Apple plans to introduce new products on Tuesday, October 13, Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak announced today. It won’t be a traditional Apple event, but Apple has invited some members of the media to New York to see first-hand everything that will be introduced.
Those of us not invited to the New York Experience will likely be introduced to the new devices via press releases that will go out on launch day. Since visits in New York begin at 9am on the 13th, this may be the time when the products will be announced.
The video shared by Joswiak gives us a major clue as to what’s to come, and as expected, it’s house-related. We expect at least three new devices, including a completely new product.
Home center
We’ve been hearing rumors for months about Apple’s Home Hub being ready to ship and waiting for Siri AI. It has a 6-inch display and there are two varieties. One is meant to be wall mounted and the other is meant to be used with a half dome speaker base.
Siri’s AI is a central part of the hub and will essentially provide users with a way to get information and responses from Siri. The hub will run a version of tvOS that could be called homeOS, with familiar Apple apps and widgets. It will be a central home device, showing family members upcoming calendar events and other personalized information, as well as offering an easy way to control connected smart home devices.
It will display the time when not in use and will be customizable so you can choose the widgets and apps you want to see. It has a camera so it can be used to make video calls and will also play videos so you can put it in the kitchen and follow a recipe. Occupancy sensors and camera will be able to tell the hub which family member is nearby and it will show a personalized interface for each person. It will use facial recognition for identification.
Pricing for the hub could start at around $350, and Apple expects users to put several hubs in their homes.
HomePodmini
The HomePod mini updates with new color options and a faster processor, plus an N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. We expect the HomePod mini to offer new Siri AI features.
Apple TV 4K
The Apple TV 4K will also get an updated chip and more RAM. It could have the A19 or A19 Pro and 8GB or 12GB of RAM. It too will get the N1 networking chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread and is also expected to offer a full AI Siri experience.
Other possibilities
There are other devices we expect Apple to launch before the end of the year, but Apple will launch another product on October 27 to introduce the new Macs and iPad mini OLED.
- iPadmini – The iPad mini will receive a major update with an OLED display, better waterproofing and a faster chip. Expect it to be more expensive.
- MacBook OLED – Apple is planning to launch an OLED touchscreen MacBook, which could be a MacBook Pro or a new “Ultra” MacBook. It will have the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the current MacBook Pro models, but will have a completely new display and a thinner, lighter design. It will be a premium product that will likely cost more than the current high-end 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
- iMac – Apple is working on an M6 iMac.
- 14-inch MacBook Pro – We might get a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M6 chip before the end of the year.
We’ll have full coverage of all Apple announcements on the 13th, plus we’ll be sharing last-minute rumors ahead of launch, so be sure to stay tuned.
