October might see an Apple event for iMacs

Rumors of an Apple event have been flying around for a bit, and for the most part, Apple was a no show. But more rumors are running around that an Apple Event may actually happen this year, this one concerning iMacs.

The last new iMacs came out in 2021 with the much-lauded M1 processors, which does make it a likely candidate for a refresh, perhaps for an M2 variant, or quite possibly, an M3 to build hype around the chip when it migrates to other popular Apple products such as MacBooks.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the one who originally made the report, says Apple will hold this event on October 30 or the 31st, which means, for us, is either past midnight or, for some of us, stuck in traffic while visiting relatives in the cemetery.

Other things we’re hearing about Apple is, while iOS 17 has recently been launched, Apple has begun development for iOS 18, which will include a lot more AI works in it. Yes, apparently they’re only working on it now, because of Apple being Apple. (No shade, I’m using an Apple device rn).

Particularly, Apple is believed to be working on how to be able to use AI in iOS. Ideas that are floating around are generative playlists for Apple Music, which if true, would rely on past user data. If true, imagine using the prompt, “Make me a playlist of the best ‘70s rock and roll music that I haven’t listened to.”

Other apps that Apple is researching on how to integrate generative AI are Pages and Keynote. The question I have right now about Apple and AI is, will the company use the term AI? Apple loves to own existing technologies, so it’s interesting for me how they will present this. We have a full year to anticipate this.

On a much closer update, Apple is planning to release iOS 17.1 this week. The update sees bug fixes and refinements of new features that were introduced in iOS 17. One of the refinements includes AirDrop, now, when you step out of range, the data transfer will continue over the internet.

There’s some stuff for Apple Music as well, such as being able to “favorite” your songs, albums, and playlists. You can also edit artworks of your favorite playlists, which is actually a very nice touch. And finally, song suggestions, so you can discover more good stuff out there.

StandBy gets something new as well. You can now toggle it to never turn off after a couple of seconds, fully turning it into a digital clock blazing in your bedside nightstand.

Photo Shuffle, a feature that shuffles the images of your lock screen, can now be customized into specific albums–cutting back the risk of images you don’t want anyone ever to see surprising you in the lock screen.

Finally, for the iPhone 15 Pro users, the Action button gets an update. Using the iPhone’s proximity sensor, it can detect if it’s inside your pocket, preventing accidental presses of the Action button. There’s also an update in the Dynamic Island, which indicates if the flashlight is turned on. It’s funny how this is exclusive to the 15 and 14 Pro models, and not in every device with a Dynamic Island. As if an indicator adds that much value to the Pro models. No shade meant.