Two updated Apple devices said to be taxiing down the runway for an April liftoff
A new report from Japan's Mac Otakara says that in April, we could see Apple release two devices of note. According to Chinese supply chain sources, one will be the AirPods Pro 2 featuring a new design for the charging case. While the current version of the charging case for the AirPods Pro measures 45.2mm tall and 60.6mm wide, the rumored measurements for the AirPods Pro 2 carrying case are 46mm tall and 54mm wide making them slightly taller and narrower than the current variant. They will remain 21mm thick.
An earlier report from Bloomberg said that Apple will remove the stem on the AirPods Pro 2 making the new premium model more compact. The latest word is that "a design in testing has a more rounded shape that fills more of a user's ear and is similar to wireless Bluetooth earbuds offered by Samsung and Amazon." Mac Otakara says that there is still a possibility that we won't see any design change at all because the AirPods Pro requires enough room for the wearables' internal components to fit inside. The report adds that the AirPods Pro 2 will see the light of day this coming April.
The AirPods Pro 2 is said to feature a wireless charging case slightly different in size than the current version seen in this picture
The third generation of the budget priced Apple iPhone SE will also be introduced this coming April according to the Mac Otakara report. In fact, earlier this year there was speculation that Apple plans on unveiling the third-generation iPhone SE exactly one year to the day that the iPhone SE (2020) was introduced. So circle your calendar for April 24th, 2021. While the iPhone SE (2020) is based on the iPhone 8 design and carries a 4.7-inch display, it is powered by the A13 Bionic chipset used on the iPhone 11 series.
The iPhone SE (2021) could be based on the iPhone 8 Plus. If so, the new SE could be the biggest one yet with a 5.5-inch display sporting an FHD resolution of 1080 x 1920. If Apple decides to go with the 5nm A14 Bionic to power the budget-priced model, performance and energy-efficiency could be spectacular. The aforementioned chipset sports 11.8 million transistors.
Contradicting today's report is one that crystal ball wielding analyst Ming-Chi Kuo released in November. During that report. Kuo said not to expect the iPhone SE (2021) to make its grand appearance during the first half of this year. Kuo did not comment on whether the iPhone SE (2021) will appear during the second half of this year. Apple isn't expected to update the iPhone SE series every year, but the Mac Otakara report, if true, would mean that new versions of the iPhone SE have appeared over the last two years.
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