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This highly rumored product was a no-show at Apple’s iPhone 11 launch event

Alex Blake
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The 16-inch MacBook Pro failed to make an appearance at Apple’s iPhone 11 launch event, despite long-running rumors that it was about to be unveiled. In a show packed with one new announcement after another, including the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, it seems there was no room for the much-anticipated MacBook Pro.

The news will come as a disappointment to those who were looking forward to seeing a new MacBook Pro from Apple, but shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. That’s because Apple’s September events are usually reserved for everything but Macs — the combined stage time taken up by iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Apple TVs usually means there’s simply no time for the Mac.

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Instead, Apple usually hosts a Mac-oriented event around the end of October. For example, the company unveiled the new MacBook Air and Mac mini on October 30 of last year, while October 27, 2016, saw the newly redesigned MacBook Pro make its first appearance.

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What does that mean for those waiting for the 16-inch MacBook Pro? In short, there’s still hope. At least one outlet has previously predicted an October launch for the device: In July 2019, Taiwan’s Economic Daily News cited supply chain sources to place the device’s launch date in October 2019 (via MacRumors).

Still need more proof? The newest version of MacOS, Catalina, is now set to launch in October. We don’t know if that will line up with a press event or not, but it at least means Catalina will be up and ready in time for Apple to show off its new hardware.

A few new Macs have already seen the light of day so far in 2019. The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro were tweaked in May and July, while WWDC in June revealed the Mac Pro to the world. But the MacBook has not seen any stage time at all this year, and it’s not since 2011 that Apple has gone a whole year without demoing new MacBooks on-stage.

That suggests to us that a Mac-centered event is a sure bet for October, which also means the 16-inch MacBook Pro may still be on the cards for it. It’s been three years since Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro, so it’s about the right time for a new design to make its debut.

A number of new features are rumored for the 16-inch MacBook Pro, including an edge-to-edge display and a totally redesigned “scissor switch” keyboard to replace the butterfly variant currently residing in Apple’s MacBook Pro devices. The butterfly keyboard has been plagued with issues since it launched in 2015’s 12-inch MacBook, so a new keyboard design could bring some relief to MacBook users’ long-suffering fingers.

Updated on September 10 with news about the new launch window for MacOS Catalina.

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Alex Blake
Alex Blake
Computing Writer
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