Apple's Spring 2021 Event Could Be This April — here's What We Expect To See

Every year Apple holds several “Special Events” where they unveil new product releases. Their last big event in November 2020 gave us a look at the latest upgrade to the MacBook — the M1 Mac. 

However, despite several rumors about a likely March event, it never happened.

One known Apple leaker, Jon Prosser, felt so certain of a March event that he put the date at March 23rd. 

He also promised to shave off an eyebrow if it didn’t come to pass. 

We send him (and his brows) our condolences.

Apple usually does hold a special event sometime around spring, often in March.

But 2021 may see some changes — and we believe one of those changes will be pushing back the spring event to mid-late April. 

We’re not going to bet our eyebrows on it though.

What we do know is that Apple has unveiled new products at April events before. We might see that pattern repeat itself in 2021.

It’s also possible that the April event will be virtual. They’re easier for Apple to put together and make sense given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

We won’t know until we know, but multiple sources and rumors from Apple analysts and reporters could help us make better predictions.

So what can we expect to see from Apple at the April 2021 Event?

We might finally get to see some AirTags

It’s been a while since the Apple AirTags were first rumored — two years to be exact. 

These mini trackers are expected to be around the size of a 50 cent coin. Tiny enough to stick to your wallet, your backpack, your keys, or anything else you hate looking for in the morning.

Unlike other tracking devices, these will use a U1 chip with ultra wideband (UWB) technology instead of conventional Bluetooth alone.

The biggest tip that we might finally see these launched in April is the new iOS 14.5 Find My app’s “Items” tab — possibly introduced so you can link your AirTags to the app and keep track of your belongings that way. 

or an upgraded Apple TV

The Apple TV hasn’t seen an update since the 4K model was released four years ago, but there’s a good chance we might see it get a refresh sometime in spring 2021. 

With all the rumors floating around, we think April 2021 is the month we’ll finally get a faster, more powerful Apple TV — one with excellent gaming support.

The look probably won’t change, but we can definitely see Apple upgrading the internal hardware from the current processor, to the more powerful A12 or A14X chips. 

And if the 120Hz refresh rate found in the new tvOS 14.5’s beta code is any indicator, gaming on this is going to be so much smoother.

We’re hearing rumours of a new iPad Pro

It’s likely the most significant hardware upgrades will be to the iPad Pro. 

A report from Bloomberg in March revealed that we could see a new iPad Pro line-up as early as this April. 

We expect they’ll get an improved display with mini-LED technology and a huge performance boost — thanks to the upgraded Apple M1 processing chip. 

This would make them level with the M1 Macbook in terms of speed and raw processing power.

We might also see thunderbolt connectivity come into play for the first time on an iPad Pro.

And the iPad mini is reportedly getting a refresh too, with a bigger display and smaller bezels.

…and a redesigned iMac?

We might not see a new Macbook Pro so early in the year. However, a new version of the iMac is still on the table. 

Apple has confirmed that it intends to move all its Macs to Apple Silicon chips within the next two years. It’s likely this version of iMac will be powered by an M1 processor as well.

We could see some aesthetic updates on the new iMac too. There are rumors the redesign will see a larger display, smaller bezels and FaceID support.

It’s a huge refresh so Apple is way more likely to announce it at an April event, rather than through a press release.

An iPhone SE 3 wouldn’t hurt

It’s been a year now since the iPhone SE was first released.

Things aren’t entirely certain, but Mac Otakara has reported that Chinese suppliers believe Apple will release a third-gen iPhone SE in April 2021.

It’s likely this version is going to be larger, with a 5.5-inch display instead of the current 4.7-inch. 

Again, things aren’t clear on when we can expect to see an iPhone SE 3 this year, so we’ll just have to be very, very patient.

What about the AirPods 3?

Like the Apple TV, we’ve been hearing about upgrades to the AirPods for what seems like forever.

The AirPods 3 won’t have Active Noise Cancellation. However, they’re rumored to be smaller and about 20% more affordable than the AirPods Pro.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that we won’t see the AirPods 3 hit stores until late 2021. But multiple sources believe a more compact version of the AirPods Pro could still launch this April.

Apple has confirmed the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) for June 7th, but there has been no official word from Apple about an April event. We don’t know what’s happening this spring, or if new launches will be done via press release instead.

But if there is an Apple event set for April, we’ll be hearing about it pretty soon.