Quick summary
Apple recently launched the new MacBook Air with M3 chip, but also has more devices coming soon, it is claimed.
This includes an updated iPad Pro with M3 chip and OLED display and potentially a new 12.9-inch iPad Air with M2 chip. There might also be a new iPhone SE with a design similar to iPhone 14.
Apple has just announced the new MacBook Air, giving it a performance boost with its M3 hardware, and completing the set so all Mac models are available on M3. But that's not the end of the story, because Apple reportedly has more devices in the launch pipeline.
Ominously missing from yesterday's announcement was any sign of the rumoured iPad update. The iPad Pro is expected to get an update to M3 as well, continuing its drive to replace your laptop. The new iPad Pro is expected to be thinner, more powerful with M3, and feature an OLED display.
It's the OLED display that's exciting and this rumour has been around for some time. Switching to OLED will allow the iPad Pro to be thinner for starters, but will boost the visual display quality and increase the fidelity of blacks. It's also said that there's a new Apple Pencil in the works to go with it.
Beyond the iPad Pro, the excellent iPad Air could also see an update. It's unlikely to get that OLED display – which Apple will use as a premium differentiator between these devices – but it's said that there will be a 12.9-inch iPad Air this time around and these new models will be powered by the 2023 M2 chip. Currently it runs on the M1 chip.
It's expected that Apple won't be running a huge launch event for these updates, but will instead make the announcements via press releases and update its website, a little like the launch of the new MacBook Air.
What about the launch of a new iPhone?
Hold on there – a new iPhone? We're expecting the iPhone 16 to be announced in its regular slot in September 2024 and that's not going to change, but iPhone 16 might not be the only iPhone that Apple announces in 2024.
A new iPhone SE has surfaced – the fourth SE – in renders which might hint at a replacement for the current iPhone SE which was announced in 2022. The incumbent model still carries wide bezels and Touch ID, being based on the body of the old iPhone 8 design.
The new iPhone SE 4 could be closer in design to the iPhone 14, getting a 6.1-inch display, but retaining the notch rather than going all-in and getting Dynamic Island.
Rumours surrounding the new iPhone SE are mixed: some have said that there are no plans to update this model in 2024, but the surfacing of new rumours about the phone suggest that it's in the works and T3 has heard whispers about a possible spring unveiling.
But, Apple's launch schedule for the iPhone SE has been mixed in the past – 2016, 2020, 2022 – so there's no established pattern here, making any prediction difficult.
