Apple has held an October event in three out of the past four years, but is an event this month still likely after today's surprise iPad mini

We marked October 22 on the calendar and canceled our appointments. We were almost certain that Apple would hold its second fall keynote on that day and unveil new Macs and iPads. But then, just when we were expecting an invitation, Cupertino sent us instead a press release with details of the 7th-gen iPad mini… and nothing else.

Up until today, the M2 Mac mini was the cheapest way to try Apple Intelligence, but it’s not portable and needs extra peripherals to use, which ramps up the price. Mac mini aside, the iPhone 16 was the next cheapest entry point into the world of Apple Intelligence, but that device starts at $799 / £799.