You might expect that October would pale in comparison, but Apple still has a lot going on. There’s still one iPhone 14 to come, and potentially a handful of iPads, Macs, and possibly more. We expect some really important operating system updates as well–especially as the iPad and Mac are a little behind the iPhone in getting their big yearly update.
New hardware
Apple’s still got some hardware to release this year. There could be an event in October, or perhaps none at all, just a steady stream of press-releases and website updates. Here’s what we think will be announced and released in October.
iPhone 14 Plus: The one product we are sure is releasing in October is the iPhone 14 Plus, the 6.7-inch version of the standard (non-Pro) iPhone. Already available for preorder, it hits shelves and mailboxes on Friday, October 7.
M2 Mac mini: The Mac mini hasn’t been updated since the M1 chip was launched in 2020, and for some reason Apple still sells the Intel version as well. It’s expected that new models are on the way with the M2 and M2 Pro, and possibly a slight redesign.
M2 MacBook Pros: The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are only a year old, but those M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are expected to get the M2 treatment. Otherwise, the laptops should be similar.
M2 iPad Pros: The 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro still come with the M1 processor. Now that the M2 has been out for months, it’s time they were upgraded, which is expected to happen soon. Not much else about the iPad Pro models is expected to change, though, other than the possible addition of wireless charging.
Apps and software updates
Everyone’s iPhone got a huge upgrade with iOS 16, which was accompanied by watchOS 9 and tvOS 16. But the iPadOS release, which typically comes at the same time, was skipped–iPadOS 16.1 will be the first release for that hardware. It’s not uncommon for macOS to be a little behind the mobile devices, and we expect macOS Ventura to land this month, too.
The iPhone’s first big update, iOS 16.1, will have a number of important features when it comes this month, too.
iOS 16.1: The first big iOS update after iOS 16 will add some significant features, like Live Activities, improvements to the battery percentage indicator, a “Clean Energy Charging” feature, support for the Matter smart home standard (maybe), and more. It’s in beta now, and will probably release in October.
tvOS 16.1: There’s not a lot of big new stuff in tvOS 16.1, other than maybe support for the Matter smart home standard, but it will update to keep on pace with iOS.
iPadOS 16.1: This will be the first public release in the iPadOS 16 cycle–Apple is skipping iPadOS 16.0. The biggest feature is the new Stage Manager feature, which Apple keeps making major changes to in the hopes of getting it into good shape for launch.
