Apple May Host More Product Launch Events This Fall, reports state, with new iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, operating systems and services all scheduled for release.
The expanding range of Apple products
Apple often likes to position itself as a large company with a startup-like internal culture, but I don’t know of any early stage companies where the product matrix has become so vast that they have to actively consider multiple launch events.
It’s a long way from Apple around 1999, when Steve Jobs was able to describe Apple in a quadrant based on notebook and desktop, consumer and professional product segments. While all Apple products still fit one table, the table is larger and the company needs to schedule more time to discuss them all.
In today’s Apple, not only have the divisions between the different quadrants become much more elastic, but the product range has expanded with wearables, services, a streaming TV offering, pro and consumer software, mobile devices and smartphones, with further expansion of the planned product category, in particular on health, AR and transport.
Apple also hosted several events last year, unveiling the Apple Watch and new iPads in September, followed by the iPhone 12 and HomePod mini in October, and then blowing our minds with the first Apple Silicon Macs in November.
That Apple is now planning more launch events again makes sense, given how much it has to talk. What do we expect the company to introduce?
Apple products this fall may include …
- iPhone 13: 5.4, 6.1 and 6.7-inch models like with iPhone 12. A smaller notch, a faster A15 processor and an improved AMOLED display. Expect cinematic videos, photographic styles that use artificial intelligence to enhance highlights, shadows, and so on. The device is expected to see strong demand and boast more support for mmWave and perhaps an in-screen Touch ID sensor.
- iPad (9th generation): Thinner bezels, larger display, faster A13 Bionic processor.
- iPad mini 6: thinner bezels and larger display, faster processor.
- iOS, tvOS, iPad OS, macOS and watchOS.
- MacBook Pro M1X 14 and 16-inch, revamped design, mini-LED display, MagSafe and more.
- Apple Watch Series 7: Redesigned with faster displays and processors.
- Third generation AirPods, more like AirPods Pro with better audio technology.
- A push behind Foundation and Apple TV.
The probable sequence could be:
September: IPhone event with AirPods and a push towards Apple TV.
October: An iPad event with Apple Watch and a push towards services, focused on health and fitness.
November: a Mac event, with a focus on professional apps and more information on the company’s work around Apple Silicon.
Alternatively, Apple Insider speculates that two events could take place in September, one with the new iPhone, the other with more Apple products on the way.
What is coming for the company?
While interest in the brand new iPhone is warranted, business buyers will definitely want to look at the updated entry-level iPad and MacBook Pro.
For many, the new iPad with its faster processor and the tight integration promised with Macs (Universal Control) will become a viable choice for deployment among mobile workers. We are already seeing mass rollout of M1-based iPad Pro models, as a move recently announced for equip all Delta Airlines pilots with these. For businesses where that level of performance is less critical, education and some business markets might consider the improved entry-level iPad as a viable choice. That iPad is meant to offer a similar look to that of Apple’s impressive iPad Air. Will it live up to its performance too?
M1X-based MacBook Pros will enter an enterprise market where Mac adoption is accelerating rapidly. Mass Mutual, ItalGas and Grab have recently confirmed important implementations and they are not the only ones. Faster performance and industry-leading battery life will only reinforce this trend, and many executives will want to see what a difference these machines could make for them.
If there is a fly in Apple’s Mac Ointment, at least for some companies, it will be Windows support. Could one of Apple’s autumn announcements see Microsoft making Windows for ARM available as a purchase option through Parallels? We can only hope.
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