Apple Rumored to Host March 2016 Event for New Apple Watch, 4-inch iPhone

The Apple rumor mill has been churning lately, and there are now reports that Apple will host an event in March of 2016 to announce a new Apple Watch and 4-inch iPhone.

It’s a good guess that the watch will be called the Apple Watch 2, but there have been conflicting reports about whether the 4-inch phone will be dubbed the iPhone 6c or be the first in Apple’s iPhone 7 line.

Either way, iPhone 5s users who have been relentlessly clinging to that 4-inch form factor, rejoice! You may finally be able to upgrade to a newer iPhone without giving up that one hand usability you love so much.

Apple Watch 2

I was surprised by the news that Apple may announce the second iteration of the Apple Watch as early as March. Many speculated that the Apple Watch would be updated bi-annually rather than adopting an iPhone like annual release cycle. Considering the somewhat sluggish rollout of the 1.0 watchOS software, which left many users complaining about the slow speed of the device, I assumed Apple would take some time to iron out the wrinkles in the software before announcing new hardware.

WatchOS 2.0 has only been available since September, and in my opinion the software really hasn’t had enough time to mature. Many developers are still figuring out what features benefit their users and how to implement them as a native app. Apple itself still hasn’t provided a clear picture of what the Apple Watch can do beyond serving as a notification hub.

4-inch iPhone

There is still a remainder of iPhone users that love the 4-inch form factor and have been resistant to change. While the iPhone 5s is still a solid smartphone, even in 2015, the hardware is lagging behind what is available today. Normal everyday users may not notice a tremendous difference in the processing power between the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6s/6s Plus, but other hardware like the camera and Touch I.D. are noticeably better on the newer devices, not to mention other features like 3D Touch that are only available on the iPhone 6s/6s Plus.

When Apple introduced the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last year, there was plenty of feedback from customers who loved the smaller screen and were upset with the change. Of course there were also plenty of happy iPhone users who welcomed the change, but it just goes to show that you can’t please everyone, or can you?

Apple’s philosophy in the past has been to create few products that are targeted at a mass general audience. There have been few, if any, niche products or edge cases. However, Apple has become such a behemoth that these days its niche audiences may number in the tens of millions, so creating niche products makes sense.

Final Thought

There are few events during the year that are more exciting than an Apple event, and even though next March is still months away, it’s always fun looking forward to Apple’s next big product reveal.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]