12" MacBook Air, Thinner iPads And Other Apple Goodies Launching This 16 October

Not content with dominating the news cycle for a entire month, Apple’s at it again. The company sent out official invitations to its upcoming October 16th media event on Wednesday morning. The event kicks off at 10 AM next Thursday at Apple’s Cupertino campus.

wired.com

Under the somewhat ironic tagline ‘It’s been way too long.’ Apple has invited journalists to its Cupertino campus on October 16th “for a special event.” Like all Apple launches, the company doesn’t give away any details beforehand (unless you want to read into the rainbow outline of the Apple logo on the invite). That said the usual flurry of leaks has again hit in recent weeks so we are starting to get a good idea of what to expect.

Previous reports suggest that we are likely to see the iPad Air 2 at the event, as well as a third-generation iPad Mini and even a 12.9-inch slate called the iPad Pro. The new flagship tablet is expected to be powered by an A8 processor backed up by 2GB of RAM, and come with the Touch ID fingerprint scanner found on the latest iPhones.

digitalspy.co.uk

Most notable are even thinner dimensions (the new iPad Air is thought to be just 7mm thick), while there is also a TouchID home button, redesigned speakers and what looks like an improved camera. An additional gold finish is also expected to match the new iPhones.

A new batch of screenshots have appeared and they purport to show images of the redesigned iPad Air 2. The images, which were posted on a Vietnamese forum and picked up by 9to5Mac, depict a new iPad Air that appears to have a Touch ID blended into its Home button and a thinner build that doesn't include a Mute button.

techtimes.com

Internally we should also see a jump to the new Apple A8 processor found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus (likely running at a higher clock speed), though while the iPhone 6 lines recently jumped to 128GB memory options there has been no word about an iPad increase to 256GB to stay ahead.

Ultra-high resolutions look set to be a key part of the Apple launch. OS X Yosemite beta releases show references to extremely high resolutions including: 6400 x 3600, 5760 x 3240, and 4096 x 2304 pixels leading many sites to speculate that this means a Retina Display iMac is on the way. For designers such a move could be huge, especially if Apple releases them alongside Retina-compatible versions of iMovie and Final Cut Pro.

With betas already out, Apple should be ready to bring OS X Yosemite to the masses with the event. This new version of OS X has a more colourful, refreshed interface which brings it closer to the changes made in iOS 7 and iOS 8 and they will also be reflected in updates to core apps like Safari, Mail, Messages and the iCloud Drive.

In addition Yosemite and iOS 8 will work even closer together enabling hot swapping of phone calls, SMS and hotspots. A new feature called ‘Handoff’ will co-ordinate with your iOS devices so you can start something on one device and pick up where you left off on another.

businessinsider.com.au

Citing sources with knowledge of Apple's supply chain, DigitTimes reports partner supplier Quanta Computer commenced manufacturing of a much-rumored 12-inch Retina MacBook Air variant in October. Production will supposedly limited to small quantities for the first month due to low yield rates, but Quanta is looking for ways to boost output, insiders said. For now, the ODM will hold steady until early November, when a gradual ramp manufacturing is expected.

Part of the hold up is blamed on the 12-inch Air's ultra-slim chassis — reportedly thinner than Apple's current MacBook Air lineup — and advanced internals which are posing a challenge for component suppliers. Aside from a slimmed-down profile, the 12-inch laptop is rumored to come equipped with a high-resolution Retina display, fan-less chassis for silent operation and a click-less trackpad. As a result of this ultra-compact design, Apple's new thin-and-light may include fewer inputs and outputs than current MacBook models.

It is worth bearing in mind that this time Apple is hosting the event at its own campus (where it launched the iPhone 5S). This suggests a smaller, less game changing event than for the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch launch last month where a massive purpose built stage was erected at the Flint Center for Performing Arts. Evolution not revolution is therefore the likely outcome this time, but significant evolutions nonetheless.