So far, there’s a certain degree of consensus in the rumour mill that Apple will announce a new Apple Watch and iPad Air at its Time Flies event next week… plus maybe a few lesser products. The iPhone 12, pretty much everyone agrees, will be unveiled later, likely at a separate event in October.
But a leaker has now attempted to shake this certainty in an “Ask me anything” thread on Reddit, reported by AppleInsider. The thread features some extraordinary claims about the announcements that will be made next week.
We’d immediately advise caution regarding the source, since for one thing their Reddit account is only seven months old; moderators of the r/Apple sub-reddit, however, say they have received proof of this person’s identity and position, even if this proof is difficult for the rest of us to evaluate. (AppleInsider says it’s seen some of the proof, but is unable to verify it.)
The unknown source claims something spectacular: Apple will not only unveil the iPhone 12 next Tuesday, but also the first MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon, which will have a screen diagonal of 14in. It’s unexpected, but not entirely implausible: Macs with ARM-based chips are definitely in the pipeline, although so far most pundits expect them to arrive in October at the absolute earliest. (This week we reported that the device’s A14X processor is about to go into mass production.)
The iPhone 12 claims, too, are hard to believe. This year’s launch has been stricken by pandemic-related production delays, and Apple itself, in the person of CFO Luca Maestri, has acknowledged that the device will be “a few weeks later” than usual. In both cases it’s unlikely that Apple will show the new products several weeks in advance: why not have a separate (virtual) event and spread the hype?
When it comes to Apple Silicon, Apple has set itself a deadline of the end of the year, when the first computers will be available with chips that the company has developed itself. There’s still a lot of time until then; with the Mac Pro (2013), iMac Pro (2017) and Mac Pro (2019), Apple didn’t shy away from waiting until the last moment to keep promises of this kind.
On top of everything else, a 14in MacBook Pro seems unlikely to be the first Apple Silicon device, because Apple recently updated the 13in MacBook Pro.
Doubtful predictions about Apple Glasses
As background, the leaker claims to be the source of all news about Apple’s AR glasses so far – but this has been denied by both Jon Prosser and Mark Gurman.
Apple is ready to announce the glasses at any time, the alleged insider boldly claims, and says Tuesday is a real possibility for this unveiling; but they won’t actually appear on the market before March 2021. The name hasn’t yet been determined, the source says (Apple Glass is apparently a placeholder), but internally they are referred to as “the glasses”.
This may all be pure invention. Apple is certainly working on such a device, and the AR gimmick in the Time Flies invitations suggests something is going to be mentioned along these lines. But since the new iPad Air should also get the LiDAR sensors from the iPad Pro, there will be plenty of AR to talk about without having to predict actual AR glasses.
Mark Gurman said on Twitter that he had compared the statements of the Reddit leaker with those of his own sources and did not see any substance in them, which is why he did not report the “nonsense” any further.
The source also says a new attempt at the AirPower charging mat is on the cards, but that we will have to manage without the expected cheap Apple Watch. On all of these counts, we’ll know more on Tuesday night. Here’s what we expect Apple to announce, and here’s how to watch the event live.
This article originally appeared on Macwelt. Translation by David Price.