There's a chance that Apple's first major product announcements of the year will continue in 2022.
We recap some of Apple's past spring announcements and look ahead to some of the first new Apple products that we might see this year.
Past announcements of upcoming events.
Apple held an event on April 20 last year to show off its AirTag item tracker, new iPad Pro and iMac models powered by the M1 chip, and a new purple color option for the iPhone 12 and 12 mini.
Apple did not host a spring event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 being declared a worldwide epidemic. The new MacBook Air and iPad Pro models were updated in March and the second-generation iPhone was released in April.
In March, Apple announced several new products, including the new iPad Air and iPad mini models. The Apple Card, Apple TV+, Apple News+, and Apple Arcade were introduced at the event.
The first major product release of the year was in February when the full-sized HomePod became available to order, but this was because Apple delayed the speaker's launch by a few months. In March, Apple held an education-focused event at a Chicago high school, where it unveiled the sixth-generation low-cost iPad.
Apple did not host a spring event in 2017, but it did announce the fifth-generation low-cost iPad, a (PRODUCT)RED color option for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and new Apple Watch band options with press releases in March.
We could see what we could see in the spring of 2022.
The most likely new products to be announced this March or April are a third-generation iPhone SE with 5G, a new iMac powered by Apple Silicon, and high-end Mac mini configurations.
The iPhone SE has 5G.
According to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce, Apple will release a third-generation iPhone in the first quarter of 2022. We can expect the device to be released by the end of March if this is accurate.
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new iPhone SE will have a similar design to the current model, with a larger display, Touch ID home button, and thicker bezels. The A15 chip found in the iPhone 13 series will be included in the device's key upgrades, according to a report.
The iMac has Apple Silicon.
A March or April announcement is possible, as Apple is rumored to be planning a new iMac with a mini-LED display in the first half of 2022. Ross Young, a display industry consultant, has proven to be a reliable source of display-related rumors, and he said that the new iMac will support ProMotion, enabling a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz for smoother content and scrolling.
A source who has proven reliable said that the new iMac will have the same design as the previous one, but with a darker color scheme. He said the computer will be powered by the same chips used in the MacBook Pro.
The Mac Mini is high-end.
Apple is expected to announce a new iMac and Mac mini in March or April, powered by the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.
The Mac mini will only be updated with the M1 chip in November 2020 for lower-end configurations, with the higher-end models continuing to use Intel processors. The only remaining Intel-based Mac would be the Mac Pro desktop tower.
Check out our guides on What to Expect From Apple in 2022, Upcoming Apple Products, and Apple's 2022 event plans.
