Apple March event: New iPad and iPhone models to be released in coming weeks, rumour suggests

The company has traditionally held a big event in the spring, and a number of its products are getting a little dated

A man uses the new Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro after an Apple special event at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium September 9, 2015 in San Francisco, California (Stephen Lam/ Getty Images)

Apple is to release a whole host of new products in the coming weeks, according to rumours.

The company will hold its fairly regular spring event this year and use it to introduce updates to the iPad Pro as well as new models of the iPhone, according to reports.

Apple has held a March event most years, focusing on new products outside of its iPhone line, with a particlar focus on the iPad. The spring event is one of three major keynotes that it hosts, which also include June's WWDC developer event and one in September where Apple introduces major revisions to the iPhones.

Though Apple hasn't yet announced that event – and there are only a few days left in spring – the company is still expected to unveil the new hardware in the coming weeks, and perhaps in early April, according to multiple rumours.

The headline release is likely to be new versions of the iPad Pro, the larger version of which hasn't been updated since September 2015. Alongside updates to both the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch versions of the tablet, it's expected to launch a 10.5-inch model that might also bring with it a new design and new features.

As well as the iPad Pro, Apple is expected to unveil a red version of its iPhone 7. That model will presumably look otherwise identical to the existing version of the phone, release in September last year, and it isn't expected to bring with it any major updates apart from the colour.

The iPhone 8 and 7s, which together will bring far more significant updates to the iPhone, are expected to be unveiled in September.

The iPhone SE is also expected to receive an upgrade, at least giving it the 128GB storage option that is now available in the rest of the iPhone line. The SE – which includes the insides of the iPhone 6s, but placed into the body of an iPhone 5 – was first released at last year's spring event.

It's not clear where the company will hold the event. In recent years it has held those events on its campus, but it is currently in the middle of moving away from that Town Hall.

It said in its statement on the new version of that campus, the Apple Park, that its Steve Jobs Theater would be opening "later this year". That was presumed to mean later than April – when the first staff will be moving in – but it's possible that the spring event could also serve as the reveal of that campus.