Apple will hold its first event of 2021 on March 23 to reveal new products, according to a reliable Chinese leaker known as "Kang." The event could see the unveiling of new iPad Pro models, updated AirPods, and the long-awaited AirTags item trackers.
Kang has said Apple's March event will be held on the same date as the OnePlus 9 reveal, which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 23, opening up the potential for coverage competition between the two tech companies.
Initial speculation pointed to an Apple event occurring on March 16, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman shot down the possibility, leaving the door open for an event later on in the month.
March 23 and March 30 are both reasonable guesses for when Apple may choose to hold an event. Apple tends to hold events on Tuesdays and is expected to have an event in the "early spring" to coincide with the launch of App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14.5. The company has not yet sent out invitations to a March event, suggesting that it will fall toward the end of the month.
Due to the global health crisis, Apple's event is expected to be pre-recorded and then live-streamed via its website and YouTube channel, much like the previous four Apple events in 2020.
There is mounting evidence of the imminent release of AirTags, suggesting that Apple's Tile-like tracker could debut at the rumored March 23 event. Other sources have suggested Apple will also release new iPad Pro models with mini-LED displays and faster processors in the first half of this year, lining up with the late March timescale, and third-generation AirPods seem to be impending too, although noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is now saying mass production on the new AirPods won't ramp up until later this year.
Shortly after Kang suggested the March 23 date, hit-and-miss Apple leaker Jon Prosser simply tweeted "23," in an apparent show of support for Kang's event date prediction.
Last year, Kang was first to accurately reveal that Apple planned to revive the MagSafe brand for iPhone 12, and also leaked correct details and launch dates for the entire iPhone 12 lineup and the HomePod mini before they were officially announced.
