Apple has
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/03/02/apple-march-8-event-now-official/>
officially announced its newest event will be broadcast worldwide on March
8. With the event having been rumored for weeks, we're excited to see what's
lined up.
Read on for a roundup of what Apple could announce at its spring event next
week, including an iPhone SE 3, iPad Air 5, and more. The Cupertino company
has a great deal planned for 2022, and 9to5Mac is here to cover it all for
you.
Apple spring event highlights
Apple has held its first-half-of-the-year events in March or April fairly
regularly for some time. While spring doesn't include a full-fledged new
iPhone lineup, the events generate quite the excitement among Apple fans.
Here are some highlights of spring events over the last few years:
* April 2021: "Spring Loaded" event introduced colorful 24-inch iMacs,
iPad Pro, purple iPhone 12, Apple TV 4K, and AirTag
* March 2020: Apple introduced iPad Pro 4 and iPhone SE 2
* March 2019: Apple held a different kind of event, introducing new
services Apple TV+, Apple News, Apple Arcade, Apple Card, and Apple Pay
Apple March 2022 event details
Apple will officially hold its spring event on March 8 at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00
p.m. ET. Once again the event will be virtual, broadcasting from Apple Park
in Cupertino, California. Apple is teasing the event with the headline "Peek
Performance."
You can watch the March 8 event live stream from Apple's website, on its
YouTube channel, and on the Apple TV app. We will share more details on this
as they come.
So, what's on the docket for the event? Head below for all of the details.
iPhone SE 3
The 3rd Generation
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/23/5g-iphone-se-3-everything-we-know/> iPhone
SE is rumored to remain at the $399 price point. Apple Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo
notes it'll have the same design but with two main upgrades - 5G and a
better processor.
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/28/iphone-se-for-199/> suggests Apple should
drop the price of the existing iPhone SE 2 to $199. This would be perfect
for people looking to spend less and would offer a larger lineup of budget
iPhones to choose from, but it's unclear if it's a strategy Apple will
actually implement.
iPad Air 5
Rumors are anticipating the 5th Generation
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/14/ipad-air-5-roundup/> iPad Air will take
after the current iPad mini 6. We could see it include the A15 processor, 5G
capabilities, four speakers versus two, and Center Stage support for video
calls.
Camera improvements seem to be the biggest changes of all. We may finally
see support for 1080p video recording in 25fps and 30fps. The iPad Air 5 is
expected to have standard wide- and ultra-wide-angle camera lenses like on
iPhone 13. However, sources claim the camera won't include a LiDAR scanner
like the iPad Pro.
iOS 15.4 release date
Apple released the fifth beta of iOS 15.4 this week, and the update should
arrive by mid-March. It's very likely to release around the time of the
spring event.
iOS 15.4 includes new features like Face ID support with a mask, a
non-binary voice for Siri, new emojis, and more. Learn more in our full
guide <https://9to5mac.com/guides/ios-15-4/> here.
New Apple Silicon machines: 'Mac mini Pro'
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg listed seven new Apple Silicon Macs to expect this
year in his <https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/power-on> Power
On newsletter recently. Additionally, a few weeks ago, Apple registered
three new Macs in the
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/14/apple-registers-three-new-macs-in-eurasian-d
atabase-ahead-of-rumored-march-event/> Eurasian regulatory database. The
appearance of Apple devices in the Eurasian database has been an accurate
indicator of new models in the past, but it's unclear when these machines
will see the light of day.
2021 reports from Bloomberg suggest a
<https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/18/40-core-mac-pro-high-end-mac-mini-in-develop
ment/> higher-end Mac mini will include the same Apple Silicon as the
current MacBook Pros. It further claims it'll see a redesign featuring more
ports than its current version. Bloomberg also states we'll see an
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/20/apple-silicon-march-event-new-macs-may/> M2
Mac mini sometime this year.
Check out our 2022 Mac mini wishlist
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/21/back-to-the-mac-my-mac-mini-wish-list-a-look
-back-at-the-intel-version-video/> here.
An entry-level MacBook Pro with an M2 chip
Mark Gurman also offered his insights on a
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/08/digitimes-entry-level-m2-macbook-pro-march-l
aunch/> new MacBook Pro featuring an all-new M2 chip. This laptop is going
to be sold alongside the 2021 MacBook Pro lineup, meant to replace the
current 13-inch MacBook Pro.
It
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/06/gurman-new-entry-level-macbook-pro-with-m2-c
hip-coming-this-year-but-no-promotion/> won't include the Touch Bar, a
miniLED display, or ProMotion technology like other MacBooks. The M2 will be
more powerful than the M1 but less powerful than the M1 Pro and M1 Max
chips.
A redesigned MacBook Air with an M2 chip
MacBook Air hasn't had a new release since 2020, so it seems inevitable that
we'll
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/24/2022-macbook-air-features-roundup/#h-2022-ma
cbook-air-display> see a redesign announced at some point this year, but
it's unlikely this will happen next week.
The new design will follow the 24-inch iMacs with white bezels and come in a
variety of colors. It doesn't seem likely we'll gain any additional ports on
this model, but it has been reported that it will charge via MagSafe.
A 27-inch iMac with Apple Silicon replacement and Mac Pro?
Current 27-inch iMacs have yet to follow the Apple Silicon route, but that's
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/02/19/everything-we-know-27-inch-imac-replacement/
anticipated to change.<https://www.displaysupplychain.com/blog/what-will-the-big-display-stories-b
