Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Apple’s October event might not happen at all<!-- wp:html --><div></div> <div> <p>Contrary to widespread expectations that Apple will follow up with its September iPhone/Apple Watch announcements with a second event later in the fall, Mark Gurman has said the company will instead reveal its remaining new products for 2022 via a press release.</p> <p>In the latest installment of Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, the respected leaker discusses its upcoming products. He predicts the imminent announcement of new (M2 and M2 Pro) versions of the Mac mini, new (M2 Pro and M2 Max) versions of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and new (M2) versions of the 11-inch. and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.</p> <p>In numbers, that sounds like enough for an event: Earlier in September, Apple was happy that updated versions of three product lines were enough material for the biggest event of the year. But Gurman fears the new Macs and iPads simply aren’t substantive enough to warrant a full press conference.</p> <p>“None of these new products are a major starting point for Apple,” he explains. “They’re getting some upgraded specs and a chip already announced at a formal June event at WWDC 2022. That got me thinking: does Apple really have enough here to make it worth putting together another highly polished launch event? to set?”</p> <p>Rather than an event, he thinks Apple is “more likely to release its remaining 2022 products via press releases.” That means an email to (and in some cases a meeting with) relevant tech journalists, an article on the company’s Newsroom PR website, and updates to Apple’s main site. But not an event, virtual or in person. Simply issuing press releases to highlight a product refresh would have been normal Apple behavior a few years ago. </p> <p>There are precedents for a single fall event. While Apple has held a few in six of the last ten waterfalls – and… <em>three</em> in 2020 – it went for a lonely September event in 2015, 2017 and 2019. It wouldn’t be particularly unusual.</p> <p>But if Gurman is right — and he typically hedges his bets by saying that “Apple may eventually start to feel different” — this will be a big disappointment. Many pundits have argued that the notorious October event will be not only worthwhile, but even better than September’s, with the announcement of the first post-Intel Mac Pro being a particular highlight; there have also been rumors of a redesigned Mac mini. But Gurman now expects the new Mac Pro to be a no-show (along with Apple’s highly anticipated AR/VR headset) and the Mac mini to be a straight-forward spec bump.</p> <p>Is Apple done with events for the year? We hope not. But right now it’s a moot point, and we won’t know the truth until next month.</p> </div><!-- /wp:html -->

Contrary to widespread expectations that Apple will follow up with its September iPhone/Apple Watch announcements with a second event later in the fall, Mark Gurman has said the company will instead reveal its remaining new products for 2022 via a press release.

In the latest installment of Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, the respected leaker discusses its upcoming products. He predicts the imminent announcement of new (M2 and M2 Pro) versions of the Mac mini, new (M2 Pro and M2 Max) versions of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and new (M2) versions of the 11-inch. and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

In numbers, that sounds like enough for an event: Earlier in September, Apple was happy that updated versions of three product lines were enough material for the biggest event of the year. But Gurman fears the new Macs and iPads simply aren’t substantive enough to warrant a full press conference.

“None of these new products are a major starting point for Apple,” he explains. “They’re getting some upgraded specs and a chip already announced at a formal June event at WWDC 2022. That got me thinking: does Apple really have enough here to make it worth putting together another highly polished launch event? to set?”

Rather than an event, he thinks Apple is “more likely to release its remaining 2022 products via press releases.” That means an email to (and in some cases a meeting with) relevant tech journalists, an article on the company’s Newsroom PR website, and updates to Apple’s main site. But not an event, virtual or in person. Simply issuing press releases to highlight a product refresh would have been normal Apple behavior a few years ago.

There are precedents for a single fall event. While Apple has held a few in six of the last ten waterfalls – and… three in 2020 – it went for a lonely September event in 2015, 2017 and 2019. It wouldn’t be particularly unusual.

But if Gurman is right — and he typically hedges his bets by saying that “Apple may eventually start to feel different” — this will be a big disappointment. Many pundits have argued that the notorious October event will be not only worthwhile, but even better than September’s, with the announcement of the first post-Intel Mac Pro being a particular highlight; there have also been rumors of a redesigned Mac mini. But Gurman now expects the new Mac Pro to be a no-show (along with Apple’s highly anticipated AR/VR headset) and the Mac mini to be a straight-forward spec bump.

Is Apple done with events for the year? We hope not. But right now it’s a moot point, and we won’t know the truth until next month.

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