It’s currently impossible to get anywhere near the internet without being bombarded with news, leaks, and rumors about what Apple has in store for its September announcements. So much so that it’s easy to forget there’s life after the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. With an October or November event still likely, there’s a lot to look forward to.
I’m not even talking about the Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2; they’re both likely to release on September 12 or 13, along with those new iPhones. What I’m talking about is something completely different.
With 2023 winding down and early 2023 and the Vision Pro ready to come knocking, we’re almost into Mac and iPad territory. For example, I can’t wait. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a new iPhone as much as anyone else. But there’s something about a new Mac. Something about a new iPad. And especially something about the smell of hot new silicon in the morning.
That’s why I’m especially looking forward to what Apple has to offer at the end of 2023. Here are five things I’m looking forward to at the October (or November) Apple event.
1. New Apple silicon
These days, despite the 15-inch MacBook Air, it’s not often we buy a new Mac without some new Apple silicon in it as well.
Apple’s silicon transition, of course, started with the M1, which was replaced in 2022 by the M2 series of chips. We’ve seen Pro, Max, and Ultra flavors of both chips, though rumors of Extreme variants have yet to materialize. And we all know what comes after one and two, right?
Rumors of the arrival of the M3 chips have been rife for months, and it now seems very likely that Apple will debut the M3 next October or November. However, it will be the base chip, and the M3 Pro and M3 Max will certainly arrive in the early months of 2024. The M3 Ultra will likely arrive around the same time as an updated Mac Pro or Mac Studio, but we’re ahead of ourselves. It’s the bread and butter – that M3 – that’s imminent and it promises to be a major update.
While the M2 family wasn’t a huge improvement over the M1, it’s believed to be not the case this time around. For starters, the M3 is expected to be built using TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing process. That should keep the chip running cooler and consume less power than previous chips, allowing them to be up and running faster. And that’s good news for users.
In terms of raw specs, we expect eight CPU cores and 10 GPU cores, just like the M2. But of course we can expect more cores to be added in more expensive versions.
2. M3 24-inch iMac
Of course, new Apple silicon is nothing without a new Mac or three to stuff it into. And the iMac is a prime candidate right now.
The current M1 iMac has not been updated since 2021. It’s a 24-inch all-in-one and comes in a variety of colors, though we’re not sure anyone should choose most of them. That means the 24-inch iMac will likely be one of the first to get the M3 chip.
There haven’t been many rumors about what an M3 iMac has to offer. Rumors suggest that there won’t be any major changes on the outside anyway. But the iMac does the Mac for many people and as such it should have the latest chips. If Apple can give buyers some new colors and maybe some smaller bezels, everyone will be pretty happy with the result. I’d also get an M3 iMac if it were a bit bigger. 24 inches is just a bit on the small side, because you have to work with several windows open all day every day. But for most people? The iMac is the best desktop Mac of them all.
If Apple can make it cheaper, even better. While that seems unlikely, I’m afraid.
3. M3 13-inch MacBook Air
If the iMac is the best desktop Mac for most people, the 13-inch MacBook Air is the laptop they should choose. It’s fast, quiet, and just the right size to be impossibly portable. Add to that a faster, cooler and even less energy-hungry chip and you can go to the races.
As with the iMac, rumors of a redesign of the MacBook Air are hard to come by. But that’s not a bad thing, because the M2 MacBook Air is a stunning machine. It has a bright and colorful 13.6-inch display and even the notch disappears after a few minutes of use.
Adding an M3 chip will only make the MacBook Air an even better proposition for people who need a portable Mac that’s low on battery power and can still perform the kinds of tasks most people will. Give it some new colors or increase the base storage or RAM, and the M3 MacBook Air immediately takes over as the best Mac around.
4. An updated iPad mini
I won’t lie, I have a big soft spot for the iPad mini. Sometimes you want something not as big as the iPad, iPad Air, or 11-inch iPad Pro, but you need something bigger than even the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The 8.3-inch iPad mini is perfect for that.
Rumors of a possible 2023 iPad mini refresh have so far been lukewarm at best. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has said a spec iPad mini is possible, but that’s only as concrete as any rumor can be. Still, I’m hopeful.
The current iPad mini has been around since September 2021 and is therefore due for an update. It also uses the outdated A15 Bionic chip. Surely Apple can put something more exciting in there, even if it’s just a new iPhone chip like the A17 of the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro? Ideally, I’d like to see one of the M1-series chips make its iPad mini debut, but I’m not convinced that’s going to happen.
5. Wildcard iPad Pro
If an updated iPad mini isn’t locked, the idea of a refreshed iPad Pro is even less likely right now. Bloomberg’s Gurman is confident that new OLED iPad Pro models won’t hit the market until 2024, leaving the 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablets for a few more months.
But the rumors of a 14- or 16-inch iPad Pro won’t go away. Could it even be called the iPad Ultra? Whatever it’s called, it has the potential to completely change the iPad range. If Apple puts in an M3 chip, offers a really nice keyboard and trackpad combo accessory, and finds a way to make Stage Manager less of a drag, it could be a real home run for a product.
Do I think it will? Never say never, and Apple has been known to throw surprises from time to time. But with Apple’s supply chain leaking more than ever, I’m afraid we’d have seen this leak by now if it had been that close to a reveal.
Complete
So there we have it: the October event has the potential to be even bigger than the September event. It will be another month or two and we could see more leaks between now and then. But as things stand right now, I’m pretty excited about what’s to come.
Now if we can get these iPhones and Apple Watches out of the way first…