5 things to expect at Apple's big event on March 4 — and 5 things that might not make it

MacBooks aplenty, the iPhone 17e, and new iPad models

16 Feb 2026, 21:05 · TechRadar

Features By Darren Allan published 16 February 2026

(Image credit: Apple / Future)

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Apple has just announced a press event – well, technically an 'experience', which suggests something slightly lower-key – taking place on March 4, 2026, in New York, as well as London and Shanghai.

As ever, the company is keeping tight-lipped about what product launches we might see at the event, with nothing specific mentioned in the press invite itself.

However, we have a pretty good idea of what might be coming already based on the very active rumor mill when it comes to Apple. Indeed, one of the main fonts of speculation, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, has already tweeted that a clue in the invite points to a new affordable MacBook.

I'll come back to that shortly, but as well as that lower-tier MacBook, further laptops are expected to be launched by Apple, namely new MacBook Pro models.

Remembering that the iPhone 16e was launched around this time last year, we are also anticipating the successor to that handset, the iPhone 17e. On top of that, we may well witness the revelation of new iPads.

(Image credit: Apple)

Let's break down the likely revelations for the March event, which Gurman believes is going to consist of online announcements and hands-on previews at the three locations. Then we'll look at what we might not see at this event (sorry – 'experience', which again hints at a hands-on feel).

1. MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

(Image credit: Future)

There have been strong rumors that Apple will release new MacBook Pro models with more powerful processors early this year, and tipster Mark Gurman has previously suggested these laptops would debut in the first week of March. Obviously, that lines up perfectly with this event.

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