Apple today held a special October event in Brooklyn, New York, which saw the debut of revamped 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, an updated MacBook Air, and a refreshed Mac mini.
It took Apple an hour and a half to introduce the new Space Gray Mac mini with updated hardware, the new MacBook Air with Retina display and Touch ID, and the entirely redesigned iPad Pro models with Face ID, but we've recapped the entire event in just six minutes for our readers who want a no-frills overview of all the announcements.
Apple's new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models were the star of the event with an overhauled look that includes an edge-to-edge display, no Home button, a TrueDepth camera system with Face ID, USB-C instead of Lightning, no headphone jack, and an A12 Bionic chip.
We also got some great new Mac updates, though, including a $1,199 MacBook Air with a Retina display, 8th-Gen Intel chips, faster solid state storage up to 1.5TB, much slimmer bezels, and a thinner, more refined chassis that takes up less volume.
There's also no forgetting the Mac mini, which got its first update in four years. The new model features quad and 6-core 8th-Gen Intel chips, up to 2TB of solid state storage, support for up to 64GB RAM, and a new Space Gray enclosure.
We've rounded up all of our coverage of today's event in the post below, so make sure to check out everything so you don't miss any of the updates.
iPad Pro
- Apple Reveals New 11-Inch and 12.9-Inch iPad Pro Models With Slim Bezels and Face ID
- New 11 and 12.9-Inch iPad Pro Models Have No Headphone Jack
- 2018 iPad Pro Hands-On Impressions: 'Might Be the Truest Embodiment of a Tablet Yet'
- Apple Announces New Magnetic Apple Pencil Featuring Tap Gestures and Wireless Charging
- Apple Launches New USB-C Accessories for USB-C iPad Pro Models
- New Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard Folio, and Smart Folio Accessories Now Up for Pre-Order
- Apple Pencil 2 Not Compatible With Older iPads and Original Apple Pencil Won't Work With New Models
- Apple's New iPad Pro Models Ship With 18W USB-C Power Adapter
- 2018 iPad Pro With 1TB Storage Has 6GB RAM, Lower Capacities Have 4GB
- AppleCare+ for New iPad Pro Models Priced at $130, Out-of-Warranty Repairs Cost Up to $649
- Apple's New iPad Lineup, from Mini to Pro: $329 to $1,899
- MacRumors Hands-On Photos of Apple's New iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini
MacBook Air
- Apple Announces New MacBook Air With 13-Inch Retina Display and Touch ID
- Apple's New MacBook Air Features Impressive Battery Life That Bests MacBook and MacBook Pro
- 2018 MacBook Air and Mac mini Hands-On: Long-Awaited Updates Don't Disappoint
- Apple Shares T2 Security Chip Guide Detailing Privacy Features 'Never Before Seen on Mac'
- Apple's New MacBook Air Uses MacBook-Class 5W Amber Lake Chips
Mac mini
- Apple Announces New Space Gray Mac mini With 4-Core or 6-Core Intel Processor and Up to 64GB RAM, Starting at $799
- A Maxed Out Mac Mini With Full Upgrades Will Cost You $4,200
- Apple Highlights Mac Mini Use in Live Concerts, Theater, and Data Centers
- Apple's New Mac Lineup, From Mini to iMac Pro: $799 - $13,199
Software Updates
These weren't part of the event, but Apple today released major software updates for iOS devices, the Apple TV, Macs, and the Apple Watch, which you won't want to miss out on.
- Apple Releases iOS 12.1 With eSIM Support, Real-Time Depth Control, Group FaceTime, New Emoji and More
- iOS 12.1 Includes Addresses Two Major iPhone XS/XR Issues: 'BeautyGate' and Cellular Connectivity Problems
- Apple Releases macOS 10.14.1 With Group FaceTime and New Emoji
- Apple Releases tvOS 12.1 Update for Fourth and Fifth-Generation Apple TV
- Apple Releases watchOS 5.1 With New Color Watch Faces and Updated Emoji
- Apple Updates Shortcuts App With New Weather, Alarm, Conversion and Photos Options
- PSA: Group FaceTime's Video Chat Not Available on Older iOS Devices
- watchOS 5.1 Update Bricking Some Apple Watches
Other Announcements
- Apple Online Store Lists Blackmagic eGPU 'Pro', Available Late November for $1,199
- Apple Quietly Announces AMD Radeon Pro Vega Graphics Options Coming to MacBook Pro
- Apple Quietly Eliminates Rose Gold 12-Inch MacBook
You can order the new iPad Pro models, the new Mac mini, and the new MacBook Air starting today from Apple's website, with deliveries set to begin on November 7.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)- The carousel of presenters, each one less competent than the last
- The pointless introduction videos and videos retelling everything they'd talked about for the last ten minutes
- The cringy staged presentation of that basketball game
- The audience who must have been on caffeine IV drips the entire time, they wouldn't shut up.
- Tim's phony enthusiasm, you could see him pretending to play up to the crowd. It felt so forced.
All in all though, it was a good show. The photoshop demo was impressive and the woman doing it (as nervous as she obviously was) was the only one on stage who seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the iPad.
I have my 12.9" iPad Pro and Pencil ordered. Just have to wait now until next week :)
I feel better about my XR purch
Hopefully 2019 will μ the the death of lightning. Soon all devices will be able to charge all devices.
why wasn't 2018 the end of lightning ? All the new iphones and ipads were all being developed around the same time. Couldn't they all be on the same page with USB-C ? The Xr just came out and has lightning, yet the new iPad Pro which is just coming out does not. What is the defense for this?Would be awesome.
I couldn't help being reminded of NASA after the first couple lunar landings ... faster, better science, better moon buggies, and the people yawned. Apple is in a tough spot in that the devices from 5 years ago still work fairly well and if it wasn't for file size and graphic content, that we could probably live without, we would probably function for another 3 or more.
The mindless cheering from the balcony seemed silly. Did a light bulb go on to prod the applause for the recycled aluminum content of the devices?
So the 20th anniversary of the product that essentially lifted Apple up and launched it towards the trillion-dollar company it is today apparently means f-a to Tim Cook, et al. If not a new iMac now, when? Before Xmas? Before June? I can't wait to hear the rationale behind leaving this product unrefreshed, without being upgraded. I feel like I've been dumped at the altar. Anyone who has any (sound, sarcasm-free) insight here, I'll buy you a round.
totally agree, iMac and iMac pro now feel like the old mac mini, so far left behind at a top end price, where are the latest processors, where is face id for iMac? where is a real grunty GPU, not some cut down rubbish from a laptop?I have a 5 year old iMac, but I won't upgrade it, until such time as there is a real reason to move to it ! At the moment , Apple has left its iMac range to collect dust.