Notes from a Writer | Apple Fall Event Predictions

Before all the craziness started to happen with the pandemic, Apple was (for the most part) maintaining a steady rhythm of events three times a year: March / August / October

If you're wondering why there is such a big gap from March to August, it's because of their WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) that happens every year in June for one full week. That's their software conference and this year, for the second year in a row, it will all be held digitally, and FREE-FOR-ALL I believe. Pretty cool.

Each event would showcase certain products from their line-up with a few little things here and there. Oh how I miss the days of "One More Thing..." But I digress.

We recently had an event last month that continues to introduce their coveted M1 chip into more and more of their devices. But anyone can see they are just getting started. They've managed to insert their chip into the base models of all their products so they can hit the ground running. But I'm much more interested in their "pro" line. And so, without further ado (and unless they should decide to shift the event from August to another month) here is what I am preparing for later this Fall:

IMAC 27" M1 UPGRADE

Now, looking at the specs of the 24" model and the fact that the 21.5" model will likely be discontinued by Apple very soon, this tells me one thing for sure: A 27" M1 iMac replacement is on the horizon. So, if you're someone who's been using that larger option, hold on to your hats cause I'm sure this one is going to blow all of our socks off! Here are just some of the spec upgrades I'm really hoping to see here and if they do this it will make me second guess what I was hoping to do for my permanent desktop set-up come this Christmas:

• 30" or 32" screen size. I'm guessing 30" as 3" is the same upgrade they made from 21.5" to 24" plus it would be only slightly smaller than their Pro Display XDR.

• Colors: Say goodbye to those pastel iPhone 12 colors. I'm looking to take it to the pro max with Graphite, Gold and Pacific Blue.

• 5.5K Retina display. I just threw in that .5K the way they did to make it not as high as their XDR but better than their current iMac Pro 27"

• Chip: M1 but it will start with 10 or 12 core. I honestly don't know what that all means, but it's a larger number so...

• Standard is 512GB of storage that can be upgraded all the way to 4TB! Not that I would want or need the internals to be that much memory what with the inexpensive options out there for storage, but you might want that. So, there you go!

• Memory: 16GB RAM standard but let's upgrade that to 32GB or even 64GB for fun.

• As for the display, give me the same as the XDR, plus throw in 2000 nits cause that would be more than the 1500 nits of brightness that the new 12.9" iPad Pros with M1 comes with! I mean, seriously, give me those crispy of crispy colors.

• Camera: Let's not kid ourselves here. The camera seems to only get really upgraded by Apple in their devices (excluding the iPhone) every 4 - 5 years (and that's a liberal guess). So, go ahead and just put in that 1080p FaceTime camera. Heck, it's better than what's there now.

• Other stuff: Give me all the spatial audio, track pad, Magic Mouse, all keyboards come with Touch ID whether you want it or not, matching colors all around, oh and if you can keep the weight to under 12lbs? Thanks!

• Price Tag: Okay, here is where we get a bit dicey. I know Apple prides itself on giving us all these upgrades but keeping the price fairly close to that of the model it's clearly replacing. If that is the case, the current 27" pro iMac model starts at $1,799 at the low-end option and tops off at $2,299 at the highest option. Fun fact, that is still cheaper than the most maxed out option you can get for the new 12.9" iPad Pros with an M1 chip?! I know, it boggles my mind, too!

  Okay, so looking at those numbers let me throw some options out there. I figure there will be at least two (possibly three) standard options to choose from here and knowing me, I'm likely to go with the middle option cause the base will be missing some of the fancy bells and whistles while the highest option will have too many that I really don't need or may never use. So, let's say Apple starts us at $1,899, then jumps to $2,099 and tops off at $2,399?

  Nah, I don't think so. I honestly think Apple is going to say something like, 'Not only did we go big with this new iMac Pro, but we did so damn good that we are going to sell these at a lower price than the previous version. So, you're getting more for less.' Of course they won't say it quite like that, but you get my drift. So let's dream a little and say the low end will be $1,599, then $1,799 and top off at $1,999! We'll see...

MACBOOK PRO 16" M1 UPGRADE

I'm not too interested in this so I won't give it as much attention to detail as I gave the iMac just now, but it is coming and I know plenty of techy people who are dying to get their hands on it. It will undoubtedly cost more than the iMac Pro I have listed above, but I'm sure all you MacBook Pro enthusiasts will know that. Expect to likely start at $1,899 and go as high as maybe $2,499 at the least. But it will be maxed out in ways that will likely blow your mind and like the iPad Pro enthusiasts, it will be worth every penny.

NEXT GENERATION IPHONE

I'm a "new every two" kinda gal. This means ever since I got the iPhone 3G, back when Cingular had a deal going with Apple, I was on that "get a new phone every two years" cycle. I appreciate AT&T for doing that because I'm now conditioned to just get a new phone every two years as opposed to spending thousands of dollars on a new iPhone every year! Phew! Dodged a hit to my wallet there, let me tell ya. That basically means, since I have the iPhone 12 Pro Max released in 2020 that my next iPhone will be in 2022 with the introduction of either the iPhone 13 Pro Max or whatever Apple decides to do with its naming convention.

A FEW "DREAM" OPTIONS THAT ARE HIGHLY UNLIKELY:

LESS EXPENSIVE PRO DISPLAY

I know this will never happen but a girl can dream, can't she? The reason why I would love an Apple pro display is because I really want my next computer to be a dedicated desktop computer. Really and truly. And until I see what Apple is going to offer me with the 27" upgrade later this year, I have my sights set on the Mac mini. However, that means I'll need to purchase a pretty slamming monitor out there in the world of over saturated options and name brands and...well...frankly, I rather just buy an Apple monitor. But don't think for one second I'm going to drop $4K on the monitor and ANOTHER $1K on the stand! Oh, hell no!

Therefore, along with the moderately priced Mac mini that they have had in their arsenal for however long now, I think it's high time Apple provide us with a monitor that isn't going to break the bank and that we can happily connect our Mac mini to! Is that too much to ask?

I don't need the fancy 6K resolution or XDR whatevers. But I would like a 32" or 34" option. NOT curved for the love of Pete! Tiny black bezels. Standard silver is perfectly fine. I don't need a pop of color. And for heavens sake, don't make buying the stand an added extra of hundreds of dollars. Seriously?

Look, I'm willing to go as high as $1K for the whole thing. Now, considering there are some really good LGs out there for far less with larger screen sizes, I think I'm making a fair compromise here. So, what do ya say, Apple? You think it's time to make a monitor for those of us who can't afford an iMac or MacBook Pro but can afford the Mac mini? We just want it all to be Apple. It's not fair that we should have to get the OS but connect it to someone else. Sorta feels like cheating...

PRO MAC MINI

Now, when I say "pro Mac mini" what I really mean is, one that's more beefier than what they got. I feel like they hold back considerably from the Mac mini model because in their heart of hearts Apple wants us to get a MacBook or an iMac. Why? Well, ask them. It's just a gut feeling I have. But they can change all of that if they soup up the engine of the Mac mini. I'll even take a fatter size if necessary. I won't go into details here on what I would like because I have a future post planned where I go over the two options I'm currently looking at for my desktop final decision for the end of this year: Mac mini vs the new iMac 27" upgrade