Apple has reportedly informed service providers that it has some sort of “AppleCare-related changes” planned for next Tuesday, December 8. It’s not explicitly clear what this could mean, but history suggests it could relate to some sort of new hardware announcement — or nothing at all.
MacRumors has obtained an internal memo from a “reliable source” detailing that service provider technicians should “prepare for new product SKUs, new/updated product descriptions, and new/updated product pricing.” The memo says the changes are planned for Tuesday, December 8 at approximately 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time.
According to the report, Apple has issued “nearly identical memos” to service providers ahead of previous product announcements. For example, Apple sent a memo telling technicians to prepare for similar changes on October 13 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, which is when Apple held its iPhone 12 event.
The report speculates:
While it is unlikely that Apple will be hosting another event this year, 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time has been a common time for Apple to issue press releases introducing new products, such as a new 13-inch MacBook Pro in May 2020, the 16-inch MacBook Pro in November 2019, and second-generation AirPods in March 2019.
Given that AppleCare changes are expected, it is likely that any product(s) announced next Tuesday would have AppleCare+ coverage available, so we could be looking at new hardware.
There are several Apple products still rumored to be in the pipeline, including AirPods Studio, AirTags, and a new Apple TV. All of these products could theoretically be announced via a press release next Tuesday. Furthermore, reliable Twitter leaker L0vetodream has suggested that Apple has a “Christmas surprise” still to come this year.
9to5Mac recently found more evidence of AirPods Studio and AirTags in a recent iOS 14.3 beta release. In fact, iOS 14.3 includes support for the AirTag trackers as well as third-party tracking accessories.
But there’s no guarantee that this memo relates to a hardware announcement at all. It could be that Apple is simply planning some minor AppleCare changes, a new accessory of some sort, or something completely unrelated that actually isn’t even made public.
It’ll be interesting to see what, if anything, comes out of this rumor. Do you have any guesses? Let us know down in the comments!
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