March is leading up to be unexpectedly exciting for Apple users. Rumours suggest a new 4 inch iPhone, the iPad Air 3, and a noticeable lack of new Apple Watch will be shown off on March 15. Everything in that previous paragraph is speculation, but given that mid-march is when Apple held its 12 inch Macbook event last year, it’s definitely a possibility we’ll see some new tech around the same time in 2016.
4 inch iPhone
Currently known as the “iPhone 5se”, this will be a new 4 inch iPhone that will replace the iPhone 5s as the budget option in Apple’s current lineup. It will come sporting upgraded internals, such as an A8 CPU – the same as found in the iPhone 6, and possible even an A9, which would place it above in-line with the 6s in terms of processing power.
Since the launch of the 4.7 inch iPhone 6s, old-school Apple fans who prefer a smaller handset have been left out in the cold, with decreasing support for the iPhone 5s – a phone released way back in 2013.
A new 4 inch iPhone would be a nice gesture, although it would suggest the death of Apple’s budget iPhone category. Currently the company offers two flagship devices (6s/6s Plus), two mid-range devices (6/6 Plus) and one budget (5s). If the 5se is truly the equivalent of either the 6s or even 6, we may be seeing the end of the more-affordable of the options.
iPad Air 3
Most of the speculation surrounding the iPad Air 3 focuses on how it will compare to the iPad Pro, which itself was only released in September 2015 as the powerful be-all-and-end-all of the iPad line-up.
If true, that would mean an A9X and M9 processor/motion sensor combo for the iPad 3. That actually seems pretty likely, given how the iPad Air 2 compared to its contemporary iPhone 6.
The Pro will still have the bigger screen (12.9-inch vs 9.7), and it’s unlikely the iPad Air 3 will compare favourably with the iPad Pro’s huge amount of RAM (4GB vs and expected 2GB).
Apple Watch stuff
9to5mac reports we won’t be seeing a complete Apple Watch refresh, with a new device and all the hoopla that comes with it. Instead, we’ll apparently be getting a range of new watch bands, including rubberised sport bands, a few new colours of existing bands, new Hermes bands, and possibly some NATO-style nylon bands, although that last one is currently unconfirmed.
Apple Store Image from Shutterstock
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor
Related Articles
