Hartley Charlton, MacRumors:
Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three
major cities around the world. It is simply described as a
“special Apple Experience,” and there is no further information
about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo
design composed of yellow, green, and blue discs.It is notable that Apple is specifically using the word
“experience,” rather than “event.” Unlike a full live-streamed
event from Apple Park, the March 4 event in other cities is likely
to be smaller in scale.
Among the products expected soon — either by annual schedule predictability, or via the rumor mill — are the iPhone 17e, an updated iPad Air (going from the M3 to M4), an updated base-model iPad (going from A16 to A18), updated MacBook Pros with the M5 Pro and Max, updated MacBook Airs (going from M4 to M5 — the M4 models were released in early March last year), and, per Gurman, the long-rumored new lower-cost MacBook with an A18 chip (a “MacBook e”, if you will, although I certainly don’t think that will be the name — my guess is Apple will just call it “MacBook” without an adjective).
What strikes me is that March 4 — the “experience” day — is a Wednesday. So my spitball guess is that they announce all these products via Newsroom press releases, day-by-day. Like, say, the iPhone 17e on Monday, new iPad(s) on Tuesday, and new MacBooks on Wednesday. And then the “experience” will be a hands-on thing with in-person demos. Spread the announcements out across a few days, but then have in-person events for members of the media to get a hands-on experience with all of them, station-by-station, without needing to produce an Apple Event keynote film.
