Dubai: Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out a one-liner on Twitter: "The Big day is here". The day has come when the tech giant will unveil the latest iterations of MacBook Pro, Mac Mini and AirPods (Series 3), all widely expected to be announced later today (Monday, October 18, 2021).
The event will be livestreamed at 9pm Dubai time (10 am PDT) from the tech giant’s California HQ. There’s no face-to-face launch yet, so the even will be virtual, similar to iPhone 13’s launch in September.
Apple holds three to four events on average each year — spring event in March, the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, a September event focused on iPhone and Apple Watch, plus an October event, if they have fresh iPads or Macs. The 2021 iPad models were already launched in September alongside the new
Monday’s event, dubbed as “Unleashed,” is expected to focus on the Mac, pushing through despite global supply chain bottlenecks..
Possible announcements:
MacBook Pro
A major redesign to the MacBook Pro machines is expected to be unveiled as the California tech giant is working on 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. The first highly-anticipated upgrade: the use of M1X (or M1 Pro) processors. They come in a 10-core package that features eight high-performance cores — in addition to two energy-efficient cores. This, alongside the 16-core or 32-core graphics processing unit (GPU) options, and support for up to 64GB RAM.
The new MacBook Pros will charge over MagSafe, will have more ports, and will have physical function keys instead of a Touch Bar.
Powerful Mac minis
Apple also set to unleash a high-end Mac mini. It will be powered by an improved version of the M1 chip, perhaps the same chip as the MacBook Pro — also with a 10-core CPU that has eight high-performance cores, alongside two energy-efficient cores, plus a 16-core or 32-core GPU options. The mini’s main brain will support up to 64GB RAM and four Thunderbolt ports.
Cheaper AirPod 3
A more affordable version of the AirPods is also widely expected to be launched today. US tech media, quoting industry leaks, reported that in terms of form factor, it would look similar to the AirPods Pro — but without Active Noise Cancellation. This would allow Apple to sell them at a lower price point.
Of course, all of the above remains tentative, until the actual event. We'll bring you the latest as they come. Stay tuned.
