Following Apple's new product exposure in October, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported on Apple's new products for the first half of next year, including iPhone SE 4, iPad Air 7, MacBook Air (M4), AirTag 2 and the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air 7.
iPhone SE 4
The fourth-generation iPhone SE will be replaced with a similar design to the iPhone 14, with a 6.1-inch 60Hz refresh rate OLED notch full screen with Face ID support. It features a flat metal middle frame, an action button instead of a mute switch, and a USB-C port.
The back of the fuselage has not changed much, and there is still only one rear camera, but it will be replaced with the 48-megapixel sensor on the iPhone 15, which supports 2X optical zoom, and the specifications have been upgraded. The front camera is also the same as the iPhone 15, with a 12-megapixel sensor.
In terms of core configuration, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to be powered by the same A18 chip as the iPhone 16, and the memory will be upgraded to 8GB to support Apple Intelligence features. At the same time, the SE 4 will also debut Apple's own 5G modem, which is expected to significantly reduce battery power consumption.
Regarding the selling price, it may be 459-499 US dollars, which is currently about 3237-3520 yuan. If the above revelations are true, then the upgrade of the iPhone SE 4 this time is quite considerable, and the price is about 3500 yuan, which is also quite cost-effective in the iPhone product line.
If you're waiting for the iPhone 618 to get the iPhone 16 next year, you can also wait until the iPhone SE 4 is released, and then it may be a replacement for the iPhone 16: it has the same performance as the iPhone 16, but it also supports Apple AI, and more importantly, it's much cheaper.
iPad Air 7 series
Apple just finished updating the iPad Air 6 series in May this year, and the Air 7 series will be coming again in the first half of next year.
The new iPad Air 7 still comes in two models, 11-inch and 13-inch, and this time it should be replaced with the M3 chip. There's no word on anything else yet, but if the Air 7 gets a 120Hz refresh rate, it's a real backstab for Air 6 users.
iPad Air 7 妙控键盘
The new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air 7 will be on par with the keyboard of iPad Pro 2024, which features an aluminum palm rest, trackpad with haptic feedback, and function keys.
MacBook Air(M4)
M4 MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini are expected to debut this month, with M4 MacBook Air updated in the first half of next year, and then M4 Mac Studio later next year.
AirTag 2
The new AirTag will have an upgraded chip to improve positioning accuracy, and is expected to be the second-generation ultra-wideband chip that debuted on the iPhone 15 last year. This will also be the first major update to Apple's Airtag product line since the original AirTag was released in 2021.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the above new products will be launched in the first half of next year, and it is likely that they will be unveiled at the spring conference in March-April.
In addition, Mark Gurman also said that Apple is gradually abandoning the "annual update" product release strategy, and other products may no longer be upgraded once a year in the future, except for the iPhone product line.
Personally, I feel that this is very good, because products like iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, etc., although they are updated every year, it is difficult to see big upgrade points. If the upgrade cycle is extended, perhaps Apple will squeeze more toothpaste, so that the desire of old users to replace it can be stronger.