Apple is going to hold an event this week at it's Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, California to unveil two new iPads and perhaps some new Mac hardware. While many are understandably excited for an update to Apple's tablet lineup, the prospect of new Mac hardware being announced is equally exciting because it means the launch of OSX Yosemite is very close--perhaps even imminent. 

But when will the new OS launch? If we look at the developer releases of OS X Yosemite betas, then there's really nothing holding Apple back from launching the new OS now. The gold master beta has already been released to developers, a sign that in years past has always meant the public release was soon to follow. 

Ok. Soon is good, but it doesn't get us any closer to a date, right? Not necessarily. Some are reporting that OS X Yosemite might be available immediately following Apple's keynote this Thursday. Is that specific enough for you? The invitations for Thursday's event went out last week, and many are expecting the iPads to be the focus, but that doesn't mean Apple won't be making other big announcements this week. 

Apple's tagline on the press invitation for the event is: "It's been way too long." And while no one knows for sure what they're referring to, we can certainly speculate that OS X Yosemite is a big part of the wait. 

But just to temper expectations a bit, there are also rumors suggesting that Oct. 21 will be the day Yosemite is released to the public. So it's still anyone's guess at this point. 

Apple released its original developer beta of OS X Yosemite back in June of this year, and a public beta was freely available to the first 1 million users who registered on Apple's website. Developer betas are released to give programmers a head start on updating and programs for the new OS, and while the beta was also made available to members of the public, it is not a finished product intended to replace the current version of OSX. 

Another indicator that OS X Yosmite might launch this week is that the iOS 8.1 update appears to be almost finalized. iOS 8 & 8.1 have several features that work exclusively with OS Yosemite, so delaying the launch beyond that of iOS 8.1 just doesn't make sense.