To livebloggers' surprise, Apple will be streaming this morning's product announcements live on both its website and on an "Apple Events" app on Apple TV. Like past broadcast events, the stream is only available online with Safari in Mac OS or Safari on iOS. The event, expected to be the debut of a smaller iPad Mini/Air, is being held at the California Theater in San Jose. Invitations to media were sent last Tuesday with the tagline: "We've got a little more to show you."
In addition to a new 7.85" iPad, rumor-trackers have reported that Apple may also refresh its entire iPad line-up for the Holidays with minor changes like the new 8-pin USB connector. Another product we may also see announced is a 13" MacBook Pro with a high-resolution Retina screen, and possibly even a new Mac Mini. Last month, Apple refreshed both its iPhone and iPod lineups for the Holiday season. Apple reports its fourth quarter fiscal financials in two days time.
Watch the stream beginning at 10am PDT and post your reactions in the comments section below. (Highlights from the event also listed below.)
- Tim Cook begins by recapping the iPhone 5 launch. Touts 5 million phones sold in one weekend, which is the most for any iPhone. Cook claims it's the biggest launch for any phone period.
- Over 3 million of the new iPods sold so far (iPod Touch and Nano)
- 200 Million iOS devices (over 60 percent of total iOS devices) have been updated to iOS 6. The fastest upgrade rate in history for a piece of software--a testament to the ease of updating over Wi-Fi. And the fact that it's free.
- No mention of the number or percentage of iOS apps that have updated to the 4" 1136x768 format for the iPhone/iPod Touch. No addressing iOS 6 maps.
- Cook is touting the success of iBooks. Announces a new version of iBooks with continuous scrolling. Really setting up the new iPad as a book reader to compete with the Kindle/Fire HD.
- Phil Schiller announces new Macs and MacBooks.
New 13" MacBook Pro Announced
- .75 inches thick, compared to the .95 inch thickness of the last MBP 13".
- Weighs 3.5 pounds, compared to 4.5 pounds of the previous MBP 13" and 2.96 pounds of the MacBook Air 13".
- 13.3" Retina Display: 2560x1600. Same as current 30" desktop monitors.
- IPS LCD panel with 178 degree viewing angle, 300 nits at full brightness, reduced glare.
- Dual mics, stereo speakers, FaceTime HD camera.
- No optical drive.
- "Asymmetric Lithium Ion Battery" technology
- Dual-Core Core i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge Processors with integrated Intel Graphics 4000.
- 2.5GHz dual-core i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB Flash storage starts at $1700. Goes up to $2000 in pre-configured models.
- Starts shipping today.
New Mac Mini Announced
- Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire800, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 ports
- Dual or quad Intel Ivy Bridge processors, up to 16GB RAM, Up to a TB of storage (128GB Flash standard)
- 2.5GHz i5 Ivy Bridge with 4GB RAM and 128GB Flash starts at $600. Same pricing as last gen.
- Starts shipping today.
New iMac Announced
- New body, even thinner. Similar profile and design as previous iMacs.
- Edge-to-edge glass.
- Tapered edge to make it look thin. Curved back.
- 5mm thick at its finest point. 40 percent less volume than previous gen.
- Display is 5mm thinner by removing 2mm air gap. Laminated the LCD directly to the glass.
- No optical drive. External SuperDrive
- Comes in 27-inch or 21-inch. 27" is 2560x1440, 21" is 1920x1080. Resolution hasn't changed from previous model.
- FaceTime HD camera, dual microphones, improved stereo sound system.
- Intel quad-core Core i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processors.
- Nvidia Kepler discrete graphics.
- Up to 32GB of RAM.
- Optional fusion storage. Combines 128GB of flash storage and the option of 1TB or 3TB HDD. Mac OS reads it as a single volume. All the software that comes with the iMac starts on the SSD, Mac OS adjusts allocation based on usage over time.
- Headphone, SD Card, 4 USB 3.0 ports, 2 Thunderbolt, Ethernet ports.
- 21.5" model starts at $1300. 2.7GHz quad-core i5, Nvidia graphics, 8GB RAM, 1TB HHD (not fusion). Ships in November.
- 27" model starts at $1800. 2.9GHz quad-core i5, Nvidia graphics, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD. Ships in December.
New iPad Announced
- 4th Generation iPad. Replacing third-gen iPad with Retina.
- A6X chip. Likely same as A6 in iPhone 5 but clocked up. Claims double the performance as the A5X in the 3rd gen iPad.
- New Image Signal Processor for facial recognition.
- FaceTime HD camera.
- New LTE chip with expanded coverage for world market.
- Claims 2x faster Wi-Fi. dual-band 802.11n
- Lightning connector.
- Pricing is the same as the third-gen Retina iPad. Same weight and size as 3rd gen iPad.
iPad Mini Announced
- Looks like the same design as the new iPod Touch, diamond cut aluminum chamfers included.
- 7.2mm thick. 25% thinner than 4th gen iPad.
- Weighs .68 pounds. 308 grams. 3.5 full Altoids tins.
- 7.9" screen. 29.6 square inches.
- No mention of resolution, but expected to be 1024x768. Same resolution as the first two iPad generations, not Retina.
- A5 chip (same as iPad 2)
- FaceTime HD camera
- 5MP iSight camera on the back. (probably same as iPhone 4, iPod Touch 5G)
- LTE wireless, same chip as in 4th gen iPad.
- Claims 10 hours of battery life.
- New smart cover with aluminum hinge.
- Starts at 16GB with Wi-Fi at $330. Up to $660 with LTE and 64GB storage.
- Available November 2nd, Pre-orders October 26th. Cellular models ship 2 weeks after.