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What Not to Expect at Apple's 'Scary Fast' October 30 Event

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Apple's upcoming "Scary Fast" event takes place on October 30 (or 31, depending where you are) when it is expected to unveil new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, and a new 24-inch iMac. It may also make some additional new products available, but there are a handful of rumored upcoming devices that we don't expect to make an appearance this month.

scary-fast-what-not-to-expect.jpg

To help set expectations ahead of Apple's October event, we've compiled a list of products that Apple is unlikely to announce during "Scary Fast," but rather next year and beyond.
M3 13-inch MacBook Pro

Apple is developing new Macs powered by the company's next-generation M3 chip, which is built on chipmaking partner TSMC's 3nm process, resulting in significant performance and power efficiency improvements over the 5nm-based M2 chip that Apple's most recent Mac models are based on.

13-inch-macbook-pro-2022-banner.jpeg

According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple has M3-based versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models ready to go, but a new version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro featuring the M3 chip is looking increasingly less likely to appear alongside them at Apple's "Scary Fast" event.

As recently as last week, Gurman said that supplies of the 13-inch MacBook Pro were running low, indicating that it could be replaced at the end of the month. But he now says that the new machine likely won't appear at Apple's upcoming event.

"While the company has been working on a low-end MacBook Pro codenamed J504 with a base version of the M3 chip, that machine likely won't appear Monday," Gurman reported for Bloomberg on Friday.
M3 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air

Apple has not updated the smaller 13-inch MacBook Air so far this year. The current M2-powered model was originally announced in June 2022, so it was hoped that there would be a refresh soon. Indeed, in June 2023, Gurman claimed the 13-inch MacBook Air could be one of the first beneficiaries of Apple's new M3 chip.

13inch-macbook-air-purple.jpg

However, more recently he has said that a 13-inch MacBook Air with the M3 chip has only just reached engineering verification testing (EVT), an earlier production testing phase on prototype devices. Gurman says this puts the next-generation 13-inch MacBook Air on schedule for launch between the spring and summer of next year at the earliest.

Apple launched the 15-inch MacBook Air in June this year, and so it is not expected to be amongst the first generation of M3-powered Macs.
Mac Pro, Mac Studio, Mac Mini

Likewise, Apple this year has already updated the Mac Pro and Mac Studio. These updates were also released in June 2023, so there is little chance that they will be superseded by newer models before 2024. Gurman maintains that Apple will not refresh the MacBook Air models, Mac Studio, or Mac Pro at this time.

As for the Mac mini, Apple updated the machine with M2 chips in January 2023, while M3-powered models are not expected to emerge until late 2024 at the earliest, according to Gurman.
New iPads

Apple sometimes releases new iPads towards the end of the year, but there is increasing skepticism about that happening in 2023.

Apple is widely believed to be working on new M3-powered iPad Pro models with OLED displays and a redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory, but these devices are not expected to debut until the spring or early summer of 2024.

iPad-mini-AND-Air-Feature.jpg

The same goes for the iPad mini, which was last updated in September 2021. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in January said the next model would likely enter mass production in the first quarter of 2024. At the time, he also said there may be no new iPad releases in the following 9-12 months, and he has since doubled down on this prediction.

According to Gurman, Apple is also developing a new iPad Air with improved specs, but he no longer believes it will arrive this year. Apple last updated the iPad Air in March 2022.

10th-Gen-iPad-Feature-Fanned-Pink.jpg

Apple is also working on an 11th-generation entry-level iPad. The 10th-generation iPad was released in October 2022, and Apple has updated the entry-level iPad on an annual basis since 2017, but there are no rumors suggesting it will debut in 2023.

The Mac focus of Apple's "Scary Fast" event doesn't completely rule out new iPads from Apple this year, as Apple could conceivably choose to release new models in November via press release instead, like it did in January 2023 for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro and the second-generation HomePod. But neither Kuo nor Gurman believe that any iPads are going to arrive before spring 2024 at the earliest.
iPhone SE 4

Rumors regarding Apple's plans for the next-generation iPhone SE have been mixed at best, with a lot of back and forth on when and indeed if we'll see a fourth-generation iPhone SE.


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Article Link: What Not to Expect at Apple's 'Scary Fast' October 30 Event
 
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How about the Apple displays? I assume no update on them as well? I'm hoping for an updated Pro Display XDR or an updated Studio display before the M3 Studio gets released next year (June?). Either this or an iMac Pro 32".
 
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iSandrotto said:
How about the Apple displays? I assume no update on them as well? I'm hoping for an updated Pro Display XDR or an updated Studio display before the M3 Studio gets released next year (June?). Either this or an iMac Pro 32".
Click to expand...
Let’s manifest updated Pro Display XDR for next week!
It’s weird that shipping times have slipped for some weeks, now to Dec for this and the Pro Stand. While the cheaper Studio Display stays immediately available.
Doesn’t add up. Cannot imagine people order the XDR and stand this crazy that Apple needs over a month to produce new ones.
 
I remember back in the day when MacRumors did actual digging and journalism, now it’s just an RSS feed for two dudes that are right 50% of the time. You might as well have named the article “Here’s what these knuckleheads think is gonna happen after being proven wrong like a week ago”
 
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A week+ ago, there were "no new Macs in 2023" and "no events for the rest of 2023" taken as gospel. Now, an event is confirmed and multiple Macs are incoming fast.

If it goes as currently projected, Apple is going to roll out some M3 Macs and all of the "gee whiz" hubbub that comes with "latest & greatest" tech... which will immediately make the REST of the Macs still on M2 get viewed as "old technology... so WAIT." Assuming this is about maximizing revenue in the most lucrative quarter of the year, does this make beancounter sense? If I'm interested in any other Mac not upgraded, this let's me know the one I want is now on the clock for an M3 upgrade and keeps the money in my pocket while I wait for it.

M3 then gets all the press that comes with a generational upgrade with especially big buzz the next few weeks as we gush & praise all of the advances therein. Eventually that buzz fades down to "normal" as- apparently- only ULTRA will still be in the pipeline and it can be generally estimated out in full if we have half of it announced in a few days.

3-5 months from now the "Wonder Product" 6+ years in the making is finally debuted for sale... currently known to be rolling out with "old technology" M2 after- apparently- months of M3 Hype by its launch date. Does that make any sense? Yes, I get how M2 can be "good enough" for what Vpro can do but we know how many will view M2 in a new product months from now. It will get bashed even if it is perfectly capable for all Vpro functionality. See how many of us are already bashing "old M1" now that we are on the cusp of M3.

If M3 next week, does Vpro get upgraded to M3 too simply to suppress that line of bash? Or does it show up late to the party with what some/many will cast "old 5nm tech" in an "insanely expensive" product?

If we take off our consumer lenses and look through the beancounters one, so much of this is shaky in the most lucrative quarter of the year. They must believe that a surge in iMac and MBpro orders will overcome the falloff in the rest of the Macs... several of which are the most popular Macs AND most affordable Macs, ideal for holiday gifts. 🤪
 
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Or put another way, it’s an iMac only event with a chance MBP 14/16 will see a refresh even though already refreshed this year. While Gruber doesn’t expect MBP, certainly hoping they do come and they lean into the Halloween/night timing with a black model.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
A week+ ago, there were "no new Macs in 2023" and "no events for the rest of 2023" taken as gospel. Now, an event is confirmed and multiple Macs are incoming fast.

If it goes as currently projected, Apple is going to roll out some M3 Macs and all of the "gee whiz" hubbub that comes with "latest & greatest" tech... which will immediately make the REST of the Macs still on M2 get viewed as "old technology... so WAIT." Assuming this is about maximizing revenue in the most lucrative quarter of the year, does this make beancounter sense? If I'm interested in any other Mac not upgraded, this let's me know the one I want is now on the clock for an M3 upgrade and keeps the money in my pocket while I wait for it.

M3 then gets all the press that comes with a generational upgrade with especially big buzz the next few weeks as we gush & praise all of the advances therein. Eventually that buzz fades down to "normal" as- apparently- only ULTRA will still be in the pipeline and it can be generally estimated out in full if we have half of it announced in a few days.

3-5 months from now the "Wonder Product" 6+ years in the making is finally debuted for sale... currently known to be rolling out with "old technology" M2 after- apparently- months of M3 Hype by its launch date. Does that make any sense? Yes, I get how M2 can be "good enough" for what Vpro can do but we know how many will view M2 in a new product months from now. It will get bashed even if it is perfectly capable for all Vpro functionality. See how many of us are already bashing "old M1" now that we are on the cusp of M3.

If M3 next week, does Vpro get upgraded to M3 too simply to suppress that line of bash? Or does it show up late to the party with what some/many will cast "old 5nm tech" in an "insanely expensive" product?

If we take off our consumer lenses and look through the beancounters one, so much of this is shaky in the most lucrative quarter of the year. They must believe that a surge in iMac and MBpro orders will overcome the falloff in the rest of the Macs... several of which are the most popular Macs AND most affordable Macs, ideal for holiday gifts. 🤪
Click to expand...

I'm betting Apple has good data on what models are bought when, and if I had to guess I suspect the Airs sell best in the summer months, as they're bought for Back to School purchases, so them being 'behind' for the holidays may not be much of a big deal.

iMac screams holiday purchase to me, so it makes sense to do it now to get them in the stores in time.

And MBPs are kinda 'whenever' a bit, but it's worth remembering that the M2 Pros were supposed to roll out late last year and were delayed to January - the press releases were even dated for November 2022, IIRC. Could be Apple wants to establish a November 20xx release for new big Pros going forward. They've been doing that for a bit - the 16" Intel model was November 2019, the first M1 13" models were November 2020, M1 Pro/Max 14/16 in November 2021...
 
iMac makes sense to me too... but the working concept of M2 and maybe M2 pro would scratch that itch just as solidly without making the rest of the Macs seem "old tech." That was- in fact- an expectation up until "no new Macs for the rest of the 2024." And if that, the marketing message is "now ALL of our Macs are using our latest & greatest technology: BUY NOW!" as opposed to flipping that into "only these Macs are using our latest & greatest technology: buy THESE now!"

Of course, I understand that some pool of buyers won't care or even be away of M2 vs. M3, so those sales will still come. However, some segment will be tuned in enough to know... and, presumably, defer their purchase until the Mac they want goes M3.

And if MBpros (with PRO & MAX) are going to get on annual schedules, then base M3 is likely to get on annual schedules too... and possibly ULTRA too. Since these are basically juicier iPhone chips, that can make sense... and if so, bring it on AFAIC... but again, if I'm beancounters at Apple, I'm not so sure I want to makes most Macs appear "old tech" in this, biggest-revenue quarter... UNLESS I really have faith that iMac and MBpros will make up the difference for Mac purchases that will get deferred awaiting M3 too.
 
Canubis said:
Let’s manifest updated Pro Display XDR for next week!
It’s weird that shipping times have slipped for some weeks, now to Dec for this and the Pro Stand. While the cheaper Studio Display stays immediately available.
Doesn’t add up. Cannot imagine people order the XDR and stand this crazy that Apple needs over a month to produce new ones.
Click to expand...

I've been observing the delivery times for the Pro Display XDR over the past couple of weeks and it's been always around 4-5 weeks. So I don't know if the somewhat longer delivery time is saying anything right now.

I don't think they will announce any new display on Monday. I think they will be introduced together with a Mac Pro or Studio update in 2024 (if at all). By then, Thunderbolt 5 should be available which is a necessity for a 5k/6k at 120Hz.

What I am looking forward though is if the MacbookPros will have Thunderbolt 5 connectivity or not. This might tell us if Apple has plans to introduce new displays soon that those machines could connect with.

Of course, I'd be more than happy to be wrong. :cool:
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
iMac makes sense to me too... but the working concept of M2 and maybe M2 pro would scratch that itch just as solidly without making the rest of the Macs seem "old tech." That was- in fact- an expectation up until "no new Macs for the rest of the 2024." And if that, the marketing message is "now ALL of our Macs are using our latest & greatest technology: BUY NOW!" as opposed to flipping that into "only these Macs are using our latest & greatest technology: buy THESE now!"

Of course, I understand that some pool of buyers won't care or even be away of M2 vs. M3, so those sales will still come. However, some segment will be tuned in enough to know... and, presumably, defer their purchase until the Mac they want goes M3.

And if MBpros (with PRO & MAX) are going to get on annual schedules, then base M3 is likely to get on annual schedules too... and possibly ULTRA too. Since these are basically juicier iPhone chips, that can make sense... and if so, bring it on AFAIC... but again, if I'm beancounters at Apple, I'm not so sure I want to makes most Macs appear "old tech" in this, biggest-revenue quarter... UNLESS I really have faith that iMac and MBpros will make up the difference for Mac purchases that will get deferred awaiting M3 too.
Click to expand...

The other factor may be fab costs. If M3 is on 3nm, the current fail rate and prices may mean the Pros have the margins to absorb the higher prices, and the cheaper laptops simply don't, so base M3 may have to wait until yields improve next year.
 
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