“Rumor has it Apple is planning an event for this spring, so it’s time to break down the iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, AirPods, and AirPower updates with industry analyst Ben Bajarin,” Rene Ritchie writes for iMore.
Some snippets:
Rene: The biggest rumor is iPad. There’s been a number of sources that’ve talked about new iPads. I was wondering about that specifically because Apple updated both the iPad Pro 12.9 inch and introduced a new iPad Pro 10.5 inch last year. They’re not on the A11 architecture. They don’t have features like Face ID. But it’s uncommon for Apple to rev an iPad nine months into the cycle as opposed to 12 or 18 months they’ve been doing lately.
Ben: I think the question is just when’s the right timing. They’re going to refresh them. They did just refresh them. But the buying cycles for this has shifted to the latter half of the year. I’m just not sure what you gain in a mid or earlier type of an event around iPads when the buying cycles I think are relatively clear for those products.
Rene: Last September, we also saw when Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X and they had inductive charging for the first time on Apple’s platform, they announced AirPower along with it, a device that would charge one or two iPhones, an Apple Watch, and AirPods if you got the new inductive charging case for AirPods… Now, there’s rumors that we’ll see it announced again at this event. Have you any sense of how well inductive charging is being used as a feature by iPhone owners and if there would be excitement for AirPower, especially because there’s rumors that it’ll be at a higher price point.
Ben: I think it’s certain that it’s going to expensive. It’s the one product that I’m really, really excited for. But I do think it’s going to be a premium for sure… When you look at something like AirPower, it’s designed for that cream of the crop of Apple’s customers that really clamor at those things. Then we see how it diffuses over time.
As for MacBook Air:
Ben: Honestly, there’s a slot that I think if Apple chose to could seriously rain on the PC OEMs’ parade if they brought updates to the MacBook Air with Retina for example. If all they did was update the Air with Retina and some modern specs and priced it around 899, they would take share like it’s no one’s business. It would really, really disrupt PC sales in a significant way.
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A 13-inch MacBook Air with Retina display for $899 would kill!
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s March 2018 special event rumors: iPads, a new iPhone SE, AirPower, and more – March 1, 2018