Plenty of Apple, iPhone, and iPad news gets released every single day – but we know you’re busy, so we’ve got your back. Here, we’ve picked out some of the most important stories from the past week or so and summarized them for easy digestion. You’re welcome.
Let’s take a quickfire look at some of the most interesting recent headlines of late. As ever, click through to read the full stories if you want to know more!
Apple announces Spring Loaded event
After numerous leaks – the most recent by Apple’s own Siri personal assistant software – Apple has finally announced its next big hardware event. With the theme of ‘Spring Loaded,’ Apple’s next event will take place on Tuesday April 20th. It’s expected to feature a new iPad Pro model, possibly with a fancy new mini-LED display and a third generation Pencil, while the company’s long expected AirTags (basically Apple’s answer to Tile) could also take a bow. The event will come too early to see a return to Apple’s famous live event format, so expect another slick pre-recorded production when it streams from the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park from 1pm EST / 10am PDT / 6pm BST.
iPhone 14 to pack 48MP camera
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is one of the more reputable names in the sprawling Apple rumours and leaks business, so when he reports (via MacRumors) that the 2022 model of the iPhone is going to pack an eye-catching new feature, people tend to sit up and take notice. This time Kuo claims that the next-but-one iPhone will feature a huge 1/1.3″ 48-megapixel main camera, which would represent a massive change from the 12-megapixel cameras that have been the standard since the iPhone 6s. Kuo confirms that Apple would use all those extra pixels in a 4-in-1 ‘pixel-binning’ system, which has the potential to create clearer 12MP shots. Most high-end Android phones already use a similar system.
Is Apple done with the iPhone mini already?
Another comment from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo during his note to investors caught our eye. It seems reports of the iPhone 12 mini’s underperformance at retail have led Apple to plan the scrappage of its latest compact smartphone form factor altogether from 2022. There will still be four iPhones on offer, apparently, but all we’ll be getting is 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iterations of the base and Pro models. All of which means that the next mini – whether that be the iPhone 12s mini or the iPhone 13 mini – could well be the last.
Global chip shortage problems set to continue
Apple, like every other technology company in the world, has been adversely affected by the ongoing microchip supply shortage. And the latest news on that front isn’t massively positive. Earlier in the week, the US Biden Administration labelled the chip shortage a “national security issue” ahead of a summit committed to the issue. Subsequently, chip manufacturer and frequent Apple partner TSMC has revealed that the effects of the current chip shortage will be felt for “a couple of years” to come. How this will affect the supply of this year’s iPhone is unknown, but we’d recommend getting your pre-orders in as soon as possible come September/October.