Last fall, Apple had a lot of products to introduce: a new iPhone, two new iPads, three new iPods, and a few new Macs. Apple ended up dividing those new devices into two events: an iPhone + iPod event and an iPad + Mac event.

Without much occurring during the first half of this year, and even with the new iPhones launching this month, Apple still has a significant amount of products to still announce this year. Let’s take a look at what’s coming:

  • Redesigned full-sized iPad (64-bit, looks like a larger iPad mini, likely no Touch ID)
  • iPad mini with Retina display (both 32-bit and 64-bit versions have been in testing, likely no Touch ID)
  • iPad mini without Retina display (version with faster, A6 processor has been in testing)
  • MacBook Pros with Haswell chips, improved battery life
  • Haswell Mac minis
  • Final OS X Mavericks details, pricing (launch targeted for late October, but sources now say there’s been internal chatter about a (very unlikely) push-back to early November
  • Mac Pro tech specs, pricing, availability details
  • Secret Mac-related hardware that nobody knows about coming as soon as late 2013
  • New Apple TV hardware
  • Redesigned first-party iOS 7 apps
  • New iWork for Mac
  • New iWork for iOS
  • New Final Cut Pro

Could Apple announce all of this in one sitting?…

At Daring Fireball, John Gruber seems to believe that Apple will hold a single October event that focuses on both iPad and Mac announcements. However, I believe that Apple has too much in the pipeline to only hold a single launch event. Why would Apple want to mix the attention with one of its most important product lines (the iPad) with new Apple TV announcements, new Macs, new Mac software, and more all at one time?

Apple will most definitely send out the new iPads, new Macs, new OS X, new Apple TV to reviewers, and that would be a huge undertaking for Apple to expect reviews of all of those products to get accomplished at one time. Holding two events – at least a few weeks apart – would also be much more efficient for Apple from both supply chain and marketing perspectives. In addition, launching so many products simultaneously could overwhelm customers (and their wallets).

I think it makes far more sense for Apple to hold an event next month to discuss the new iPads, new iOS applications, and perhaps the rumored Apple TV. Then, when those products are out of the gate, Apple could hold another event to launch OS X Mavericks, the new Mac Pro, new iWork for Mac, new MacBook Pros, new Mac minis, and perhaps some bonus Mac-related hardware (a new Apple Display would sure be nice for the new ultra-powerful Mac Pros).

Apple has several products left in it for 2013, and it will be interesting to see how the announcements all play out. Perhaps the most exciting part is that Apple CEO Tim Cook has promised that we’re in for an even bigger 2014.

Top image via Flickr