Top stories: rumors of Apple event on March 23, iMac Pro and HomePod discontinued and more

Rumors about a possible Apple event are starting to heat up as we get closer to the time of year when Apple frequently hosts an event, so stay tuned for more information on that in the coming days and weeks.

This week also saw Apple confirm that it has discontinued the iMac Pro and the original HomePod, while rumors continue to wait for new models of Apple’s silicone MacBook Pro later this year, a mixed reality headset in 2022, augmented reality glasses. in 2025, and maybe even some kind of augmented reality contact lens in the 2030s. Read below for details on these stories and more!

Next Apple event commented for March 23

March is a common month of the year for Apple to announce new or updated products, and this year is probably no exception.

A trusted Chinese leak known as “Kang” this week said that an Apple event is planned for Tuesday, March 23, with potential new products, including Apple’s long-awaited AirTag item trackers, a new iPad Pro with AirPods third generation Mini-LED screen and a new Apple TV. A wildcard possibility is an iMac redesigned with an Apple silicon chip.

If the rumor is true, Apple should officially announce the event early next week. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event will certainly be more of a virtual affair with a pre-recorded video from Apple Park.

Apple confirms iMac Pro will be discontinued when supplies run out, recommends a 27-inch iMac

After adding a “while supplies last” notice to the iMac Pro product page and removing all upgrade options from the computer last week, Apple confirmed to MacRumors that iMac Pro will be discontinued when supplies run out. The computer remains available for now, but delivery estimates are still a few weeks away.

Apple said the latest 27-inch iMac released in August is the preferred choice for the vast majority of iMac users, and said customers who need even more performance and expandability can choose the Mac Pro. it may be worth exercising patience, as rumors suggest that Apple is working on a redesigned iMac with an Apple silicon chip to launch this year and the performance is expected to be quite impressive.

Apple previously confirmed that its transition to Apple’s silicon on Macs will be completed around June 2022.

Apple discontinues HomePod Full-Sized to focus on HomePod Mini

The iMac Pro was not the only Apple product to be discontinued last week, with Apple also announcing that it has discontinued the original HomePod, with orders available only while supplies last. Apple says it will focus its efforts on the smaller, cheaper mini HomePod, launched last November.

Apple expected the high-quality ‌HomePod‌ sound to give it an edge over competing products, but ‌HomePod‌ sales have always been weak, with so many more affordable options on the market. Apple is selling the ‌HomePod‌ for $ 299, but originally it was $ 350. The ‌HomePod mini‌ is available for $ 99.

Should you buy a super cheap refurbished iPhone from Amazon?

Amazon maintains lists of its best-selling products, and at the moment, Amazon’s best-selling smartphone is a “renewed” iPhone 8 from Amazon, which usually costs less than $ 200.

This is very cheap for a PiPhone rec and cheaper than Apple’s refurbished price for the same device, so in our latest YouTube video, we took one of these Refurbished iPhones from Amazon to see if it’s worth the savings.

Amazon’s “revamped” devices are all used and not certified by Apple, but Amazon says they have been professionally “inspected, tested and cleaned” by qualified Amazon suppliers. Note that iPhones come from a number of third-party vendors and are not necessarily supplied directly by Amazon.

Two new Apple silicon MacBooks are expected to go into mass production in the second half of 2021

Apple is planning redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple silicon to launch in the second half of 2021, according to renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and a Nikkei Asia this week’s report credited that period.

In a report focused on cutting orders for Apple iPhone mini 12 from suppliers, the publication briefly noted that Apple postponed mass production of the two new MacBooks from May or June until the second half of the year. The report refers to notebooks as “MacBooks”, but is likely to refer to the next MacBook Pro models.

The second half of the year starts in July, so there should be enough time for Apple’s suppliers to increase production for a year-end launch.

Kuo expects the new MacBook Pro models to feature brighter screens with Mini-LED backlighting, a new design with a flat top and bottom, an HDMI port and SD card reader, classic MagSafe charging with a magnetic power cable and physical function keys instead of the touch bar.

Kuo: Apple to launch mixed reality headset in mid-2022 and augmented reality glasses in 2025

Apple plans to launch its much-talked about AR / VR mixed reality headset “in the middle of 2022”, followed by augmented reality glasses by 2025, said analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this week.

Kuo also looked to the future and predicted that Apple will launch “contact lenses” sometime after 2030. He said that this product will bring electronics from the “visible computing” era to “invisible computing”, but “there is no visibility “for this product yet and he didn’t offer any more details.

Apple is highly committed to AR / VR technologies, according to Kuo, who has a “positive outlook” about Apple’s future in space.

Apple accuses former employee of stealing trade secrets and disclosing them to the media

Apple filed a lawsuit against Simon Lancaster, a former employee who allegedly used his position within the company to steal Apple’s “trade secret information” that was leaked to a journalist and was published in rumors.

Lancaster has worked at Apple for more than a decade, using his seniority to attend internal meetings and access documents that Apple says are “outside the scope of its responsibilities”. The details he obtained were published in media articles that “cited an Apple ‘source’.”

MacRumors newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting Apple’s top stories, making it a great way to get a recap of the week, covering all of the top topics we’ve covered and putting together related stories for a great view of Image.

So, if you want the top stories, like the recap above, to be delivered to your email inbox every week, Subscribe to our newsletter!