M4 Macs, New iPad Mini, and iPad 11 Expected at Upcoming Apple Event

Apple will likely hold another event in October this year to announce new Macs and iPads. If so, it would be the fourth time in the last five years that Apple has held an event in October. Last year, Apple held a virtual event on Monday, October 30 to announce new MacBook Pro and iMac models with the M3 series of chips.

In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reiterated that Apple plans to announce the first M4 Macs and new lower-end iPads at its next event “in the coming weeks.” He expects the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini to be updated with the M4 series of chips this year, followed by the MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro throughout 2025. He said some of the first M4 Macs are already shipping from factories.

Gurman expects the following products to be updated at Apple’s next event, which he previously said would take place in October.

MacBook Pro

Apple plans to announce updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips at its next event, according to Gurman. No design changes have been rumored for the laptops this year, with improvements such as an OLED display and thinner design not expected until 2026 at the earliest.

Apple last redesigned the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2021, and the latest models with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips were released last October.

iMac

Apple also plans to update the iMac with the M4 chip at the event, according to Gurman.

Will the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad trio of accessories for the iMac finally switch from Lightning to USB-C this year?

Mac mini

Gurman expects the Mac mini to be updated with M4 and M4 Pro chips at the event, and he previously said the desktop computer will be redesigned to become nearly as small as an Apple TV. The new Mac mini will apparently lack USB-A ports.

iPad mini

Gurman previously said he expects a seventh-generation iPad mini to be unveiled at the event.

Rumored features for the next iPad mini include a faster chip, upgraded front and rear cameras, a fix for “jelly scrolling” screen tearing in portrait orientation, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support, and new color options.

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said the next iPad mini would enter mass production in the second half of 2024, so there is agreement from multiple credible sources about the device being updated later this year.

Apple released the current iPad mini in September 2021, with new features at the time including a larger 8.3-inch display, a USB-C port, a Touch ID power button, the A15 Bionic chip, 5G support on cellular models, a 12-megapixel rear camera with Center Stage support, compatibility with the second-generation Apple Pencil, and more.

Entry-level iPad

Gurman today said “new, lower-end iPads” plural will be unveiled at the event, so there may be an iPad 11 too.