Skip to main content

Everything Apple didn’t announce at its ‘Scary Fast’ launch event

There’s no doubt that Apple had plenty to unveil at its “Scary Fast” event on October 30, with new devices galore revealed over the show’s duration. For what was an unexpected show, Apple managed to pack in an awful lot.

Despite that, plenty of rumored products never made the cut. That means they could still be in the works, or perhaps were simply dropped by Apple before release. Either way, we’ve rounded up everything that was rumored for the show but never made an appearance — read on to see what didn’t make it.

M3 MacBook Pro 13-inch

Fortnite running on a Macbook M1.
Digital Trends

While Apple did update the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, the 13-inch model has been left on the M2. In fact, it’s been killed altogether and replaced by an M3 14-inch MacBook Pro. That is despite the fact that it was rumored to get updated to the M3.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro had been using a chassis that was seven years old, which is astoundingly long for a piece of premium tech. It still had the Touch Bar, has thick bezels, and even an outdated chassis shape. We’ve dubbed it the worst MacBook that Apple still sells. Thankfully, it is no more. At least for now.

M3 MacBook Air

The MacBook Air on a table in front of a window.
Digital Trends

It’s been almost 18 months since the 13-inch MacBook Air was updated, and it’s starting to look a little long in the tooth. Yet that too went without changes at the “Scary Fast” show.

That’s likely down to the presence of the 15-inch MacBook Air, which complicates the picture somewhat. This laptop was only announced in June 2023, so an update a mere four months later would have been unthinkable. Presumably, Apple will next update both sizes of the MacBook Air at the same time, but for now, the 13-inch version has to wait.

27-inch iMac Pro

The back of a silver iMac in an office.
Digital Trends

There were whispers that another type of iMac would come under the spotlight at the “Scary Fast” show: the iMac Pro. Apple has long been rumored to be working on either a 27-inch or 32-inch iMac containing a more powerful chip than that found in the 24-inch iMac. Either those claims were simply wrong or Apple is still developing the device, because it was nowhere to be seen at the event.

Instead, Apple was happy to point potential buyers toward its refreshed M3 iMac, which the company was eager to compare to old Intel-based iMacs.

Other desktop Macs

A person sitting at a desk using a Mac mini.
Apple

That leaves us with three more products in Apple’s Mac range: the Mac mini, the Mac Studio, and the Mac Pro. All three were long shots going into the event, and that’s especially true of the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro, which were only updated in June 2023. In the end, it was no surprise when they failed to show up.

The Mac mini has gone a bit longer since an update, but not much: the latest version was unveiled in January 2023. It’s not updated particularly regularly, meaning another upgrade within the same year was unlikely to come to pass — and that’s how it proved on the day, with no Mac mini in sight.

Editors' Recommendations

Alex Blake
In ancient times, people like Alex would have been shunned for their nerdy ways and strange opinions on cheese. Today, he…
Apple just did something unprecedented with its new M3 chips
Logos for Apple's M3 chips.

Apple announced the M3 series of chips today but has switched up the rollout in a significant way. In previous years, the company started with the base configuration of the chip series, whether that's the M1 or the M2. The initial releases would build the foundation of what these chips could do on entry-level devices like the MacBook Air or Mac mini.

Intel rolls out its chips in a similar way, starting its annual refresh of laptop chips with its entry-level stuff first.

Read more
Apple may have great news for Mac gamers at its ‘Scary Fast’ event
How to play Fortnite on Mac

Apple’s “Scary Fast” event is just around the corner, and we already know Macs will be the focus. But a claim has just been made that Apple will dedicate much of the October 30 show to Mac gaming, which could be good news for anyone who enjoys playing games on Apple’s computers.

That’s the assertion made by MacRumors, and the news outlet puts forward several pieces of evidence to back up its ideas. In the end, it makes a lot of sense -- but there’s still no definitive proof.

Read more
Apple’s next Mac event promises ‘scary fast’ reveals
Man using a 24-inch M1 iMac.

Apple finally confirmed its next event for 5 p.m. PT on Monday, October 30, and it's where we expect the company to introduce new Macs. The event, which carries the tagline "Scary Fast," will be streamed on Apple's website and Apple TV, but that's just about all of the details we know about the event right now.

The teaser on Apple's website shifts between the Apple logo and the Finder logo, further suggesting Apple will be talking about new Macs. The announcement comes about a week after prominent Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that an upcoming refresh to Apple's 24-inch iMac had been delayed to 2024.

Read more