Ondrej Holzman Apple will present new products on Thursday, and the number one topic – judging by previous years – should be iPads. However, it will most likely not be the only iron that the Californian company will show. It should also happen on Macs and from software on OS X Yosemite.
The October keynote will be considerably less flamboyant than September's introduction of the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch at the giant Flint Center. This time, Apple invited journalists directly to its headquarters in Cupertino, where it does not very often present new products. The last time he showed the new iPhone 5S here.
After the new iPhones, Apple Watch, iOS 8 or Apple Pay, it might seem that the apple company has already fired all the gunpowder, but the opposite is true. Tim Cook and co. they have several more novelties ready for this year.
New iPad Air
For the past two years, Apple has introduced new iPads in October, and this year will be no different. The flagship iPad Air will definitely come in the second generation, but we probably won't see any major changes or innovations.
The biggest innovation should be called Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor that Apple introduced on the iPhone 5S last year and will probably find its way to the iPad only with a year's delay. In iOS 8, Touch ID made even more sense, so it's logical that Apple will want to expand it to as many devices as possible. The implementation of NFC technology and support for the new Apple Pay service could also be related to Touch ID as a security element, but this is not certain in the case of iPads.
The two color variants available so far – black and white – should be complemented by attractive gold, just like iPhones. The new iPad Air could also change in terms of design, even if only slightly. If anything changes, a thinner body can be expected above all. The leaked photos show the absence of a mute switch, but this may not be the final form of the device. The display could get a special anti-reflective layer for better readability in the sun.
Inside the iPad Air, there will be the expected changes: a faster processor (probably an A8 like the iPhone 6) and possibly more RAM. Apple currently offers the iPad Air in four capacities – 16, 32, 64 and 128 GB – which will probably remain, but could have been cheaper. Or Apple will bet on the same strategy as with the new iPhones and remove the 32GB variant in order to make it cheaper.
The new iPad mini
The range of iPad minis is currently somewhat fragmented - Apple offers an iPad mini with a Retina display as well as an older version without it. That could change after Thursday's keynote, and theoretically there will only be one iPad mini with a Retina display left in the lineup, which could be priced somewhere between the current prices of both iPad minis (between $299 and $399 in the United States).
However, the new iPad mini is practically not talked about at all, nor is there any speculation. However, it makes sense for Apple to update its smaller tablets alongside the iPad Air. Touch ID, gold color, faster A8 processor, practically the same as the second generation iPad Air, the second iPad mini with Retina display should also get it. More significant news would be a surprise.
The new iMac with Retina display
While Apple has already covered mobile products completely with Retina displays, it still has some catching up to do on computers. The iMac is said to be the first Apple desktop computer to receive the so-called Retina resolution on Thursday. However, it is still not certain which model and with which resolution it will come in the end.
One of the speculations is that for now Apple will implement high resolution only in the 27-inch iMac, which will have a 5K resolution, double the current 2560 by 1440 pixels. The arrival of Retina will almost certainly also signal higher prices, so the aforementioned new iMac will become a premium model.
It would be logical if Apple continued to keep the older, more affordable model in the menu. The 21,5-inch iMac could then get a maximum of new internals, but it will probably have to wait for Retina. Next year, computers with Retina displays could become more affordable overall.
OS X Yosemite
As recent weeks have suggested, testing of the new OS X Yosemite operating system is peaking, and Apple should be ready to introduce its sharp version on Thursday.
OS X Yosemite gets along well both with iOS 8, released in September, and with Retina displays, for which the graphics processing of the system is adapted. So Apple needs to get high resolution on as many of its computers as possible, and it should start with the aforementioned iMac, if we don't count the MacBook Pros, which already have Retina.
We already know everything about OS X Yosemite, many are testing the new system as part of the public beta program, and we are only waiting for the sharp version that will definitely start the stage of OS X 10.10.
The new iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina display, iMac with Retina display and OS X Yosemite are all safe bets for Thursday's keynote. However, there remain a few question marks that Tim Cook et al will help us unravel. during the presentation.
In Apple's invitation to its keynote, it enticed with the remark "It's been too long", so many speculate whether in Cupertino they are not looking at any of the products that have been waiting for their new version for a long time, which would be quite logical, since Apple has such quite a few products. And one does not wait too long for an update, but the arrival of its new generation is more than expected.
MacBooks
Both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air have already been released this year in new versions, and even if they were only minimal changes, there is no reason why Apple should present another new series that would probably not offer much new.
However, it's practically an open secret that Apple is working on a brand new 12-inch ultra-thin MacBook Air with a Retina display. That would make sense given that the MacBook Air has remained the same for four years, which is an unusually long time in the notebook segment.
However, it is not yet certain when Apple will be ready to release the new MacBook, which is supposed to come without a fan and with a new charging method. Apparently, it won't be this year yet, so we'll either have to wait until 2015, or Apple will offer us an exclusive preview of the upcoming product, as in the case of the Mac Pro or Apple Watch. However, this was not very common in the past.
Mac mini
It's been a long time since Apple last introduced a new Mac mini. Just after updating the smallest Mac, users have been calling in vain for two years. In particular, the Mac mini lacks performance, and new internals are desirable for a small Apple computer. Will the Mac mini finally arrive?
Thunderbolt Display with Retina display
You won't hear a word about it in the corridors, but the arrival of the new Thunderbolt Display makes sense right now, especially when Apple actually releases a new iMac with a Retina display. Since July 2011, when Apple introduced it, it has not introduced its own separate monitor, which should change in its interests with the arrival of Retina displays.
In the presence of the Mac Pro and potentially an updated Mac mini that can handle higher resolutions with ease, Apple's absence of its own high-resolution monitor would be rather surprising. However, if it can offer Retina in the iMac, there's no reason why the Thunderbolt Display shouldn't get it too, although at that point users will be happy if the current, already relatively high price is maintained at all.
iPods
If the phrase "it's been too long" applies to any product, it certainly applies to iPods as well as the Mac mini. They haven't been touched by Apple since 2012, unless you count the end of sales of the iPod classic last month, but the problem with music players is that no one really knows what Apple plans to do with them. iPods have been pushed to the sidelines by other products and at this point in time bring only minimal profits for Apple. The need to update with iOS 8 and the new hardware available may be talking about the iPod touch, but whether it makes sense for the Californian company to deal with other players is not very clear.
We should expect new iPads, iMacs, OS X Yosemite and maybe something else on Thursday, October 16, Apple's keynote starts at 19 p.m. our time, and you can find all the important events and news from the event on Jablíčkář.
Apple TV might still make sense to me
"Especially on the performance side, the Mac mini lacks, and new guts are desirable for a small Apple computer."
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for the money, yes, don't forget that my imac 27 with 16gb and powered by ssddeck is mid-2010 and it still works and it also works like a charm on Yosemite. i.e. there is a need to move the mac mini forward generationally (we have about 15 techs in the company in total) so that there is no big generational jump when everything older than that does not get an update. my parents are still using a 2008 mac mini including virtualized forks with ease.
A new iWork would still make sense, but I understand, you consider it a "part" of OS X and iOS :-|
“But if he can offer Retina in the iMac, there's no reason he shouldn't get it
also Thunderbolt Display, although at that point users will be happy if they
will even maintain the current, already relatively high price."
I think that if a quality 5k display was at the current price, it would be a total blast. But I think it will be more like twice as many :(
Personally, I see it on the new ipad ... so there is not much to argue about ... at most in the full-fledged multitasking of two applications on the screen.
I would also see it on Mac mini and Macbook Air (because of the new processors). I would definitely see the Apple TV... because the new update does quite wonders with it... and as the only device that I never had to restart, now I have to because the wheel keeps spinning when loading a movie and after clicking one there is almost a 90 percent certainty that I will have to restart her…
I don't see the iMac with retina so rosy... after all, the prices of 5K panels are high and therefore the iMac would cost so much that I'm not sure that anyone would buy it... but maybe apple will surprise us and start selling it cheap... in my opinion but he won't get below 70…
I would prefer the Airport Express with 802.11AC, it hasn't been used for a long time either...
and if it could use external usb drives, as was originally supposed to be the case, I wouldn't be angry either
That's right, I hope they will!
I agree with the article, I would also add tv and iOS 8.1
Finally an official ipod ending. Today, a useless product, even if a legend, is already alive. There is little information about the ipad mini because there won't be any new ones, and that's because of the iphone 6 plus. Minicko will cancel and add pro. Who wants a small-large screen, buy an iPhone 6 Plus. And whoever doesn't like him, don't go to the forest. Mini will be, but I will not update it, this one will become cheaper and end.
I think that if something like this happens, it would indicate a great lack of concept on the part of Apple. Release something, do two generations, and then end it with the iPhone Plus here. I don't think it will happen, because these devices are quite different and it cannot be said that one should replace the other.
Totally disagree. I know a man, he's 75, he doesn't have a smartphone or a computer because, as he says, he doesn't need it to live, but he has a pretty decent audio set-up and it's all powered by an ipod classic with a really extensive collection of all kinds of recordings with Armstrong, Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, etc. He can't feed the ipod himself, so his nephew always steps in. But what he manages to do is hide his ipod in the closet, whenever the great-grandchildren rush in, so that it lasts as long as possible.
iPad mini retina and iPhone+ cannot be compared. Both have their valid place. iPhone 6+ can never replace iPad mini users' experience of using iPad, because it has too small a display. You can't put the iPad mini in your pocket again.
I think Apple TV is referring to the slogan "It's been way too long", I can't imagine what else they would come up with for iPods when everyone has songs on their mobiles these days.
Apple TV, Mac mini, Thunderbolt display 4K, new iMacs and maybe one special 4K, but I don't know, that price would be a massacre. iMacs finally perhaps with SSD in the base. Maybe a Mac pro rejuvenation. I would like, for example, a cheaper mac pro, perhaps with only one graphics card, for example in the price of 50t. iPads, of course.
imac, macbook pro and air .. all of that would also deserve Touch ID :)
Does anyone know if Yosemite will only be for newer models like iOS or if it will be for everyone?