There were more tricks than treats at Apple’s Scary Mac event

You ever wonder why we have Apple rumors instead of just casting bones?

Well, for starters, bones are not vegan, so we’d be leaving a lot of people out of the process if we used bones. In terms of accuracy, however, it often doesn’t seem like we’d be missing anything.

Apple held an event last night in which it announced M3-based iMacs and MacBook Pros, finally updating its somewhat languishing signature desktop Mac and bringing even more power to its already powerful laptops.

The funny thing about this, however, is that just a few weeks ago, the rumor mill had written off the possibility of Apple shipping any more new Macs this year. Back in September, both DigiTimes and Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple would not release M3-based MacBooks until next year.

It’s not the only rumor miss to happen recently. Not by a long shot.

Just days ago Mark Gurman suggested Apple would ship new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad accessories with USB-C connectors with yesterday’s M3-based Macs. That didn’t happen. (It does seem a little odd that it didn’t happen, but it didn’t happen.) It was expected by some that Apple would ship a new iPad Air this month. That didn’t happen either.

The Macalope could go on. In fact, he might a little. He’s got time. There were also those images of color-matched USB-C cables. Where did those come from? There was a rumor that the Apple Watch Ultra would ship in dark titanium. And the one about the iPhone 15 Pro Max being renamed the iPhone 15 Ultra.

All this is to say nothing of Scarecrow’s brain.

We don’t get to pick the kind of rumors that are promulgated but it seems to the Macalope that the most valuable kind of rumor is one that accurately predicts when a new device will be introduced. These rumors help you make buying decisions and can help you prevent making a mistake.

Like, say, buying a Power Mac just days before it got speed-bumped. Or spending more than you needed to on a titanium PowerBook two weeks before the white iBooks were unveiled.

Not that the Macalope knows anyone who did those two weirdly specific things.

Cough.

(Apple did give the Macalope a refund for the price difference on the Power Mac. If that was even him at all.)

Conversely, the worst kind of rumor is one that incorrectly says a product is not coming, only to have it show up a few weeks later. One out of five stars. Would not read again. Would give zero stars if possible.

DigiTimes seems to be extremely hit-and-miss but ironically Kuo is one of the good rumor-mongers. He’s quite often right!

So why do we bother with Apple rumors?

Well, Apple rumors are just fun. As long as you don’t take them too seriously. This horned observer was raised on the rumors of the late 1990s. When you try to tell kids today that there were once sites claiming Apple was developing crank-powered laptops, they won’t believe you (actual rumor from a long-defunct website, and not this one).

They’ll also tell you to stop hanging around the teen rec center, the weird old guy who only wants to talk about Apple rumors. Very rude.

While you have your fun, you can also often glean some usable information from Apple rumors, but very much caveat lector.