Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Apple's Oct. 23, 2012 Media Event Expectations

I wanted to quickly summarize my expectations for the media event that Apple just announced.

iPad Mini [Confidence: High]

Perhaps most importantly I think we will see an iPad Mini, this will likely be the "main attraction" of the event.

  • 7.85" display [Confidence: High]
  • A5, same as iPad 2 [Confidence: High]
  • 16GB, 32GB, 64GB capacities [Confidence: High]
  • 64GB capacity [Confidence: Low] Edit: Given the new stats on the size of apps increasing and the fact that 8GB really is just too small, I'm adjusting my estimate to match the standard iPad capacity line up.
  • 3G/4G connectivity [Confidence: High]
  • $349 starting price [Confidence: Medium] Update: Gruber makes a great point for how unsurprising a $249 starting price would be. I personally think that's the sweet spot to wow people on price, I just have a hard time being confident we'll see that.
  • Smart covers [Confidence: High]

Education [Confidence: High]

I suspect there will be a key focus on education throughout. I'd even go as far as to say I somewhat expect some educational pricing options on the new iPad Mini, though I wouldn't bet my mortgage on it. I expect an update on their textbook initiatives, and hopefully some innovative new way to really push into the money-deprived public schools with these new devices.

13" Retina MacBook Pro [Confidence: High]

I fully expect MacRumors.com's coverage to be accurate.

  • Starting price: $1699 [Confidence: High] Update: Previous value was a typo, I had looked at the wrong starting prices for the 15" model by accident. Oops! Sorry :)

Updated iMac & Mac Mini [Confidence: High]

Again I agree with MacRumors.com's coverage, and I fully expect an updated (and much thinner) iMac and updated Mac Mini to be revealed. There could be room for some education announcement in this sector too, maybe the previous generation iMac with strong educational discounts? The education pricing here is just a total guess, either way we'll see new iMacs and Mac Mini's.

  • Prices likely to remain unchanged.

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