Over the course of the weekend, several rumors emerged about several upcoming Apple products, including iPad Pro, Mac Mini, HomePod and the augmented reality viewer. It is worth summing them up quickly to always have the big picture clear.
According to the famous Japanese blog MacOtakaraApple would be thinking of renew the iPad Pro Smart Connector system: on the current generation there is only one central 3-pin group, positioned on the back of the device, while on the next there will be, at least according to rumors, two 4-pin ones. They will be located on two sides of the case – so that they appear at the bottom both when the tablet is oriented in landscape and in portrait.
The purpose of the new connectors is unclear. Smart Connector has always been 3-pin, MagSafe is 5. The source theorizes that the new connector could allow for connect peripherals to the USB-C Thunderbolt port and also supply electricitybut for now there is no evidence to support it.
As we have seen in this last period, the arrival of Apple Silicon is allowing Apple to significantly, slowly but surely, change the design of its products; but apparently the next Mac Mini will remain exactly the same as the current onedespite the switch to the M2 chip.
Mac Mini has already switched to Apple Silicon with the previous generation, and even then there hasn’t been a design update. However, that was to be expected with the second generation because that’s how things went for the MacBook Air, for example. And instead, at least according to Mark Gurman of Bloombergthere will be another spec bump but the computer style will remain exactly the same. It remains to be seen if at least a few more doors will arrive, which would not hurt, but so far no one has ever talked about it. It is however interesting to observe that they are variants with M2 chip planned (presumed codename J473) and with M2 Pro chip (J474); any M2 Max and M2 Ultra will instead be reserved for the Mac Pro, the new Mac Studio or in any case for much higher-end products.
Ming-Chi Kuo is increasingly convinced: Apple’s first product dedicated to augmented reality will arrive in 2023, and already in January. In short, there is little time left. The presentation event will focus on three aspects: use cases, hardware and software development ecosystem, and details on hardware technical specifications. La Mela does not expect too exciting shipments for the first year: less than 1.5 million units. The price could be between $ 2,000 and $ 2,500.
Always Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, in his Power On newsletter, he also talks about smart speakers, or the HomePod brand. Apparently a new version of the original HomePod may arrive early next year, which Apple has stopped selling for more than a year now, with an updated S8 chip and a new multi-touch display on top; furthermore, the development of a new HomePod Mini is already being considered.
More generally, Apple would have rather big ambitions for the smart home segment: Specifically, he would be working on a product that basically combines HomePod, Apple TV and FaceTime camera in one device.
