Apple Is Going All Out For Its 2021 Releases | by Benny Lim | Mac O’Clock | Mar, 2021

This is probably the most given seeing how it’s been over the last decade where Apple has been steadily releasing a new iPhone every single year. It used to be in March, then in June but over the last five or six years, Apple has chosen September as their month for big iPhone news.

For 2021, there are rumours that Apple will be releasing (possibly) five new phones.

Yep, FIVE iPhones!

The ones that are probably a given would be the iPhone 13 series. We’re looking at a September or October launch event and could possibly see the same lineup as the 12 series which comprises the Mini (5.4-inch), the Standard (6.1-inch), the Pro (6.1-inch), and the Pro Max (6.7-inch). However, we could well see the Mini model dropped due to the current 12 Mini not selling as well as Apple would have liked.

This would then tie in rather nicely to another rumoured iPhone release this year which is the iPhone SE 3. The current one rocks an iPhone 8 design (4.7-inch) with iPhone 11 internals. It still carries a physical home button which is pretty outdated already.

Apple may see fit to release a new SE in the form of the current Mini. You’ll get a 5.4-inch screen that’s bigger than the 4.7-inch of the current SE but in a smaller overall form factor — which in my opinion, is much better.

Apple could just rebrand the 12 Mini as the SE 3. Maybe give it a bit of a bump in specs or just keep it the way it is and lower the price. Honestly, to get the specs of a 12 Mini with the price of an SE, that will sell!

This one is probably one of the most anticipated releases for a while now. The current iMac has been with its design for almost a decade now and people have been wondering when it will get a refresh in design.

Well, that could well happen this year with Apple rumoured to be releasing a new iMac with an all-new design that could mimic the design of the iPad Pro/Air and the iPhone 12 series with flat edges, rather than rounded.

And not only that, but we could also finally be given a choice of colours!

Right now, you only have the standard silver if you buy an iMac. If you want to get the black/space gray, you will have to get the much (much much!) more expensive iMac Pro.

However, Apple is rumoured to be releasing the new iMacs in the same range of colours as the iPad Air which will see choices such as Space Gray, Silver, Rose Gold, Green, and Sky Blue. Now, that would be quite a sight on an iMac.

And for internals, we can definitely expect Apple’s own Silicon chip, possibly one that’s more powerful than the M1 chip that’s powering the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13″.

Personally, this is one of the releases that I’m more excited about.

And we move on to the MacBooks. Instead of another MacBook Air, Apple is now said to only be releasing new MacBook Pros. The Air will be a 2022 release instead.

So, we’re looking at possibly a new 14″ MacBook Pro that will replace the existing 13″ as the entry-level Pro. However, despite the increase in screen size, the entire dimension of the new 14″ will be smaller than the current 13″ due to — again — a design change.

Just like the iMac, the new MacBooks (Air included) will take after the iPad Pro/Air and iPhone 12 with flat edges and smaller bezels.

As I’ve written in a previous article, the new Pros will also be bringing back some much-missed/loved/needed items like more ports (Magsafe, USB, HDMI, card reader, etc.) to its design and I think it’s a great move. Although it may add a bit of thickness to the overall design, I think the fact that you won’t have to buy extra dongles/docks will compensate for that.

Apple released the very beautiful iPad Air 4th Generation last year which looks exactly like the iPad Pro (just a tad smaller than the 11-inch version as the iPad Air’s screen size is 10.9-inch) but minus the Face ID technology. Although, they did incorporate a Touch ID on the lock button which I think I’d prefer more.

For 2021, it’s rumoured that Apple will release quite a few new iPads.

The first would be an all-new iPad Pro lineup with obviously better specs internally. Whether there will be a new design or not, we’re not so sure yet. But the biggest change will actually be the screen where the 12.9-inch version is set to feature either OLED or Mini LEDs.

That’s a big upgrade.

One that I’m not sure makes much sense is a 9th Generation iPad that will replace the current 8th Generation one which has a 10.5-inch screen.

The 9th Generation is reported to have a 10.9-inch (seems like it’ll look like the iPad Air) all-screen design. This would seem like it’s going to clash with the iPad Air so I’m not sure what Apple’s plans are if this is actually going to happen.

Are they going to just replace the iPad Air with the new iPad or sell it side-by-side? The latter doesn’t make much sense. We could well see the end of the iPad Air lineup and Apple will look to have a Pro series, a normal series and a Mini series.

Which brings us to the last iPad rumour — the iPad Mini.

There are reports that Apple is looking finally update the current Mini with an all-new design which will see the Mini rocking an 8.7-inch all-screen design, integrated Touch ID into the lock button AND Face ID as well.

This is because Apple won’t be calling it the iPad Mini 6 to replace the current Mini 5. No, Apple is going to call this the iPad Mini Pro, which explains the Face ID technology rumoured to come with it.

Whether that makes any sense to have a Pro Mini or not, I’m not sure. But if the pricing is going to be the same as the current Mini, then that’s a no brainer for sure! An 8.7-inch all-screen design sounds lovely on a compact Mini.

If this is to actually happen, then the new Mini is the iPad for me.

Just like the iPhone, Apple has released a new Apple Watch every single year. This year, it is slated to release Series 7.

Unlike last year where Apple released two different Apple Watch (the Series 6 and the SE), we are probably only going to see one launch this year with the Series 7.

There’s an all-design reported for the Series 7 which again will follow the current design language of flat edges instead of rounded ones. Looks like Apple is really trying to streamline their entire product range with the same design language.

Aside from the new design, a new feature that the Series 7 will be getting is to monitor our sugar levels. This is an addition to the ECG and blood oxygen monitoring the current Series 6 can already do.

If this actually happens, that’s another useful feature that the Apple Watch will happen which could potentially save lives.

And finally, the AirPods. With the release of the over-the-ear AirPods Max, Apple will be returning their attention to the very first wireless earbuds that they created — the Airpods.

Rumours have been circulating that we’ll see a redesigned entry-level AirPods and a replacement for the AirPods Pro.

With the current AirPods 2 having been around — in terms of design — for a few years now, it was always just a matter of time before a design change happened and apparently, it’s going to happen this year.

AirPods 3 is rumoured to look a lot more like the current AirPods Pro but with a shorter stem. This would mean that we may say goodbye to the much-loved design that started from the EarPods because the AirPods 3 is reported to spot an in-ear design, just like the Pro.

The AirPods Pro 2 on the other hand is reported to be getting rid of the stem entirely and will be just the buds. A design that has been around for quite some time now but one that Apple has stayed away from. The question though is how is Apple going to fit all of the technology of the AirPods Pro into a stemless earbuds?

This will be interesting to see if it really comes to fruition or not.