Apple iPad Mini and new Macs rumoured to be releasing soon

(Getty Images)

Apple may be preparing to launch to launch new Macs, iPads and other products, according to reports.

The company is planning to update many of its products with the improved M4 chip, rumours suggest. That first arrived with the new iPad Pro, earlier this year, and brought improved speeds.

Now it is due to put that chip into new Macs including the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Mini. It is planning to do so before the end of the year, according to reliable Apple leaker Mark Gurman.

Apple occasionally holds a media event in October, the month after the iPhone release, during which it reveals new products that did not fit in that launch event. That has tended to include products such as the iPad and Macs.

Last year, Apple added the then-new M3 chip to the MacBook Pro and iMac in October. It did so at a virtual “Scary Fast” event, themed around Halloween, which it held on 30 October.

The new iMac and MacBook Pro are expected to keep the same external design but just receive upgrades to keep them in line with the latest processors, the report said.

But multiple rumours have suggested that Apple is planning a more dramatic change to the Mac Mini, the small computer that works without a display. That is rumoured to become much smaller – perhaps in line with the design of the Apple TV.

If it is updating its computers, especially those that use external mice and keyboards like the iMac and Mac Mini, then Apple might also choose to update those accessories. All of Apple’s trackpads, mice and keyboards currently use the Lightning port to charge and connect – but it has been dropped from every other Apple product, such as its phones and iPads.

At the same time, Apple could release a new version of the iPad Mini. The latest version of that tablet was released in 2021, and it uses the A15 chip that was launched with the iPhone 13 and is now multiple generations old.