A March 16 Apple event has been mentioned as possible by multiple sources online. However, according to renowned Bloomberg Apple reporter Mark Gurman, it's not happening!
Gurman was responding to a crop of Apple tipsters including Jon Prosser and Twitter leaksters @FrontTron and @LeaksApplePro, all of who claim to have an inside track when it comes to Apple news. They have previously suggested March 16 for an Apple event, which is (or was) rumored to feature the long-awaited AirTags, new iPad Pro, and possibly other products.
In answer to the speculation, Gurman wrote that, "There won't end up being [an event that day]." In a subsequent tweet, Gurman confirmed that the launch of the location-tracking AirTags will not, as far as he is aware, take place on March 16.
Narrator: There won’t end up being one https://t.co/SVAdtzfjqz
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) February 20, 2021
No Apple Event on March 16
It's not clear from his response whether there will not be a March event at all, or simply not one on that particular day.
Over the past decade, Apple has had March events in six years out of 10. Last year, it didn't stage one in March. However, this was quite likely due to the coronavirus pandemic, which ultimately caused Apple to switch from live special events in front of an audience to virtual events filmed in advance.
Bolstering the theory that Apple had an event planned for March 2020 is the fact that the company wound up releasing new iPad Pro tablets, a Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, and a MacBook Air by press release that month.
There are definitely products Apple will likely release around March 2021. In addition to the AirTags and iPad Pro, there is also the possibility of a redesigned M1 Apple Silicon iMac, and new AirPods. However, in a February 20 tweet, Jon Prosser said that he hadn't heard that either of these latter products will be released in March.
iPads
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) February 20, 2021
AirTags
That’s all I’ve heard of happening in March
Haven’t heard of iMac or AirPods
Q1 Event Likely on the Horizon
Nonetheless, it seems incredibly likely that there will indeed be an Apple event sometime around March. But betting against Mark Gurman---who has an AppleTrack accuracy rating of 89.1%, based on 402 rumors---seems like a fool's errand. By comparison, Jon Prosser has an AppleTrack accuracy score of 78.2%, based on 147 rumors.
With March just around the corner, at least we won't have to wait too long to find out what Apple has planned. Coming off yet another record-breaking quarter, it will certainly be fascinating to see what the folks at Cupertino have up their sleeves for fans.
