Apple's March 8 "Peek Performance" event - what to expect

Apple's first event of the year is tomorrow and as always, we'll be covering while it's unfolding, so you can mark it off on your calendar. The event will begin on March 8 at 10:00 am PT (19:00 pm CET, 23:30 pm India) and you can watch it on Apple's YouTube channel, Apple's TV app, and on Apple's website.

We've had a pretty good idea for a while now what Apple is gearing up to announce, but being Apple there are still some uncertainties and even wildcards to consider. Let's take a look at what's pretty much guaranteed, what's likely, and what's unlikely for Apple to announce at its March 8 event.

iPhone SE 5G

Apple will announce the third generation iPhone SE with the same styling as the iPhone SE (2020) but with 5G (mmWave and sub-6Ghz), the A15 Bionic chipset and improved cameras. The iPhone SE 5G will start at $399 and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests that the current iPhone SE (2020) could stick around at a lower $199 price point. This would result in an even cheaper iPhone to fill in the lower market segment.

The iPhone SE 5G will enter mass production this month and popular analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects it to ship between 25 and 30 million units in 2022. It will come in 64/128/256GB storage and White, Black, and Red colors.

iPad Air fifth generation

Apple will finally update the iPad Air to a fifth generation. The current model has been out since 2020 and is starting to feel decidedly outdated. Apple will add the A15 Bionic chipset, 5G connectivity, four speakers instead of two, and Center Stage support to the iPad Air.

Rumor has it the new iPad Air will get the iPhone 13's ultrawide and main camera setup as well.

Mac mini with M1 Pro, maybe even Max

We've long heard rumors of Apple working on a new Mac mini, but we've yet to see anything solid. Apple did register three Mac devices with the Eurasian Economic Commission, which could be a pointer at a new Mac mini with access to the M1 Pro and even, possibly, the M1 Max chips.

This would be the first non-MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch machine to offer the latest Apple Silicon. Rumor has it the new Mac mini could even offer a few extra ports than its predecessor.

Apple M2, possibly a MacBook Pro 13-inch or Air with M2

We're moving from almost certain, to maybe territory here. Apple is working on an M2 chipset that will feature a CPU with four performance cores and four efficiency cores, which will be faster than the M1 chip, but less powerful than the M1 Pro and M1 Max. We could see the M2 at the event and Apple is reportedly planning to pair the M2 with a 13-inch MacBook Pro to sit underneath the current 14-inch and 16-inch models.

This new 13-inch MacBook Pro will have no touch-bar, no miniLED display, or ProMotion.

We know Apple will unveil the new-look MacBook Air this year and it's most likely going to sport an M2 processor. The new machine will have an iMac 24-styled design with white bezels on the front and a minimal metal body clad in a variety of colors.

It's not clear whether Apple is ready to show off the M2, as well as the two 13-inch laptops to offer it.

Wildcards?

Apple could end the event with a few wildcard announcements. We could see an affordable 27-inch monitor that's not mini-LED. There's talk of a "peek" at a new Mac Studio, which will be a very powerful portable desktop, sitting between the mini and the Mac Pro.

Mac Studio • New display

Apple could show off a new iMac with M1 Pro or Max, or even an iMac Pro with even faster processors that it currently offers.

But it's more likely that Apple will focus on the new iPhone SE, iPad Air, and Mac mini. Either way, stay tuned right here for our detailed coverage of the event.