So Apple’s doing something a bit different this time. No keynote, no Tim Cook on a stage, no 90-minute event with five minutes of actual product and the rest being “shot on iPhone” montages. Instead they’re just dropping press releases across three days starting today, and then on Wednesday there’s an in-person “Apple Experience” in NYC, London and Shanghai where media gets hands-on time.
Gurman called it a “three-day deluge of announcements.” Honestly? Good. We don’t need the theatre. Just show us the specs.
Tim Cook posted a teaser video on X on Feb 26 - Apple logo being shaped on aluminium, “A big week ahead. It all starts Monday morning! #AppleLaunch” - which basically confirms new Mac hardware is in the mix.
What’s happening when
| Date | What | |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Monday, Mar 2 | Press releases start dropping on Apple Newsroom |
| Day 2 | Tuesday, Mar 3 | More announcements |
| Day 3 | Wed, Mar 4 | Apple Experience - NYC/London/Shanghai, 9 AM ET. Hands-on impressions go live. |
No YouTube stream. No live blog from Cupertino. Just newsroom posts and media reviews hitting simultaneously on Wednesday. Bookmark newsroom.apple.com.
The invite had a 3D Apple logo made of yellow, green and blue discs - almost certainly a hint at the colour options on the new budget MacBook (more on that below).
What’s actually expected
Gurman says “at least five products.” Here’s the breakdown:
The stuff that’s basically confirmed
iPhone 17e - replaces the 16e, same ~$599 price point. Four actual upgrades worth caring about: A19 chip, MagSafe, the new C1X modem (faster/better than the C1 in the 16e, and still in-house which matters for reception quality), and the N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7. Not a radical redesign but the modem jump alone makes it worthwhile if you’re on a 16e or older.
MacBook Pro M5 Pro / M5 Max - this is actually the primary Mac announcement this week, not an afterthought. The base M5 MBP 14" already launched back in October - what’s been missing since is the Pro and Max variants. M4 Pro/Max stock has been drying up at Apple Stores for weeks, which is the usual signal. 14" and 16" in both M5 Pro and M5 Max configs, no design changes (those are being held for the M6 OLED redesign later this year). Gurman tied them specifically to the macOS 26.3 cycle. Performance is roughly 15–25% over M4 Pro/Max depending on workload, with a modular chip architecture separating CPU and GPU blocks that should help with parallel workloads.
One genuine buy/wait flag here: the M6 MacBook Pro with OLED + touchscreen is coming later in 2026 - new display, new design, Dynamic Island, touch input. If you need a machine now and can’t wait 9–12 months, M5 Pro/Max is excellent. If you can hold out, the M6 Pro is the real generational leap.
MacBook Air M5 - 13" and 15". No new design, just the M5 chip. Decent bump over the M3 Air. The M4 Air already discounting on Amazon India is Apple clearing stock ahead of this. Less certain than the MBP Pro/Max this week but still very likely.
iPad Air M4 - 11" and 13" stay, M4 chip, no major design change. Also getting the N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7. Honestly a bit boring unless you’re on an older Air.
iPad 12 (Gen 12, A18) - base iPad gets the A18. Solid chip for the price tier. Design stays the same.
The one everyone’s actually talking about: Budget MacBook
Apple’s supposedly making a proper cheap laptop for the first time. Not a MacBook Air, something below it.
Runs on A18 Pro (yes, the iPhone 16 Pro chip, not M-series). 12–13" LCD screen. Rumoured US price: $500–$699. The colourful invite discs are almost certainly pointing at this — expect bright iMac-style colours.
The A18 Pro is genuinely fast - it’s not a compromised chip - but the interesting questions are what else gets cut to hit that price. Ports? RAM ceiling? Display quality? If Apple puts a single USB-C port on this thing and calls it a day, it’s going to be a tough sell even at ₹55K. If it has two ports and a half-decent display, it’s a different conversation entirely.
This is the only product this week where the spec sheet actually needs scrutiny beyond just “what chip does it have.”
Maybe this week, maybe not
Studio Display refresh - ProMotion + better HDR reportedly ready, also an A19 chip inside. Gurman himself said it might be “overkill” to announce alongside everything else. Could slip, but if the Mac Studio shows up it probably brings the display with it.
HomePod mini 2 / Apple TV - Both reportedly ready. The Apple TV hasn’t been touched in four years which is almost impressive at this point. Neither likely makes this week’s window.
Not this week - but coming in 2026, keep an eye out
Mac Studio M5 Max / M5 Ultra - Gurman’s exact words were it “shouldn’t arrive too long after the spring Mac refresh.” So it’s close but deliberately after this week. M5 Max and M5 Ultra configs, same chassis as current. The 2025 Studio shipped with an M3 Ultra instead of M4 Ultra which was a weird move - the M5 Ultra should fix that and make it a proper flagship again. Stock is already running thin on some configs (March/April delivery times), so it’s genuinely imminent.
Mac mini M5 / M5 Pro - Gurman mentioned it for 2026 but gave zero timeline beyond that. Spring or WWDC in June are the realistic windows. No design changes - the 2024 redesign stays. Worth noting Apple skipped M3 entirely for the mini (went M2 → M4), so there’s no ironclad guarantee M5 happens this cycle either, though most signs point to it.
Quick note on the silicon situation
M5 is still TSMC 3nm. The next jump - to 2nm - is coming in fall with the iPhone 18 series, and the M6 Macs sometime after that. So the M5 machines launching this week are the last of this process node. If you need a Mac now, buy. If you can hold out until late 2027, the M6 on 2nm will be a bigger leap than M4→M5.
India pricing - educated guesses only, don’t go selling your current gear based on this
Alright, let’s talk pricing. Take all of this with a grain of salt - Apple hasn’t said anything about India prices and won’t until the products actually go live. These are estimates based on previous gen pricing, GST/import duty patterns, and the fact that Apple’s been manufacturing iPhones locally which has helped keep prices from moving even as the rupee has weakened against the dollar.
The 16e held ₹59,900 at launch last year. That number was clearly deliberate - just under the ₹60K wall. The 17e has a newer chip, MagSafe, and the C1X modem, all of which cost more to make. Hard to see it staying at exactly ₹59,900 but a big jump would be a mistake given how well the 16e sold here.
The budget MacBook is the one worth watching for India specifically. Apple has never had a Mac anywhere near ₹50K. US pricing of $500–699 sounds cheap but Apple India’s conversion math never plays out that cleanly. Realistically ₹55K–65K. But if they crack ₹54,900, it’s a genuinely big deal for the student/education segment - territory Apple’s never really competed in before.
| Product | Previous India Price | Ballpark Guess (Base) | The Number That Matters | Quick take |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17e (128GB) | ₹59,900 (16e) | ₹59,900–₹62,900 | ₹60,000 | Holding the line = good. ₹64,900+ = groans |
| Budget MacBook | (new category) | ₹55,000–₹65,000 | ₹50,000–₹55,000 | Under ₹60K changes the game here |
| MacBook Air M5 (13", base) | ₹99,900 (M4) | ₹99,900–₹1,04,900 | ₹1,00,000 | Probably stays put |
| MacBook Air M5 (15", base) | ₹1,24,900 (M4) | ₹1,24,900–₹1,29,900 | ₹1,25,000 | India Make keeps it stable |
| iPad Air M4 (11", base) | ~₹59,900 (M2) | ₹59,900–₹64,900 | ₹60,000 | Chip bump, minor price creep likely |
| iPad 12 (128GB) | ~₹36,900 (iPad 11) | ₹37,900–₹39,900 | ₹40,000 | Should be fine |
Worth keeping in mind: Apple’s been pretty disciplined on India pricing since the Tamil Nadu manufacturing ramp-up. The rupee’s weakened since the M4 Air launched but prices haven’t budged. That’s not accidental, they’ve clearly decided India volume matters now. Whether that discipline holds with a brand new product category is the interesting question.
Real talk
The budget MacBook is the only genuinely interesting unknown here. Everything else is a predictable chip bump in a familiar chassis - fine, expected, no complaints. But the budget Mac is either Apple actually trying to open up the platform to a new audience, or it’s a glorified iPad with a permanent keyboard that exists to put an Apple logo on a Croma shelf next to a ₹45K Windows laptop.
The port situation will tell you everything. If this ships with dual USB-C, MagSafe, and a headphone jack, basically a shrunken MacBook Air, it’s a serious buy. If it’s one USB-C port and 8GB RAM ceiling because Apple decided the A18 Pro chip is “enough,” it’s a pass regardless of the price.
We’ll know starting Monday. Will update this thread as things drop.
Sources: Bloomberg Power On (Gurman) · MacRumors · 9to5Mac · MacObserver · Tom’s Guide