Apple is set to hold its first event of 2022 on Tuesday, March 8 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Apple's spring events sometimes aren't as exciting as the September and October events, but it's nice to have new devices on the horizon in the new year.
For the 2022 spring event, we're expecting a refreshed version of the iPhone SE, a new iPad Air, a possible Apple-branded display, and at least one new Apple silicon Mac, which could be a whole new Mac mini/Mac Pro hybrid called the Mac Studio. We've rounded up everything that we might see at the March 8 event below, including last minute rumors.
iPhone SE 5G
The 2022 iPhone SE is going to look just like the 2020 iPhone SE, with no design changes expected. Apple's current iPhone SE is modeled after the iPhone 8, featuring thick top and bottom bezels, a Touch ID Home button, and a 4.7-inch LCD display.
The iPhone SE is and will continue to be the only iPhone that Apple offers with Touch ID instead of Face ID, and it will be the only iPhone released in 2022 with an older LCD display as Apple has transitioned to OLED for the flagship lineup.
Wireless charging will be supported, but we're not expecting MagSafe, nor are there likely to be notable changes to battery life. The current iPhone SE is available in black, white, and red, and we are likely to see similar color options.
With no design changes on the horizon, the updates to the iPhone SE are all internal. We're expecting a faster chip, and the iPhone SE could get the same A15 chip that's in the iPhone 13 for a drastic increase in performance. Storage is rumored to start at 64GB, with Apple offering 64, 128, and 256GB options.
The other major new feature coming to the iPhone SE is 5G connectivity, which will put the iPhone SE on par with the flagship iPhones when it comes to connection speed. Apple's iPhone SE will be the cheapest 5G iPhone, and it is expected to be priced at $399.
The only other rumor we've heard about the iPhone SE is a possible updated camera, so it could get the latest Wide camera from the iPhone 13.
iPad Air
There's a new version of the iPad Air in the works, but like the iPhone SE, there are no design changes expected. The next-generation iPad Air will continue to look like the current iPad Air, though there's a possibility we could see new color options. Right now, the iPad Air comes in space gray, silver, rose gold, green, and blue. Purple has been floated as one of the possible new colorways for the iPad Air.
Rumors suggest that much of the iPad Air update will focus on bringing the device in line with the sixth-generation iPad mini released last fall, so could get an updated A15 chip, which Apple added to the iPad mini after introducing it in the iPhone 13 models. There is, however, a rumor suggesting that Apple will add the M1 chip that's been used in the iPad Pro to the iPad Air, putting performance on par with Apple's higher-end tablets.
For cellular iPad Air models, Apple will add 5G connectivity, so the updated devices will work with faster 5G networks. The chip in the iPad mini is limited to sub-6GHz 5G networks rather than the fastest mmWave 5G networks, so it's possible we could see this same limitation in the iPad Air.
Sub-6GHz 5G is the more widely available version of 5G that can be found in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the United States and other countries, while mmWave 5G is more limited in availability and in range.
AT&T and Verizon have recently expanded their 5G networks with C-band spectrum that improves the availability of mmWave networks in the U.S., so it's possible Apple will take this into account when updating the iPad Air.
The iPad Air will feature mostly internal changes, but it could get the same updated 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera that will work with Center Stage, a feature first introduced in the iPad Pro and the iPad mini 6.
Center Stage is a FaceTime feature designed to keep you in focus and perfectly framed when you're on a FaceTime video call. The wide-angle front-facing camera shows more of the room that you're in, while the processor inside the iPad works to keep you front and center even as you move around. If more than one person is in the call, the camera will also zoom out to keep everyone in view.
The rear camera is expected to continue to feature a single-lens setup, though a quad-LED True Tone flash could be added. As for other features, it will continue to use a USB-C port, and we're not expecting notable changes to battery life.
Pricing on the iPad Air is likely to stay the same, so the new model could be priced starting at $599 for 64GB storage.
Mac Studio
YouTuber Luke Miani shared renders of a new Mac allegedly called the "Mac Studio," which he says will be introduced at the spring event. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also confirmed that a "Mac Studio" machine that is a "smaller Mac Pro/more powerful Mac mini" is "ready to go" and could launch at the spring event.
