Picture: Apple
Apple’s subsequent keynote occasion — “Peek Efficiency” — will happen on Tuesday, March 8, with the keynote kicking off at 10 am PT/1 pm ET. It’s one other all-virtual occasion that will probably be live-streamed on Apple’s web site.
There have been rumors and hypothesis surrounding the March 8 occasion. Judging by the invite, Apple is clearly going to point out off one thing that has improved efficiency. Possibly an up to date MacBook Air? iPad? Nicely, we now have a number of concepts.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is accountable for lots of the data lined under, as detailed in his weekly “Power On” newsletter. In actual fact, it was Gurman who first reported the occasion could be held on March 8.
The way to watch
On Tuesday, March 8, Apple streams its first keynote of 2022. The occasion begins at 10 am PT/1 pm ET. I’ve embedded the YouTube dwell stream, or you’ll be able to tune into the Apple Events webpage in your cellphone, pill or pc. Alternatively, you should utilize the Apple TV app on any appropriate system to seek for “Apple Occasions” to look at the announcement from the consolation of your sofa.
New iPhone SE with 5G
The final time Apple up to date the $399
iPhone SE
was in April of 2020, so the timing of an replace to its low-end mannequin is smart now. According to Gurman, Apple will announce an
iPhone SE
which looks similar to the current model — that means keeping the home button design — but will feature a faster processor, 5G connectivity and an improved camera.
A more recent report claims that Apple plans to maintain the 2020
iPhone SE
in its lineup but drop the price down to $199 — making it the cheapest iPhone model to date. The move would be primarily aimed at emerging markets where low-cost Android phones are dominant.
New iPad Air
We’ve seen some evidence that Apple is working on new
iPad
fashions because of regulatory filings, and that’s been backed up by Gurman’s reporting.
The
iPad Air
at present is the one pill in Apple’s lineup with out Apple’s Heart Stage front-camera function that adjusts the zoom stage to make sure you’re continuously within the shot, together with anybody else that joins or leaves a video name. The function is enabled by software program in addition to a 12-megapixel FaceTime digital camera.
The brand new iPad Air would presumably function Apple’s A15 processor, together with the addition of 5G connectivity.
iPad Air
was last updated in September of 2020, and even though Apple has gone much longer than roughly 18 months between updates for the iPad Air in the past, it makes sense that Apple would want to bring feature parity with the rest of the iPad lineup to the iPad Air.
New Macs?
Apple has continued its plan to transition its entire Mac lineup from Intel to Apple Silicon processors over the last two years. While Gurman states we shouldn’t expect any major news about new Apple Silicon processors at the March event.
Currently, there are two, arguably three, Mac models that use the M1 Apple Silicon processor — the
MacBook Air
,
Mac Mini
and
13-inch MacBook Pro
. Nevertheless, Apple has transitioned its
MacBook Pro
line to the M1 Max and M1 Pro, along with a refreshed design.
With that in mind, it makes sense that the
MacBook Air
Mac Mini
could be updated with a new processor. Which processor? That part isn’t clear. We’ll have to wait for Apple to make that announcement.
One more thing…
It wouldn’t be a normal Apple event if there wasn’t a last-minute rumor. According to YouTuber Luke Miani, Apple will announce a brand new 27-inch monitor on the Peek Efficiency occasion. The Studio Show will reportedly have a Mini-LED show, and can look quite a bit just like the 24-inch iMac, solely with out all the computing elements inside it. Apple at present doesn’t have a client monitor of its personal. As a substitute, the one monitor the corporate at present produces is the Professional Show XDR which begins at $4,999.
Hopefully any consumer-grade monitor Apple broadcasts is priced at a extra cheap value.
In his video, Miani additionally included renders of the Mac Studio — which seems like a really tall Mac Mini, solely extra highly effective, and the Studio Show. Be certain that to take a look at his video should you’re curious.
iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 launched
Apple launched the developer and public beta variations of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 that embody a number of new options, primarily for the iPhone. For house owners of a
newer iPhone
that has FaceID, you can now unlock your phone while wearing a mask or facial covering, no Apple Watch required.
There’s also Tap to Pay for iPhone that converts the iPhone right into a cost kiosk that may settle for funds from any NFC-equipped type of cost, together with accepting Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and contactless cost credit score or debit playing cards.
Together with the brand new {hardware}, Apple ought to launch the most recent software program updates for all of its gadgets.