What to expect from Apple’s ‘One more thing’ event

Channelling a trademark line from the late Steve Jobs, Apple today posted a “One more thing” invite at an online event on November 10 at 10am (7am, Nov 11 NZT).

Most pundits expect the company to announce its first Mac computers running its own processors, rather than those made by long-time partner Intel (the clue: an AR “easter egg” in the invite that showed the Apple logo raising and lowering like a laptop lid).

Apple confirmed in late June that it would switch to its own silicon – so it’s now just a matter of when Intel will exit stage left.

“Most important, this means that iOS and iPadOS applications will be able to run natively on MacOS in the future, making it easier for Apple’s 23 million developer partners to create applications across all Apple products,” Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty wrote in a note to investors this summer.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said the move would further cement Apple’s control cover its computers.

“Most important, this means that iOS and iPadOS applications will be able to run natively on MacOS in the future, making it easier for Apple’s 23 million developer partners to create applications across all Apple products,” she said in a research note.

CEO Tim Cook said at the mid-year announcement, “From the beginning, the Mac has always embraced big changes to stay at the forefront of personal computing. Today we’re announcing our transition to Apple silicon, making this a historic day for the Mac. With its powerful features and industry-leading performance, Apple silicon will make the Mac stronger and more capable than ever.”

It’s also possible the November 10 event will feature the long-awaited release date for macOS Big Sur and two rumoured, Christimas-friendly products: over-ear AirPods Studio headphones and AirTags – a Tile-like device tracker.

The November 10 effort comes on the heels of events announcing new Watches, iPads and the iPhone 12 line.

Last week, Apple reported increased quarterly revenue but a slip in profit as iPhone sales slumped – pinned on Covid, and punters waiting for the new 12) but MacBook and iPad sales boomed on the back of the work-from-home surge.

For the three months to September 30, Apple reported iPhone sales of US$26.44b, down 20 per cent year-on-year by dollar value, but Mac sales that jumped by a third to US$9.03B and iPad sales that surged from US$4.6b to US$6.8b.