Apple held its annual September event this week as it unveiled the new iPhones that will become the must-buy devices over the next year. It also unveiled a new iPad and Apple Watch with nifty upgrades, delivering an eventful day.
But we wanted it to be even more eventful.
Though Apple talked about a lot of new products, it failed to announce many products or features we've been waiting for this entire year. It left us slightly disappointed as we resign ourselves to waiting until its next event or possibly even next year to see them announced.
Here are the 10 things Apple didn't announce at its iPhone event but we wish it had.
Major iPhone redesign
A major iPhone redesign was a long shot for the event and unsurprisingly it didn't arrive in 2019. Apple did throw in a new camera, new colors and sleek new matte finish on the new iPhones, but it didn't reduce the notch, make the bezels smaller, bring back Touch ID, or make the displays bigger (with a smaller device footprint).
Apple really is holding on to its three-year life cycle for its newer iPhone designs. The iPhone X design from 2017 will take us until 2020 where we should see the next major iPhone redesign we've been waiting for.
USB-C on the iPhone
Another long shot that we were hoping to see at the event was USB-C on the iPhone. However, the dream of one port for all devices eludes us for at least another year. The MacBook has it. The iPad (Pro) has it. At some point, it only makes sense for Apple to bring to the iPhone. The only question is when that'll happen.
Apple Pencil support
Leading up to the iPhone 11 announcement, one of the hot new rumors circling the devices was the addition of Apple Pencil support. Though it would have been quite handy, Apple did not bring the feature to the new iPhones. Whether it is holding off for another year or won't add it because it doesn't see the merit, for the time being, you still can't use the Apple Pencil on the iPhone.
Bilateral wireless charging
Apple excluding bilateral wireless charging from the iPhone 11 was a really big disappointment. It has been one of the major features rumored for the iPhone 11 models, but after running into charging efficiency of late, Apple opted to shelve the feature for now. Hopefully, it overcomes the issues and finds a way to include them into iPhones in 2020.
Always-on display on iPhone
An always-on display hasn't been linked to the iPhone, but after seeing Apple unveil the feature for the Apple Watch, it gave us hope it would implement something similar for the iPhone 11. It did not, but maybe it's something that Apple will add next year to the iPhone.
Apple Tags
One of the hot new Apple products in the rumor mill is Apple Tags, a Tile-like service that would make tracking your devices really convenient with Apple's Find My app. Unfortunately, it was noticeably absent from the keynote. Apple could unveil it at its fall event or might even delay it until next year. We're hoping for the former.
New 16-inch MacBook Pro
The major new Apple product set to come out this year is the completely redesigned 16-inch MacBook Pro. There was chatter that it could show up as soon as the September event, but alas, Apple seems to be holding on to this announcement until its fall event. We'll have to wait a little longer to see Apple's new notebook complete with a new design, bigger display and revamped keyboard.
Update on Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR
Apple dropped the mic with the announcement of the Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR at WWDC in June. It promised each would arrive in the fall, but failed to give us an update during the iPhone event. This could be another announcement Apple will hold on to until its fall event
Upgraded iPad Pro
Speaking of the fall event, that's when we're expecting to see the upgraded iPad Pro. Apple only focused on the new 10.2-inch entry level iPad during its iPhone event. The upgraded iPad Pro won't be anything too sexy, as it'll only see a spec bump among other minor changes, but we'll take them nonetheless.
Noise-cancelling AirPods
Apple already updated the AirPods earlier this year by introducing wireless charging, so it was unlikely it would roll out additional upgrades with the noise-cancelling technology that has been rumored. Even so, we were still holding out hope. Seeing as they weren't announced at the event, they likely won't show up until next year. We'll begrudgingly wait until then.
