Skip to main content

Apple’s October event may have been canceled before it began

For months, we’ve been expecting Apple to host an event this October where it would reveal brand-new Macs and iPads. However, that’s all been thrown into uncertainty now thanks to a new report from a reliable tech reporter.

The news comes from Mark Gurman, who stated in his weekly Power On newsletter that Apple might simply release the new products using press releases instead of a showy event like its iPhone 14 launch extravaganza.

tim cook at the apple spring loaded event 2021
Apple

According to Gurman, the remaining updates to Apple products coming this year are not significant enough to warrant a full-blown show with various speakers and perhaps hands-on time afterward. That kind of event requires plenty of planning and post-shoot editing, which Apple might feel is wasted if the updates are not true headline events.

For instance, Gurman notes that the main contenders to launch later in 2022 are updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, a new Mac Mini with M2 and M2 Pro chips, and an updated iPad Pro with the M2 chip. None of these, he says, represent a “major departure” for Apple. “They’ll get some improved specifications and a chip that was already announced at a formal event in June at WWDC 2022,” Gurman explains. The idea is that Apple could simply announce these products in press releases on its website.

That might be a letdown for Apple fans, but it would not be without precedent. Apple launched the AirPods Max, 24-inch iMac, and 2019’s 16-inch MacBook Pro all via press releases, which might sound surprising given their high profiles. But it shows the company is not afraid of shunning the stage when it needs to.

And while the upcoming Mac Pro refresh could be a big one — it’s going to finally migrate from Intel processors to Apple silicon chips, after all — that probably won’t arrive until 2023, Gurman believes.

So, if you were getting the popcorn ready for another Apple show later this year, you might end up being disappointed. That said, Gurman could be wrong, and the event might go ahead after all. It just doesn’t seem that likely considering what’s left to launch this year.

Editors' Recommendations

Alex Blake
In ancient times, people like Alex would have been shunned for their nerdy ways and strange opinions on cheese. Today, he…
Apple’s Reality Pro headset just got demoed in a secret ceremony
A rendering of four Apple mixed-reality headsets (Reality Pro) in various colors sitting on a surface.

Apple’s mysterious Reality Pro headset just hit a major milestone last week when it was demonstrated in a large-scale ceremony to around 100 of the company’s top executives. That’s encouraging, as showing it off to so many high-ranking employees suggests the device is almost ready for launch.

The revelation comes from Mark Gurman’s weekly Power On newsletter, wherein the Bloomberg journalist explained that the event marks a notable turning point in the mixed-reality headset’s development ahead of its anticipated launch at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

Read more
Apple’s VR headset may have leaked — but there’s a catch
A rendering of an Apple mixed-reality headset (Reality Pro) in a gold color seen from the front.

The first images of components for Apple’s mixed-reality headset have supposedly just leaked online, possibly providing a tantalizing glimpse of what is to come. But there are questions surrounding the images, and they might not be what they claim to be.

The images were posted by MrWhite128 on Twitter, a protected account known for having provided accurate Apple leaks and information in the past. The four pictures seem to show various cable arrangements, including a handful apparently shaped to fit around a user’s eyes.

Read more
A new iMac and 15-inch MacBook Air are almost ready to launch
A student types at a desk on a pink Apple iMac 24-inch M1 desktop computer.

The M1 iMac made a big splash when it launched in spring 2021, but it’s been a long two years without updates since then. There’s some good news for Apple fans, though, as a new iMac is apparently almost upon us.

That’s according to a new report from Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who claims the next iMac is undergoing production tests as we speak. This stage of development (known as engineering validation testing, or EVT) means the product is getting close to launching.

Read more