Thought Apple would be giving you (and your wallet) a breather after announcing three sets of products in the last three months? Believe it or not, it seems the company isn't quite done with 2020 – even if you are.
New leaks suggest that Apple is preparing to launch a new product as soon as today. According to MacRumors, an internal alert memo hints that new hardware could be on the way at 5:30am PT on 8 December – and based on various rumours, it could be anything from new headphones to an updated version of our best laptop for graphic design.
You'll get a Christmas surprise from Apple（PS：Winter exclusive、good for winter）November 14, 2020
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MacRumors says the memo warns technicians to prepare for "new product SKUs, new/updated product descriptions, and new/updated product pricing" tomorrow, along with changes to AppleCare. Nearly identical internal memos have been issued before previous hardware announcements.
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Established Apple leaker L0vetodream also recently tweeted (above) that fans would be getting a "Christmas surprise" from the company. They also included the intriguing detail that said surprise will be "good for winter" – whatever that might mean.
While it may feel like Apple has announced everything it could possibly announce in 2020, those who have been following Apple leaks will know that there have been a few notable omissions. Firstly, AirPods Studio, the company's much-rumoured over-ear version of its ridiculously popular earphones, were expected to launch alongside the iPhone 12 back in October – but remain nowhere to be seen. Over-ear headphones certainly sound warm. Great for winter.
A recent render of the rumoured AirPods Studio (Image credit: Jon Prosser)
We also never saw Apple's rumoured location tracking tiles, AirTags, at any of its launch events in the last few months. Similar to existing trackers from brands such as Tile, these small, disk-like objects are expected to be able to attach to your valuables and be located online or via an app.
Is this what AirTags will look like? (Image credit: Jon Prosser on Twitter)
Finally, rumours of an updated 16-inch MacBook have been circulating since its conspicuous absence from the announcement of the first batch of M1 Macs last month. We were disappointed not to see the 16-inch Pro get the M1 treatment – as the biggest of the bunch, it's a great option for digital artists, and a super powerful processor would only make it better. But if Macworld is to be believed, the next 16-inch Pro will still feature an Intel chip. We may know as soon as tomorrow, but we'll be a tad underwhelmed if so.
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Of course, this being Apple (and this being 2020), anything could happen. The internal memo could even be a false alarm, or relate instead to some kind of software update. Either way, there's already no shortage of incredible new Apple hardware available to get your teeth into – and those brand new M1 Macs have already seen a truly unexpected price cut.
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.
