Apple’s March event might bring several days of surprises
Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld reports that Apple may announce new products via daily press releases leading up to its March 4 hands-on event.
- Expected releases include the iPhone 17e, updated iPads with A18/A19 chips, and new M5 MacBooks using a staggered reveal strategy.
- This approach mirrors Apple’s M4 Mac launch in October 2024, allowing multiple product announcements without lengthy presentation events.
We now know the date of Apple’s next event-style event: March 4. But as always, we won’t know the precise details or what products the company plans to announce until it chooses to make that information public.
However, unusually, there’s a good chance that Apple will tell us about the new products first and then host the event (or, to use the company’s preferred terminology, “the experience”). Because a respected expert has posited the theory that Apple will announce new iPhones, iPads and MacBooks via a press release Monday through Wednesday this week, before journalists and influencers are gathered for a hands-on session with the hardware.
John Gruber, writing on his blog Daring Fireball, questions the large number of Apple releases expected in the coming months. We’re waiting for the iPhone 17e, he notes, new versions of the entry-level iPad (with an A18 or A19 chip) and iPad Air (with an M4), the MacBook Pro M5 Pro and Max, the MacBook Air M5, and the rumored low-cost MacBook with an A18 chip. That’s a lot to fit into one event. Maybe too much.
“What strikes me is that March 4, the day of the experiment, is a Wednesday,” Gruber writes. “So I guess they’re announcing all these products via newsroom press releases, day in and day out. Like, say, the iPhone 17e on Monday, the new iPad(s) on Tuesday, and the new MacBooks on Wednesday. And then the ‘experience’ will be a hands-on experience with in-person demos.”
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who is typically involved in Apple product launches, responded on X, saying that Gruber’s guess “is exactly what I would expect based on what I’ve heard.” Gurman previously reported that Apple had planned a product launch for March 2.
There is precedent for this type of serial press release strategy. In late October 2024, Apple released announcements on consecutive days for the iMac M4 (October 28), Mac mini M4 (October 29), and MacBook Pro M4 Pro and M4 Max (October 30). The company even called it an “exciting week of announcements,” even though it only lasted three days and wasn’t particularly exciting, focusing only on the Mac section of its product portfolio. A week of announcements on the iPhone, iPad, And Mac could do a better job of qualifying this adjective.
