Fans of Apple's shiny products, rejoice! The Cupertino-based company has been tipped to launch a 4-inch iPhone - dubbed iPhone 5se - new Apple Watch models, and possibly an iPad Air 3 at an event in March, according to a report by someone with a reliable track record.
Chatter around a 4-inch iPhone - the supposedly true successor to the iPhone 5s for people who don't crave for a large display - has been circulating for more than a year now. Previously dubbed the iPhone 6c or iPhone 7c, or even iPhone 5e - the phone will actually be called the iPhone 5se, reports 9to5Mac.
iPhone 5se
Apple reportedly plans to launch the iPhone 5se - wherein se stands for special edition - alongside a new Apple Watch with minor improvements at its March event. Apple is also said to have plans to launch another Apple Watch dubbed Apple Watch 2 later this year around September with major hardware improvements and design changes. 9to5Mac further adds that the company is also aiming to launch the iPad Air 3 at the event, however, the plans could change later.
Previous reports suggest the upcoming 4-inch iPhone will have the same hardware specifications as the iPhone 5s, but it seems Apple has bigger plans. The new report claims that iPhone 5se will also borrow some features from the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6s.
The iPhone 5se will sport a curved glass as previously seen on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s smartphones. The supposedly imminent handset will be powered by A8 SoC and M8 motion coprocessor as seen on the iPhone 6. As for connectivity features, the iPhone 5se will support 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and VoLTE, as seen on the iPhone 6s.
Other features tipped around the iPhone 5se include an 8-megapixel iSight (rear camera), and a 1.2-megapixel FaceTime (front-facing camera) - the sensor combinations previously seen on the iPhone 6. The new iPhone will also support larger panoramas and autofocus for video recording. The handset will purportedly support Live Photos, a feature currently exclusively available on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The iPhone 5se will also come equipped with an NFC chip to facilitate Apple Pay, the company's mobile payments solution.
The report claims that the iPhone 5se will come in Silver, Space Gray, and Rose Gold colour combinations - as seen on the iPhone 6s/ 6s Plus lineup.
Apple Watch
A separate report on 9to5Mac claims that Apple plans to launch the Apple Watch 2 with major improvements later this year, likely around its supposed iPhone 7-September event. This is in line with a previous TechCrunch report. The Apple Watch 2 will sport major design and hardware changes such as the inclusion of a FaceTime camera and improved processor and battery.
Apple is also said to be working on new Apple Watch models for its unannounced March/ April event. The company aims to provide users with a range of new band colour options, and may also feature new bands from Hermes, a French company that produces fashion-centric luxury accessories. Unlike the previous bands from Hermes, the new bands will be made out of new materials.
Apple is reportedly planning to release the WatchOS 2.2 software update, which was recently made available to developers, alongside the launch of new Apple Watch models.
iPad Air 3
The mid-March (or April) event could also see the launch of the iPad Air 3, the successor to Apple's 2014 IPad Air 2. Last year, Apple introduced the iPad Pro, a 12-inch tablet with top-of-the-line specifications and Apple Pencil stylus, but the iPad Air 2 stayed company's flagship 10-inch tablet.
As of now, no information around the iPad Air 3 is known, though following company's past products pattern, the iPad Air 3 could be powered by the A9X SoC (iPhone 6s features an A9 SoC), 2GB of RAM, and camera improvements. A report from earlier claims that the iPad Air 3 won't support 3D Touch display.
That said, the report adds that Apple isn't fully convinced about launching the iPad Air 3 at its mid-March event.
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