iPhone 17e and the cheap MacBook among the protagonists

Apple has sent invitations to members of the press for a special event next March 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m., peninsula time. The company has rated it as a special Apple Experiencean unusual name that deviates from its usual terminology for this type of presentation. The event will take place in New York, although parallel press meetings have also been confirmed in Shanghai and London.

The list of products that Apple could present that day is extensive: a new low-cost MacBook, a MacBook Air with an M5 chip, MacBook Pros with M5 Pro and M5 Max, new displays for Mac, the iPhone 17e and iPad updates. While it’s not confirmed that all of these devices will be announced at once, the event is aiming to be one of the densest spring launches in years.

The iPhone 17e: more power, same price

One of the attractions of the event will almost certainly be the iPhone 17e. As we have already told, the terminal will arrive with the A19 chip, the same processor as the main family of the iPhone 17, will incorporate MagSafe charging and will debut the new cellular modem designed by Apple. The most striking thing is that, despite the general increase in component prices, Apple would maintain the price of $599 (709 euros in Spain, if nothing changes).

The movement responds to a clear strategy: with Google presenting a Pixel 10a without major news and Samsung focused on the premium range, Apple has detected a gap in the mid-range to conquer emerging markets and corporate fleets. The combination of low price and high-performance chip makes the iPhone 17e a difficult option to ignore for companies that manage large volumes of devices.

The iPhone 17e will not arrive alone. Updates to the base iPad with A18 chip are also expected to support Apple Intelligence, and an iPad Air that would make the jump to the M4 chip with OLED screens for the first time in this line.

The cheap MacBook: colors, aluminum and iPhone chip

The other main protagonist of the event will be the low-cost MacBook, a device about which we have been accumulating leaks for weeks. Apple’s cheap MacBook will have an aluminum casing and striking colors such as light yellow, green, blue and pink, thanks to a new manufacturing process that is faster and cheaper than that used in the current MacBook Air and Pro.

To keep that price below $1,000, the laptop will incorporate the chip A18 Pro of the iPhone 16 Pro Max instead of an M series processor, it will have 8 GB of RAM, a 12.9-inch screen and will dispense with Thunderbolt and a backlit keyboard. The starting price is expected between $699 and $799, with keyboard and trackpad included.

Completing the revamp of the Mac line, the event could also welcome the MacBook Air M5 in its 13 and 15 inch versions. This model, in addition to the generational leap in the chip, could be the first to incorporate a WiFi chip of its own design, continuing the vertical integration strategy that Apple began with the C1 modem of the iPhone 16e.

Apple also plans to soon release the first beta of iOS 26.4, which would include at least some of the new Siri features powered by Google Gemini, according to Bloomberg. It remains to be seen if this software announcement will also accompany the March 4 event. On the other hand, a complete renovation of Siri is not expected. This is an issue that has stuck with Apple time and time again, so we will most likely have to wait for iOS 27.