Apple announcing something October 17, what will it be?

The invite has gone out, and now we just have to wait, as Apple’s regular end of year showcase is set to happen, but what will it be: a new iPad, a new Mac, or something else that has been long overdue for an update?

According to Apple, “it’s been way too long,” with the invite coming just a few weeks after its last products were launched, the all new iPhones, now available in the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus.

For this launch, we expect Apple to show off a new iPad, as it has customarily done in recent years, using the September or October extra end-of-year keynote to announce products like tablets.

As such, we’re expecting a new iPad to replace the iPad Air, a move that will likely give Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S and Sony’s Xperia Tablet Z2 and Z3 Compact something new to fight against, as well as a possible iPad designed for a larger market, specifically the 12 inch space.

In fact, the suggestion of a 12 inch iPad could be hinted at in the invite, with the word “long” mentioned a reference to both the longer iPad, and it being too long that iPad owners have asked for Apple to make something bigger.

The 12.2 inch Samsung Galaxy Note Pro.

These larger tablets are a part of the tablet world that is slowly gaining traction, with Samsung trying to gather interest thanks to its 12 inch Note Pro, and Microsoft of course has its own momentum with the 12 inch Surface Pro 3, which is more computer than pure content-consumption tablet, and is possibly an area we can see Apple diving into.

But new tablets might not be all there is on the way from Apple, and with the next version of Yosemite likely due to finish its beta period shortly, we could be seeing an official release slot for this operating system upgrade.

We could also see a few new computers with Intel’s next processor come to light, the chip from Intel’s fifth-generation known as “Broadwell.”

Intel has long suggested we’d see the chip released later this year, and it’s possible that Apple will have the scoop on every manufacturer, announcing a new iMac, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro with that processor ready to go.

We’ve heard a rumour previously that most Ultrabook-styled computers with the Intel Broadwell chips won’t see release until early next year, but we wouldn’t put it past Apple to find a way to get in ahead of every other company and land the chip as an exclusive ahead of time.

We could even see an update to the Mac Mini, which has been left out of the update cycle for a while now (“it’s been way too long” since its 2012 refresh), and could receive a bump in specs and a new design.

One thing we’re hopeful for again may relate to the invite.

There’s one product that hasn’t been updated for a while and has garnered more rumours than others, and also relates to the colour spectrum used in the Apple logo above: Apple TV.

Look a little deeper — probably too deep — and you could even take bunny ears from the crop of the logo Apple is using (we’ll admit this one is a little far-fetched).

With TVs now supporting 3D TV and Ultra HD media, the Apple TV is beginning to lag behind it what it can do, and the current incarnation has been rumoured for a refresh for a reasonable amount of time.

One possibility for a change has been the suggestion of a TV with the guts of an Apple system inside, while another idea has been a new incarnation of the Apple media solution, which now has to fight with Google’s Chromecast, among other platforms out there.

Given the invite’s design, we have to wonder if we’ll see an Apple TV at the event, since that could match what we’re seeing. Or maybe we’re being too hopeful.

In any case, we’ll let you know when we do, which will be October 16 in America, and October 17 our time. Stay tuned.