Apple is all set for the next media event at their Cupertino campus on March 21st and all the invitees were greeted by a simple “Let us loop you in” invitation, etched in the trademark Apple opacity. The “loop” could very well be in reference to their current campus’ name, the One Infinite Loop. It’s an address that is soon going to change when the tech giant moves to their new “spaceship” campus that is opening shortly, hence this could possibly be the last media announcement at their current location.
While speculations are rife, we’ve scouted the internet to dig out 5 Things To Expect From Apple’s March 21st Launch Event:
1. Introduction of the iPhone SE
Yes, there will be a new iPhone, but no it won’t be the iPhone 7! Rumors claim that the new handset will look almost identical to the iPhone 5S, with a 4 inch screen and a performance upgrade in the form of the A9 and M9 processors. It will also carry an NFC chip to work with Apple Pay. The key thing to look out for is the price point which will largely decide its future. Too expensive and it will compete with the Apple iPhone 6, too cheap and it will dilute Apple’s imagery. We feel it will be a good way to penetrate the Indian budget-premium handset market.
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2. Introduction of a smaller iPad Pro
Apple might also announce a smaller iPad Pro which is expected to replace the 9.7 inch iPad Air 2. The smaller iPad Pro will have the same A9X processor as the current 12.9 inch iPad Pro and will also support a new range of Smart Keyboards and Apple Pencil Stylus, making working on it far more convenient. It will also have the same four-speaker setup along with a 12 mega pixel camera and 4K video support.
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3. New straps for Apple Watch
Instead of launching a newer version of the Apple Watch, there are speculations that Apple will be introducing luxury watch straps for the existing model. The straps will mostly be made of a different material with talks about probable tie-ups with luxury goods makers such as Hermes, and the like.
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4. Official release of iOS 9.3
Keeping the hardware launches aside, Apple might also officially launch the iOS 9.3 which it has been testing since January 2016. The new iOS brings with it some exciting news in the space of academics, which will allow users to access one device like an iPad but provide multiple account access to different students.
Another important and helpful feature is something called Night Shift mode. For all of you who are used to using your phone before sleeping, this feature will change the colour saturation of your screen, much to the relief of your eyes.
Here’s a video that explains all of the iOS 9.3 features:
5. Discussion on Data Encryption
Apple is set to go head-to-head with the United States Federal Government a day later on 22nd March, over their refusal to decrypt the San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone. Speculators feel Tim Cook will use this opportunity to address the public about their strong stance of refusing to find a backdoor entry into their own encryption standards after the FBI failed to get into the phone used by the terrorist.
Mr. Cook said, “The same engineers who build strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.”
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What are you looking forward to the most? Let us know!
