It’s a new year, and the people are hungry for more Apple gadgets. Fear not, Cupertino will likely not disappoint in that arena; rumors point to a March event with a refreshed iPhone and iPad, as well as upgraded MacBooks.
Most of the rumors about Apple’s 2022 plans trace back to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a reliable Apple watcher with a good track record of predicting what Apple has up its sleeve. Notably, he believes Apple will host a virtual event on Tuesday, March 8. Apple has not made any announcements yet, but here’s what could be on tap.
iPad Air
Last year was all about the new iPad mini and refreshed iPad Pro, so the iPad Air—which was last updated in late 2020—is ripe for an overhaul. That includes the addition of the A15 chip found in the mini and the Pro, Gurman suggests.
He doesn’t expect a new iPad Pro in March, but as he notes in his Power On newsletter, Russian regulatory filings tips nine new iPads, which “would be far too many for a new iPad Air, [so] either there’s more than just the Air on tap, or Apple filed its launches for this fall fairly early.”
iPhone SE 2022
The March event won’t see the launch of the iPhone 14; we’ll have to wait until September for that. Next month’s event will focus on an update to Apple’s budget smartphone, the iPhone SE. The 2020 version earned a PCMag Editors’ Choice, thanks to a blazing-fast processor, a high-quality body, and solid connectivity for $399. Gurman says in his newsletter that “it’s a shoo-in that you’ll see a new iPhone SE” on March 8.
We have a full iPhone SE rumor roundup, but the main changes we expect to see is the addition of 5G support, a bump up to the A15 processor, and camera improvements. It’ll likely retain its smaller form factor and Touch ID button.
MacBooks
MacRumors says Apple will introduce a new M2 Apple silicon processor, which will debut in an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro. Of note: the much-maligned Touch Bar will remain, according to MacRumors, though Gurman says it’ll be removed just like it was on last year’s larger MBPs.
There are also rumored design changes for the slim MacBook Air, including expanded color options like we saw on the iMac.
For more, we have a full MacBook rumor roundup, too.
