Last month we shared a roundup of everything we expect from Apple’s rumored spring event for iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Apple World Today now speculates one possibility for when and where Apple might hold its rumored spring event.
Apple has held a spring event in March for the past few years although the specific date has slipped back each year. It was around this time last year that we officially learned Apple would hold its March 21st event for the iPhone SE and smaller iPad Pro, but Apple’s spring event isn’t a sure thing yet this year.
12.9-inch iPad Pro availability has been extremely constrained at various retailers including Apple, however, so an upcoming refresh appears inevitable. Based on current availability dates for new orders, Apple World Today speculates that Apple could be planning its event for next month on April 4.
Apple is expected to introduce new 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models soon in addition to a new design with a 10.5-inch display.
The former TUAW editor at AWT further speculates that Apple could be planning to hold its event at Steve Jobs Theater located at Apple Park, the company’s new campus set to open to employees starting next month.
While Apple said its new headquarters would open in April for some employees, the company also noted that landscaping work would continue into the summer; the announcement didn’t specify when the new auditorium would open beyond later this year.
This makes sense for one more reason as well. At Apple’s last event at 1 Infinite Loop, Tim Cook noted that it would be the last one at the current Apple headquarters. We now know that Apple Park is scheduled to open in April, 2017. It could be that Apple will have the reveal of the new iPad lineup in the 1,000-seat Steve Jobs Theater onsite.
April 4 marks the first Tuesday of the next month which wouldn’t be surprising for an Apple event (and April looks more likely than March at this point), although this speculation is based on iPad availability which is a rough estimate that has shifted recently. Apple holding its next event at its new campus so soon seems less likely, and same day hardware releases are rare for the company although updates for existing iPads are expected to be more minor.
