iPhone SE: Apple Sends Out Invites For March 21 Event, New iPad Also Expected To Be Announced


After months of speculation and rumors, we now have confirmation about Apple’s launch event scheduled for later this month. The company is expected to show its new iPhone model, the rumored iPhone SE at the event. Apple has sent out invites to bloggers and journalists across the U.S. asking them to join them for an event taking place at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. According to MacRumors, the invitation reads as follows.

“Let us loop you in.”

The Apple event will happen on March 21 — the same date that was being talked about for some time now. There were recent rumors however that the event could take place a week earlier — on March 15.

You can watch the live steam of the event on this landing page that Apple has created for the event.

While, it is almost certain that Apple would debut a new, smaller-screened iPhone model at the event, the text in the invitation teaser has sent the rumor mills into a tizzy again. The reference to the world “loop” in the invitation is according to many, a reference to Apple’s interest in Hyperloop.

iPhone SE invite
The Apple iPhone SE Launch invite [Image Via Apple.com]
What is more likely to be seen at the launch event are new versions of the Apple iPad Air 2, the aforementioned smaller iPhone, and possibly, new bands for the Apple Watch. The Inquisitr has talked about the iPhone SE in several of our previous articles. Also known as the iPhone 5SE for quite some time, the name of the phone was reportedly changed to the iPhone SE to so that people would not mistake it for an upgraded iPhone 5 model. The iPhone SE is expected to be a new device, created from the ground up with significant performance and feature upgrades over the iPhone 5S.

The iPhone SE is also rumored to receive a 12-megapixel camera — a decent upgrade from the 8-megapixel camera that was rumored earlier. The device is also likely to be powered by the Apple A9 chip which is also seen on the iPhone SS. The phone would also support NFC and Apple Pay.

Other features that received a mention include the possibility of the device coming in 16GB and 64GB variants with support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and Live Photos support. Thanks to its smaller size, the battery capacity would be struck down to a 1,642 mAh battery which is smaller than the one you saw on the new iPhones, but is still an improvement over the iPhone 5s battery. However, 3D touch is not expected on the iPhone SE. This is probably because the phone is simply too small to incorporate the taptic engine needed to power the 3D touch UI.

Unlike the iPhone SE, which a lot has been talked about, the rumored successor to the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 has remained shrouded in mystery. It remains to be seen if we would see a small, incremental upgrade to the iPad or if it would be something more significant. What we know is that the new iPad model could turn out to be a shrinked version of the Apple iPad Pro. Again, we advise you to take this information with the traditional pinch of salt, since these are unconfirmed reports.

As for Apple Watch, the company is not expected to show any new hardware at the event — but you can expect new bands and watch faces, and of course, a new software version.

The launch of the iPhone SE and other rumored Apple products come at a time when Apple is engaged in a battle with the U.S. government over security, privacy, and encryption issues.

What do you think would Apple launch at the March 21 event? Would you be getting the new iPhone SE?

[Image Via Pixabay]

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