Apple’s Spring Event is just a few days away, and this time I decided to do something different. Although I normally don’t play in the rumour space, I decided that it might be fun to write down what I expect and see if I am on the mark, or I am completely out to lunch. So here we go. Starting with the things that I think are pretty much guaranteed to be in the event:
- New iPhone SE: This has been rumoured for months and is likely to come at this event. Upgrades like 5G and the A15 processor, along with camera upgrades are pretty much nailed on as far as I am concerned. But my real question is the battery life. The previous iPhone SE had battery life that was pretty bad, as in it would not make it through a full day. With 5G which isn’t power efficient, how does Apple square that circle? Now it is possible that they could get some improvements from the A15 processor and somehow putting in a bigger battery, like they did to give the iPhone 13 mini improved battery life. But that’s a question that needs to be answered. Still, consider this product a go for the event.
- New iPad Air: Apple pretty much had to update the iPad Air as it is more expensive than the iPad Mini and it is slower having an A14 processor in it. Plus it lacks 5G and a Center Stage camera. So this is another product that is pretty much nailed on for this event. And you can expect all those issues to be addressed in the form of a spec bump.
- A new colour for the iPhone 13 along with new cases: Apple has been known to release a new colour for the iPhones in the spring. I expect this to be no different. Along with that you can expect spring cases to ship, seeing as they were leaked last week.
Now we start to get into weeds a bit with the stuff that might show up at the event:
- New Macs: I’m expecting one new Mac at the event. And perhaps two if Apple really wants to make a splash. Some people have said that three new Macs are inbound based on a quasi-leak from a few weeks ago where Apple registered three new Macs in the Eurasian Economic Database. The thing is, Apple does have a history of registering products in that database and not shipping them for months. Thus you can’t assume that all three of those Macs will be in the event. But I expect one or two to make an appearance. Which ones you ask? The first one is likely going to be the Mac Mini as Apple still sells the Intel based space grey Mac Mini and that really needs to be replaced as part of Apple’s transition to Apple Silicon. Now you could say the same thing about the 27″ iMac which also still has Intel inside. The thing is, there are rumours that a 27″ iMac may come later in the year. And it may come out as a “Pro” branded model with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Thus while it’s possible that it may make an appearance, I can’t see that happening unless Apple announces it and ships it at a much later date. Which would be consistent with the title of the event which is “Peek Performance”. Note that Apple is using the word “Peek” which implies that they might be giving people a “Peek” into future products.
- M2 MacBook Pro: There are rumours that the 13″ M1 MacBook Pro is about to replaced by a 13″ M2 MacBook Pro using exactly the same parts as the M1 version. While I am free to be surprised, frankly I don’t see it happening because in my mind, Apple would:
- A: Want to give the next generation M series processor more screen time. Likely later this year.
- B: They are more likely to give it the same sort of redesign that the 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pros got.
Now I’m on to the final category. The wildcards. The reason why I am thinking that there might be a wildcard of some sort is that based on the title of the event, I do think that there could be a “one more thing” moment in this event. It might be the Mac Pro which Apple Silicon. It could be new displays to replace the infamous Pro Display XDR which is Apple’s $5000 USD monitor with the $1000 USD stand. Or it could be the much rumoured Apple Glasses or VR headset. Whatever it might be, it might be announced and shipped at a later date. Again fitting in with the title of the event.
Those are my predictions. What are yours? I’d be interested to hear them so leave a comment and share your thoughts. And you can watch the Apple Event via the official Apple Events page where you’ll get everything in real time, or YouTube which will be a minute or so behind the Apple Event page. If you own an Apple TV, you can also see it there.