Apple iPad 5, Retina iPad Mini, MacBook Pro Release Dates Pegged For Late October, Mac Pro Expected By Mid-November

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced on Tuesday that it will be holding a special media event on Tuesday, Oct. 22 where it is expected to unveil its next-generation iPads -- the iPad 5 and the second generation iPad mini with retina display.

While the company did not reveal the actual release dates for the new products, a new report suggested that both new versions of the iPad, and the updated MacBook Pro and Mac Pro would be released by mid-November. According to MacG.co, a French website, Apple will release the iPad 5 and the retina iPad mini on either Oct. 30 or Oct. 31. The report did not clarify whether that would be the date pre-orders would begin or if customers would get their hands on the new iPads on that day.

However, this projected availability date for the new iPads sounds less likely as Apple typically releases new iOS products on the next Friday after a product launch. Last year, for instance, the iPad 4 and the iPad mini were announced on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and were launched on Friday, Nov. 2.

If Apple sticks to its traditional release schedule for the new iOS devices, it appears more likely that the iPad 5 and the iPad mini 2 with retina display will be launched on Friday, Nov. 1 -- 10 days after the announcement.

As for the new line of MacBook Pros, the MacG.co report said that Apple would launch both the 13-inch and 15-inch versions of the MacBook Pros on either Oct. 24 or Oct. 25. According to reports, the new notebooks will be powered by Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) latest-generation Haswell processor, which is expected to offer significant savings in power consumption and improved battery life. The new laptops are also rumored to feature faster PCI Express-based flash storage and improved 802.11ac "Gigabit" Wi-Fi.

For Apple’s redesigned Mac Pro, the new desktop that the company previewed at WWDC in June, the projected release date is set for Nov. 15. According to MacRumors, the mid-November availability of the Mac Pro seems plausible because Apple earlier announced a fall 2013 release for the device. Moreover, the expected launch date comes two weeks before “Black Friday” across the U.S.

The revamped Mac Pro features a cylindrical design, and is powered by Ivy Bridge E Xeon processors. The device will also incorporate dual AMD FirePro graphics chips and fast PCI Express-based flash storage among other enhanced internal specs.