports Apple Intelligence features should be considerably more powerful than the A15 chip that the device currently has and should also allow for AAA gaming on the iPad mini, which would be awesome for travel.

Gurman also discussed the possibility of Apple moving more of its products off of a yearly upgrade cycle. He claims that this is due to Apple’s expansive product line, which now includes a ton more products than even a few years ago, not to mention all the software that has to run on them. I think this is a smart idea, and since Apple is a leader in the tech industry, it could possibly even convince other brands to follow, which I think would be a good thing for consumers overall. Not that many people get wrapped up in the new device hype, but as phones, computers and wearables all get better and better, the need to upgrade, even every three years, is starting to slip. I still use my M1 Pro MacBook for all of my video editing, and while I’m sure the new MacBooks will be faster, mine still gets the job done considerably well. iPhones are the same, and many of my friends are still on the iPhone 13 series with no intention of upgrading this year.

I’m sure Apple will keep the iPhone on a yearly update cadence the longest, but I think you can see from the success of AirPods Pros, the Apple Watch Ultra, and, to a lesser extent, the iPhone SE it is possible to only release a device every few years, and if it’s good enough, people will continue to buy it. We’re in an age of refinement more than we are in an age of new tech changing every year, and I think it would be great for everyone if tech launches slowed down to reflect that.

Source: Bloomberg