Apple’s ‘Surprise and shine’ event is set for September 9, but the company already surprised us this week by launching new products in late August. Here’s why that rare move could signal big things coming at the September event.

If you follow Apple closely, you start to notice patterns in the company’s calendar year. New products typically launch around March, then June brings WWDC and software unveilings, followed by a big September event, and often some October launches too. While it’s not unusual to see smaller products debut via press releases throughout the rest of the year, one thing is exceptionally rare: a late August product launch. Over the past 10 years, Apple has only once launched new hardware in August. That lone product was the iMac in 2020—but it debuted early in the month on August 4.

Why don’t late August launches happen? Because having a September event right around the corner means new hardware would typically be held until then. In fact, the 2020 iMac isn’t even a fair example of defying this trend. Due to COVID, Apple pushed its iPhone event that year to October instead of September. And yet, despite a wealth of evidence that August product launches don’t ever happen, this week Apple surprised us by launching new Mac mini and Mac Studio models just two weeks before its September 9 event. We know this isn’t because Apple needed to get them in users’ hands sooner. How? Because the products don’t ship until September 22.

The most obvious reason Apple would launch these Macs early is that the ‘Surprise and shine’ event is already jam-packed with other products to unveil. Rumors indicate we should see at least five, and as many as nine or more new products launch on September 9. All-but-confirmed for the event are: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Ultra, Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4. There’s also a high likelihood of additional products, such as AirPods 5, new Apple TV 4K, HomePad, HomePod mini 2, and possibly HomePod 3 and a home security camera. These products would make September 9 one of the most packed Apple events in some time, explaining why Apple pulled forward the Mac mini and Mac Studio debuts into August.