Apple may finally unveil a range of hotly-anticipated products at its ‘Spring Loaded’ event tomorrow (April 20), including an iPad with mini-LED display technology.
The tech giant, which confirmed the unveiling event last week, is expected to unveil two new fifth-generation iPad Pro models, AirPods and AirTags – a high-tech tag for tracking everyday items.
Also rumoured is a third-generation Apple Pencil – the latest update on its wireless stylus pen, to accompany the new iPad Pro models.
Spring Loaded, which won’t have an in-person audience due to the pandemic, will be live-streamed on YouTube tomorrow evening from 18:00 BST (10:00 PDT).
Apple confirmed the date and time (April 20, 18:00 BST) of Spring Loaded in a press invite on April 13
iPad Pro
According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to showcase two new iPad Pro models – one larger model measuring 12.9 inches and featuring new mini-LED display technology.
Mini-LEDs are like ordinary LEDs, but much smaller, which makes it possible to pack in thousands more of them into a display.
The extra light sources makes screens substantially brighter and creates more vibrant and nuanced colours, thanks to the greater combination of lights made possible by the higher LED count.
But Bloomberg has also reported possible supply issues for the larger iPad Pro, citing ‘people familiar with the matter’, meaning it will initially be available in ‘constrained quantities’.
According to Japanese site Mac Otakara, citing Chinese supply chain sources, new fifth-generation iPad Pro will be available in the same sizes as its predecessor – 11-inch, as well as the 12.9-inch, corroborating Bloomberg.
But only the 12.9-inch model will come with Apple’s new mini-LED display technology, according to Bloomberg.
Mac Otakara has also previously said the fifth-generation will have a ‘significantly improved’ processor from the Apple A12Z in the fourth generation.
Apple Pencil
On Friday, a leaker claiming to have information from inside Chinese factories who goes by the username @ileakeer on Twitter, tweeted a video of a what’s supposedly the third-generation Apple Pencil.
The three-second video shows the stylus has a flat edge, just like the second-generation version, so it lies flat when charging and during use.
‘New Apple Pencil ready to ship at #AppleEvent,’ @ileakeer said in the tweet (largely translated from emojis).
Many were surprised when Apple unveiled a stylus – the first-generation Apple Pencil – back in 2015.
Original Apple boss and company co-founder Steve Jobs memorably condemned tech companies who chose to design a pen for their tablets when introducing the first iPhone in 2007.
‘Who wants a stylus?’ he said. ‘You have to get them, put them away, you lose them. Yuck! Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus.’
Apple products, he said, were designed to work with the ‘best pointing device in the world’ – the human finger.
AirTags
Perhaps most excitingly for Apple fans, the company is also expected to unveil AirTags – small, circular devices with an Apple logo in the centre, possibly equipped with Bluetooth connectivity.
The tags would help users find any personal item that has an AirTag attached – such as wallets, keys, luggage or even a stolen bicycle – by using a map on the ‘Find My’ app.
Apple is expected to unveil a new iPad Pro, AirPods and AirTags on March 23. AirTags are Apple’s rumoured tracking system for the ‘Find My’ app. Each will be small, circular and made to be attached to everyday items (pictured here in supposed leak previously published by MacRumors)
Find My lets people track the whereabouts of their Apple devices, such as iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods, in case they get lost – but AirTags will extend this to other everyday, non-electronic items.
If the lost item is in the vicinity, such as around the house somewhere, users would be able to click an option for the AirTag to emit a noise to help them locate it, just like items already supported by the Find My app.
If the lost item with an AirTag attached was further afield – for example, if it were accidentally left in a bar in the next town – users could find it on the map.
If the item was stolen, the owner could potentially find out the address of the person who took it, as long as it still had the AirTag attached.
Rumours that Apple is developing item tracking tags first surfaced in September 2019 when MacRumors released leaked screenshots of a new ‘Items’ tab in the ‘Find My’ app.
Rumours that Apple is developing item tracking tags first surfaced in September 2019 when MacRumors released leaked screenshots of an item-tracking sub menu being developed for the ‘Find My’ app
The product was reportedly given the code-name ‘B389’ during its development but is expected to be sold under the name ‘AirTags’
It’s believed personal items like keys and wallets that have AirTags attached to them will show up under the ‘Items’ tab on the app.
In April last year, Apple mistakenly uploaded a support video to YouTube that revealed the existence of AirTags, which was quickly removed.
The video, entitled ‘How to erase your iPhone’, mentioned AirTags in a shot of Settings for the Find My app.
In April last year, Apple mistakenly uploaded a support video to YouTube that revealed the existence of AirTags, which was quickly removed
AirPods
Apple is also expected to reveal its third-generation AirPods tomorrow – the wireless Bluetooth headphones that come with their own charging case.
The second-gen AirPods, which were unveiled two years ago, start at £159. AirPods Pro, with additional noise cancellation technology and water resistance, cost £249.
For the third-generation, Apple is working on more affordable ‘entry-level’ AirPods, according to MacRumors – albeit with a lack of higher-end features like active noise cancellation.
Apple is already pushing consumers towards AirPods. iPhone 12, released last October, didn’t include a pair of standard wired headphones (EarPods) in the box, unlike its predecessors, prompting outrage from some buyers.
Cheaper AirPods will therefore come as good news for iPhone fans – although consumers can still buy EarPods for an extra £19.
The decision not to include wired EarPods in the box of the iPhone 12 should turn consumers towards its £250 AirPods Pro (left) and AirPods (right)
Lastly, Apple is not expected to unveil any phones at the April 20 event.
But even though the iPhone 13 is not due until the autumn, analysts have already been trading rumours about what it will look like.
In January, it was reported by the Twitter tipster Mauri QHD that Apple has created a prototype iPhone without the black ‘notch’.
The rectangular black notch, which has featured on flagship iPhone models since 2017, conceals the phone’s front-facing camera components and sensors.