Apple event live blog: Mac Studio, iPad Air, green iPhone 13 – everything Apple announced

Hello, and welcome to Creative Bloq's Apple event blog! If you're an Apple fan, you've no doubt kept up with the rumours about what to expect at today's event, but let's run through a few of the most likely.

Firstly, the fan-favourite iPhone SE is rumoured to be in for an upgrade today – though apparently, you wouldn't know it to look at it. All of the updates are said to be internal, with a brand new chip and 5G support on the way. The same old design is said to be staying, complete with chonky bezels and home button. 

Also strongly rumoured to be announced today is an update to the iPad Air. We were big fans of the iPad Air 4, and even wondered whether it had made the iPad Pro irrelevant in 2020.

The iPad Pro was kept in the game by the addition of the super-powerful M1 chip last year – but this is rumoured to be hitting the iPad Air today. As well as 5G support, the iPad Air is also said to be gaining a brand new purple colour (to match the iPad mini 6).

Here's a rumour we'd really like to become a reality. Having languished without any design love for years, the MacBook Air is due a fresh coat of paint. And plenty of leakers have claimed that could happen – and then some.

Taking cues from the stunning 2021 iMac, the new MacBook Air is said to be coming in a series of delectable pastel hues. And on the inside, it could feature a brand new M2 chip for super-fast performance. Our fingers are crossed for this one.

One of the surprising announcements at Apple's spring event last year was the addition of a brand new purple colour for the iPhone 12. Could we see a new iPhone 13 colour revealed today? Green? Yellow? Orange? Violet? Beige? Brown? Teal? Indigo? #66ffcc? #cc3399? #0059b3? 

Ah, yes. You know there's an Apple event coming when the Apple Store is down. Want to buy something direct from Apple right now? Well, ya can't. You'll just have to wait until after the event, when there'll no doubt be plenty of new gear available to burn a hole in your pocket. (There are plenty of Apple deals available elsewhere, if you really, really, really can't wait.)

It wouldn't be an Apple Event without suggestions for Apple Event Bingo being shared on Twitter. Here's one of our favourite examples, courtesy of DylanMcD8. Special shout out to 'Apple removes something and calls it a feature'.

One of the most exciting parts of any Apple event is the phrase "One more thing..." and it doesn't happen every time. Apple saves it for its truly exciting product announcements, and in fact hasn't unleashed it since 2017's iPhone X was revealed. Could we hear it today? If Apple does indeed give us a "peek" at that VR headset, perhaps we will...

Amid all the talk about MacBooks, iPhones and iPads, let's not forget AirPods. We've heard tons of rumours about the so-called AirPods Pro 2, covering everything from a new wireless audio standard to replace Bluetooth, to the ability to control them using your teeth (yes, you read that right). With the AirPods 3 and AirPods Max both recently released, the Pros are starting to look a little stale. We wouldn't be surprised to see them get an update today.

As usual, Apple has launched a Twitter hashflag (that word will never not look weird) to mark the occasion. Hit the Like button on any tweet with the #AppleEvent hashtag, and the heart icon will briefly change into an Apple animation. It's the little things, eh?

Here's an interesting one. The Mac mini has been rumoured to be getting an update for a while, but last-minute leaks are suggesting what we're actually in for is something brand new, called Mac Studio. This will apparently be pitched (and priced) somewhere between the Mac mini and Mac Pro. And if fan-made renders are anything to go by, it could look like – wait for it – a tall Mac mini. Not the most exciting design if so, but we'll find out in a few hours if it's accurate.

With all this talk of what we'll see at today's event, what about what we won't see? We'll take a punt and say the iPhone 14 almost definitely won't appear. While we might see the iPhone SE 3, the latest and greatest is almost always reserved for September. In fact, the only time that didn't happen was when the iPhone 12 was revealed in October, thanks to coronavirus-related delays. But it sounds like the iPhone 14 will be worth waiting for – check out every iPhone 14 rumour and leak we've heard so far. 

Is it 6pm yet?  

Less than two hours to go! It's a long shot, but we might just get our first glimpse of the elusive Apple VR headset today. Should the likes of the Quest 2 and PS VR2 be worried? Here's everything we know about the Apple VR headset.

You know what we really want from Apple in 2022? Logical naming conventions. The keyboards for both iPad and Mac are both called the Magic Keyboard. The iPad Air is thicker than the iPad Pro. Sometimes we get an 'S' model iPhone, sometimes we don't. The thirteenth generation iPhone is called the iPhone 13; the ninth generation iPad is called the iPad. We have an iPhone XR and SE, and no idea what either stand for. The iPhone mini is all lowercase. The iPhone Max is not all uppercase. We're confused. Admit it – you're confused too.

Apple's product names have descended into a confusing mess, with no logic, pattern, rhyme or reason. Not only is it a minefield for consumers, but just think of us poor journalists trying to write about the things. What we'd really like to see in 2022 is some consistent naming across the board. Is that too much to ask?

All rumours point to the iPhone SE 3 looking exactly the same as the current model, which would be a little disappointing, especially when we've seen so many awesome fan-made renders imagining it with an iPhone 13 mini-inspired design, like this one. We can but hope. 

Here's tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee, saying what we're all thinking...

One hour to go...

Here's a quick appreciation post for the iPad Air 4, which could be replaced in an hour. The tiny powerhouse has served many a creative well. As we said in our five-star iPad Air 4 review, it's "fast, powerful and remarkably fully featured. It feels like the future." 

What do we think? Will Apple finally undo its worst ever design crime in 2022?

And we're off! Tim Cook is starting by talking about Apple TV+ shows, so feel free to make a cup of tea right about now.

Playing Apple event bingo? Random Apple TV+ trailer: check.

Just announced: a brand new green iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. I like it. It's green. Green's nice. Green. 

Here it is: the new iPhone SE. And yep, it looks like the old iPhone SE. But it comes with the incredible new A15 Bionic chip, so it's going to be very fast. 

Yep, the rumours were true about the iPhone SE 3 – same old design, but with the A15 chip, ceramic shield and better battery life. Oh, and 5G. An incremental upgrade.

"The new iPhone SE will be supported by iOS updates for years to come" – good news for SE fans. 

Here it is! The "new, and even more amazing" iPad Air. The first iPad Air to feature the amazing M1 chip. 

So 5G is coming to the iPad Air too. As is Centre Stage, (which we found a little creepy in our iPad Pro review). 

Apple says the iPad Air with M1 is "2x faster than the best selling Windows laptop in the same price range."

Here ya go, grid fans.

Thought Apple was about to announce the M2 chip? Nah, M1 Ultra, mate. Will we ever get M2, or is this going to carry on forever? M1 Mega? M1 Awesome? M1 Flippin' 'Eck?

M1 Ultra is 10x more powerful than the latest desktop chip. 128GB of unified memory supported.

"You don't have time to stir your coffee because the file just opens". M1 Ultra: bad news for white coffee drinkers.

Stats!

Here it is, an actually new product! The Mac Studio – unofficially the love-child of the Mac mini and Mac Pro. "The first computer to put outrageous performance into an unbelievably compact form."

This is a little surprising – the Mac Studio was rumoured to be pitched between the Mac mini and Mac Pro, but it looks like it's the most powerful of the lot. 

Along with the Mac Studio comes the Studio Display. It's 5K, comes with an adjustable height stand, and features a 12MP camera and array of studio-quality mic. Let's just wait for the price...

Feast your eyes on the specs for the Mac Studio.

Don't forget, new Apple products mean great deals on slightly older Apple products. Our guides to the best iPhone SE deals and iPad deals are your friends. 

And just like it's 2020 again, people are wondering if the iPad Air has made the 11-inch iPad Pro redundant. With the addition of the M1 chip, the Air is practically indistinguishable from the Pro, save for the ProMotion refresh rate on the display.

The dust has settled on yesterday's Apple event, but the opinions are only just getting started. It seems there are more than a few iPhone users who are annoyed to see the beautiful new green iPhone 13 revealed mid-cycle – because they've already upgraded to one of the original colours. You could say these people are – wait for it – green with envy. I'm here all week. 

We're pretty excited about the Mac Studio, Apple's actually new computer in years. From price to specs, here's everything you need to know about the Mac Studio.

And once again, we're wondering if the iPad Air has negated the need to go all-out and buy an iPad Pro. Here's everything you need to know about the new iPad Air. 

One of the less headline-grabbing announcements of yesterday's event was a new colour for the Magic Mouse 2. Just a new colour, mind – not a fix for its awful charging process. Will Apple ever reverse its worst ever design crime?