What Products to Expect From Apple’s March Event

If you follow tech news, you’re probably familiar with Apple’s two big events each year: WWDC in June, where the company reveals new operating system updates (like iOS 26), and its fall event, where it typically announces the latest series of iPhones. But even though these are the most well-known Apple events, they are not the only ones. The company mixes things up, occasionally holding mid-year keynotes to announce new products, especially when those products aren’t the latest flagship iPhones. The March event is just the latest example.

Apple will host this special event on Wednesday, March 4, live from New York. While we won’t know exactly what the company has in store for us until it makes its announcements, many of the rumors are coming from leakers who seem pretty confident in their reporting. Here are the six products we expect to see at the Apple March event:

Apple will replace the iPhone 16e with the new iPhone 17e

The iPhone 16e is Apple’s option for customers who want the essential iPhone experience, without spending nearly $1,000 to get it. The iPhone 17e will likely continue on this path, with a few small upgrades to separate it from its predecessor. The screen probably won’t be one of them, though. Rumors suggest Apple will keep the same 6.1-inch screen with a lower 60Hz refresh rate. And despite an OLED panel, the 17th likely won’t have an always-on display. Once again, Apple is cutting corners with the “e” series to keep costs down. Apple could improve the 17th’s camera notch, however, by adding the Dynamic Island from its recent flagship iPhones.

The biggest upgrade for the 17e will likely be the A19 chip, the same SoC that Apple put in the iPhone 17 series. That’s the benefit here: you get the power of the iPhone 17 without paying the MSRP of the iPhone 17. I expect Apple to keep the $599 price of the 16e here, which means you save $200 by not opting for the iPhone 17.

Apple to unveil iPad A18 and iPad Air M4

Rumors suggest that Apple will also refresh its base model iPad, as well as its iPad Air. However, you wouldn’t know it from the design, as leaks expect both iPads to be identical to the current models. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though: Apple’s recent iPad models look modern, with large edge-to-edge screens and thin bezels. If Apple reduced the bezels further, there wouldn’t be much room to hold the iPad without accidentally touching the screen.

The advantage of these new iPads is power: the base iPad will upgrade from the A16 chip to the A18, the same chip found in the iPhone 16 series. This should offer good performance, especially for the price, if Apple keeps prices starting at $349. On the other hand, the iPad Air will likely move from the M3 to the M4. The M4 is more powerful than the M3, but that’s not necessarily a reason to upgrade from the current Air to the new one. Still, it could be a good option for anyone upgrading from an older iPad Air, even if iPadOS isn’t the most demanding software.

We’re about to get our first look at Apple’s ‘cheap’ MacBook

Apple’s MacBook Air is a great value at $999, and even better when you put it on sale. But the company seems ready to unveil an even better laptop. The company will announce a new MacBook, likely just called “MacBook,” that will start at just $599. To keep costs down, the company would use an A-series chip from its iPhone line, rather than its M-series chips that power all of Apple’s modern Macs, perhaps the A18 Pro. This laptop may also have a smaller 12.9-inch screen compared to the Air’s 13.6-inch screen, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. That’s not a lot of RAM by today’s standards, as Apple’s MacBooks all ship with 16GB by default, but it may make sense for users who want a better price and don’t mind the drop in performance.

To win over even more customers, Apple could introduce new colors for this MacBook line, including light yellow, light green, blue and pink. Apple MacBooks don’t typically come in fun colors, so this could add some novelty to entice buyers to buy them. This certainly gets my attention: I usually only go for MacBook Pros, but if I could get a MacBook in light blue to match my iMac, I’d consider it.

Expect to see the MacBook Air M5

Apple will probably take this opportunity to present the MacBook Air M5. It won’t be an exciting update: aside from the move from the M4 chip to the M5 chip, the computer should essentially be the same. It will still be available in 13 and 15 inch versions, with the same overall design. However, new buyers will likely notice the improvement in graphics performance and NPU, even compared to the M4. CPU performance is also improved, although it is not as precise. Still, the M5 Air might just be the best overall MacBook package, for anyone looking for the best balance of power and price.

Apple will present the M5 Pro and M5 Max with the new MacBook Pros

But for anyone looking for the most powerful MacBooks, regardless of price, Apple’s new MacBook M5 Pro and M5 Max should do it. These will follow the M5 MacBook Pro, and while we don’t know the exact performance gains yet, we expect these to be Apple’s most powerful chips yet. Like some of Apple’s other upgrades this year, the rumors don’t suggest any design changes here, so the overall laptops should look pretty much the same, minus the performance increase.