Apple has officially announced its upcoming spring event (via @tim) scheduled for March 21st in Cupertino at Apple’s 1 Infinite Loop campus at 10 am PT/1 pm ET. The company is expected to introduce the 4-inch iPhone SE, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, new Apple Watch bands, software updates, and more. As for what’s in store for this event, this is what’s rumored and what we expect to see:
Apple has historically saved new iPhone launches for the fall starting with the iPhone 4s in 2011, but we’re expecting that to change at this year’s spring event.
The iPhone SE is expected to be a 4-inch model in a lineup of flagship 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones. As a smaller device that won’t exactly be flagship status, the iPhone SE will likely feature a mix of specs from the iPhone 6 and 6s but packaged in an iPhone 5-sized casing.
As we reported, these features and specifications include the faster A9 chip and M9 chip with always-on Siri and Live Photos feature introduced in the iPhone 6s, Apple Pay introduced in the iPhone 6, 16/64GB models, and space gray/silver/gold/rose gold finishes.
We’ve also reported schematics via a case maker that show a nearly identical design to iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s for the iPhone SE, save for slightly curved edges. The power button is also expected to be located on top like the iPhone 5 and not on the side like the iPhone 6.
Both of these devices will likely be available within a matter of days, not weeks, after the event.
Finally, Apple has been testing new feature-packed versions of each of its software platforms — iOS 9.3, OS X 10.11.4, watchOS 2.2, and tvOS 9.2 — which don’t yet have final versions or release dates but are expected to debut for everyone around this event. A standalone update to iTunes that enhances the Apple Music experience is also expected to be unveiled.
