Apple announced Monday that it will host a product showcase titled “Pro and Tell” in Los Angeles on Oct. 28, marking the company’s third major hardware event in recent months.
Invitations distributed to reporters on Monday showed the presentation is set to begin at 10 a.m. PT. Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, confirmed the date on the social media platform X, writing, “Can’t wait to pro and tell next week,” according to CNET.
The scheduled presentation follows two other rollouts during the tenure of Apple executive John Ternus, CNBC reported. Those previous presentations included an event at the company’s headquarters introducing the foldable iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro lineup and the Apple Watch Series 12, as well as a New York presentation focused on home automation hubs and a display speaker named HomeView.
Potential shifts toward touchscreen hardware
While the Cupertino, California-based company routinely keeps upcoming hardware secret, industry observers anticipate the Los Angeles event will spotlight personal computers and tablets. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported that Apple could debut a redesigned MacBook Pro incorporating an OLED touchscreen, alongside an updated iPad mini featuring an OLED display.
Adding touch functionality to laptops would mark a notable strategic shift for Apple. The company historically resisted making touchscreen computers. In 2018, software chief Craig Federighi publicly dismissed the concept, arguing that lifting an arm to touch a vertical screen induces user fatigue, CNBC noted.
According to Engadget, industry expectations suggest touchscreen laptops could be offered in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes using M5 Pro and Max processors, designed with lighter frames than existing models. Gizmodo noted that event artwork depicted the Apple logo sliding across a display, reinforcing speculation that tactile touch interfaces could be revealed.
Broader lineup refreshes and desktop updates
In addition to prospective touchscreen hardware, reports suggest standard desktop and portable computer models could receive internal processor upgrades. Gurman suggested Apple might update the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the all-in-one iMac using the M6 processor, Engadget reported. That specific chip first appeared in August inside the Mac mini.
Apple refreshed its Mac mini and Mac Studio desktop systems in August and introduced an updated MacBook Pro and a lower-cost MacBook Neo during the spring, CNBC reported. However, the company has not updated the iMac lineup since October 2024.
Personal computers generated roughly 10 percent of Apple’s total sales during the most recent fiscal quarter, leaving the business largely driven by smartphone sales, according to CNBC. Nonetheless, Mac systems have taken on a prominent role in Apple’s artificial intelligence initiatives because their unified processors can access large volumes of system memory at high speeds. The company also recently partnered with Meta to run an open-weight artificial intelligence model on high-end Mac Studio machines, CNBC noted.
Apple shares have gained 26 percent this year, outpacing broader market benchmarks. Exact pricing, release dates and hardware configurations for the upcoming devices will remain unconfirmed until Apple’s presentation concludes on Oct. 28.
