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M4 Macs, New iPad Mini, and iPad 11 Expected at Upcoming Apple Event

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Apple will likely hold another event in October this year to announce new Macs and iPads. If so, it would be the fourth time in the last five years that Apple has held an event in October. Last year, Apple held a virtual event on Monday, October 30 to announce new MacBook Pro and iMac models with the M3 series of chips.

apple-silicon-mac-lineup-wwdc-2022-feature-purple.jpg

In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Apple plans to announce the first M4 Macs and new lower-end iPads at its next event "in the coming weeks." He expects the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini to be updated with the M4 series of chips this year, followed by the MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro throughout 2025. He said some of the first M4 Macs are already shipping from factories.

Gurman expects the following products to be updated at Apple's next event, which he previously said would take place in October.

MacBook Pro

m3-mbp-space-black.jpg

Apple plans to announce updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips at its next event, according to Gurman. No design changes have been rumored for the laptops this year, with improvements such as an OLED display and thinner design not expected until 2026 at the earliest.

Apple last redesigned the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2021, and the latest models with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips were released last October.

iMac

M4-iMac-Feature-Teal.jpg

Apple also plans to update the iMac with the M4 chip at the event, according to Gurman.

Will the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad trio of accessories for the iMac finally switch from Lightning to USB-C this year?

Mac mini

M4-Mac-mini-Black-Ortho-Cooler.jpg

Gurman expects the Mac mini to be updated with M4 and M4 Pro chips at the event, and he previously said the desktop computer will be redesigned to become nearly as small as an Apple TV. The new Mac mini will apparently lack USB-A ports.

iPad mini

ipad-mini-2021-youtube.jpeg

Gurman previously said he expects a seventh-generation iPad mini to be unveiled at the event.

Rumored features for the next iPad mini include a faster chip, upgraded front and rear cameras, a fix for "jelly scrolling" screen tearing in portrait orientation, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support, and new color options.

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said the next iPad mini would enter mass production in the second half of 2024, so there is agreement from multiple credible sources about the device being updated later this year.

Apple released the current iPad mini in September 2021, with new features at the time including a larger 8.3-inch display, a USB-C port, a Touch ID power button, the A15 Bionic chip, 5G support on cellular models, a 12-megapixel rear camera with Center Stage support, compatibility with the second-generation Apple Pencil, and more.

Entry-level iPad

Gurman today said "new, lower-end iPads" plural will be unveiled at the event, so there may be an iPad 11 too.

Article Link: M4 Macs, New iPad Mini, and iPad 11 Expected at Upcoming Apple Event
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/09/15/m4-macs-and-new-ipads-at-next-apple-event/
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I'm having a hard time upgrading from this M1 MBP. Other than going for a bunch of Memory and maybe doubling my Storage Space, this thing has still proven to be a workhorse. I frequently record a band with Logic Pro, edit Videos in Final Cut Pro, and also use it for work mainly with Citrix and the MS Office apps. Sometimes I'll have all my work apps open along with a Windows VM, and everything works great. I think what might do me in is needing more Storage Space and not being able to upgrade.
 
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Interesting to see what they're gonna do with the entry-level iPad with the chip. Would be interesting if they put an M1-chip in there.
 
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I really can't imagine Apple updating the iMac from M3 (2023) to M4 (2024), the only reason being updating all the accessories from Lightning to USB-C. The iMac went from M1 (2021) to M3 (2023), why not wait 'til M5 (2025)? Okay, to be honest, I'm just saying that because I recently (July!) bought the M3 iMac with 24 GB of RAM. I can live with Lightning (it's just a cable plugged in my iMac, I don't care if it's Lightning or USB-C) and Apple providing 16 GB of RAM for the base model, just please don't have radical changes to the design or panel.
 
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I'll probably get an iPad mini 7 as soon as they're ready to order, to replace my (mostly unused) iPad mini 4.

It's the perfect travel companion, IMO, and I'm also plan to do a bit more reading on it (magazines, comics, books with color images), to complement my Kindle (for "normal" books). :)
 
vahramas said:
I really can't imagine Apple updating the iMac from M3 (2023) to M4 (2024), the only reason being updating all the accessories from Lightning to USB-C. The iMac went from M1 (2021) to M3 (2023), why not wait 'til M5 (2025)? Okay, to be honest, I'm just saying that because I recently (July!) bought the M3 iMac with 24 GB of RAM. I can live with Lightning (it's just a cable plugged in my iMac, I don't care if it's Lightning or USB-C) and Apple providing 16 GB of RAM for the base model, just please don't have radical changes to the design or panel.
Click to expand...
Apple needs to get off the dead-end and expensive N3B process and is going to move everything to second gen N3E (which is what A18 and M4 are based on) as soon as they can.
 
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Are we really excited about a Mac Mini physical size reduction? I see that like a new tattoo- "oooooh, ahhhhhh" at first glance and then the reaction is fully realized. Then you just live with it.

We're seemingly cheering on a smaller-size desktop that (relative size) probably matters to nearly no one and besides the price likely being at least as high, we're also paying for that smaller size with the loss of a couple of (still) useful ports (in 2024).

Wouldn't we be just as excited if Apple was refreshing the Mac mini form factor as is? Still getting M4 and M4PRO... but keeping ALL of the ports and no "what if" concerns about temperature, ejected power supply, ethernet via power supply(?), and so on.

I think it's great that an updated Mac Mini is probably about to hit. But physical size of it seems towards nothing (or even negative) to me. I have a Mini and have NEVER once thought how much better it would be if it was a smaller physical size with less ports. But maybe others have some kind of problem fitting the existing Mini somewhere and need an AppleTV-sized Mac with fewer ports. If so, good for you.
 
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vahramas said:
I really can't imagine Apple updating the iMac from M3 (2023) to M4 (2024), the only reason being updating all the accessories from Lightning to USB-C.
Click to expand...
That’s not why.
The M3 and A17 were built on TSMC’s N3B process, which has limited yields and was almost exclusively developed for apples first 3NM chips.
All A18 and M4 chips are built on the more industry standard N3E process, which is cheaper, backwards compatible with future chips, has significantly higher yields, and is more efficient.
So yeah, getting all of their devices onto N3E has both financial and practical benefits for Apple. So it does not surprise me that the M3 isbeing replaced quickly, that process was only meant to be used temporarily.
 
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I sincerely hope that the new mini allows me to get more RAM than my base model M1 mini. More storage as well (512 rather than 256), but I want to be able to run a Fusion VM as well as everything else.

I am very impressed with how well my M1 mini runs most of what I need. But I do feel that memory is inadequate and slows me down - even before throwing a VM at it.
 
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