New iPad, iPad Mini and Mac Announcements Coming Today at Apple Event

Apple is set to unveil its newest tablets and computers today.

ByABC News
October 21, 2013, 10:12 PM

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. Oct. 22, 2013 — -- After quite a bit of rumor and speculation, Apple will hold an event today to announce the next versions of its iPads. Starting at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, Apple's CEO Tim Cook is expected to take the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, Calif., and detail the new features of the tablets. The company is also expected to reveal its latest Mac computer products, including more details and the release date of OS X Mavericks.

Thanks to various reports and leaked images (which we gathered together here) we have a fairly good idea of what the next version of the iPad will look like. The full-sized iPad is expected to receive a full makeover that will make it look like the older sibling of the iPad Mini. Leaked images of the new 9.7-inch iPad show that the tablet has been significantly trimmed down, with rounder edges and given a smaller screen bezel. Internally, the tablet is said to get the faster A7 processor that was released last month in the iPhone 5s.

Follow ABC News' New iPad Live Blog Here, Starting at 1 P.M. ET.

Rumors also suggest that the iPad may get the TouchID fingerprint sensor that's embedded into the iPhone 5s' home button.

Expected to join the larger iPad is a refreshed iPad Mini. Apple is likely to keep the design of the current Mini, but reports suggest it will be adding a high-resolution Retina 7.9-inch display. In the last few months, Amazon and Google have released similarly sized 7-inch tablets with higher resolution screens than Apple's current iPad Mini.

When it comes to the software, the new iPads will run Apple's iOS 7, which was released last month in conjunction with the iPhone. The new tablets are expected to go on sale a week or two after the announcement.

But Apple's new Mac products, which it is also expected to detail today, may go on sale before that. The company is expected to release new MacBook Pros with Retina Displays with new Intel Haswell processors – the same processors inside the new MacBook Airs. It is also anticipated to share details on the launch of the Mac Pro, the round desktop that Apple is currently assembling in the U.S.

Along with the hardware, the company will demonstrate its forthcoming OS X Mavericks operating system. Apple previewed the new software in June and showed off some new functionality, including the new Safari browser and the new Maps and iBooks apps. The operating system is expected to be available for download this week. Last year Apple released its current version of OS X, called Mountain Lion, for $20.

Of course, Apple also might have some surprises up its sleeve too. ABC News will be live at the event at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. You can follow our live blog below at that time. If you are on a mobile device you can view the liveblog here.

Stay tuned for our continuous coverage throughout the day.