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Next Apple Event Set for Oct. 30: Expect 'Scary Fast' Macs, But No iPads

Apple's web page for the event includes an Easter egg that reveals the Mac Finder icon.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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(Credit: Apple)

Get ready for another Apple event. After launching the iPhone 15 last month, the company has another presentation on tap, and the teaser suggests Cupertino will reveal new Macs.

Apple today sent out invitations for the event with the mysterious tagline “Scary fast.” It won't host the event at its Apple Park headquarters, however. Expect an online-only stream at Apple.com on Oct. 30 at 5pm PST — an unusually late time for an Apple product introduction. 

Apple’s web page for the event also contains an Easter egg. If you wait long enough, the Apple icon on the web page transforms into the Finder icon found on the company’s macOS interface. So the event should almost certainly introduce some cutting-edge Mac products. 

(Credit: Apple)

Bloomberg reports that a new 24-inch iMac and possibly refreshed MacBook Pros will be revealed during the event. There are also rumors that the products will arrive with a more powerful M3 chip, a few months after the company introduced the M2 Ultra for the Mac Pro.

Just don’t expect new iPads at the event. Earlier reports said that Apple was preparing to release refreshed iPads last week. But all we got was a new Apple Pencil featuring a USB-C port. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now says refreshed iPads won’t arrive until next year. 

Cupertino's decision to announce the event is also raising eyebrows. The company did so right as Qualcomm held its own event, introducing an upcoming Snapdragon X Elite chip. The new silicon promises to be the fastest laptop processor on the market once it arrives in the first notebooks mid-next year. Hence, Apple may have decided to try and steal some thunder from Qualcomm, which is aiming to power a wave of next-generation Arm-based laptops.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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