What to Expect at Apple's 'Hello Again' Event on Oct. 27

Apple is finally expected to shower Mac users with some love next week and it’s definitely about time. The only new Mac device announced this year has been the second-generation MacBook, which was revealed back in April.

The MacRumors Buyer’s Guide tells the story. The iMac was last updated in October 2015, while the MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro haven’t received updates since March 2015 and May 2015, respectively.

Apple has been selling the same Mac mini (October 2014) and Mac Pro (December 2013) for even longer.

What should happen

The slogan for next week’s event on the Apple campus is “Hello Again,” which appears to reference the company’s “Hello” tagline it used to unveil the first Macintosh in 1984. While the many rumors don’t suggest that a new type of Mac device is coming next week, we should still see some pretty nice upgrades to existing products.

First among these is the MacBook Pro, which could come with an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touchbar above the keyboard. From here, users could view notifications, open apps, and more. The new MacBook Pro could also include a fingerprint sensor based on Touch ID.

The new MacBook Pro will probably see the removal of both traditional USB ports and its MagSafe power port. In their place could be the USB Type-C connection already found on the MacBook.

After MacBook Pro

Apple is also expected to retire the 11-inch version of the MacBook Air. The remaining 13-inch model will likely include a USB Type-C port. Whether the new MacBook Air finally includes a Retina display remains unknown.

Finally, iMac is expected to gain some internal upgrades, including an improved processor and graphics card.

What about Mac mini and Mac Pro? These products are probably dead, although whether or not Apple actually announces this news is anyone’s guess.

It will be interesting to see whether Apple moves beyond Mac hardware at next week’s event. Most likely, they will not. However, given Apple’s love for secrecy, you never know.

Apple TV is the most obvious non-Mac product that could get an update, especially now that the third generation device is no more.

I would jump at the chance of buying a 4K-compatible Apple TV. However, that’s probably not going to happen, at least this year. If there is an Apple TV update next week, expect it to be a minor one.

Siri-based home device

Apple is almost certainly going to release an Amazon Echo-like device powered by Siri. However, we’re probably at least a few months away from that product’s unveiling. If it does arrive next week, we could hear Tim Cook say the famous words “one more thing.”

Apple’s “Hello Again” event begins on Thursday, Oct. 27 beginning at 10 a.m. PDT. You can live stream the event through the Apple website and on Apple TV.