Is Apple’s upcoming M4 Mac event still happening? I’m skeptical

Over the past few weeks, the endless stream of M4 MacBook Pro leaks has been almost inescapable. We’ve seen photos, unboxing videos and reportedly even M4 laptops going on sale much earlier. But despite all this, there is one thing that has stopped me from fully believing that these leaks are legitimate – even though a well-known reporter claims they are authentic.

That’s because in all the leaks we’ve seen, the M4 MacBook Pro’s box featured the same black and gray wallpaper that Apple used for its M3 line of MacBook Pros. It’s something that’s been bugging me since I first noticed it. But what if the use of an old wallpaper isn’t proof that these leaks are fake, but is actually a hint about what Apple will do next?

The background image of everything

I know, I know. Examining wallpaper sounds like a small, insignificant detail. But for Apple nerds like me, it’s actually a lot more important than it first seems. I can’t think of any other time that Apple would have reused a wallpaper in this way. Every time the company releases a new MacBook Pro, it releases a new wallpaper. Seeing an old wallpaper on these supposedly new boxes was an immediate red flag to me – it suggested whoever leaked the devices was reusing M3 MacBook Pro boxes, and that threw the whole thing into doubt.

This important detail was difficult to reconcile with everything else in the leaks. They seemed so convincing, from the updated hardware to the slick software to the report that each machine came with a yet-unreleased M4 chip. These elements could be fake, but with some difficulties. They all seemed so convincing.

But in the last few days I’ve come to a realization: Maybe these details aren’t as contradictory as they might first seem. What if Apple’s reuse of a MacBook Pro wallpaper was actually an indication that the leaks are real – and that the company’s highly anticipated October event actually won’t happen? After all, reusing a wallpaper doesn’t feel so egregious when there isn’t an entire event dedicated to these new products.

Introducing the new computers via a press release will attract much less attention because fewer eyes will notice the familiar background image. It’s less bad if there’s no October event at all.

Breaking with conventions

In recent years, Apple has followed a somewhat predictable pattern: It hosts a glitzy iPhone launch event in September, followed by a Mac-centric show in the fall. Sure, it doesn’t happen like this every year, but it happens regularly enough that people have predicted the same thing will happen in 2024 too.

Nevertheless, doubts are increasingly emerging. When Apple announced the new iPad mini earlier this week, that device was removed from the event list. At the same time, Apple has also subtly tweaked the entry-level iPad – yes, that’s something else we’re unlikely to see at an October trade show.

That leaves only the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini on the October event list. The MacBook Pro leaks suggest that the device will only receive a minor update – a new chip, a few small hardware changes here and there – and that the iMac is expected to receive an even smaller upgrade. Only the Mac mini is due for a major design change, but is it enough to warrant a major event? I’m not so sure. And let’s not forget: the M4 itself was introduced to the world on the new iPad Pro earlier this spring.

And now let’s go back to that annoying MacBook Pro wallpaper. There’s no point in keeping the same wallpaper when Apple unveils the new laptops at a big event – they’ll have old wallpaper plastered all over them. That just looks wrong.

But what if there is no event at all? Well, then it seems far less important.

I’m still scratching my head

Of course, it’s still an unusual move from Apple to keep the same images for its new MacBook Pros. As I said, I don’t remember the company ever doing this before and it seems like a strange move. After all, how hard is it to create a new wallpaper? But with Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman saying his sources told him the leaks were real, we might just have to get used to it. This becomes easier when you consider that it could be a sign that there will be no event in October this year.

The new M4 MacBook Pro is expected to go on sale on November 1st. So if Apple holds an event in October, time is running out to announce the show. Perhaps the more likely possibility is that there won’t be an event at all – and that the MacBook Pro’s leaked wallpaper hinted at that idea all along.