It’s been a whirlwind of a month for Apple rumors. First, we heard from leaker Jon Prosser that an Apple event was planned for March 16, but this was discarded by Bloombergis Mark Gurman. After that date passed, Prosser and other leakers suggested that there would be an Apple event on March 23, which apparently isn’t happening either.
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With the attention now turned to April, we have gathered this recap of how things are going.
Rumors change for April
The first word that Apple may have April announcements planned came from the Japanese website Mac Otakara back in early January. Citing sources in the supply chain, the blog said Apple would launch 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 with press releases. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said a new iPhone SE will not be released until 2022, but new AirPods Pro will still be possible this spring.
April’s conversation intensified this week, starting with a report from the Taiwan supply chain publication DigiTimes which 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 to June. This was followed by a report by Gurman, who stated that he plans to announce new iPads as early as April, including new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models.
Notably, Gurman stated that the new iPad Pro models may feature a Thunderbolt connector. This rumor certainly seems plausible, as the new iPad Pro models are expected to be equipped with a faster A14X chip based on the M1 chip on the latest Macs, and the M1 chip supports Thunderbolt. And since Thunderbolt uses the USB-C connector design, the new iPad Pro models still work with existing USB-C chargers and accessories.
As widely reported, Gurman said that Apple is looking to include the Mini-LED backlight in the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro at a minimum, suggesting that the Mini-LED screen technology may be unique to the larger model, at least for While.
Kuo added to the stack early Thursday, claiming that mass production of iPad Mini-LEDs will begin in mid-April.
Apple event in April?
Apple’s last event in April was in 2010, when the late Steve Jobs announced a preview of the iPhone OS 4 developer (later renamed to iOS 4) in the small Apple Town Hall conference center at his former Infinite Loop headquarters.
According to Prosser, however, Apple plans to host an event in April this year. In a YouTube video today, Prosser said he was informed by a “vague and mysterious” source who was “100% accurate” that there would be an April event in late February, but Prosser thought an April event did “little or no.” no sense “and he was more inclined to believe his sources by mentioning a March 23 event.
Prosser himself recognizes that it is worth treating this rumor of the April event with some skepticism, as it would be Apple’s first event in April in 11 years, but he emphasized the perfect history of its source. It is also important to note that Prosser was inaccurate about three consecutive event date rumors, including one November 17th event, a March 16 eventand a March 23 event (except for a last-minute ad).
What about the rest of March?
With Gurman and Kuo indicating that the new iPads are unlikely to be announced until at least April, and Kuo recently claiming that mass production of third generation AirPods is scheduled for the second half of 2021, the list of new Apple products that could being revealed in March is starting to shrink.
However, a new “Items” tab enabled by default in the Find My app on iOS 14.5 beta has generated some hope that Apple’s long-awaited AirTags item trackers will finally be released soon. Apple said that iOS 14.5 will be released “in the early spring”, but a specific release date remains uncertain. If the Release Candidate version ends up being propagated next week, then iOS 14.5 may be released around Monday, March 29 or Tuesday, March 30.
Apple may choose to launch AirTags and / or other new products with press releases, as it did last spring, including the updated iPad Pro and MacBook Air models on March 18 and the second generation iPhone SE on March 15. April.
At the very least, Gurman’s report this week said that airTags are still “planned for this year”.
All in all, although rumors have run across the map recently, it appears that there is enough smoke to suggest that at least some new products will be announced in the next six weeks or so. Whether any of the product announcements will take place in the last days of March or April, or at an event or not, is yet to be seen.