Now that Apple's yearly iPhone event is over and the iPhone 15 series phones are out in retail, what else can we expect from Apple? Will we see any more new products?
The answer, I think, is probably not. To start, Apple doesn't always hold an October event. It didn't have one last year, so it's not a yearly thing unlike WWDC and the iPhone launch.
That said, the last few times that it did, the event was often focused on Macs.
2018 saw the launch of the redesigned MacBook Air with Retina display, while 2019's event saw it announce the M1 chip – its first custom silicon for Macs. And in 2021, we had the all-new 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro. So if there was to be an October event, it makes sense for Macs to be the highlight.
The roll-out of the M2 chip is now complete and the next big thing for Macs should be the M3 chip, which is rumoured to be built on the same 3nm process as the A17 Pro chip found in the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
Is launching the M3 chip now the right time? I'm not so sure. Before we forget, Apple's eagerly anticipated Vision Pro headset will only launch early next year and that's powered by an M2 chip. Releasing Macs with M3 chips now will only make the Vision Pro look dated.
One could make the case that the M2 chip is getting a bit long in the tooth.After all, it was introduced at WWDC in 2022 and made its debut in the MacBook Air, which means it's around 15 months old now.
However,Apple only recently released the 15-inch MacBook Air, and that's also powered by the M2 chip. I can foresee a lot of customers being upset if Apple announcesa newer, more powerful M3 version of the MacBook Air now.
And it's not like Apple needs new chips to compete. The user experience offered by its M1 and M2 chips is beyond any AMD or Intel-powered Windows machine.
Perhaps the more sensible thing to do is to wait until WWDC 2024 to launch both the M3 and a new MacBook Air and follow up with new MacBook Pros later in the year.And this could be the new cadence for Mac launches going forward.
Still, Apple is famously secretively, and it's anyone's guess what'll happen. But considering all the things I mentioned above, I think an October event is unlikely this year.
Kenny Yeo/Associate Editor
Specifications are not everything. It’s what you do with what you have that matters.