Apple 11 Month Event Preview — Apple Silicon Macbook, AirPods Studio and more

Apple 11 Month Event Preview — Apple Silicon Macbook, AirPods Studio and more

If you've been waiting for a new era of Mac laptops, Apple's November event will do just that.

Apple will host a live-streamed "one more thing" product event on Tuesday, November 10 at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. GMT. Apple's Mac lineup will undergo a major overhaul as the company unveiled the Apple Watch 6 and iPad Air 4 in September and the iPhone 12 family in October.

And we already know what that overhaul will look like, thanks to Apple's announcement at a developer conference earlier this year.

While we know the main event, the specific details of Tuesday's product launch are still a mystery. Here's what to expect when you watch the One More Thing live stream, which begins Tuesday at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

In case you don't remember Apple's announcements this summer, and really, who can blame you since so many things have been happening lately - the company announced plans to build laptops around its own CPUs, in a blow to Intel. This is the same approach that Apple has used with great success with its iPhone and iPad lineups.

The initiative, called Apple Silicon, is expected to launch this fall with the first Macs powered by ARM processors. Apple plans to deploy ARM-based chips in all Mac products, replacing the Intel processors it currently uses. The transition will take about two years, and the first Macs will switch to Apple Silicon this year.

The goal is to offer performance equal to or better than Intel notebooks, along with better power efficiency. And benchmarks of the first Apple Silicon MacBooks are promising.

Rumors point to the laptop taking the first step in the transition to ARM chips; the latest rumors surrounding Apple's laptop plans point to three new MacBooks built around Apple Silicon.

Bloomberg reports that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro will launch on Tuesday, both in 13-inch configurations and with new processors. In addition, a 16-inch MacBook Pro may also be available on Tuesday. These machines will reportedly run on the same A14 processor that Apple recently introduced in both the iPhone 12 and iPad Air 4.

Other machines could be included in Tuesday's announcement, as Apple plans to continue releasing Intel-based Macs during the transition of its entire Mac product line to Apple Silicon. Specifically, a 13-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel processor may be planned, but that model is unlikely to make an appearance.

Apple has not announced a new 12-inch MacBook for some time. The product is not even listed as an option on Apple's website. However, some rumors suggest that Apple may bring back this particular laptop with an ARM-based processor.

There are also reports of an Apple Silicon-based iMac and a Mac Pro that is much more compact than the current version. However, it seems unlikely that either desktop will appear on November 10, and Apple will likely focus its initial efforts on laptops.

Expect more improvements over the Intel chips currently in Apple laptops. Not only because Apple still only uses 10th generation Core CPUs in some of its notebooks, but also because its top-of-the-line Windows models use Intel's 11th generation chips. It should run more efficiently than Intel's 10nm Tiger Lake chips.

The switch to Apple silicon should also bring Apple's neural engine to the Mac, enhancing its ability to take advantage of machine learning. (Consider, for example, the way the iPhone handles photo processing with ease. ) Apple also touts benefits such as advanced power management, high-power GPUs for running professional apps and games, and secure enclaves for better privacy.

Using the same processors found in the iPhone and iPad means that applications built for these mobile devices will run natively on the Mac. This will expand the range of software that can be used on the Mac, and developers may become more active in developing for the Mac.

The latest version of macOS was also announced at Apple's developer conference and has been available in beta since the summer. Apple has promised a fall 2020 release of macOS Big Sur, and the same previously mentioned loss of weeks on the calendar applies here.

Hopefully Apple will use the Mac launch event to provide more information about the macOS Big Sur release date.

We expect other products to join the silicon MacBook models on stage, as Apple rarely sticks to just one thing, even at an event called One More Thing. And Apple certainly has some rumored product choices to announce on Tuesday.

We've been waiting to see the AirPods Studio at the past two Apple product events. It's a wireless, over-the-ear headphone that complements Apple's other AirPods lineup. We expect the AirPods Studio to offer noise-canceling capabilities, but it is unclear if they will be ready in time for this year's holiday season; production delays similar to those that delayed the launch of the iPhone 12 may mean that the AirPods Studio will not debut until 2021 There are rumors that this could mean that the AirPods Studio will not debut until 2021.

Another candidate is an updated version of the Apple TV set-top box; it has been some time since Apple updated the Apple TV 4K, and if rumors about this product prove accurate, the new version could include Apple's A12X Bionic chip could be included. (Another more wild rumor suggests that an Apple TV with an A14 chip would perform like a console and be suitable for streaming Apple Arcade games.)

The Apple TV Plus streaming service has just launched, and those who have become free members over the past year may need a reason to stick with the yet-to-be launched service.

There is also the issue of Apple AirTags, a long-rumored key finder device that is supposed to work with the U1 Ultra Wideband chip found in recent iPhones. Such a product would have seemed appropriate for the iPhone 12 launch event, but the fact that a new iPhone is on the way and no Apple key finder is in the works tells us that the rumor that this device will be delayed to 2021 is likely accurate.

.

Categories