Apple has an event scheduled for Thursday, but don't expect to see the company debut a new MacBook Air with Retina display.

Apple has an event scheduled for 16 October in Cupertino, where it is widely thought to show off a number of revamped products. Although it unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus just last month at both the Flint Center and a separate white building the company built specifically for the event, Apple's October event is being held at a much smaller venue on its campus and will focus on old products with new spec bumps.

In fact, Apple's event invite teased "It's been too long", possibly signifying that it's been too long since Apple last updated a product or even several products. It was rumoured that the MacBook Air would appear, for instance, equipped with a shiny new Retina display, marking the first time Retina displays expanded beyond mobile devices and MacBook Pros. But now it appears like that's not happening, or at least not on Friday.

Recode has reported that Apple may have a new MacBook Air with Retina display in the works, but it won’t be shown off at the 16 October event. The company will instead debut new iPads, a new iMac with Retina display, and OS X Yosemite. This news aligns with recent references in OS X Yosemite betas, which indicated Apple was developing a new line of iMacs with ultra high-resolution Retina displays.

Apple introduced the Retina display with iPhone 4 in 2010 and then added it to MacBook Pros in 2012. Apart from a Retina display upgrade, Apple has reportedly kept the iMac's thin profile but included new internal hardware like improved Wi-Fi antennas. The iMac with Retina display, which will reportedly come with a "5K" resolution of 5120 x 2880, could also feature AMD graphics and a Haswell processor.

Keep in mind Apple also recently hired designer Marc Newson. He worked with Jony Ive, head of design at Apple, on a special edition red Mac Pro that sold for $977,000 at a Sotheby's auction for Bono's Red charity. It's therefore conceivable to imagine Newson might have been brought on board to help jazz up Apple products that haven't been majorly redesigned in recent years such as the iMac and MacBook Air.

Stay tuned for more official news later this week. Pocket-lint will report live from the event floor on all the latest and breaking stuff.