It's official: the Apple March Event has had its date confirmed for March 8, so we know this is when we'll next see a product launch from Apple.
So what could we see at Apple's event? Well, that's the billion-dollar question isn't it - Apple doesn't provide insight into its launch events ahead of time, so it's usually quite a surprise when we see devices unveiled.
'Quite a surprise' doesn't mean total surprise, though, and we've got some ideas. The invites are usually used to tease new tech, and rumors and leaks sometimes lay the tech bare.
TechRadar's offices are a flurry of excitement right now as we dig into every aspect of the invite, and we'll be using this live blog to share every analyses, thought, and detail that enters our brains - stay tuned to this page through invite night, and up until the launch itself, for everything you need to know.
Well, invites are in, and TechRadar's offices have become a hive of activity. Let's start by giving you a broad overview of what we expect.
iPhone SE 3, or SE 2022
Rumors have been swirling about an iPhone SE 3 launching in early 2022, with a leaker going so far as to point the finger at March 8 a whole month ago.
This is a successor to the iPhone SE (2020), which itself was the second-gen version of the iPhone SE (2016), and this is Apple's line of mid-range devices which sit as affordable alternatives to its flagships.
Leaks point to the iPhone SE 3 having 5G, and a newer chipset than its predecessor, but a similar design to that older device.
Apple MacBook Air (2022) with new Apple M2 chip
Another long-anticipated reveal we expect to see is the new Apple MacBook Air (2022), powered by the next-gen Apple silicon, the Apple M2 chip.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) saw the debut of Apple's new Arm-based processor technology, and it's been nothing short of revolutionary.
Since Apple made the jump from Intel to its own big.LITTLE processor, Intel itself has made the jump to the same architecture, and even Microsoft has even been rumored to be exploring their own Arm-based chips for their Surface devices.
What didn't change with the MacBook Air (2020), however, was the laptop's design. That might be the biggest innovation we see next week, as we're expecting the new MacBook Air (2022) to sport a variety of new colors similar to those we saw with the most recent 24-inch iMac (2021).
All I can say is it's about dang time. A purple MacBook Air just might be the think that gets me to ditch Windows PCs for good. Make it happen, Apple.
iPad Air 5
The same leaker who correctly predicted that the Apple March Event would take place on the 8th, and stated that the iPhone SE 3 would be there, also pointed to another device showing up: the iPad Air 5.
This is the newest tablet in Apple's mid-range iPad Air family, following on from the iPad Air (2020) from October 2020 - Apple generally doesn't use a regular release cycle for these Air tablets, so its launch wouldn't be surprising, but neither would its absence.
Leaks are relatively light on the ground for this one, but it seems like it'll have a 10.9-inch LCD screen, the A15 Bionic chipset and 5G connectivity.
We've also just posted a quick guide for how to watch the Apple's March event, so make sure you bookmark the page and follow along with us on March 8 as Apple reveals it's latest products in its first major event of 2022.
Will we see a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2?
There has been a lot of speculation around the fate of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Last released alongside the MacBook Air in 2020, the 13-inch MacBook Pro also featured the M1 chip with a slightly larger GPU (eight cores rather than seven), and also had cooling fans so that the performance of the M1 wouldn't be throttled under heavy workloads.
The rumor mill has been churning up news that the 13-inch Pro model will be released with the new M2 chip this year, but that it likely won't get a full on redesign the way the MacBook Air is set to receive.
This makes sense, since the 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021) was just released late last year and features the more powerful M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Even the M1 Pro is expected to be more powerful than the M2 chip, which is more consumer market-oriented than the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.
This really makes the market for a 13-inch MacBook Pro much smaller, so it's likely that the 13-inch model will get phased out in favor of the 14-inch, so it doesn't make any sense to give it a redesign to then discontinue it right after.
Given the very colorful and segmented Apple logo of the Apple March event teaser video, though, pretty much all signs are pointing to the introduction of colorful Apple products during the event.
This could be more about the iPhone SE 3 than a MacBook product, in which case a basic space grey MacBook Pro 13-inch with M2 could be introduced instead of a colorful MacBook Air. We simply don't know, but either outcome is possible.
Here's something we're expecting to drop based on precedent, even if leakers haven't been talking about it much.
iPad Pro (2022)
Apple launched the 2020 and 2021 iPads in the first half of the year, usually at big flashy launch events, and leaks suggest a 2022 model is on the way too.
To us, that makes it sound like a new one could be on the way. We haven't heard too many specific leaks about this new version, but we didn't about the 2021 edition.
This is Apple's top-end tablet, and it comes in a 11-inch and 12.9-inch version. If the new M2 chipset is shown off, the new tablets could use this.
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