Apple has a minimum of another trick — or presumably a deal with — up its sleeve this yr. On October 30, the evening earlier than Halloween, the corporate is internet hosting one other occasion. This one is dubbed “Scary Quick,” which is a powerful indicator that Apple could have some speedy new {hardware} to indicate off. Unusually, Apple is holding this occasion within the night. It begins at 8PM ET.
This yr's iPhones and Apple Watches are out within the wild already, however Apple has a bunch of different product classes that it may give attention to right here. There's all the time the possibility that we would get iPad updates. However, if rumors are to be believed, Apple's focus through the Scary Quick occasion shall be on Macs and a contemporary batch of chipsets to energy them.
M3 chip
Apple gained't be speaking about velocity developments with out having new {hardware} to debate. That might all begin with upgraded chipsets. It's been practically 17 months since Apple's M2 system on a chip (SoC) debuted. With many producers having an annual cadence for his or her chipsets, it might be time for Apple to maneuver onto the subsequent era. (No, shoving two M2 Max chips collectively isn't fairly the identical factor.) For what it's price, the M2 collection debuted 19 months after the M1. So, if Apple pronounces the M3 on the Scary Quick occasion, the most recent SoC could be arriving after the same time frame.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has prompt that "M3 collection MacBook Professional" would be the focus of the occasion, indicating that the corporate could have a couple of new SoC to disclose. As such, there's an opportunity that we may see an M3 Professional and perhaps even an M3 Max through the Scary Quick showcase.
iMac
A brand new 24-inch iMac may make its debut on the Scary Quick occasion. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported {that a} contemporary mannequin is anticipated to reach this month. He famous that the iMac is in brief provide at Apple retail shops, which is one other signal that an improve is imminent.
The 24-inch iMac is nicely overdue for a refresh, and there have been rumblings for some time that an M3 variant was within the pipeline. The newest mannequin was an M1-powered machine that arrived in April 2021. Making the leap to M3 — assuming that the brand new chip lineup is extra succesful than the M2 collection — could make any new iMac well worth the improve for a lot of customers.
MacBook Professional
There's an excellent probability Apple could have a minimum of one MacBook Professional refresh to indicate off on the occasion. Each Kuo and Gurman have indicated that would be the case.
Gurman identified that the 13-inch, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Professional all at the moment have prolonged transport instances on Apple's net retailer. That's usually an indicator that the corporate is winding down the availability of current merchandise. Moreover, Gurman reported that Apple has been testing M3 Max and M3 Professional MacBook Professional fashions. These may now be prepared for prime time.
Nevertheless, Kuo doesn't anticipate Apple to have an enormous stock of latest MacBook Professional items to promote this yr. He beforehand didn't anticipate that Apple would begin promoting M3-powered laptops earlier than the top of the yr on account of restricted provide of between 400,000 and 500,000 items. Except demand drops, Kuo mentioned provide could stay tight till early 2024.
MacBook gross sales have waned this yr, primarily on account of "the restricted M2 computing energy improve," Kuo wrote on X. That may be a cause why Apple is prepared to begin transport M3 MacBook Professionals now, even when provide is constrained. Asserting new fashions just some days earlier than reporting quarterly earnings may assist give traders confidence within the firm (current will increase of Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and Apple Information+ costs may play into that too).
If M3-powered fashions don't result in a lift in gross sales, although, Kuo suggests it's extra possible {that a} MacBook Professional with a brand new design will arrive in 2025. Moreover, Apple could attempt to beef up the division with a extra budget-friendly MacBook that has an annual gross sales goal of between eight million and 10 million.
iPad Professional
We are able to't disregard our hunch that we'll see a minimum of one iPad at Apple's occasion. With the main target prone to be on M3-powered merchandise, the probabilities are that any new iPad shall be of the Professional selection with a type of chips inside.
It has solely been a yr since the latest iPad Professional debuted. Apart from just a few small tweaks, Apple solely actually swapped within the M2 rather than the M1. The subsequent iPad Professional will most likely want extra adjustments to make it extra palatable for anybody who picked up the earlier two fashions, which implies Apple would possibly want extra time to get it prepared. If that's the case, the corporate may be content material to offer the iPad Professional a spec bump in the meanwhile.
Different iPads may additionally get a refresh on the occasion, simply in time for the vacations. We gained't have to attend too lengthy to search out out both manner. We'll have full protection of every little thing you could know from the Scary Quick occasion at Engadget, so when you're ready for Halloween trick-or-treaters to indicate up, slip into your jammies, seize a mug of cocoa and be part of us on Monday night.
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