Apple May Have a ‘Christmas Surprise’ in Store This Year

Apple has already held an unprecedented three product launch events this fall, but if you think that this means that Apple is done with new product launches, you might want to think again, as a fairly reliable leaker has suggested that Apple has a “Christmas surprise” in store this year.

The information in this case comes from the enigmatic @L0vetodream, a Twitter account that frequently veils its information in cryptic tweets, and this one is no exception.

Despite this, however, @L0vetodream has an eerily accurate track record at making Apple predictions, including the predicting last spring that the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air would be the first Apple Silicon Macs, accurate launch dates for the new iPhone SE and 2020 iPad Pro models, the name “Big Sur” for macOS 10.16, and Apple’s introduction of handwashing features in watchOS 7.

That said, @L0vetodream has also provided a few pieces of inaccurate information in the past, such as predicting that there would be no new Apple Watch models released in September. The leaker has also shared a whole list of other tidbits that have yet to be proven either way, including that Apple’s AirPods Studio will include a U1 chip, that AirTags will come in two sizes.

‘Winter Exclusive’

That said, this one really has us scratching our collective heads as to what may be coming, especially with the addendum that it’s a “Winter exclusive, good for winter” product.

While there’s a temptation to go for the obvious here and think in terms of actual tangible winter products (Apple AirMuffs?), the typically inscrutable nature of @L0vetodream’s tweets could mean just about anything.

In fact, it’s not even clear if the tweet is referring to an actual product, since it just mentions a “surprise” which could simply be a new holiday promotion, such as last year’s Apple Card 6% cash back offer, although that doesn’t really seem like @L0vetodream’s style.

Although we’re obviously still waiting for AirPods Studio and AirTags to make their appearance, it seems very unlikely that they’ll arrive before the end of this year, especially since Apple is unlikely to hold another media event to announce anything. AirPods Studio could conceivably slip out via press release, much as the company did with all of its new AirPods products last year, and it’s not a huge stretch to see how on-ear headphones could be allegorically compared to a “winter” product.

AirTags, on the other hand, certainly seem to deserve some stage time as an entirely new product category for Apple, and while iOS 14.3 includes even more new code for setting them up, our hunch at this point is that Apple is waiting for at least one or two third-parties to begin adopting the technology in order to avoid any more antitrust allegations.

There’s also the rumoured refresh of the 16-inch MacBook Pro which remains missing in action. Although Apple announced its first Apple Silicon MacBooks last week, we’ve known for a while that the 16-inch MacBook Pro wouldn’t be included in the first wave of Apple Silicon Macs, and if Apple does plan to release one more Intel version of its larger MacBook Pro, which still seems likely, it isn’t going to let it share the stage with the new M1 models, so it will likely slip out via press release in the coming weeks (some rumours have suggested a date of Dec. 1st).

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]