According to new rumor, it looks like Apple has a new Mac waiting in the wings that will be unleashed on the world later this month.
This comes from MacRumors who reached out to a source for information on Mac trade-ins and how it could indicate the arrival of a new device later in October.
The story goes that this is a trusted source who has announced upcoming changes to Apple’s trade-in program, namely that the company will start accepting new models for trade-in later this month.
The dots are connected here because Apple made similar changes to trade-ins in June, with several new Macs being accepted for trade-ins, which happened alongside Apple’s new model launches (including the super-sized MacBook Air 15-inch).
It is therefore expected that these new adjustments to the trade-in herald the arrival of something new on the Mac front.
There were a number of new machines eligible for trade-ins in June, and this time Apple’s plans are apparently more modest, indicating that October’s launches will be on a smaller scale – perhaps even just one device.
Analysis: Which Mac, or Macs, could be incoming?
As always with rumors, we have to be quite careful when accepting them at face value, although MacRumors is generally a reliable news source for all things Apple, and makes it clear that this is a trusted source, as noted.
But even if the buzz is true and Apple plans to do so, there’s no telling whether it will actually happen. (Although in this case the time frame of later this month is quite tight, so any cancellations and changes of plans would certainly be last minute).
MacRumors assumes the new Mac (or Macs) will hit the market as early as mid-October, so given that the associated trade-in adjustments are bound to be imminent when they happen.
Looking at one new Apple computer, what’s the most likely candidate to hit shelves? That’s a tough decision, but whichever machine lands a spot on our list of the best Macs will likely be powered by an M3 chip.
Ever-present Apple leaker Mark Gurman has previously said that Apple could launch a MacBook Air 13-inch, a MacBook Pro of the same size or a new iMac 24-inch in October – or maybe even all three?
However, as noted, launch plans for this month will likely be more modest, as the source who spoke to MacRumors noted, and a single piece of hardware seems the most likely bet. From what we’ve heard elsewhere, there may not be a new MacBook until 2023, so by process of elimination the iMac 24-inch could be Apple’s most likely product launch in October.
By the way, a Mac mini with M3 is also in the plans, but it won’t be released anytime soon and is said to not be available until next year.