Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

The M4 Mac launch is incoming, but not how you might expect

Add as a preferred source on Google
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip seen from behind.
Luke Larsen / Digital Trends

The past few months have been full of speculation, anticipation, and pretty wild rumors concerning the upcoming M4 Macs — and now the predicted release date of November 1 is just a week or so away. Despite the lack of an event announcement, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman still believes the launch is “imminent,” with an announcement reportedly coming on October 30.

According to him, Apple Stores are running very low on iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad units — and this usually happens when updates are about to be released.

Recommended Videos

While most of the whispers lately have focused on the Mac lineup, it is true that hints about new peripherals have surfaced, too. It’s assumed that the new Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard updates will mostly focus on the switch to USB-C. With any luck, Apple will also make a slight adjustment to the location of the Magic Mouse’s port and bring an end to the decade of ridicule the poor mouse has suffered through.

But turning back to the question of “when” this launch is coming — Gurman has also said on X (formerly Twitter) confirming a media event will take place in Los Angeles on October 30. According to the post, it seems like there won’t be a keynote, just product videos and press releases.

Apple is inviting media/creators at different appointment times throughout the day on 10/30 in my town of LA — they seemingly aren’t bringing a group together to watch a keynote video. So the announcement is online only (video and press releases), as I’ve been indicating. https://t.co/sVk6GjrVeC

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) October 22, 2024

With this post, hope for a proper event seems almost definitely dead — and in some ways, this does make sense. After all, it’s true that the M4 chip has already been announced and has even launched with the latest iPad Pro, so perhaps an event isn’t strictly necessary.

On the other hand, the Mac mini is due for its first design overhaul in over a decade, so you might have thought Apple would want to show that off in a bit more detail. Plus, assuming the industry experts are correct, there are six product updates due to be announced, and that number in itself seems like enough of an excuse for an event.

Either way, everything should be made clear next Wednesday, and we’ll be sure to report the latest.

Willow Roberts
Willow Roberts has been a Computing Writer at Digital Trends for a year and has been writing for about a decade. She has a…
Google drops Gemini 3.7 Flash model, and it’s ready to handle your chores with the Spark agent
Gemini 3.7 Flash makes Google’s Spark agent better at multi-step tasks
Computer, Electronics, Pc

Google has launched Gemini 3.7 Flash, and one of its biggest upgrades is going straight to Gemini Spark.

The company says Spark is moving to the new model starting today, giving its cloud-based agent better tool use and stronger performance on multi-step tasks. Google specifically points to work such as consolidating files, drafting emails, and updating status documents across Google Workspace.

Read more
AI agents are sitting through students’ online courses, and colleges are struggling to stop them
The technology has moved from helping with homework to effectively impersonating students inside virtual classrooms.
Student taking notes in classroom with laptop macbook

AI cheating has already gone from asking a chatbot to write an essay to using tools that can make that AI-written work look human. We've previously talked about AI tools designed to help students cheat and the growing problem of AI detectors struggling to keep up, as well as how commonly students are already using AI for homework. Now the technology isn't merely helping students do the work. In some cases, it can effectively be the student.

Just tell the AI to take the class

Read more
Microsoft is bringing its Copilot apps together before its planned ‘super app’ debut
Microsoft kicked off its Copilot app merger, combining personal and work experiences while keeping account data fully separate.
Copilot graphics

If you have been staring at two separate Copilot icons cluttering your taskbar, that annoyance is finally going away. Microsoft has started merging its consumer Copilot app with Microsoft 365 Copilot into a single unified experience, and this rollout is officially the first step toward the bigger "super app" the company plans to launch later this year.

What changes once the apps merge?

Read more