Apple's event lands today, with a touchscreen MacBook tipped to steal it

Apple's curtains go up at 1PM ET / 10AM PT on October 28th for its self-described 'Pro and tell' event. The likeliest scene-stealer, according to The Verge, is a MacBook with a touchscreen — something Apple has never shipped before. If it shows, it lands as yet another first in a year already stuffed with them.

Apple spent the run-up tidying the stage. It rolled out an updated iPad Mini with a bigger OLED display on Monday, then refreshed the iMac and the entry-level MacBook Pro with M6 chips on Tuesday. Both are expected to make an appearance on Wednesday, but getting them out early means nothing is left crowding the spotlight if the touchscreen MacBook takes it.

The timing slots into a rapid-fire stretch for Apple. The HomeView, its first smart display, debuted just a couple of weeks ago, and the iPhone Duo, its first foldable, arrived a little over a month before that. Now the company may be lining up hardware firsts in two product categories back to back.

It also keeps a streak alive under John Ternus, who took over as Apple CEO on September 1st. Since then the company has pushed out the iPhone 18 Pro, new Apple Watches, the AirPods 5 and the HomePod Mini 2. That's a heavy release cadence for a CEO barely two months into the job.

Everything hinges on what Apple actually puts on stage Wednesday afternoon. A touchscreen MacBook is the rumor driving the chatter — The Verge notes the event *could* feature it, not that it will. Either way, the early iPad Mini, iMac and MacBook Pro drops mean the biggest swing of the day is still unannounced.