Apple has announced its first hardware event of the year, which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8. The event comes with a provocative name - "Peek Performance."
Apple's invite is, as usual, vague about what to expect. We think the best clue comes from the name; Apple has been gaining an enviable reputation in the field of personal computers of late, particularly with the performance of its M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max Apple Silicon SoCs. An M2 chip has been rumored, and may be possible at the event.
One other clue from the announcement imagery is the use of the range of colorful logos, which might signify the arrival of a colorful range of iPhones, iPads or iMacs.
Additionally, Greg Joswiak, Apple's SVP of Marketing, shared an animated version of the invite, which kind of looks like the back of a large curved screen with Apple's logo in those same colors.
There have been many rumors about upcoming products in a potential Apple announcement. In a recent article regarding and EEC listing of three Mac computers, we noted that Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reckoned there would be at least one new Mac on March 8, probably a new version of the Mac Mini. Apart from that, Gurman didn't go into what other Macs to expect but he did tip the appearance of a new iPhone SE and iPad Air.
The colorful 24 inch iMac range with Apple M1 processors (Image credit: Apple)
There have, however, been other Mac clues. MacRumors has claimed that Apple will release an M2 chip in a 13-inch MacBook Pro with the existing chassis. However, some previous industry news we have seen points indicated March is a few months too early for such an unveiling.
We think one of the other likely Macs due to be updated is the larger 27-inch iMac, which is still listed with Intel inside, so it is very much due an update. The 24-inch models got an M1 under the hood and a colorful range of purchase options nearly a year ago, so this could be rinse and repeat for the bigger brother. Since it is a bigger computer, and it is so much later, the 27-inch iMac would be a good candidate to debut the highly anticipated M2 chip, though it could also potentially see the M1 Pro or M1 Max.
The only way to know for sure? To tune in on March 8, when Tom's Hardware will be covering any computer news out of the event.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
I'm hoping they release a new Mini with a total redesign and hopefully it fixes all those Bluetooth gremlins. I own several and they all suffer from BT problems. I'm also hoping they release new iPad Pro's. I have never owned an iPhone and as someone who likes larger screens, the SE is a no go even for $399. My minimum is a 5.8" screen and there are rumors there will be an SE with a screen that size. Will it be this year? Who knows, highly doubtful but I would jump on an SE with a screen size like that.
