Apple made the next date official this morning. Invitations went out Monday for an “Apple Experience in Los Angeles” on Wednesday, October 28, starting at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, under a two-word pun: “Pro and tell.”
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s marketing chief, teed it up on X with “Can’t wait to pro and tell next week,” as MacRumors reported. 9to5Mac, CNBC and Engadget all have the invite.
Don’t expect a keynote
This looks like a repeat of last week’s “Welcome home” format in New York, not a stage show. MacRumors says media are invited to an in-person, all-day “experience,” with press releases likely landing at 10 a.m. and reporters getting hands-on time afterward. So the news will probably arrive as a Newsroom drop and a wave of first impressions, not a livestream.
It’s also Apple’s third launch since John Ternus took over as CEO last month, after the iPhone event at Apple Park and the smart home event in New York. Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes told clients the faster cadence marks a “meaningful shift” from the old two-events-a-year rhythm, per CNBC.
What’s expected
Nothing is confirmed until Apple posts it. Here’s the lineup Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported, as summarized by 9to5Mac:
- Touchscreen MacBook Pro, 14- and 16-inch. OLED displays, a Dynamic Island in place of the notch, and a body Gurman calls “significantly lighter” than today’s models, running M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.
- OLED iPad mini. A new screen, a revamped speaker system and a relocated FaceTime camera.
- M6 iMac and an entry-level M6 14-inch MacBook Pro. Both are expected to look like the current versions, just with the chip that debuted in the Mac mini in August. CNBC notes the iMac hasn’t been updated since October 2024.
So much for “MacBook Ultra”
The tagline matters for naming. As MacRumors’ Joe Rossignol put it, “Pro and tell” points to the OLED touch models keeping the MacBook Pro name instead of the “MacBook Ultra” branding that had been floated. That fits the pattern: the rumored “iPhone Ultra” shipped as the iPhone Duo.
It’s also a reversal. Apple spent years dismissing touchscreen laptops; CNBC recalls Craig Federighi arguing in 2018 that the ergonomics would tire people out.
What this means
- If you’re shopping for a Mac or iPad mini, wait nine days. Buying a current MacBook Pro, iMac or iPad mini this week means buying the model that’s about to be replaced. If you need one now, current markdowns like Amazon’s $900 off the M5 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro are the trade-off.
- Plan for a Friday, Nov. 6 release. Gurman said last week the OLED MacBook Pro and other devices could launch on Nov. 6, which lines up with the four straight launch Fridays we laid out on Sunday.
- Watch the price. OLED, touch and a lighter chassis on the high-end models don’t come cheap. Pricing is the number that decides whether this is a big upgrade cycle or a niche one, and nobody has it yet.
We’ll have the official specs and prices when Apple posts them on the 28th.
Reporting reference: MacRumors ↗