Although March passed without a hint of a keynote or a follow-up of press releases, the products we expected are still here. Renewals, redesigns and new versions still registered in a Cupertino cellar while waiting for its most appropriate moment. The one that could well be that same April.
The iPad and the iPad Pro as candidates for imminent renewal
One of the strongest evidence that any news awaits us in the days to come comes from the beginning. last march. That’s when we saw a case for a 2021 11-inch iPad, found at an electronics store in the United States. The case was from the Speck brand, where on its packaging you can see a clear mention of an iPad model that has yet to be revealed.
Supported models can be seen below on the left, where a new 2021 11-inch iPad is specified.
Also, when the customer went to the store to buy it, the system did not allow it. And I you April 6 as the marketing date. In other words, tomorrow. The case itself appears to have been simply repackaged from the existing one for the 11-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro.
Accessory makers closest to Apple have access to looming product plans. With them, they can prepare their products so that the version is not orphaned third party accessories. This is the case with Speck, Logitech or Belkin, which traditionally have chargers, keyboards and cases ready for the most popular Apple products on the very day of their launch.
That’s why, at least, we can take a new 11-inch ninth-generation iPad for granted. Slightly larger than the 10.9-inch iPad Air launched last year and from which it appears would inherit some elements like the frameless screen. More elements indicate a renovation, this time from the iPad Pro, as another case for these models and a label that points directly to a third-generation 11-inch iPad Pro.
Even more Apple products to launch
If the 2021 iPad and iPad Pro is something we can almost take for granted, we still have more Apple products to see the light. We have a sixth generation Apple TV that has been waiting for a long time to hit shelves. Of course, we are faced with a product that comes in two flavors: a paste and one digital decoder like the current one. Both should bring a better processor than the current A10X. The A12 and even the A14 (or one of its the flavours) are the candidates to give power to this new and expected device.
Then we have the AirPods 3, which are rumored to come with a format change. They will leave behind the spirit (and antenna) of the original model and they would adopt an external appearance similar to the AirPods Pro. Connectivity and battery are expected as fronts to improve.
Finally, we have the AirTag. This accessory has been in rumor limbo since at least summer 2019. Apple has never commented on the matter, but the abundance of clues makes them almost inevitable. So much is known about them that even Samsung launched its own version, ticking all the boxes.
Looking at last year’s schedule, Apple released a press release on Wednesday March 18 with the new iPad Pro. The first units started arriving on Monday March 23, with iOS 13.4 landing on Tuesday 24. If we move it to this month, we could well be before one or more press releases on Tuesday or Wednesday. With the definitive arrival of iOS 14.5 next Tuesday. You have to be very careful.
