According to new reports, Apple is preparing its retail employees for imminent overnight global store refreshes. Scheduled for November 11, the in-store changes appear to coincide with dwindling stock levels of Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini devices.
It has hardly been long since Apple has launched refined iPad Pro tablets, new Vision Pro headset and 14-inch MacBook Pro supported by its M5 chipset (currently priced at $1,549 on Amazon). This has however been challenged by recent news that Apple has no less than three products to launch before the end of the year, one of them being a second-generation AirTag.
Restating the previously existing rumours, Gurman claims that Apple might be about to roll out a new range of products as early as November 12. In the meantime, the analyst can only make inferences on this ground using two factors. On the one hand, Apple now does not replenish the stocks of Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini in such markets as the US. Gurman, on the other hand, states that Apple have been briefing retail workers about the existence of an out-of-hours refresh after the stores close on November 11.
In most cases, Apple does not make changes in the store experience even though it is about to release new product or during the holiday season. As the latter is not present yet, Gurman has made a mistake of assuming that Apple will refresh the Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini, though reluctantly. According to the latest speculation, the next Apple TV 4K will upgrade to the A17 Pro chipset and Wi-Fi 7 compatibility with the company N1 modem. The HomePod mini is also likely to be upgraded to connect to Wi-Fi 7; other possible future upgrades are less well understood at present, though.
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Bloomberg & Mark Gurman, Omar Rodriguez, James Yarema & Unsplash – Image credits
