Apple to hold "Scary fast" event October 30th; will we see updated iPads surface?

Apple will indeed hold one more event before the calendar year comes to an end and since it will be held on October 30th, the day before Halloween, Apple is calling this the "Scary fast" event. While this would seem to be a reference to M3-powered Macs replacing the current M2-equipped lineup, those machines aren't expected to be released until next year. Also not expected until the first quarter of 2024 are three updated iPad models.

This might be a longshot, especially since Bloomberg's Mark Gurman just wrote in his weekly newsletter on Sunday that the next upgraded iPads will surface next March, but if Apple does include iPad models with the "Scary fast" event, we could see a refreshed 11th-generation basic iPad, an M2-powered iPad Air, and a new iPad mini with the 4nm A16 Bionic under the hood. Gurman said that the specs for all three tablets would be hiked when we see them announced by Apple.

However, it would seem that Apple's focus with this event is the Mac. The invitation includes an animation turning the iconic Apple apple logo into the macOS Finder app's "Face" icon. A week ago last Sunday, a rumor came out of nowhere suggesting that the trio of iPad models we just mentioned would be introduced along with a new Apple Pencil on October 17th. The third-generation Apple Pencil with support for USB-C charging was all that Apple introduced that day.

It is interesting that a new event has been announced so close to that rumor which gives those waiting to purchase one of the three aforementioned iPads a little hope that they might be included in this upcoming event. The OLED-screened iPad Pro premium tablets are expected to greet the light of day during a separate event next year. And as you might know, there is a crazy rumor floating around suggesting that Apple will be using LCD backlit screens on both the 11-inch and 13-inch models.

To add some suspense to the event, TF International's well-known and reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has just changed his forecast about the MacBook Pro. In a tweet, Kuo writes, "I believe M3 series MacBook Pro will be October 30th media event's focus."

The "Scary fast" event will take place much later in the day than the typical Apple event as it is scheduled to start at 5 pm PDT which is 8 pm EDT.