Rumors

Apple's rumored March keynote has been pushed back to March 21st, one day before Apple is scheduled to argue their case against the FBI in the San Bernardino terrorists iPhone dispute. The alleged date change from March 15th to the end of March was originally reported by the well connected John Paczkowski of Buzzfeed.

Paczkowski claims Apple will unveil the iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro at a small event to be held at the company's Town Hall in Cupertino, California. The iPhone SE is a new 4-inch handset, which will be powered by a faster processor and ship with Apple Pay. The last 4-inch Apple device released was the iPhone 5s in 2013. Apple increased the display size of its iPhone lineup to 4.7- and 5.5-inches with the release of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus the following year. The iPhone SE will replace the iPhone 5s in Apple's current lineup ahead of the iPhone 7 launch later this year.

March 15th is the new rumored launch date for the iPhone 5se, iPad Air 3 and new Apple Watch accessories, according to 9to5Mac. Rumors have been swirling that Apple plans to replace the iPhone 5s with a 4-inch device named the "iPhone 5se". The new iPhone is expected to ship with an A9 processor, improved cameras, Live Photos support and Apple Pay. The 4-inch handset will be available in 16GB and 64GB models starting at $450.

A 4-inch iPhone has allegedly made its way into the wild thanks to an unnamed source at Foxconn. M.I.C. Gadget has posted a short 40-second video to YouTube featuring the rumored device. The video doesn't show much, just someone flipping the device around revealing the device's SIM card tray and its iPhone 6-like design. It is unknown if the video is real or fake, but it's the first big purported Apple leak of 2016.

The iPhone 7 won't hit shelves for another nine months, but that hasn't stopped leaks from the supply chain. As usual, DigiTimes dishes the dirt on the next generation iPhone, with two choice tidbits surfacing this week. First off according to the report, Apple chassis supplier Catcher will use new compound materials for the exterior of the iPhone 7.

As usual several reports from the supply chain and analyst sources are looking towards Apple's next generation of iPhones. First in line is new information about a metal iPhone 6c to be released early next year. The launch of this 4-inch iPhone upgrade marks a departure from Apple's annual refresh cycle. Speaking of which, the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 is expected to drop in September 2016 with a bevy of enhancements and an even thinner design. The concept above from Mesut G. Designs is loosely based on recent reports, featuring a 3D Touch home button embedded under the display itself.