Apple October Event

Shn99

Apple have sent out invites to the media for an event on October 30th in New York. Expect to see iPad pro’s and new Macs

j8wk2feszrnpao

The only thing I'm interested in seeing is if there any news on the AirPower charger (about a year after announcing it); the rest has been leaked enough.

DubDJ

One thing to pay attention to for this one, the event is happening in New York time so it will be 2pm Irish time instead of the normal 6pm.

Never watched an Apple event so early, 5pm was the only odd one I even noticed.

duridian

Mixed emotions. Curious to see what the iPad Pro with the new design, no home button, FaceID etc. is like, but on the other hand my iPad Pro will then be the "old" model. LOL

Also really looking forward to seeing the Macbook Air successor with improved specs and display. I'm keen to see what Apple is going to offer at this price point. A better specced Macbook Air type of device could certainly be tempting to me in the year ahead.

FourFourRED

DubDJ wrote: »

One thing to pay attention to for this one, the event is happening in New York time so it will be 2pm Irish time instead of the normal 6pm.

Never watched an Apple event so early, 5pm was the only odd one I even noticed.

That 5pm one would still have been 10am Pacific time, the normal time. But at a time of the year where their clocks hadn’t gone forward.

Another early event would have been the education event in Chicago earlier this year. That wasn’t live streamed however.

murpho999

FourFourFM wrote: »

That 5pm one would still have been 10am Pacific time, the normal time. But at a time of the year where their clocks hadn’t gone forward.

Another early event would have been the education event in Chicago earlier this year. That wasn’t live streamed however.

The event is on at 10am Eastern Time, so that is 2pm here.

Bob24

iPad Pro with edge to edge display, Face ID and almost laptop like processing power will be an instant buy for me as long as the size/weight remains reasonable (similar in size to my 9.7in iPad Pro but with a much nicer display - the current 10.5in version is too large for my liking).

FourFourRED

murpho999 wrote: »

The event is on at 10am Eastern Time, so that is 2pm here.

Never said it wasn’t?

I was just explaining why it was 5pm instead of 6pm before. I said 10am Pacific time not Eastern.

Regarding the event itself. Not really tempted by a new iPad or Mac but I’d like to see AirPods 2 with wireless charging come out. The battery on my originals have taken a beating over the last couple of years.

Sad Professor

I'm hoping for a new Mac Mini for the same price as the current one. I expect to be disappointed.

Bob24

Sad Professor wrote: »

I'm hoping for a new Mac Mini for the same price as the current one. I expect to be disappointed.

I think your expectation is correct ...

Vudgie

Expecting the macbook air to get a significant upgrade...are there any rumors about sizes...would love a 15in?

Bob24

Vudgie wrote: »

Expecting the macbook air to get a significant upgrade...are there any rumors about sizes...would love a 15in?

Apple doesn’t do 15in and low end, and currently the MacBook Air is their low end line. So I would really be surprised.

Vudgie

Bob24 wrote: »

Apple doesn’t do 15in and low end, and currently the MacBook Air is their low end line. So I would really be surprised.

Yes, I think you are right.

Hard to justify a 12in model for me as I have the 10.5in iPad pro which does nearly everything I need with a keyboard cover.

IamMetaldave

An Air with a Retina would get me to upgrade my Mac. 100%.

holystungun9

I just want my Mac mini. Please come through Apple.

Sad Professor

holystungun9 wrote: »

I just want my Mac mini. Please come through Apple.

You’ll probably get your wish but expect to be horrified by the price.

DubDJ

Sad Professor wrote: »

You’ll probably get your wish but expect to be horrified by the price.

So a typical Apple event then. :P

awec

Are people expecting an Air refresh? Surely would eat iPad Pro sales.

duridian

awec wrote: »

Are people expecting an Air refresh? Surely would eat iPad Pro sales.

To be honest, for the reason you mentioned, I think the Air name may simply be retired, as it was with the iPad.
I'm somewhat expecting there's a chance they'll do some form of merger between the the Air and non-Pro Macbook lines.

Bob24

duridian wrote: »

I'm somewhat expecting there's a chance they'll do some form of merger between the the Air and non-Pro Macbook lines.

I also think it would make sense. And *maybe* to release a larger (13 or 14) version of the MacBook to replace the air.

3DataModem

This has to be the event where the air is discontinued. I own an air 13" and a Macbook 12" and see no reason for the air to exist.

Sad Professor

The Air is a huge seller, especially amongst students. They may change the name but a similar kind of laptop at that price point will replace it. The 12-inch MacBook is too expensive.

Bob24

Sad Professor wrote: »

The Air is a huge seller, especially amongst students. They may change the name but a similar kind of laptop at that price point will replace it. The 12-inch MacBook is too expensive.

While it now feels like old tech, at some point the Air was the small and cool thing which the MacBook has been since 2015, and it was selling for the current price point of the MacBook or more. And gradually they dropped the price and introduced a dumbed down version with less memory/storage to target those students.

I could see them doing the same with the MacBook and retiring the Air.

It’s not a prediction but what I think could make sense is:
- drop the price of all 12 MacBooks by 100-150 euros
- introduce an even lower tier with 128GB storage instead of the current 256 and which would be in the region of 1200 euros (just a little bit more than the current base MacBook Air, which is in good part cheaper today because it has a 128gb option whereas the MacBook doesn’t)
- introduce at 13 or 14in MacBook which costs 200-300 euros more than the equivalent 12in version (maybe with a slightly better CPU or whatever else to justify the higher cost)
- discontinue the MacBook Air

IamMetaldave

Bob24 wrote: »

While it now feels like old tech, at some point the Air was the small and cool thing which the MacBook has been since 2015

I dunno, I don't think that new MacBook was anywhere near the same wow factor the Air had went it landed. It still doesn't in my opinion. If they took the Air, reduced the bezels, gave it the Retina screen and juiced up the insides I think it would be a great update to it.

Bob24

IamMetaldave wrote: »

Bob24 wrote: »

While it now feels like old tech, at some point the Air was the small and cool thing which the MacBook has been since 2015

I dunno, I don't think that new MacBook was anywhere near the same wow factor the Air had went it landed. It still doesn't in my opinion. If they took the Air, reduced the bezels, gave it the Retina screen and juiced up the insides I think it would be a great update to it.

It wouldn’t be be too far from the potential new 13/14 inch MacBook I was talking about though :-) (and probably wouldn’t retain that low price point)

I think if this is where they want to go, moving it to a more modern MacBook chassis (just a bit larger) would make sense for Apple.

Sad Professor

The first gen Air was rather poor IMO. The technology wasn't quite there yet and it was too expensive. Then when they made it affordable it lost a lot of the impetus behind the original design ethos and it became just a low end MacBook for students. The "Air" moniker became increasingly meaningless, so much so that they had to rebrand the 12-inch even though it was clearly intended to be the new Air.

I'd consider the 12-inch MacBook to be a fulfilment of the original Air's potential. But that still leaves Apple with a big gap in their lineup for that student market. I don't think they'll repeat what they did with the Air and make the 12-inch cheaper. That would require too big a price drop at a time when Apple are going upmarket not down. Not to mention it would probably mean adding a fan and more ports, which would compromise the 12-inch's design too much.

I'm expecting an XR type solution - cheaper, bigger, more colourful - while leaving the 12-inch MB as it is.

IamMetaldave

Bob24 wrote: »

It wouldn’t be be too far from the potential new 13/14 inch MacBook I was talking about though :-) (and probably wouldn’t retain that low price point)

Valid point

Sad Professor wrote: »

I'm expecting an XR type solution - cheaper, bigger, more colourful - while leaving the 12-inch MB as it is.

This line depresses me.... mostly because after reading your post I can see you are probably in the right direction of what will happen.

Maybe I'll just use my Air until it pops! Which, in fairness doesn't seem to be anytime soon.

FourFourRED

Sad Professor wrote: »

I'd consider the 12-inch MacBook to be a fulfilment of the original Air's potential. But that still leaves Apple with a big gap in their lineup for that student market. I don't think they'll repeat what they did with the Air and make the 12-inch cheaper. That would require too big a price drop at a time when Apple are going upmarket not down. Not to mention it would probably mean adding a fan and more ports, which would compromise the 12-inch's design too much.

I'm expecting an XR type solution - cheaper, bigger, more colourful - while leaving the 12-inch MB as it is.

If we take a look at the current MacBook offering:

12" MacBook (256GB) starts at €1,549 and the 13" MacBook Pro also starts at €1,549 (128GB). The MacBook Air comes in at €1,129 (128GB).

I don't see where a cheaper (MacBook Air replacement) offering fits in whilst keeping the 12" MacBook in place? They are unlikely going to keep the same non-retina display, older unibody style and older styled keyboard and will likely implement the 3rd generation butterfly keyboard on the new one with Thunderbolt 3 port(s) only.

It suggests to me that it will be bring the end of the 12" MacBook line and use what they've learned from that model to make a more modern MacBook Air with a 13"/14" display probably at a more affordable price.

EDIT:

If the 12" MacBook gets a spec upgrade this year and continues to be €1,549, what would the pricing be for the MacBook Air replacement and what compromises would it have, considering the 12" has compromises from the 13" MacBook Pro line-up? Would they really continue with another non-retina display?

awec

The 12" Macbook is pretty new though, right? Hardly going to retire that entire model of laptops already.

swingking

I wonder if they'll announce a new version of the apple pencil ?

Bob24

Sad Professor wrote: »

The first gen Air was rather poor IMO. The technology wasn't quite there yet and it was too expensive. Then when they made it affordable it lost a lot of the impetus behind the original design ethos and it became just a low end MacBook for students. The "Air" moniker became increasingly meaningless, so much so that they had to rebrand the 12-inch even though it was clearly intended to be the new Air.

I see 3 stages for the Air:
- the first iteration which had a slow hard drive (no SSD) and not enough RAM was indeed poor and more of an aspirational product.
- then they relaunched the Air brand with an SSD drive and new nicer chassis. This became a serious product and while it had CPU limitations for some tasks the SSD actually made it faster than Macbook Pros (which then were still predominantly using HDDs). It was still very much a high-end expensive product for a while.
- when they released thiner MacBook Pros based on a similar design as the Air and SSD blades (as well as Retina displays), they started to gradually drop the price of the Air to make it entry level.

Sad Professor wrote: »

I'd consider the 12-inch MacBook to be a fulfilment of the original Air's potential. But that still leaves Apple with a big gap in their lineup for that student market. I don't think they'll repeat what they did with the Air and make the 12-inch cheaper. That would require too big a price drop at a time when Apple are going upmarket not down. Not to mention it would probably mean adding a fan and more ports, which would compromise the 12-inch's design too much.

If you look at current prices, the gap to close is not that big for the Macbook to match the Macbook Air.

In Ireland a 256GB MacBook Air is 1379 euros, and a 256GB MacBook is 1549.

As I mentioned if they cut the price of the Macbook by just 100 euros it would already be very close, and 150 euros would pretty much match the Air price (and it could possibly give them the opportunity to introduce a new larger and more expensive MacBook to add a mid-range option with similar screen size as the 13 Pro but less powerful, a bit smaller/lighter, and cheaper).

Plus the simple MacBook name has been Apple's traditional entry level brand while MacBook Pro has been for the high end, so doing this would make their product range simple again.

But anyway it’s all speculation and we'll have to wait and see. And the event is likely to be just for a new iPad Pro and a few spec bumps on the Macs :-)

Sad Professor

Thinking about it, I'm probably overestimating the importance of the Air's price point to their lineup. They let it whither this long, so it's obviously not something they are invested in anymore. The iPad has surely eaten into a lot of the student market for MBAs.

So maybe you guys are right and we'll get a new MacBooks for slightly cheaper. Maybe a 12-inch for 100 less and a 13-inch for current price. Air disregarded with an emphasis placed on iPads as being great for students, etc. Besides, the the current Air is only 1.5 years old and there's no sign of supplies running short. They could easily sell it for another 2.5 years like the Mini.

The main thing is I don't see them compromising or replacing the design of the current 12-inch. I think the fanless, underpowered, single port design will remain, but maybe the 13-inch will have two ports. If they can't/won't make a new MBA with Retina for less, then that's probably the end of the Air. A small price reduction might be on the cards for the 12-inch, but they aren't going to reduce it to Air levels.

Johnmb

Sad Professor wrote: »

Thinking about it, I'm probably overestimating the importance of the Air's price point to their lineup. They let it whither this long, so it's obviously not something they are invested in anymore. The iPad has surely eaten into a lot of the student market for MBAs.

I was actually just about to post something similar. I think Apple see the iPad as their student entry point at this stage. Only the really heavy science/programming subjects require a full computer OS (and there may even be apps for those on the iPad if I bothered to check...)

Bob24

Johnmb wrote: »

I was actually just about to post something similar. I think Apple see the iPad as their student entry point at this stage.

Yeah I think you're right. I am nor sure students see it that way yet (maybe they do, I really don't know), but if not it's likely getting there.

baby and crumble

From my perspective as a student I have an Air and I mainly bought it a year ago because I got it on a deal (meant it came in after cashback at 899 or something) and because while the screen is poor the rest of the machine holds up well for what a lot of students (bar computer science, etc) will be doing. The keyboard is nicer than the new Macbook design for extended typing sessions, the number of ports is important for being able to transfer things easily and not having to carry dongles everywhere, and it is cheaper. Yes, a €200 difference mightn't be much in the grand scheme of things but it's a lot of money when you're on a strict budget.

I also have an iPad for reading and taking written notes (and it's amazing for that) but I honestly could not use an iPad for my essays and assignments, mostly because there's no good referencing software that you can easily integrate with the app versions of word etc.

I probably would like to upgrade to a bit of a nicer screen etc but I need the ports and the better typing experience, hence the love of my Air for now.

Dades

awec wrote: »

The 12" Macbook is pretty new though, right? Hardly going to retire that entire model of laptops already.

Tell that to my iPad 3. :pac:

awec

Dades wrote: »

Tell that to my iPad 3. :pac:

Yea but iPads (except the Pro) are cheaper devices that got updated more often.

Laptops (and desktops) usually have much longer cycles. The 12 inch Macbooks are like brand new in the past 3 years, I'd be shocked if they went away any time soon.

Bob24

Dades wrote: »

Tell that to my iPad 3. :pac:

Ah, "The new iPad" as Apple decided to call it - the worst named iPad ever :-) (having said that I had one and did like it until I got my iPad Air!)

awec

I have an iPad Air 2 and I have to say, of all my Apple devices my iPad is the one where I have never really been tempted to upgrade.

Bob24

awec wrote: »

I have an iPad Air 2 and I have to say, of all my Apple devices my iPad is the one where I have never really been tempted to upgrade.

Long term support for that generation has been very good (in consumer electronics terms), they still run very well with iOS 12.

Having said that a thin bezel and Face ID 10in Pro will get them my money :-)

FourFourRED

It will be the end of the iconic glowing Apple logo as well!

Shn99

Min Chi Kuo predicts an iPad mini 5 will be out this year or next. https://9to5mac.com/2018/10/23/kuo-predicts-new-ipad-mini-5-airpower-launch-in-late-2018-or-early-2019-more/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

eeloe

FourFourFM wrote: »

It will be the end of the iconic glowing Apple logo as well!

Glowing logo hasn’t been on the pros or the 12inch for years.

FourFourRED

eeloe wrote: »

Glowing logo hasn’t been on the pros or the 12inch for years.

I’m well aware.

What I mean is that the MacBook Air will no longer be sold after this event and as a result be the last of the glowing logo notebooks sold by Apple.

Spon Farmer

Do Apple usually keep the prices of new iPads and Macs the same as the previous models?

I never keep that information I my head when the talk about pricing but this time I need to get a new iMac and I want an iPad :P

Bob24

Spon Farmer wrote: »

Do Apple usually keep the prices of new iPads and Macs the same as the previous models?

I never keep that information I my head when the talk about pricing but this time I need to get a new iMac and I want an iPad :P

Once upon a time, prices were fairly stable accross generations. Nowadays, I wouldn’t necessarily count on it.

Sad Professor

Refreshed spec bumped models are usually the same US price (though Euro/Irish prices can fluctuate considerably depending on exchange rates and other arbitrary factors). But in this case, most of the announcements will probably be redesigns or significant upgrades, so price increases should definitely be expected.

Spon Farmer

Waaa !!!

godtabh

Store down. Was going to buy the watch!

Bob24

godtabh wrote: »

Store down. Was going to buy the watch!

I guess in a way is part of the Apple folklore related to new product releases, but nowadays I find it hard to understand why they have to take down their whole online store just to add a few new SKUs and product pages.

I’m wondering if they do it just as a marketing trick and for no good practical reason, just to start building up the hype with every tech website publishing a piece on the Apple Store being down, or if there is an actual technical justification.

What does everyone think?

adox

I know I`m going to be tempted by the new iPads even though I only bought one of the cheap ones earlier this year.

I`m sure the price will put me off though!