4 Things We Didn’t See During Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ Event
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Apple’s “Scary Fast” event was held Monday night, and the event turned out to be “scary short,” with a running time of only 30 minutes or so. While Apple debuted new M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips, as well as M3-powered MacBook Pros and iMacs, there were a few pre-show rumors that didn’t pan out.
No USB-C Versions of the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, or Magic Trackpad
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had expected to see USB-C versions of the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad for the Mac. However, the accessories provided with the new M3 iMac lineup still sport Lightning connectors.
Apple’s hanging on to the Lightning accessories is a bit odd, considering how many Apple devices and accessories have made the transition to USB-C. Apple’s entire iPhone 15 lineup, as well as all recent iPad models now boast USB-C ports. Meanwhile, the Siri Remote for Apple TV, second-generation AirPods Pro, and the new Apple Pencil are now USB-C equipped.
Other than the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad that are in the box with the iMac, the only Apple devices still on shelves that sport a Lightning port are the older iPhone models Apple still sells — the iPhone 13, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone SE — standard AirPods, and AirPods Max.
However, Apple has made available a new $49 Space Black USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable to match its new Space Black M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBook Pro models. While there is already a color-matched cable in the box with the new MacBook Pro models, some users will want a spare, so why not have one in a matching color, right?
A New iPad mini
While there had been rumors of a possible new iPad mini making an appearance at Monday’s event, no new iPads were unveiled.
Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had both said there wouldn’t be any new iPads at the event, as they don’t see any new iPads making a debut until March 2024 or later. However, a last-minute Chinese regulatory filing for a new iPad mini battery raised a faint hope that Apple may have had a surprise in store.
iMac Pro
While we’ve seen rumors of a new Apple Silicon-powered iMac Pro over the past few years, none were unveiled on Monday alongside the new 24-inch M3 iMac.
In October, Mark Gurman wrote that Apple has plans to release an iMac Pro with a 32-inch mini-LED display by late 2024 or early 2025. Gurman did not specify which chip would power the new iMac Pro, leaving folks to speculate whether the new iMac Pro would be powered by the M3 Pro, M3 Max, or even a yet-to-be-unveiled “M3 Ultra” chip. However, if the iMac Pro doesn’t hit shelves until 2025, it’s likely a new M4 series of chips will have shown up by then.
MacBook Air or Mac Mini
Let’s be honest, no one really expected new MacBook Air or Mac mini models to be unveiled during Monday’s event. However, we do eventually expect to see new M3-powered MacBook Air and Mac mini lineups sometime in the near future.
Gurman has previously said Apple will likely release updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models powered by standard M3 chips sometime in the first half of 2024. He has also mentioned that a new Mac mini is on the way, but he hasn’t specified an expected timeframe.
