What to expect at Apple's 'Pro and Tell' event
Apple's touchscreen MacBook is finally coming...
Last week, Apple sent out invites for yet another media event, following the iPhone Duo release, and Apple's 'Welcome Home' event from earlier this month, announcing the brand new Apple HomeView, Apple TV 4K, and HomePod mini 2. This month has clearly been packed for Apple, and it continues to go on, as creators like MKBHD have posted their invites to Apple's upcoming 'Pro and Tell' event on October 28.
Just like Apple's Welcome Home event from earlier this month, it will not be a live-streamed event. Rather, it will be an experience for press to try out the new products, and videos for the products' announcements will most likely accompany them.
Given the 'Pro and Tell' moniker for this event, it is clear that Apple has their sights set on their Pro line of products. From rumors earlier this year, this will most likely be the announcement of Apple's long-in-the-making touchscreen MacBook. This product was originally expected to be in a different 'Ultra' product tier altogether, but based on the event invite, it seems that Apple is keeping it in the MacBook Pro line, and just pricing it above the current models.
The new MacBook Pro is expected to continue to use M5 Pro and M5 Max like in the current MacBook Pro. In fact, Apple is expected to not release any MacBook Pro with M6 Pro or M6 Max. Instead, they are poised to fast-track M7 Pro and M7 Max development, and the next MacBook Pro will use those chips instead.
The other main change with this touchscreen MacBook Pro is that it will move to an OLED display from the Mini-LED panel that was used in MacBook Pro since the 2021 redesign and revamp of the MacBook Pro line with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. This will significantly improve contrast, color saturation, black levels, and generally boost image quality on MacBook Pro.
It is also expected to move from the notch design found in current MacBook Pro models to the Dynamic Island found in iPhone models. This design would look fresh and much better than the notch. However, as of now, this design will not include Face ID. Instead, it will stick to Touch ID in the power button on the keyboard. This is mainly due to the design limitations of cramming the Face ID sensors in the ultra-thin display on MacBook Pro.
The new MacBook Pro will also be slightly thinner than the old model. This change is not expected to be nearly as noticeable as the jump from iPhone 17 Pro to iPhone Air, but it should be a distinct change over its predecessor.
The base 14-inch MacBook Pro is also expected to get a spec-bump to M6. This update most likely will have no other design changes or improvements, except the spec-bump to M6. The design and display changes of the new OLED MacBook Pro models are not expected here for the base 14-inch MacBook Pro.
The 24-inch iMac is also slated for a spec-bump to M6. Just like the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, the 24-inch M6 iMac is not expected to get any design changes over its predecessor, other than a possibility for new colors. The last M4 iMac did introduce some slightly changed color variants, and Apple could do the same with the 24-inch M6 iMac.
A final announcement expected during this event is a revamped OLED iPad mini. Not as much is expected to change with the new OLED iPad mini, other than the new display and a revised vibration-based speaker setup. This may allow for the removal of speaker holes on iPad mini, and make it the first iPad with an IP rating for water.
iPad mini with OLED display is also expected to have the front facing camera move from the portrait orientation to the landscape orientation, like with iPad Pro and iPad Air. It will continue to use Apple Pencil Pro, as is supported by iPad mini (A17 Pro).
Overall, Apple's 'Pro and Tell' event is anticipated to be filled with great product announcements that we have been waiting for a long time for. We will have to wait and see what Apple does soon.
