What we expect from tomorrow’s Apple iPad event

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Handhelds, PC / Laptop, Software

Apple is set to go out with a bang this year with its big October 22 event. The obvious product announcement that everyone is expecting belongs to the iPad line, with the iPad 5 and iPad mini both seeing significant upgrades. What else can we expect from what will likely be the final Apple event of 2013? Join us after the break for our analysis and expectations.

iPad 5

Image credit: Sonny Dickson

We fully expect Apple to introduce a new 9.7-inch full-sized iPad on October 22. If the leaks are correct, we'll see the larger iPad take on the design language of its little sibling, adopting the thinner side bezels, and colored aluminum backing. Like the iPhone 5s, we expect the iPad 5 to be available in at least white & silver and black & space gray...Apple may also release a gold model, but we're a little less confident on that front. What’s even less clear, though, is the question on if we will see Touch ID integration. One thing is for sure, the new iPad will be smaller, thinner, and lighter than the current model.

iPad mini

The big change for the iPad mini will be the integration of an Apple Retina display. Ee'd find it hard to believe that Apple would ship a non-high resolution display and have its popular pocketable tablet stuck on lower resolution for another year. We aren't expecting much change to the look of the iPad mini, although like the iPad 5, we expect silver and space gray color options.

Mac Pro

Apple gave a teaser of the upcoming Mac Pro back at WWDC, saying that the device would ship in the fall. Well, fall is here, and that means that Apple is ready to share all the details of the redesigned desktop beast, the most important of which being its price. Expect it to be expensive, with a launch sometime in November.

MacBook Pro

We expect Apple to update the MacBook Pro and MacBook Pro with Retina display with the newer Intel Haswell chipset, bringing a significant boost in power efficiency and battery life. The MacBook Air received this spec bump months ago, while the MacBook Pro has been ignored for over a year. We also expect 802.11ac Wi-Fi integration. It's time for an update here, and we expect it to happen next week.

Apple TV

We weren't sure about an Apple TV hardware refresh, despite the rumors, but now we are seeing reports of Apple partner stores being sold out of the Apple TV, with new stock not arriving until October 23, a day after the Apple event. Others are reporting no shortage of Apple TV at all, with plenty of inventory available. This would lead us to believe that there is not, in fact, new Apple TV hardware coming on Tuesday. That said, there's certainly a need for it, as the current model does not support Slo Mo AirPlay playback, which is one of the main features of the new iPhone 5s (see our iPhone 5s review.)

OS X Mavericks

OS X 10.9 Mavericks is the next major desktop operating system from Apple. Mavericks brings a few cool features and optimizations to OS X--things like Apple Maps, iBooks, greatly-improved multi-monitor support, native tabbed Finder, tagging support in Finder, iCloud Keychain, and much more. We expect Mavericks to be available sometime by the end of the week.

Anything we missed that you're expecting or hoping for? Let us know in the comments!