Top Stories: M4 Macs Next Week, iOS 18.2 Beta, and More

Apple’s flurry of activity to close out October is well underway, led on the hardware side by the launch of the new iPad mini and Apple uncharacteriscally teasing some Mac updates for next week even without an announced event.

On the software side, Apple Intelligence is ready to make its debut in iOS 18.1 and related updates next week, but Apple has already begun beta testing further AI features in iOS 18.2, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!

Apple Teases M4 Mac Announcements Next Week

We’ve long been expecting several Mac launches to happen around the end of this month, and Apple has now essentially made it official with marketing chief Greg Joswiak teasing an “exciting week of announcements” coming up centered around a Mac theme.

Check out our overview of everything we’re expecting to see next week, with the most notable Mac update being a redesigned Mac mini.

Hands-On With the New iPad Mini 7

Following last week’s press release announcement of the seventh-generation iPad mini, the latest version of Apple’s smallest tablet is now available and we’ve had a chance to go hands-on with it.

While the new iPad mini looks nearly identical to its predecessor, it does include a number of internal improvements, led by the A17 Pro chip that brings support for Apple Intelligence.

Apple Seeds iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 Release Candidates With Apple Intelligence

Apple is rumored to be releasing iOS 18.1 and related operating system updates this coming Monday, October 28, and things certainly seem to be lining up for that to happen as Apple this week seeded release candidate versions of the updates to developers and public beta testers.

The updates bring the first Apple Intelligence features for compatible devices, as well as a number of other additions and tweaks. Also included are new hearing health features for the AirPods Pro 2, and we went ears-on with the hearing test that can determine whether you’re experiencing hearing loss and configure the AirPods Pro to serve as a hearing aid.

Apple Releases First Betas of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

iOS 18.1 hasn’t even been officially released yet, but Apple is already moving forward with developer beta testing of iOS 18.2 and related updates for devices that support Apple Intelligence.

iOS 18.2 brings a number of highly anticipated Apple Intelligence features including Image Playground, Image Wand, Genmoji, ChatGPT integration, Visual Intelligence for iPhone 16 users, and more. There are plenty of non-Apple Intelligence changes as well, so make sure to check out our overview of everything new in iOS 18.2. Dan and Hartley also tackled the iOS 18.2 changes in this week’s episode of The MacRumors Show.

Tim Cook Admits Truth About Vision Pro Following Lackluster Sales

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the Vision Pro headset is “not a mass-market product” given its $3,500 starting price, but argued that it’s an early-adopter product for “people who want to have tomorrow’s technology today.”

The interview comes as a new report from The Information claims that Apple has abruptly reduced production of the Vision Pro and could halt production of the current version entirely by the end of the year, as it may have enough units on hand at that point to satisfy expected future demand.

iPhone SE 4 Mass Production Timeframe Revealed as Launch Gets Closer

Mass production of the fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to get underway sometime in December, setting the stage for an anticipated launch in the first part of 2025. The update will bring a more modern design based on the iPhone 14 but with enough beefed-up internal specs to support Apple Intelligence.

That’s not the only Apple product expected to see a launch in the first half of 2025, however, with production of M4-based MacBook Air models also expected to begin soon. Updates for the iPad Air and entry-level iPad are also expected, with new Mac Studio and Mac Pro models to follow.

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