Things Apple could announce next week, ranked by likelihood

On March 8, Apple will hold its first product launch event since October. While the opening probably won’t be as pompous as last year’s massive fall events, there’s a real possibility that next week will feature more (and more exciting) products than some previous spring events.

Here’s a sneak peek of what we’re expecting or what the wider internet conversation around Apple is buzzing about, ranked by category from what we think is most likely to least likely.

big picture

Before we get into individual products, let’s look at more general expectations for this season’s event. First, Apple often hosted four events, each around the same time of the year, and each usually had a different focus. From this, we can probably develop some basic expectations about this particular event. (Although Apple can always surprise us by shaking up its frequency.)

Here are the events that we usually observe lately:

• March or April: Apple usually introduces its second-tier devices during this event, and also occasionally focuses on services such as TV or fitness. In other words, it’s usually event B. “Second tier devices”could mean cheaper or non-flagship products like the relatively affordable iPhone SE or non-professional Macs, or it could mean the iPad.
• June: This is the time when Apple holds a developer conference and that’s when we get to know about new major releases of the operating system. This sometimes happens when Apple introduces hardware that is closely related to the new APIs that are included with these operating system updates, and also when Apple sometimes introduces specialized hardware that is aimed at professional audiences. From time to time, a wild card is also thrown into this event.
• September: This is the most predictable and usually the most significant event of the year for consumers interested in new products. Apple always announces new flagship iPhone and Apple Watch models in September. Sometimes September is dedicated only to these devices, but sometimes it is used for other products, such as mass-produced Macs or iPads.
• October: Sometimes a wildcard event is held in October. It’s often focused on flagship Mac or iPad models that are too big to wait until spring, but could also detract from iPhone fanfare if they debuted at an event the previous month.

And one more thing to note next week: Apple has chosen the slogan “Peek performance”.

While Apple sometimes has hidden meanings in its event slogans, don’t fall into the trap of not reading too much of them. However, let’s be ambitious and dance on the edge of this trap: this slogan could mean that Apple will introduce performance-oriented products that don’t actually debut right away. For example, Apple may announce the M2 chip but not actually ship any products containing the chip for a month or more after the event, so the event will focus on upcoming performance.

Almost certainly

iPhone SE

If it weren’t for its camera (which is significantly inferior to the iPhone 13), the SE could be the best iPhone for most users. Unfortunately, most of the early reports and leaks we saw didn’t say much about the cameras. But here’s what we’ve heard from all the usual suspects in Apple’s rumors and leaks:

• 5G capability
• LCD screen
• The design is similar to the 2020 model.
• Faster processor

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman said in one of his recent newsletters that Apple could drop the price of the iPhone SE to $199 to compete in global markets with low-end Android phones. While we agree that a price cut would be a good move and that the $199 SE would sell like hot cakes, Gourmand didn’t present this as what the source told him. So the SE at that point in time is just a guess.

Bottom: iPhone SE from our 2020 review.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted in a note to investors that Apple may actually introduce a larger version of the iPhone SE in addition to one that resembles the current size. Whether you call this new hypothetical device iPhone SE Plus, iPhone SE Max or whatever, it could offer not only more screen real estate, but better battery life and maybe even better cameras. (However, we are just thinking about these points.)

The iPhone accounts for the lion’s share of Apple’s revenue, so expect the phone to feature prominently should it be announced.

iOS 15.4

We’re already working on beta versions of iOS 15.4, a major update that will bring several key new features to iPhone and iPad. Add to that the high possibility that Apple is going to announce a new iPhone at the event, and you can be pretty sure that iOS 15.4 will be released shortly after March 8th.

iOS 15.4 will add new emojis, the ability to unlock iPhone with masked Face ID, and the long-awaited universal control feature, among other things. This will likely be the last major feature update before iOS 16.