Apple announces October 18 'Unleashed' event with new MacBook Pros expected

Macbook Air M1 (Image credit: Daniel Bader / Android Central)

What you need to know

Apple has just announced its next event.
The "Unleashed" event takes place online on October 18.
We're expecting new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros to be announced.

Apple has just announced its next event, where the company is expected to unveil a new mini-LED MacBook Pro along with a new iteration of Apple silicon. October 18 is the big day!

Multiple rumors indicate Apple will add mini-LED display technology to the Mac for the first time after debuting the technology earlier this year in the M1 iPad Pro (2021). Not only that, but Apple will also reportedly bring a new squarer chassis, as well as the return of some "pro" ports like HDMI and an SD card slot. We are also hearing rumors of a return of MagSafe charging, and an end to Apple's very polarizing Touch Bar.

Under the hood, Apple is expected to debut a new Apple silicon chip colloquially dubbed the M1X.

From our previous reports:

A new report claims Apple's next MacBook Pro will feature a 10-core Apple silicon chip and support up to 64GB of RAM.From Bloomberg:...Apple is planning two different chips, codenamed Jade C-Chop and Jade C-Die: both include eight high-performance cores and two energy-efficient cores for a total of 10, but will be offered in either 16 or 32 graphics core variations. The chips also include up to 64 gigabytes of memory versus a maximum of 16 on the M1. They'll have an improved Neural Engine, which processes machine-learning tasks and enable the addition of more Thunderbolt ports, which let users sync data and connect to external devices, than the two on the current M1 MacBook Pro.

The event was announced via Twitter, with Greg Joswiak sharing the typically-Apple teaser.

Unleashed! These next six days are going to speed by. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/0ops2bVPvlUnleashed! These next six days are going to speed by. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/0ops2bVPvl— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) October 12, 2021 October 12, 2021

Other rumors suggest we could see the arrival of a new Mac mini, although the main focus of the event is surely going to be the biggest upgrade to Apple's portable lineup in some time.

As for other announcements, it's likely we'll finally find out when macOS Monterey will be made available to everyone, while talk of refreshed AirPods just won't go away. Maybe new earbuds are in the offing just as everyone's going back to using wires!

Now, we wait!

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.