Apple may launch iPhone SE and iPad Air in March-April

Apple's iPhone SE lineup is due for an update for a while. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has predicted that Apple is going to launch a new iPhone SE model sometime in March and April in a Spring event ahead of the WWDC developer conference, which is lined up for June. 

“It's a shoo-in that you’ll see a new iPhone SE, which will probably have a similar design to the current model but a faster processor and 5G support,” Gurman said in the weekly Bloomberg technology newsletter.

Gurman also hinted that Apple may also update the iPad Air lineup and launch a new model powered by the new A15 chip. 

“Given that the iPad Air hasn’t been updated since the end of 2020, I’d say a new version of that product also is possible. Look for that device to get the A15 chip from the iPhone 13, matching the iPad mini from last year,” he said. 

Also read: Apple becomes number one global smartphone brand again: Report

The iPhone SE lineup was last updated in 2020 and according to CEO Tim Cook, it did well in markets such as India. Cook said this during the Q3 2021 results announcement. Aimed at emerging markets with lower average selling prices (ASP), the iPhone SE lineup is usually modelled after older iPhone models. For instance, the 2020 variant had a similar design language as the iPhone 8 — it has a fingerprint sensor and smaller 4.7-inch screen as compared to the main lineup of iPhones, which offer a 5.4-inch screen in the smallest variant and up to the 6.7-inch screen on the biggest. 

According to some of the other predictions, Apple is likely to stick to the same design but will upgrade the phone’s hardware to incorporate the A15 chip and a bigger battery. The 5G upgrade will be the key upgrade and should help drive sales. 

Apple had updated the iPad and iPad Mini lineup in September 2021. The iPad Air lineup which sits above the basic iPad and below the flagship iPad Pro models were last updated in 2020, like the iPhone SE. Its upgrade is likely to have the same thin bezels, flat edges and a 10.9-inch display. It’s likely to run on the new A15 chip and better display.