October is turning into a big month for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). September was the annual iPhone event, but today is the day the iPhone XR — pegged to be the big hit of this year’s iPhones — is finally available for pre-order. Adding to the excitement, AAPL just sent out media invites for a function on Oct. 30 in New York. What will the company reveal at the Oct. 30 Apple event?
We have some pretty good ideas of what’s to come.
AAPL Sends Out Media Invites for October Apple Event
Yesterday, media invites went out for an October Apple event. Rather than the Steve Jobs theater on Apple’s campus, the company chose Brooklyn, New York as the location. With the New York locale, the good news is we aren’t forced to deal with California time, so Apple CEO Tim Cook will take to the stage at 10 a.m. EST.
October events are rare, but not unheard of from Apple. In 2016, the company waited until October to announce the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and the 4K Apple TV. In 2014, it was the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini and iMac with 5K Retina display. This year, we are definitely looking for new hardware announcements from the company.
New iPad Pro
One of the key reveals of this October Apple event is expected to be new iPad Pro models. AAPL has moved to edge-to-edge screens with Face ID and no Home button for all of its 2018 iPhones. The company is expected to extend this design feature to the iPad Pro.
We’re looking for new models that incorporate True Depth cameras and Face ID. This will let Apple ditch the Home button, and seriously reduce bezels. As a result, the new iPad Pro models should be able to keep the same display sizes as current models, while becoming physically smaller.
That’s a big deal in itself. But there’s a rumor that just won’t go away suggesting Apple will drop the Lightning port in the 2018 iPad Pro in favor of USB-C. Doing so would enable features like 4K video output, making the iPad Pro even more useful for professionals.
The new iPad Pro models expected at the October Apple event are said to represent the biggest update to the lineup since their 2015 introduction. With iPad revenue down 5% last quarter and both Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google releasing compelling new tablets in recent weeks, the pressure is on Apple to wow prosumers.
New Macs
The other key hardware announcements at the October Apple event are expected to be Mac-related. The Mac is still Apple’s third largest division by revenue, and it continues to have a very real impact on AAPL stock. In Q3, Mac revenue was down 5% compared to last year and the number of units sold was down 9%. That shows a weakness in its entry level offerings.
That’s not surprising given the MacBook Air and Mac Mini — the most affordable Apple laptop and desktop PC, respectively — have gone years without updates. Their hardware is antiquated. The Mac Minim, for example, has not seen an update since 2014.
We’ve been waiting for a replacement for the MacBook Air for much of 2018, and odds are it will be unveiled on Oct. 30. Look for a laptop in the $1,000 range with a Retina display and slimmer bezels than the 13-inch MacBook Air it replaces. It seems likely to keep the current MacBook Air form factor in order to help distinguish it from the more expensive MacBook.
A new Mac Mini is highly possible as well. Bloomberg thinks that AAPL is going to target pro users this time, offering higher end processor and storage options. This would make the Mac Mini more expensive than the current $499 version, but with the iMac starting at $1,099, it should still keep its title as the most affordable Mac — at least in its base configuration.
You can watch the October Apple event live on Oct. 30 starting at 10 a.m. EST. Or, you can check out InvestorPlace. We’ll have everything the company announces, including any new hardware, right after the presentation wraps, along with thoughts on any big impact on AAPL stock.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
