- Apple will host its third hardware reveal event of the fall on Tuesday, November 10th at 1 p.m. ET.
- Apple is expected to reveal the first Mac computers powered by its own ARM-based chips, and we should get a price and release date for at least two new MacBooks.
- The company might also have some surprises in store, such as AirTags or AirPods Studio.
For the third month in a row now, Apple will host a virtual event from its Apple Park campus in Cupertino to announce new hardware. In September, we were introduced to the Apple Watch Series 6 and new iPad models. In October, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro made their debut. And now in November, we expect to learn more about the first Macs that will be powered by Apple’s own ARM-based chips rather than those from a third party.
Apple confirmed that it would be moving on from Intel and designing its own chips for laptop and desktop computers back in June during the Worldwide Developers Conference. At the time, Apple also said that the first Mac with Apple silicon would ship before the end of 2020, and considering the tagline of this November event (“One more thing”) it seems reasonable to assume that this is Apple’s last opportunity this year to make big announcements.
Apple’s final virtual event of 2020 begins at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 10th.
“From the beginning, the Mac has always embraced big changes to stay at the forefront of personal computing. Today we’re announcing our transition to Apple silicon, making this a historic day for the Mac,” CEO Tim Cook said in June. “With its powerful features and industry-leading performance, Apple silicon will make the Mac stronger and more capable than ever. I’ve never been more excited about the future of the Mac.”
Unsurprisingly, Apple hasn’t said anything specific about what it plans to announce ahead of the event, but according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple and its suppliers are ramping up production of three new MacBooks with Apple processors: a 13-inch MacBook Pro, a 16-inch MacBook Pro, and a 13-inch MacBook Air.
At least two of these laptops are expected to be unveiled during the event this Tuesday, and Gurman’s sources claim that the two 13-inch models are further ahead in production than the 16-inch MacBook Pro. We should not expect any significant design changes — internal changes will be the focus of these new products.
Speaking of those changes, the Apple-made chips within the first new computers will be based on the A14 processor that powers the latest iPhone and iPad devices. The GPU and machine-learning chips will also be made by Apple, and over the course of the next two years, Apple will shift away from Intel altogether.
Finally, it seems likely that macOS Big Sur will get a final release date during the event today after having been in beta for several months. There’s also a nonzero chance that Apple will give us our first look at the AirTags security trackers or new AirPods, but it’s clear that Apple silicon will be the star of the show Tuesday.
