Mac Trade-In Changes May Indicate New Model to Launch This Month
Apple may be proceeding with plans to announce a new Mac model this month, according to related information obtained by MacRumors.
Details pertaining to upcoming changes to Mac trade-ins provided to MacRumors by a verified source suggest that Apple will begin accepting new models for trade-in this month. The models in question are current-generation devices, suggesting that successors could be announced in a matter of weeks.
Similar changes in June coincided with WWDC, when Apple began accepting trade-ins of the Mac Studio, 13-inch M2 MacBook Air, and 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro for credit towards new Apple product purchases. Apple simultaneously launched the 15-inch MacBook Air, second-generation Mac Studio, and Apple silicon Mac Pro. As such, it seems plausible that a similar, albeit smaller, expansion of the Macs Apple accepts for trade-in this month correlates with the launch of at least one new machine.
In July, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said October of this year could see the announcement of the first Macs with the M3 chip. He said that the 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and 24-inch iMac are all candidates for potential release this month.
The as-yet-unannounced M3 chip is widely expected to be fabricated with TSMC's 3nm process for performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the current 5nm-based M2 chip, which debuted in June 2022. It will also likely feature an all new GPU with hardware ray-tracing, first introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip last month.
In September, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that it seemed Apple will not launch new MacBook models with M3 series chips before the end of this year. This may mean that the most likely Mac to be announced is a refreshed 24-inch iMac with the M3 chip. The current model featuring the M1 chip has now been on sale for over two and a half years.
Popular Stories
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker.
Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
