Tim Cook & Co. to unveil new Macs, OS X Yosemite

Oct 9, 2014 06:33 GMT  ·  By

Select members of the media are now receiving invitations to Apple’s (previously rumored) October 16 event, which will take place at the Town Hall auditorium in Cupertino, California.

Hosted on its own campus, the event will see the release of new Macs and Yosemite, along with a range of new iPads, according to the latest rumors.

“It’s been way too long”

That’s the tagline used in the press invites. The graphics is a zoomed-in Apple logo, similar to the one used for the Mac’s 30th anniversary celebration. The contour seems identical, but the coloring is slightly different.

The invitations say the event will be held on Thursday, October 16, beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific. It isn’t clear if Apple will be live streaming the showcase, but considering the troubles they’ve had with their last event, they may want to refrain from making a promise they can’t keep.

Also worth noting is that next week’s event will be a more intimate affair compared to the iPhone 6 unveiling from September 9.

Retina iMac (27-inch)

Obviously, the rest of the world is happy not because a bunch of journalists will get the chance to breath the same air as Tim Cook, but because the company will roll out new goodies.

We hear they have a Retina-enabled iMac on the launch pad. It’s a 27-inch model that hasn’t been redesigned on the outside, but does pack some major oomph under the hood. That includes a new processor, more powerful graphics, and of course the massively increased pixel count. In the fact, the last two go hand in hand.

12-inch Air with Retina display

Another thing fans can expect from Apple next week is a rumored 12-inch MacBook Air that is also getting a Retina display, according to reports. The system will be positioned as another one of Apple’s entry-level Macs, and perhaps it will even replace the 11-inch model, which sells for $899 / €899.

Word on the streets of Taiwan is that the thing is so thin that manufacturers aren’t able to make them fast enough. Reports out of Taiwan say the yield rates for these computers are extremely low and that Apple might have to push their launch into next year. However, there’s nothing to stop the Mac maker from unveiling the new models next week and address the manufacturing hurdles afterwards. No other technical details have been leaked so far.

iPad Air 2

Perhaps one of the most certain hardware announcements will be the updated new iPad Air, which reportedly has a thinner enclosure, recessed buttons, a Touch ID Home button for payments and authentication, and other small tweaks that we detailed in a report the other day.

OS X Yosemite

Software-wise, Apple will most likely deploy the finished version of OS X Yosemite on the same day. Yosemite comes with an all-new design and a range of all-new Continuity features that make Macs and iDevices get along better than ever before.

These products are expected to hit the shelves right after the ceremony is over, so it’s probably a good idea to seal that wallet tight until everything is said and done.