It’s been a month-long whirlwind for rumors about Apple. First, we heard from leaker Jon Prosser that there was an Apple Event was scheduled for March 16, but that was ruled out by Bloombergis Mark Gurman. When that date passed, Prosser and other speakers then suggested there would be an Apple Event on March 23, which apparently isn’t happening either.
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As the focus now shifts to April, we’ve compiled this summary of what things stand for.
Rumors shift to April
The first word that Apple may have planned announcements for April came from the Japanese website Mac Otakara back early January. Citing supply chain sources, the blog claimed that Apple would release a second-generation AirPods Pro and a third-generation iPhone SE in April, but the report did not specify whether the products would be announced at an event or through press releases. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has since claimed that a new iPhone SE won’t be released until 2022, but new AirPods Pro are still possible this spring.
Talks intensified this week in April, starting with a report from a Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes who claimed that volume shipments of Mini-LED display components for a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro will begin in the second quarter of 2021, which runs from April through June. This was followed by a report from Gurman, who claimed he plans to announce new iPads as early as April, including new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models.
In particular, Gurman claimed that the new iPad Pro models could have a Thunderbolt connector. This rumor certainly makes sense as the new iPad Pro models are expected to be equipped with a faster A14X chip based on the M1 chip in the latest Macs, and the M1 chip supports Thunderbolt. And since Thunderbolt uses the USB-C connector design, the new iPad Pro models will still work with existing USB-C chargers and accessories.
As widely rumored, Gurman said Apple wants to include mini LED backlighting on the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, suggesting that Mini LED display technology may be exclusive to the larger model, at least for now.
Kuo joined the stack early Thursday, claiming that mass production of Mini-LED iPads will begin mid to late April.
Apple event in April?
Apple’s last event in April was in 2010, when the late Steve Jobs announced the preview of iPhone OS 4 (later renamed to iOS 4) at Apple’s small Town Hall conference center at the former Infinite Loop headquarters.
However, according to Prosser, Apple plans to host an event in April this year. In a YouTube video today, Prosser said he was actually told by a ‘vague and mysterious’ source who has been ‘100% accurate’ that there would be an event in April at the end of February, but Prosser thought an event would take place in April. take place “of little to no use,” and he was more likely to believe that his sources reported a March 23 event.
Prosser himself admits that it’s worth treating this April event rumor with some skepticism, given that it would be Apple’s first April event in 11 years, but he highlighted his source’s perfect track record. It’s also worth noting that Prosser is incorrect about three consecutive rumors about the date of an event, including a November 17th event an event from March 16, and a March 23 event (except for a last minute announcement).
What about the rest of March?
With both Gurman and Kuo indicating that new iPads are unlikely to be announced until at least April, and Kuo recently claimed that mass production of the third-generation AirPods is now scheduled for the second half of 2021, the list of new Apple products is unveiled in March is starting to shrink.
However, a new “Items” tab enabled by default in the Find My app in the iOS 14.5 beta has sparked some hope that Apple’s highly anticipated AirTags item trackers will finally be released soon. Apple said iOS 14.5 will be released in “early spring”, but a specific release date remains unclear. If the Release Candidate version comes out next week, iOS 14.5 may be released around Monday, March 29 or Tuesday, March 30.
Apple could choose to introduce the AirTags and / or other new products with press releases like last spring, including updated iPad Pro and MacBook Air models on March 18 and the second-generation iPhone SE on April 15.
According to Gurman’s report this week, AirTags are still “scheduled for this year.”
While rumors have been circulating lately, it seems there is enough smoke to suggest that at least some new products will be announced within the next six weeks. Whether any of the product announcements come in these last days of March or April, or at an event or otherwise, remains to be seen.