Yesterday, Apple announced to select members of the press that Apple is hosting a special event on its campus in Cupertino, CA on October 16th. The invitation doesn't state what Apple will announce, but I'm sure we will see a new iPad. Apple typically comes out with at least one new iPad model a year and they have yet to release a 2014 model. And in both 2012 and 2013, Apple announced new iPad models in October: the fourth generation iPad and the iPad mini on October 23, 2012, and the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display on October 23, 2013. So I feel quite certain that we will see something new on the iPad front a week from today. I hope that Apple also announces new Macs because I'm ready to replace the iMac I use at home, and I've been waiting for a new model to be released before doing so.
Apple tries to be cryptic (and sometimes even clever) when it teases new product announcements. When it sent invitations for the iPhone 6 announcement last month it simply said "Wish we could say more." The invitation for last year's announcement of the iPad Air simply said "We still have a lot to cover." The invitation for next week's event says "It's been way too long." Who knows what that might mean. Jason Snell of Six Colors says: "Let the Kremlinology begin! Is it a winking admission that the press was just in Cupertino for an Apple event last month? Is it a promise of updates to the Mac mini, which hasn’t been touched since 2012? Is it a high-school reunion?"
My one prediction that I do feel quite sure of is that Apple will announce an iPad that supports Touch ID (the fingerprint sensor). After using Touch ID on my iPhone for so many months now, I can't even count the number of times I have placed my finger on my iPad's home button waiting for it to use my fingerprint to unlock, only to sigh at myself once I realize that I need to enter a passcode. I suspect that the smart engineers at Apple have made the same mistake, making them want to add this feature to the iPad.
