Apple’s surprise iPad event could include some major surprises

Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.

‘Loose’ change

Defying all expectations, Apple last week sent out invitations to a special event on May 7. Based on the artwork (which features an Apple Pencil and an artistic Apple logo) and the lack of new Apple tablets since 2022, you can be virtually certain that iPads are back on the menu… but based on the fact that Apple decided to do this at an event rather than via a less ostentatious press release, there might be a few surprises too.

New AirPods and AirPods Max

The promotional artwork strongly implies that iPads are the stars of the show, but that isn’t necessarily the case: Apple might want to keep back something more exciting for the “one more thing” slot. And I would argue that more people care about new AirPods than new iPads.

There’s reason to hope, too. In December the generally reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman predicted that 2024 would see the launch of not one but two standard AirPods models (one with active noise cancellation, one without), and a new set of AirPods Max to boot. And there is a precedent for Apple releasing new AirPods in the spring: the 2nd-gen AirPods came out in March 2019.

The AirPods Max in particular desperately need an update. They weren’t completely convincing at launch, but over the past three and a half years they’ve aged like milk thanks to their lack of an H2 chip, USB-C, and Lossless Audio. My colleague, in fact, thinks Apple should scrap them and start over.

A report near the start of April suggested the 2nd-gen AirPods Max won’t arrive until the fall, but don’t rule out a surprise appearance on May 7.

David Price / Foundry

A HomePod with a screen

We’ve been hearing for some time that Apple is about to refresh its smart-home strategy, but it’s still not clear what that will entail. One theory is that it’s going to upgrade the humble HomePod by adding a screen so it can act as a hub without being so dependent on Siri. You’d also be able to use it for FaceTime calls and watching news reports while you eat your breakfast–handy for a device you could install in the kitchen. Some reports have suggested that the HomePod with a screen will simply be an iPad that attaches to a HomePod dock. That would certainly fit the event’s iPad motif.

Like updated AirPods, a new HomePod could just about fit into the creative “Let Loose” theme of the event; if you check the animated artwork in Tim Cook’s tweet you’ll notice some musical iconography in there.

All of the iPads

Apple rarely updates an entire range all at once. The MacBook Air gets a refresh at a different time to the Mac Pro, the iPhone SE is announced at a different time of year than the flagship iPhone, and the various iPad models appear on an unpredictable staggered timetable.

It’s just possible that might change this year.

Logically we’re only expecting new versions of the iPad Pro and iPad Air, each of which has been the subject of multiple rumors and supply-chain leaks. (This also tracks with the discovery of four unreleased models on the Bureau of Indian Standards website, which would match the two sizes of Pro and Air respectively.) This remains by far the most likely outcome.

But Apple has two other iPad lines, and these are just as sorely in need of an update as the Pro and Air. The 10th-gen iPad came out in October 2022, at the same time as the last iPad Pro, while the 6th-gen iPad mini came out in 2021 and is positively ancient. (Clue-hunting readers might be wondering why Apple is holding the event at an unusually early hour of 7 am PT on May 7, and whether this might point to the 7th-gen iPad mini being a significant element. I’m… not entirely convinced by that, but it’s a fun idea.)

The wait since any iPads were announced is getting ridiculous. It’s a long shot, but we might end up with an entire set of new iPads this May.

But don’t expect…

There are some announcements that wouldn’t merely be a surprise: they would be a miracle. Here are the product launches that I’d put below a 1% probability.

New iPhones: The iPhone 16 (and 16 Plus, Pro and Pro Max) will come out in the fall. And the next iPhone SE is unlikely to appear before 2025. Every time Apple holds an event our iPhone rumor articles light up with optimistic readers, but it’s not going to happen.

New Apple Watches: Same story as the iPhones. The Apple Watch Series 10/X won’t be here until September (possibly accompanied by a third-gen Ultra) and while the last Apple Watch SE came out 19 months ago, it seems to be a following a two-yearly release cycle and there haven’t been any relevant leaks from the supply chain.

A new version of Siri: Oh, I wish. But this is an announcement for WWDC, assuming Apple is prepared to admit that Siri 1.0 was horrible. Which it probably isn’t.

The next version of the Vision Pro: Far, far too early. Expect this in 2025 at the earliest, and quite possibly 2026.

Apple will finally let its new iPads ‘Loose’ at a surprising May event.

If it wants us to buy new stuff all the time, Apple needs to become a software company again.

Peter Müller switched from an iPhone 14 Pro to an iPhone 15 and hasn’t looked back.

Forget iPhone 16, Apple’s most important new product this year is on-device AI.

FineWoven will join a long line of short-lived Apple failures.

The new Snapdragon X chips are faster than an M3, but should we believe it?

Podcast of the week

Apple announces a May 7 event. Is FineWoven done for? Is there a big change in store for the Calculator app? We talk about the latest rumors and news bits in this episode of the Macworld Podcast!

You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.

The rumor mill

Apple kills off troubled FineWoven line, report claims.

Report: New 12.9-inch iPad Air will not have the same high-end display as the iPad Pro.

iPad users rejoice! iPadOS 18 will finally include a Calculator app.

Software updates, bugs, and problems

iOS 17.5 beta 3 arrives as Apple announces May iPad event.

The third beta of macOS 14.5 is here. Get it on your Mac right now.

And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads, or Twitter for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.

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