There have been a couple of upcoming Apple products that've been dominating the rumor mill lately, and today a well-known analyst dropped some info on those devices as well as some others that are new to us.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today named several new Apple hardware products that are expected to launch in the first half of 2020 (via MacRumors). Those include the oft-rumored iPhone SE 2/iPhone 9 that appeared in leaked renders recently.
Rumors say that the iPhone SE 2/iPhone 9 will have a design similar to the iPhone 8 along with a 4.7-inch display and Touch ID fingerprint reader. However, it'll be upgraded to the same A13 processor that's in the iPhone 11 along with 3GB of RAM. This phone is expected to arrive by the end of March at a price of $399.
Also reportedly coming in the first half of the year is an update to the iPad Pro. Rumors say the upgraded models will include a triple rear camera setup and will come in 12.9-inch and 11-inch sizes, just like the current iPads Pro. The new tablets will reportedly arrive as soon as March.
Interestingly, today's report says that Apple is working on a "smaller wireless charging mat". It's well-known at this point that Apple announced its AirPower wireless charging mat in late 2017 and then canceled it in 2019 because it did not "achieve [Apple's] high standards".
AirPower was supposed to allow you to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at once, but rumors say that Apple canceled it because the device ran too hot. Perhaps Apple would have better luck with a smaller mat that charges one or two devices at once.
Item tracking tags is another product that Apple is reportedly launching soon. Similar to the Tile tracker, these tags will help you locate whatever item they're attached to. They'd reportedly use the Ultra Wideband chip found in the iPhone 11 models for better accuracy than Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
Apple is said to be working on a pair of high-end Bluetooth headphones. The rumor mill has previously suggested that Apple is working on its own pair of over-ear headphones separate from the Beats brand, but there's little concrete info about these high-end headphones right now.
Finally, Kuo suggests that Apple has a MacBook Pro/Air update in the works. Apple launched a 16-inch MacBook Pro with a scissor switch keyboard last year following complaints about the butterfly switch keyboards in previous laptops, and so it's possible that this upcoming MacBook Pro/Air update will bring the scissor switch keyboard to other laptops in Apple's lineup.
It sounds like the first half of 2020 could be a big one for Apple. The iPhone SE 2/iPhone 9 is hotly anticipated as a small smartphone in a world where screens are typically around 6 inches or larger, and now that it's been a year and a half since the launch of the current iPad Pro, some folks are looking forward to an updated model. It'll also be interesting to learn more about this smaller wireless charging mat following the cancelation of AirPower.
Which of these upcoming Apple products are you most interested in?