Refreshed Macs and iPads are expected sometime this year or next year, and Apple registering five new models of each just recently might indicate that they are indeed coming.
Those said models have now turned up in the Eurasian Economic Commission database, as spotted by Consomac. There's a major oddity, however: the filing says these new devices are running iOS 11 and macOS 10.13. Odd, because Apple typically ships new devices with the latest operating systems, those being the recently unveiled iOS 12 and macOS Mojave, due out later this fall.
That being said, 9to5Mac notes that this source has a solid track record when it comes to these filings. However, an April filing on new iPhone models, spotted by the same source, hasn't materialized in new products yet. Before that, though, Apple has registered products in the same database, with public unveilings following a month later.
Does This Mean We're Getting Five News Macs And iPads?
Interestingly, even though Apple appears to have registered five new iPad and Mac models each, that doesn't mean customers will get five new Macs and five new iPads. 9to5Mac speculates that this might be just one way of Apple committing to secrecy — register a whole bunch of products so it becomes far less easier to predict what's actually getting unveiled.
The Cupertino brand is famously bullish on secrecy, known for declining to comment on rumors and, at one point, even holding an internal seminar on preventing product leaks. It's clear whatever Apple is planning to announce, it wants it to be a legitimate surprise. The effort is commendable, but we live in an era where things rarely get kept under wraps for long. That being said, Apple has the right to control the narrative around its products. It has every right to strategize how its new devices get hyped.
Mac And iPad Eurasian Economic Commission Filing
In any case, here are the new Mac and iPad filings:
For Mac:
• A1931
• A1932,
• A1988
• A1989
• A1990
For iPad:
• A1876
• A2013
• A1934
• A1979
• A2014
As for the Macs, the last three model numbers, from A1988 to A1990, might indicate new MacBook Pro SKUs, or in other words, MacBook Pro refreshes. The other two are harder to guess, but one of them could turn out to be the rumored Retina Display edition of the MacBook Air.
The iPad models are harder to identify, on the other hand. Just note that there's been talk of a bezel-less, notch-wielding iPad with Face ID capabilities, and that could take up a spot in the models mentioned. Whatever the case, there'll clearly be no shortage of new Apple products in the months ahead.
