iPhone SE 3 and new iPad Air could be joined by a new external display at the Apple launch event on March 8. Although Apple has maintained suspense on what exactly we could see at the forthcoming ‘Peek Performance’ event, new reports suggest that the Cupertino-based company may unveil a new external display called Apple Studio at the event. The iPhone SE 3, which is also known as the iPhone SE (2022) or iPhone SE 5G, is also separately predicted to come in distinct colours and have three different storage options.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter writes that the next-generation external display could be a fourth “wild card” unveiling at the Apple event this week — alongside the iPhone SE 3, new iPad Air, and at least one new Mac.
He says that Apple completed work on the external display “months ago” but has not yet made its public announcement. The device was said to be due for launch soon after last year’s MacBook Pro debut.
At WWDC in June 2019, Apple unveiled its last external display that it called the Pro Display XDR.
The display expected to launch tomorrow will be called Apple Studio Display, according to a report by 9to5Mac. It is said to have a 7K resolution and may include an A13 chip to handle some processing tasks natively.
Market analyst at TF Internal Securities Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a credible track record of forecasting Apple product plans, has also speculated that Apple is readying its new 27-inch external display that would come without a mini-LED panel. The display is also referred to as an “affordable” option by the analyst — suggesting that it could be priced lower than the 6K Pro Display XDR, which debuted at $4,999 (roughly Rs. 3,84,400) in 2019.
Kuo also predicts that Apple is working on releasing its new Mac mini this year that we could see at the forthcoming event itself. The analyst additionally forecasts that new Mac Pro and iMac Pro models would be ready for unveiling next year.
Gurman also believes that the new Mac mini could debut at the Apple event this year.
The new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models were also initially speculated to come at the event, though the new predictions suggest that we may have to wait for some more time to see those upgrades. Gurman, though, suggests that the new 13-inch MacBook Pro or iMac models might appear sometime in the first half of the year — maybe around May or June.
Some people expect Apple to release an updated version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. I’m just curious, would Apple be interested in upgrading an outdated form factor design product?
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 6, 2022
Apple may also preview its new Mac Pro or iMac Pro at this week’s event, according to Gurman.
On the part of the iPhone SE 3, Kuo predicts that the new model would come in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options and have White, Black, and Red colours. He also corroborates some earlier reports by saying that the new iPhone SE would feature a similar form-factor design that is available on the current model.
Further, he predicts that Apple would kick-off the mass production of the iPhone SE 3 in March and ship its 25–30 million units in 2022.
Previous reports suggest that the iPhone SE 3 would include a faster A15 Bionic chip with 5G support and an improved camera experience.
Apple is also rumoured to have its new iPad Air ready for launch that could debut as the iPad Air (5th generation), with features including A15 chip, optional 5G support, and Centre Stage for FaceTime camera. It could also come in a similar design that we saw in 2020.
The Apple event is taking place on Tuesday, March 8. Just like the past few launches by the company, it will be an online-only event that will be livestreamed on the Web.