The Apple September Event 2019 is over, as we saw launches for new Apple products such as the iPhone 11 Pro, Apple Watch 5 and iPad 7. But which rumoured devices missed out on a chance to share the stage with Tim Cook?
The absence of select speculated products surely means they were never in production in the first place, while other missing devices may still see the light of day – just at a later point.
We’ve rounded up every rumoured Apple product that didn’t make the showcase shortlist as we evaluate the likelihood of whether they will ever hit shelves in the future.
Related: iPhone 11
iPhone SE 2
The iPhone SE was a hugely popular smartphone when it launched back in 2016, offering a small 4-inch display which was a delight for those despairing about the number of huge smartphones on the market.
Speculation was rife that the iPhone SE success would lead to a direct sequel, with a new iPhone SE 2 smartphone assumed to be announced at the Apple September 2019 event. Sadly this wasn’t the case.
Apple released three new smartphones: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The smallest of those is the iPhone 11 Pro, which still has a whopper of a screen size at 5.8-inches.
With a no show for the iPhone SE 2 it’s becoming increasingly unlikely we’ll ever see it hit the market, although hope still lingers since a market for small smartphones still evidently exists.
Related: iPhone 11 Pro
Apple MacBook Pro 2019 (16-inch)
Reports also suggested that Apple would announce a new MacBook Pro 2019 with a slightly larger display than the current 15-inch model, but without drastically altering the size or footprint thanks to a slimmed-down bezel.
Not only would this new MacBook Pro see a 16-inch, 3072 x 1920 resolution display, but could potentially even see a CPU refresh with Intel’s new Ice Lake and Comet Lake mobile processors recently becoming available.
Unfortunately, the speculated 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro never featured, with Apple choosing to concentrate on smartphones, tablets and smartwatches instead.
This doesn’t necessarily mean a new MacBook Pro won’t be revealed before the end of the year though, especially since various reports are adamant the 16-inch Apple laptop exists.
New iPad Pro
Perhaps the biggest absence of Apple’s September showcase was the iPad Pro.
Apple dedicated a large segment of their presentation to tablets, unveiling the iPad 7 as well as new iPadOS software to enable improved multitasking features, so it was pretty bizarre not to see a refresh for Apple’s pro-level tablet.
The good news is the iPad Pro will support the iPadOS update which will become available on 30 September, so owners of the Pro will at least see an improvement in terms of software.
And since we did see a hardware refresh for iPad Pro just 12 months ago, we’re perhaps being a little greedy expecting another upgrade so soon after – the A12X processor is still one of the most powerful tablet chipsets currently available after all.
Related: iPad 7
Sleep tracking on Apple Watch 5
The Apple Watch 5 was one of the biggest reveals at Apple’s September 2019 Event, with a number of features listed for the wearable including Emergency Call functionality which can detect a serious heart anomaly and alert emergency services without being connected to an iPhone.
Related: Apple Watch 5 vs Apple Watch 4
The one feature that is still strangely missing on an Apple Watch is sleep tracking, despite many cheaper rival smartwatches offering it. The oddest thing here is previous Apple Watch devices (including the new Apple Watch 5) possess the required hardware for sleep tracking, packing an accelerometer, gyroscope and heart-rate sensor.
While it is true you can activate sleep tracking on an Apple Watch via a third-party app called SleepWatch, there’s yet to be any native offering from Apple. Many speculated the feature would finally arrive on the new Apple Watch 5, but it was never mentioned during the launch event, leading us to believe you’ll once again have to resort to secondary apps to monitor your sleep.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
