Even though September was a busy month for Apple, the year isn’t over just yet. Now that we’re officially in October, expect a new round of hardware and software releases from Apple. Ranging from the oft-rumored Apple Tag to the release of macOS Catalina, there’s a lot to look forward to — and it could all culminate in an October Apple event.
Apple October event
While Apple has not officially announced that it will hold an October event this year, there’s plenty of precedent. Last year, Apple held a special event in New York City to unveil the all-new iPad Pro as well as updates to the Mac lineup.
Could the same type of event occur this year? It’s certainly possible. Read on as we round up everything we expect from Apple in October.
16-inch MacBook Pro
Perhaps the product that people are most looking forward to is the 16-inch MacBook Pro. We’ve heard quite a bit about it so far, and several rumors have suggested a release date sometime in October and a starting price at around $3,000.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro is rumored to be the same physical size as the 15-inch MacBook Pro, but will feature smaller bezel sizes in order to fit the larger display. That display will feature a 3072×1920 resolution, according to supply chain reports.
Perhaps most notable, however, are the rumors that say the 16-inch MacBook Pro will drop Apple’s controversial butterfly keyboard. Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that the 16-inch MacBook will be the first Mac to return to scissor switch keys.
This means you should expect greater key travel, as well as improved reliability, thanks to a new glass fiber that will supposedly help reinforce the keys.
In terms of power, a supply chain report suggested that the new MacBook Pro will feature 9th-gen Intel Coffee Lake-H processors. These are the same processors used by the current 15-inch MacBook Pro. That same report also indicated that the 16-inch MacBook Pro will be a replacement for the 15-inch model, suggesting they won’t coexist in Apple’s lineup.
An Apple event in October seems like the likely place for Apple to announce the 16-inch MacBook Pro — if it’s indeed coming in 2019 like rumors have suggested. It’s always possible that the release has been delayed, but hopefully we’ll learn more this month.
Read everything we know about the 16-inch MacBook Pro in our full guide right here.
Mac Pro
Apple announced the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR at WWDC in June. The website for the Mac Pro indicates that the machine will be available “this fall,” but details beyond that are unknown.
The new Mac Pro features an all-new design and an incredible amount of power inside. In conjunction with the new Mac Pro, Apple will also release the Pro Display XDR this fall, marking its return to the standalone display market.
The last day of fall is December 20, so Apple has quite a bit of time to release the new made-in-America Mac Pro while still meeting its original deadline. If Apple were to hold an October event, we’d at least expect an update on when to expect the Mac Pro, if not a firm release date.
Read everything we know about the Mac Pro in our full guide.
Other Mac updates
Other than the 16-inch MacBook and Mac Pro, it’s possible that we’ll see other Mac announcements this month as well. While Apple just refreshed the MacBook Air and the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, the mid-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt 3 ports is due for an upgrade.
The Mac mini received a massive upgrade last year, so we don’t expect much, if anything, to change this year. The iMac and iMac Pro, however, are both due for an upgrade, whether it be a physical redesign or just under-the-hood improvements.
iPad Pro refresh
Coupled with the launch of iPadOS 13 last month, we expect Apple’s focus on the iPad Pro to continue in October.
The iPad Pro just got a major refresh in 2018 with an all-new design, more power than ever, and a new Apple Pencil. This year, rumors suggest that Apple will bring the same triple-lens camera setup that we see on the iPhone 11 Pro to the iPad Pro.
While the iPad Pro is not necessarily a common photography tool, the triple-lens camera does enable vastly improved augmented reality capabilities. It would also make sense for Apple to unify its “Pro” hardware with the same camera technology.
Other than the new triple-lens camera, it’s likely that Apple will give the iPad Pro a performance bump. It currently features the A12X Bionic processor, while the iPhone 11 features the A13 Bionic. If history is any indication, this would mean the 2019 iPad Pro might feature the A13X Bionic processor.
Apple Tag
As 9to5Mac has reported several times, Apple is developing a personal item tracker similar to the popular Tile products. What this means is that you’ll be able to attach Apple’s physical item tracker to any belonging, such as your wallet, backpack, keys, and more, and then track those items via the Find My application on Mac and iOS.
Apple Tag will have a few advantages over the Tile item trackers, with the biggest being its integration with iOS. Evidence within iOS 13 has suggested that Apple Tag will integrate with augmented reality features to help users easily find their lost items.
Furthermore, Apple Tag will also be able to leverage the massive iOS user base to ensure that it is always in range of a connected iPhone or other Apple device. Users will also be able to receive notifications when their iPhone gets too far away from the tag.
The iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro both include Apple’s U1 Ultrawideband location chip. The U1 location chip is what powers the new AirDrop feature in iOS 13.1, but it is also expected to work in tandem with the Apple Tag. This would enable users to have access to the incredibly accurate location data of their item tracker with spatial awareness capabilities.
Read everything we know about Apple’s item tracker in our full guide.
Software
iOS 13.2: Apple has been releasing new versions of iOS 13 at a quick pace recently. The next version on its way will likely be iOS 13.2, with the new Deep Fusion camera technology. It’s unclear if this will be released to the public in October, but beta testing will take place this month.
macOS Catalina: The final major OS release from Apple in 2019 will be macOS Catalina. This update introduces several new applications, such as Music, Podcasts, and TV, and opens the door for new third-party Mac apps from developers. It’s possible that macOS Catalina could be released as early as this Friday, October 4. Learn more about macOS Catalina in our full guide right here.
HomePod: Apple delayed several notable HomePod features until “later this fall,” including multi-user support and Handoff for Apple Music. Whether or not these features materialize in October remains to be seen.
More possibilities for an Apple October event
Augmented Reality: iOS 13 is full of evidence that Apple is continuing its development of augmented reality features. It’s still unclear how these frameworks might manifest for the end user, but it’s clearly an important area of development for Apple.
Updated Apple TV: The Apple TV is becoming more important than ever for Apple, thanks to the launch of Apple Arcade and Apple TV+. Last month, we detailed several reasons why a new Apple TV could be arriving this year. With Apple TV+ launching on November 1, it would make perfect sense for Apple to unveil the new Apple TV hardware at an event in October.
Apple over-ear headphones: Bloomberg has reported that Apple is developing a new over-ear pair of Apple headphones for launch in 2019. This would be Apple’s first foray into over-ear headphones, and presumably exist separately from Beats. If these headphones are coming in 2019, expect them to be announced this month.
Apple October event wrap up
Despite a September that saw the launch of the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and Apple Watch Series 5, October has the potential to be just as busy for Apple. With hardware such as the 16-inch MacBook Pro and Apple Tag and software such as macOS Catalina in the pipeline, there’s a lot to be excited about if you’re an Apple fan.
With all of these announcements coming, it’s likely that Apple will hold an October event. Last year, Apple held its October event on October 30, so we’re still a few weeks away from any sort of confirmation.
What are you most excited to see from Apple in October? Let us know down in the comments below!
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