Apple plans mysterious November 12 retail store ‘event’

Macworld

Having launched new iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods at a dedicated press event in September, and then new MacBooks, iPads, and an M5 version of the Vision Pro via press release in October, Apple may be finished with its product release plans for 2025. But then again, it may not.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman reveals that Apple employees are gearing up for a retail store event on November 12. This is so major and secretive an undertaking that the unfortunate staff will have to remain in the store after closing time and work on updating displays overnight.

“That kind of event often signals that something new is coming,” Gurman explains… but then concedes that, in this case, it may just mean setting up holiday shopping displays.

So we shouldn’t get too carried away. Yet there remains a real chance we could get a third batch of new products for fall 2025. As Gurman reports, inventory shortages suggest that Apple will soon launch new models of the Apple TV and HomePod mini with updated chips and in-house wireless components. (They’re also overdue purely in terms of the age of the current products. The HomePod mini came out as long ago as 2020 and hasn’t been updated since, other than to get new colors; the current Apple TV is almost exactly three years old.) That could be what the in-store overnight event is all about, or one part of why it’s necessary.

It’s also worth noting that November 12 is a Wednesday. Apple’s web announcements often occur early in the week, but rarely on a Monday, so new things could arrive on Tuesday and then hit Apple Store shelves on Wednesday. Furthermore, the recent round of M5 Macs and iPads was announced on a Tuesday but weren’t available for purchase until the following Wednesday, so Apple could conceivably announce new products as early as tomorrow.

If the new HomePods and Apple TVs don’t appear this month, Gurman adds, they will be with us early in 2026, “especially since they’ll help showcase the new Siri and Apple Intelligence features planned for next year.” Then again, when it comes to Siri’s major revamp, we’ve hit delays before and may do so again.

For more information about Apple’s plans for this month, check out our guide to the new products coming in November.