What To Expect At Apple’s Next Big Event

The press event is coming, the press event is coming!

Such has been the reaction of the Apple-watching Internet for the last 24 hours or so following the announcement out of Cupertino that Apple has officially scheduled its latest press event for March 21.

So, what to anticipate?

Well, the Apple fistfight with the FBI is drawing all the press attention, but generally, when a person or a firm is involved in an ugly legal conflict with the federal government, discretion is the better part of valor. So, we imagine Cook and Co. will have little to say directly on the matter. Though it is always possible — and not unprecedented — for a section of that event to be dedicated to some broad comments on privacy and Apple’s incredible dedication to it as a core experience for its customers.

As for what we really care about — the gadgets — Apple Insider is speculating hard on two areas. The iPhone is one of them, and the hot buzz that has been out on the street for a while seems like it will get an official confirmation at the next event. Though the company went big with the iPhone 6 and even bigger with the 6 Plus, it looks like minimalism is about to rule the day, perhaps for all those small phone fans who felt wronged when Apple went with the crowd.

In a research note obtained by Apple Insider in November, KGI Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecasted that Apple’s upcoming four-inch iPhone will basically be an iPhone 5s on steroids.

Kuo predicts mass production will likely start sometime in the first half of 2016, meaning that the four-inch phone could see its commercial launch be roughly contiguous with the launch of the iPhone 7. The design details are thin, though a metal case and an A9 processor are both anticipated.

Kuo also forecasts that the four-inch model may be a ‘budget” model for those who are looking for an Apple product but don’t need (or want to pay for) all of Apple’s highest-end bells and whistles. The plastic-back iPhone 5c was a similar attempt.