What to expect from October 18 Apple ‘Unleashed’ event: New MacBook Pro, AirPods 3 and more

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Apple’s first fall event in 2021 focused on the iPhone and Apple Watch, but the second event, scheduled for Monday, October 18, is expected to be Mac-centric. The upcoming event will see the debut of the highly anticipated 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, plus we can also get updated AirPods and a new Mac mini.

This guide highlights everything we might see at the October event based on the rumors we’ve heard so far. MacBook Pro 14 and 16 inch models

It’s been two years since our 16-inch MacBook Pro models last saw an update, and we’re quite late with the update. We’ve been hearing rumors of a major redesign of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models for several months now, making this one of the most anticipated updates of the year.

Apple is expected to introduce the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with a design update that features the same flat shape we saw on the iPhone 13, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini, but on the MacBook Pro, don’t expect the new hardware to look all that different.

New MacBooks will have slimmer bezels and will lack the “MacBook Pro” wording on the bottom to save space. In response to MacBook Pros in the past, Apple plans to reintroduce the ports that have been missing since the 2016 update. Expect an SD card slot and an HDMI port, which will join the USB-C ports and a headphone jack.

2021 devices will also see the return of MagSafe, and will feature a separate “MagSafe” charging port not much different from the “MagSafe” port Apple used for pre-2016 devices. ‌MagSafe‌ technology may provide faster charging speeds than available with USB-C, but the specifics are not even known. right Now. As expected, the MagSafe app will require a new charging cable design and an updated power adapter.

Continuing the return to the classic design, 2021 MacBook Pro models will not have an interactive OLED touch bar, with Apple opting instead for a standard row of function keys.

A recent minute rumor from Weibo suggested that upcoming MacBook Pro models will have a notch on the top housing the webcam, which could indicate very thin bezels. This notch, says the leaker, will be similar in size to the notch on the iPhone 12.

This rumor may seem implausible, but given the accuracy of the two devices, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. MacBook Pro models have a resolution of 3024 x 1964 and 3456 x 2234, and if you subtract 74 pixels from the height of both of the so-called notch, the resulting resolution of 3024 x 1890 and 3456 x 2160 is equal to the aspect ratio of 16:10 .

All of Apple’s current MacBooks feature an aspect ratio of 16:10, so a 74p score could theoretically occur, but it’s not clear how that would work with the macOS interface. The 74px bar on top could be used for a purpose other than the notch, but we don’t know what. Besides the notch, the same rumors claim that the entire keyboard area of ​​the new MacBook Pro is black and not just the keys, and that the new hardware will be thicker with larger fans.

As for display technology, it is expected to use Apple mini-LED, and MacBook Pro models will be the second Apple devices to feature mini-LED displays after the 2021 ‌iPad Pro‌ 12.9-inch. Mini-LED technology will allow for a thinner and lighter design, while offering many OLED-like benefits such as improved wide color gamut, high contrast, dynamic range and true blacks.

Rumors have it that “ProMotion” refresh rates of 120Hz are also a possibility, although that’s not a certainty just yet. With ProMotion, MacBook Pro models will offer a variable refresh rate. A maximum refresh rate of 120Hz will increase smoother scrolling, gameplay, and other benefits, while at the lower end, a slower refresh rate will save power when higher frame rates are not needed, conserving battery life.

True 2x retina resolution also appears to come based on display details that were leaked in the latest macOS Monterey update. The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros are expected to feature 3,024 x 1964 and 3456 x 2,234 display resolutions, respectively.

With the updated 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, Apple will remove Intel chips from its MacBook lineup. The new machines will be equipped with a faster and more powerful “M1X” chip based on technology introduced with the M1. The M1X is expected to feature a 10-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and two energy-efficient cores, along with 16-core or 32-core GPU options.

The new MacBook Pro models are expected to support up to 64GB of RAM, and both may have feature parity due to Apple’s plans to use the same M1X chip for the 14- and 16-inch sizes. Since both devices will be the same, the price differences between the two sizes will be less noticeable than in previous generations. Base models are expected to feature 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, with upgrades available at higher price points.

There is another notable feature that Mac users will be happy to hear about – webcam improvements. The new devices are rumored to have an updated 1080p webcam, which will be the first major webcam improvement to be made in a MacBook. Current models use outdated 720p technology, but the need to improve video quality has increased due to the proliferation of online work over the past two years.

For more on what to expect from the MacBook Pro, we have a dedicated MacBook Pro guide that collects all the rumors we’ve heard about the upcoming devices.

AirPods 3

Apple is developing a new version of ‘AirPods’ and rumors suggest it’s ready to go, so we’ll likely see an announcement at its October event. However, we also expected to see “AirPods” roll out in September along with the new iPhones, which didn’t happen, so Apple could also go on with the launch until later in the year.

The AirPods‌3 is expected to feature an AirPods Pro-like design with shorter stems and a redesigned charging case, but it will continue to be available at a more affordable price point and won’t have high-end features like active noise cancellation. . More on what to expect from ‌AirPods‌ 3 can be found in our dedicated guide. Mac mini

Apple is working on a high-end version of the Mac mini‌ with an updated design and the same “M1X” chip expected in the MacBook Pro, so it’s possible we’ll see a new “Mac mini” at the event.

The new device is rumored to have a similar design to the current Mac Mini, but with a smaller footprint and a “plexiglass-like surface” that sits on top of the aluminum chassis. It will have four Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A ports, an Ethernet port, and an HDMI port, much like current models, but is expected to switch to the same magnetic power port that Apple first introduced for the 24-inch iMac. .

Bloomberg’s Mark Gorman said in August that a revamped Mac Mini will come in “the next few months,” which aligns well with August. The ‌Mac mini‌ is expected to replace the Intel ‌Mac mini‌ that Apple is still selling, and will be sold alongside the current ‌M1‌ ‌Mac mini‌.

macOS Monterey release date

iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15 launched in September, but we’re still waiting for ‌macOS Monterey‌, which Apple continues to beta-test.

New versions of macOS often come after other software updates, and at the October event, expect to hear about the release date. Apple’s upcoming 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are supposed to ship with macOS Monterey‌, so the software must be launched before it can run. In business but not yet expected

There are also many other devices in development, but most of them are rumored for 2022. However, Apple may surprise us or make pre-release announcements, so we thought these upcoming devices might be worth mentioning as well.

MacBook Air – rumored to have a small LED display, a new silicone chip from Apple, multiple color options, and a MacBook Air update expected in 2022. iPad Air – The next generation of iPad Air may have an OLED display and Pro level features like 5G connectivity, and LiDAR, new cameras and speakers, but it’s not rumored to be available until 2022. AirPods Pro – Apple is working on a new version of AirPods Pro with a stemless design and a new wireless chip, and those features could come in 2022. A bigger iMac – there Another iMac in the works has a bigger screen and a faster silicon chip than Apple, but little is known about it and it’s not expected in 2021. Mac Pro – Apple is developing two versions of the Mac Pro, one of which will have a redesigned chassis smaller in size. The new ‌Mac Pro‌ models will feature Apple’s advanced silicon chip options with 20 or 40 computing cores, consisting of either 6 high-performance cores or 32 high-performance cores and four or eight high-efficiency cores. We don’t yet know when the new ‌Mac Pro‌ models will be released. how to watch

The “Unleashed” event will begin on Monday, October 18th at 10:00 AM PT. Apple will broadcast the event live on its website and on YouTube.

For those unable to watch, MacRumors will have live coverage of the event both on MacRumors.com and via the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

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