There are rumors that Apple will unveil new iPhones, iPads, and Macs during its first event of the year on Tuesday.
Apple Park, the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, will host the launch event, as it has for all of the company’s launch events since 2020.
However, the launch of new iPhone models in September and October is more crucial to Apple than its spring announcements. Apple’s fall iPhones are more expensive and profitable. A similar spring launch last year saw Apple unveil a new iPad Pro, an updated iMac desktop computer, and AirTags, which were all unveiled at the same day.
As expected by analysts and the media, Apple is holding a spring launch event on Tuesday.
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A low-cost iPhone
According to Bloomberg News, Apple will upgrade the iPhone SE to include 5G capability, a faster processor, and a better camera. For investors, the most critical concern revolves around whether Apple will keep the current $399 iPhone SE’s price, or if it refreshes it and continues to sell the 2020 model at a lower price than the current $399 iPhone SE. In the face of low-cost Android phones that sell for less than $399, this could help Apple grow its market share.
There is “pent up demand” for the new iPhone SE around the world, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a note on Monday.
iPad Air
iPad Pro were updated in the spring and the Mini and standard iPads were refreshed last fall.
That leaves the $599 iPad Air, the iPad’s middle child, as the most likely choice for an upgrade. There is a fingerprint sensor embedded into the power button of the current model.
Ming Chi-Kuo, an analyst at TF Securities, said that Apple would unveil a new iPad Air with the same basic design this spring by adding Apple’s most recent mobile processor, optional 5G capability, and enhanced cameras.
This week’s Apple presentation is dubbed “peek performance,” which suggests that at least one new product will have a substantial amount of speed or horsepower. So it’s possible that we’ll see new Macs in the future.
A new generation of CPUs named M1 has been introduced by Apple to run on its laptops and desktops, rather than Intel processors. It was last year that Apple debuted iMacs and MacBook Pros using its CPUs. Apple is expected to deliver a single MacBook Pro model in late 2020.
Even though Apple hasn’t revealed the M1 chip family’s successor just yet, many of these devices are starting to reach the point where they qualify for a refresh. A 27-inch iMac with Apple’s CPUs and an Apple-branded display is also on the wish list of many Apple devotees.
In addition to the new external display, 9to5Mac reported last week that Apple is also working on a new model with a fast processor that could be called the Mac Studio. However, WWDC, Apple’s developer conference held each June, may be a better venue for the introduction of high-end professional Macs.
iOS 15.4
Apple will also likely announce a release date for its next major software update for iPhones and iPads at the event.
Apple has been testing iOS 15.4 since January and it will be the second-biggest update of the year after the yet-to-be-announced iOS 16, which will be revealed in June at WWDC and released in the fall.
iOS 15.4 will include several new features, including the ability to unlock a phone with a mask, new emoji, and Apple’s new payment product that allows anyone with an iPhone to accept credit card payments without additional hardware.
