Accustomed to playing the discretion card, Apple is aggressively promoting the keynote on Tuesday, May 7 on social networks. The “Let Loose” event, the first organized at 4 p.m., is unique on several levels.
An Apple conference organized in May is a first. The Californian brand, accustomed to a very precise calendar (June for WWDC, September for the iPhone, possible events in March/October depending on announcements), is not used to organizing a keynote at this time. period, even less one month before its big WWDC (scheduled for June 10).
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Why organize an event on May 7, when press releases could have been enough to present iPads? Two hypotheses intersect: 1) Apple has a lot of announcements planned at WWDC and must sort it out before its big annual conference. 2) Apple is asking questions about the future of its emblematic “keynotes”.
A different format: why is this keynote mysterious?
On the night of October 30 to 31, Apple had already organized a mysterious conference. On the theme of Halloween and at a unique time (1 a.m. in France), the “Scary Fast” event was dedicated to the first M3 Macs. Unusually short (30 minutes) and filmed at night on an iPhone, it seemed to be a glimpse into the future potential of conferences. Why have to choose between a huge global event and a press release when a short video can also tell a story?
On May 7, Apple should continue to question the future of its presentations. The keynote is not at 7 p.m. (as usual) or 1 a.m. (like on Halloween), but at 4 p.m. Why this change? No doubt to attract more Asian audiences, avoiding a conference in the middle of the night. The brand seems to continue to test itself, after abandoning physical presentations for video events at the time of Covid (with a hybrid form for journalists invited on site, in Cupertino or elsewhere).
According to journalist Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, the keynote should last a little less than an hour and be divided into several local meetings. He talks about a video format, but its exact nature is not yet determined.
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On Instagram in particular, Apple is promoting a “Apple event of a different kind”, without knowing exactly what this sentence means. Will the format change? This is one of the outstanding questions. Apple could also talk about a fundamental change, with new announcements for the month of May.
What announcements are planned for May 7?
An M4 chip and artificial intelligence?
Only six months after unveiling its M3 chips, Apple could already unveil the M4 generation on May 7 (which would bury the transition to the M3 architecture of certain Macs).
This may seem trivial, but this type of announcement could, in itself, justify the fact of a “Apple event of a different kind”. The most discreet brand in the world about its future products could use the M4 chip to unveil a preview of future new features in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, particularly on artificial intelligence. It's hard to imagine Apple not mentioning the “future WWDC announcements” one month before the conference, while Apple does not usually comment on its future.
Rumor has it that the M4 chip could be a big leap forward in terms of computational capabilities. It would allow iPads, the first to use it, to run a language model locally, without needing the Internet. It's hard to imagine Apple not showing examples.
iPad Pro: an M4 chip and OLED
In fact, the iPad Pros should be the stars of the May 7 keynote. Almost two years after their last renewal, Apple's high-end tablets should abandon LCD and mini-LED for OLED, with an infinite contrast ratio. They should be the first Apple devices with the M4 chip, dedicated to AI (unless the rumors about the M4 chip are false, which would leave them with the M3 chip from the MacBook Air).
No doubt accompanied by a slight redesign (with the webcam finally on the good side), the iPad Pros should be entitled to new accessories. We are talking in particular about an Apple Pencil with haptic feedback (vibrations to imitate the writing of a pen) and a Magic Keyboard capable of transforming them into a real laptop.
iPad Air: time to grow up?
The iPad Air, the more affordable version of the iPad Pro, should also be in the spotlight at the keynote. In addition to a move from the M1 chip to the M2 chip, the tablet should, for the first time, be available in two sizes. The 10.9-inch format should be joined by an XXL size (12.9 inches) like the iPad Pro. Enough to offer a large format solution without spending a fortune.
Apple Vision Pro: first release abroad?
It's hard not to imagine Tim Cook talking about the Apple Vision Pro, the mixed reality headset released in February in the United States. It turns out that, for several months, rumors have mentioned a release in Canada, the United Kingdom and China between May and June 2024. The timing of the May 7 keynote seems perfect for an international release, which would give a little boost media attention around the product. The only question: will France be affected?
The event to follow on Numerama
On June 10, at WWDC, Apple should return to the historic format (event in Cupertino with developers, start at 7 p.m.). Its testing of different events is certainly not finished, but it is still difficult to predict the direction the brand will take.