All We Can Expect From Apple's March 27 Event
Apple is in the mood for an event, and that event will take place on March the 27th. That event will be education focused, as evidenced by the text included on the event invite. The invite says: "Join us to hear creative new ideas for teachers and students." The invite also suggests that the event will take place at a high school in Chicago.
The invite also mentions a Field Trip, but it's unlikely this wording has anything to do with the company's launch of "Field Trip to the Apple Store" initiative first announced back in 2008. Instead, several new devices – and probably some updated software – are tipped to be in the mix. The list includews an iPad, MacBook Air, and some wireless charging action. All of the information bits below are educated guesswork based on tips and rumors released over the past several weeks.
An inexpensive 9.7-inch iPad would be revealed for a relatively low price. That'd be right around $260 USD if the rumors hold tight. That would be the cheapest price for an iPad ever placed on an iPad at launch – but it might also just be an Education thing. It could be that Apple will position the iPad as a competitor for the Chromebook, putting a $260 tablet up against the massively-successful Chromebook hordes in schools across the USA right this minute.
The invitation features a ribbon-like line segment that forms the Apple logo. That line looks a whole lot like press graphics for the Apple Pencil. It wouldn't be a big shock to see Apple release an Apple Pencil that was either updated with new features or released in two tiers, one normal price, the other rather cheap – for classrooms.
A new MacBook Air may be coming back into the limelight with pricing below the last cheapest MacBook Air. This would be an odd move for Apple given the relatively thin, light, compact nature of their standard MacBooks right this minute. The MacBook Pro out on the market right now is right around the same thickest-point thickness of the first MacBook Air. But if the price is right...
While the newest batch of iPhone devices can already be charged wirelessly, Apple may make a big deal out of launching their AirPower charging mat. That'd be something we sorta saw already at a past event, moved back a few months due to supply constraints (likely.)
Probably the strongest near-lock on a possible launch is iOS 11.3 for the general public with ClassKit. ClassKit is an education-focused framework for developers of education apps – it also looks a lot like it'll be a slick interface for educators wrangling their students. Almost like Apple plans on releasing an inexpensive iPad for use in classrooms in a way not unlike that of the Chromebook – oh my goodness.
Stick around as the event unfolds. That'll take place on March 27th at 10AM Central Time. That's 11AM Eastern Time, 9AM Mountain Time, and 8AM Pacific Time. Apple usually holds events in California – so don't get your timezones mixed!