In classic fashion, the Apple Store has gone down ahead of today’s ‘Peek performance’ spring media event. We expect to see the announcement of a new iPhone SE with 5G support and a spec-bumped iPad Air. We also expect Apple to continue the Apple Silicon transition, perhaps introducing a brand new ‘Mac Studio’ model and a new Apple-branded external display at the same time.
The show starts at 10 AM Pacific Time, so stay tuned to 9to5Mac for full coverage of all the announcements.
Here’s everything we expect to see today:
New iPhone SE
The March event is not the venue for Apple to show off flagship iPhones. However, every few years ,Apple refreshes the cheapest iPhone in the lineup, the iPhone SE. For 2022, Apple will update the iPhone SE with new internals, but retain the same iPhone 8-era industrial design. That means the 2022 iPhone SE will get an A15 chip and 5G cellular support. A year or so ago, there had been rumors for a while that the 2022 SE would feature a more dramatic design overhaul, but those expectations subsided several months ago.
New iPad Air 5th-generation
The iPad Air was last updated in October 2020, where it adopted the iPad Pro design language albeit with a Touch ID side button instead of (the more expensive) Face ID biometrics system. However, in the intervening year and a half, even Apple’s cheaper iPads have jumped ahead, with features like Center Stage. The fifth-generation iPad Air will catch up in those areas, and we expect it to get a big speed boost thanks to the inclusion of the M1 chip — previously only used in Macs and the 2021 iPad Pro.
New Macs
Whereas the iPhone SE and iPad Air announcements are pretty set in stone, the rumors around Mac hardware is less certain. It certainly seems like we will see new Macs today, but exactly what models remains unclear.
Last week, 9to5Mac exclusively reported that Apple was developing a new product, dubbed the Mac Studio. This would be a desktop computer that is between a Mac mini and Mac Pro, offering a middle ground of performance and physical size. It is possible that this new Mac is unveiled today, perhaps featuring a brand new high-end Apple Silicon chip we haven’t seen before.
There are also persistent rumors of a new Apple external display initiative. 9to5Mac understands that the company is readying an Apple Studio Display, with a 7K resolution panel, however it is unclear if that monitor will debut today or come later. There have also been reports of a cheaper 27-inch Apple monitor, another candidate for today’s announcement.
Other possible Mac announcements include an Apple Silicon-based iMac Pro, a higher-end Mac mini, and an M2-powered MacBook Pro. The M2 MacBook Air does not appear to be ready; expect that radically redesigned laptop to arrive in the fall.
Stay tuned to 9to5Mac as we bring you full coverage of all the announcements. Apple’s ‘Peek performance’ kicks off at 10 AM Pacific Time.
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