March 25: Apple's special event expectations

Apple will be hosting an event on March 25 this year and invitations to developers and media have already been distributed. For all those who don’t usually follow Apple’s announcement events, the Cupertino company usually hosts around 4 events each year. In March, the spring event comes in as announcements for new service launches and future developments, the WWDC in June sees the announcement of new operating systems in beta mode for developers to test and develop new apps and software. September sees the main event for iPhone and Watch launches and a final release of iOS, while October marks Macs and iPad announcements.

While Apple’s events usually follow the same agenda each year, there are a lot of announcements that create a roadmap of the year ahead. So what is the event this time? This will be the first event this year and Apple is all set to announce a plethora of new stuff on March 25.  Here are some expectations that we could see the Apple honchos speak on stage.

Apple News

The big news that is a talk around, Apple is all ready and geared up to roll out its news service. With an expected $9.99 per month, Apple’s news subscription is expected to give users unlimited access to major news websites that offer their services for a fee. Media websites such as WSJ will also be in the offering. However, there are reports of a few too many top news websites, such as NYT, are said to keep away from Apple’s news service. The Cupertino is said to demand a whopping 50% share in the revenue.

TV

Apple is also touted to announce a streaming TV service with reports stating that there will be around 20+ movies and shows in the offering initially. There will be a subscription fee here too, but Apple is said to aggregate content from various service providers and offer the same at cheaper prices, under a single subscription model. Presently there is no word on the price for the subscription.

iOS

The mobile operating system iOS will also have a new sub version announced at the event. Expecting iOS 12.2 to be released, Apple plans to offer the News and TV services with the new iOS release. New animoji characters, HomeKit TV support for third party televisions, and a lot other tweaks and features will be spoken about at the March event.

Pay

Apple Pay is also expected to gain new features. An iPhone credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs is rumoured, apart from a few new features and add ons, including new a theme and more are also rumoured.

New hardware

Apple is also expected to announce minor updates to its line of iPads, Macs and others. Expect new announcements with respect to iPod and AirPower too. There are no expectations of Apple announcing new hardware this time, but since Apple has always surprised us each time, who knows what we could be in for this time.

The event “It’s show time” will be held at the Steve Jobs Theater at the Apple Park campus and will begin at 10am  Pacific time (10.30pm India time). Apple’s event will also be live streamed on its website.