Apple has announced a product launch event for March 4, 2026, dubbed a 'special Apple Experience,' to be held in New York, London, and Shanghai at 9 a.m. ET. Rumors point to updates for MacBooks, iPads, and a budget iPhone model. The event invite features yellow, green, and blue glass elements, sparking speculation about colorful designs.
Apple's annual spring product event is set for Wednesday, March 4, 2026, inviting media to locations in New York, London, and Shanghai for what the company calls a 'special Apple Experience' starting at 9 a.m. ET. The invite's design, a three-dimensional shape of thinly sliced yellow, green, and blue glass, has led to theories it references the retro rainbow apple logo, potentially hinting at colorful MacBooks.
Reports suggest several hardware updates could be revealed. For MacBooks, expectations include chipset upgrades for the MacBook Pro, with higher-powered models featuring M5 Pro and M5 Max chips for the 14- and 16-inch versions. The 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro is already available, and these variants may incorporate a redesigned chiplet architecture to improve heat dissipation and increase CPU and GPU cores. The MacBook Air is rumored for an M5 chip upgrade in the first half of 2026, though an announcement at this event remains possible but uncertain.
A budget-friendly MacBook alternative to the Air has been speculated, potentially using an A18 Pro processor, 8GB of RAM, and priced between $699 and $799, with initial shipments of 8 million units. Its tested colors—light green, blue, and yellow—align with the invite, but some reports indicate it might launch later in the year rather than at this event.
On the iPad front, the 12th-generation model is expected to feature an A18 processor, enabling support for Apple Intelligence features, marking the first time in the tablet lineup. The iPad Air could receive an M4 processor, skipping the M3, and may be showcased alongside the base model.
Apple's budget iPhone offering, the iPhone 17E, is anticipated to replace the iPhone 16E at $599, with upgrades including an A19 processor, MagSafe technology, and Dynamic Island design, originally introduced in the 2022 iPhone 14 Pro.
Less likely announcements include a budget MacBook, an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro, or updates to the Studio Display and Mac Studio, as these are slated for later. The event focuses on hardware, with no expectations for software like a Siri refresh.
