Apple October Event: iPad Pro, MacBook Air upgrade and more

Apple Inc. is on the cusp of bringing essential product upgrades to two product lines after gadgets slip into the ubiquitous shadow of the iPhone.

Tuesday, the technology giant based in Cupertino, California, will step on the scene in Brooklyn, New York, to unveil new Mac computers and new iPad tablets. The theme of the event is "making". It will be held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music – two clues to how Apple plans to revive the sale of products.

Macs and iPads have larger screens and keyboards, more versatile software, and generally faster processing speeds than iPhones. These features are especially useful for people who create graphics, build websites, edit movies, write music and, in the case of Macs, develop their own software. While the iPhone attracts consumers and the watch has a growing number of wristbands, Apple encourages content creation for its other major devices.

On Tuesday, the main news will be the re-organized iPad Pro with Face ID and a new charging port, a new laptop designed to replace the aging MacBook Air and a new Mac mini aimed at business users, according to people familiar with these projects. They asked not to be identified during discussions of non-advertised products. A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment.

The update of the iPad Pro will be the most important in the history of the product. The device was launched in 2015, in part as a countermeasure to Surface Pro from Microsoft Corp., which appealed to business users seeking large tablets that support keyboards and removable styli. IPad Pro models, with larger screens, better cameras and faster processors, are more expensive, resulting in sustained revenue growth.

Here's what Apple plans for the new iPad Pro, according to people familiar with these plans:

Screens almost edge to edge with thinner and symmetrical glbades like those of the latest iPhone. A USB-C connector for data charging and synchronization, the first time Apple introduces this charging standard on its iOS devices. The iPhone will remain the only major product from Apple to use the Lightning connector. It will also be the first time that Apple has changed the charging port on iOS devices since 2012. The facial identity will be used to unlock the new iPad. The main button and the fingerprint scanner will be deleted. Unlike iPhones, Face ID will work in both portrait and landscape orientation. Face ID will allow Animojis (and the custom variety known as Memojis) on iPad for the first time. LCDs will be cheaper than the OLED screens of the iPhone XS. The external appearance of the iPad will also be redesigned. It will include more equidistant elements like the iPhone 5, 5S and SE from a few years ago. A faster processor, a variant of the A12 Bionic chip recently added to the iPhone XS and iPhone XR. A custom Apple graphics chip, the first time this would be included in an iPad. Apple Pencil updated, succeeding the original version launched in 2015. The update iPad Pro comes at a significant time for the device, which has not been updated since mid-2017. While the tablet market is shrinking overall, the iPad is slowly gaining momentum thanks to new software and cheaper models, but also because competitors like Amazon.com Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have not impressed the market recently.

For the Mac, Apple plans its first major upgrades since June 2017. The MacBook Air and Mac mini, a small desktop without a screen, have been running for years without significant changes. This, combined with the interest shown for larger smartphones and competing PCs, has led Apple to record the smallest Mac business figure since 2010 in the third quarter.

Here is what the company is preparing for the Mac line, according to people familiar with the company's projects. Some or all of these products could make their debut at Tuesday's event.

A new entry-level notebook designed to replace MacBook Air, the company's entry-level notebook, which Steve Jobs originally pulled out of a Manila envelope 10 years ago. It will have a 13-inch screen of higher resolution, as well as thinner frames around the screen. First update of the Mac mini since 2014, adding new processors and features for business users. Apple is also working on updated iMacs, iMac Pro, and 12-inch MacBooks with faster processors. At least some of these updates could be ready for the launch of October.