I’m gonna pull back the covers a little bit on today’s event and just throw a few curve balls at ya…
Sitting writing this story, Apple’s Scary Fast event is only a few hours away. Apple has thrown us at every touch and turn this year – first with that gold rush of goodies in January and then the big one – WWDC and the unveiling of Vision Pro.
Of course, the iPhone event has been and gone where Apple delivered what I suspect may be looked back on as a design classic but as if all that wasn’t enough they’ve decided to bow out of 2023 with another event.
I’ve already written about the headliners at next week’s show – or at least what we expect to be leading the way at the event. I mean they could not have given any bigger clues that it was going to be a Mac event unless they had just gone and written Mac all over the invite!
An iMac from Apple
I think it’s pretty safe to say that a new iMac is a given – I guess the only surprise there could be if they decided to go with an M2 iMac and not an M3. But surely, if they had that planned, would that not just have been a press release? An M2 iMac doesn’t warrant an event release does it – it must be an M3 iMac that we’ll be getting later today.
Although physically the iMac from Apple will look much the same Mark Gurman is led to believe that there will be a new stand which will now be height adjustable as well as tilt adjustable.
If it is, then as daft an idea as I know it sounds, I think you’ll probably find me at the front of the queue. I have never owned an M series iMac but have a massive love affair with iMacs. I worked solidly on iMacs from 2012 until last year and they are great machines – I think in total I must’ve owned 4 over the years. There are two here in the studio now as I write – and in a week or so’s time, they could be joined by another friend.
It also seems more than likely that the full range of M3 Macs could be coming at this event too – with MacBooks getting the high-end M3 Pro and Max variants. No mention has been made of Mac Studio or Mac Pro – so I’m guessing they’ll follow maybe in the spring of next year.
So, we pretty much know we will get Macs today but there could be a few surprises yet to come – it just depends on how spicy Apple are feeling.
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Apple and the Pro’s
Let’s just wind back the hands of time here for a moment and dream…a few years ago there was an almost cult following for one particular iMac – one that I never owned, but by all accounts a very special machine – the iMac Pro.
Beneath that beautiful grey body hid either an 8-core or 10-core Xeon W processor. The specs could get pretty special too – with up to 4 TB of storage and a Pro Vega 64X processor. They weren’t the cheapest machines out there – that was never meant to be their USP – but bloody hell for pre-Apple silicon Macs they were damn fine machines. If you couldn’t quite stretch to a Mac Pro the iMac Pro got you damn near to it!
Because of the legacy it has created for itself, I’ve heard a few rumblings as to whether there could be a comeback in Apple’s lineup for a new M-powered Apple silicon Mac Pro.
As much as the romantic in many of us would love it to happen I just can’t see it. Back when the iMac Pro was launched there was a very obvious gap in the market – but the Mac Studio and Apple silicon has changed the scenery. Apple silicon Macs are now so competent that for the longest time, we weren’t even sure if there was any need for a Mac Pro let alone resurrecting the iMac Pro.
A lovely notion but I’ll eat my hat if the iMac Pro ever sees the light of day again – and not only the iMac Pro but a large iMac. At roughly the same price point you can now have a Studio Display and Mac Studio (or Mac mini) for about the same money.
So, for the foreseeable future, I reckon that the only iMac that we’ll have will be the 24-inch colourful model that’s about to get spec-bump next week. As much as I’ve moaned loads recently about their confusing iPad range and even the Pencils and AirPods – having only the 24-inch iMac makes perfect sense.
Spanners in the works
Last week I briefly threw into a story that I reckon at the event on Monday we will more than likely see new Mac accessories – the Magic Keyboard, mouse and trackpad could all be given a new lease of life next week.
Apart from the obvious – the lightning port giving way to a USB-C port, there could be other changes as well. How about colours – fresh new colours…assuming we get the new M3 iMac then Apple will surely give them new colours and if they do, colour-coded accessories would fit the bill perfectly for this consumer-level Mac.
But could there be more?
Into the unknown
As far as I know, Apple has never held an event at 5 PM PT so it’s clear they want the event to stand out and be different. In the pre-event build-up, Apple has raised the bar by sending out goodie boxes to a few lucky influencers which inside have a pair of AirPods Max, merch and sweets – now something tells me Apple would not be going to all this effort just for an iMac – they must have something else in mind.
But with Apple Vision Pro already announced, the AirPods range is not due for a refresh until late next year and iPads not rumoured for today’s event, what else could Apple dazzle us with later?
The only thing I can think of is the Pro Display XDR – and if you think it through, it does kind of work.
We now have two Macs that it would suit perfectly – the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro. With the display being nearly four years old now, don’t you find it somewhat surprising that if you went to order one of these gorgeous (and stupidly expensive) XDR displays today, in the UK, you’d have to wait over a month for it to be delivered? Low stock and extended delivery dates are classic Apple signs that they are planning changes.
I’ll be there
Well sadly not in Cupertino, but then again no one will be as it is purely a streamed event – but I mean I will be staying up to watch the event live from midnight UK GMT.
It will seem pretty special to be sitting here in the still of the night watching an Apple event but in case it never happens again I want to be one of those who can look back and say do you remember when…
Tomorrow we will have all the answers and I will be here reviewing what Apple revealed – and of course finding out how much egg I have on my face! What do you think Apple are up to and what are you expecting to see later on?
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