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Apple announces iPhone and iPad event for March 21st: ‘Let us loop you in'

Apple announces iPhone and iPad event for March 21st: ‘Let us loop you in'

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Apple has sent out invites for an event on March 21st at its campus. For those of you who want to read into the invite, Apple's tagline reads "Let us loop you in."

The company is widely expected to announce a new iPhone, the iPhone SE, that will be the same size as the iPhone 5 but with better specs. It's reported to have the same processor as the iPhone 6S and an improved 8-megapixel camera, plus Touch ID. Lots of people have been waiting for Apple to release a smaller phone again, and the expected iPhone SE will probably make them all pretty happy.

If you really want to go out on a limb on that "Loop" thing, here are a couple thoughts. The conservative reading is that it's happening at Apple's HQ, whose address is of course "One Infinite Loop." Easy. The speculative read: maybe the iPhone SE will have a spot where you can attach a lanyard loop, just like the iPod Touch once did (Apple removed the loop attachment later on).

A new, smaller iPhone. A new, smaller iPad Pro

It's also expected to announce a new iPad. Originally expected to just be a direct successor to the iPad Air 2, more recent rumors point to it being called something with the word "Pro" in it — perhaps just iPad Pro. That name might make sense, actually, as it reportedly will support the Apple Pencil and also have a connector for a keyboard accessory.

Rounding out the rumored announcement: some kind of update for the Apple Watch, likely new bands. If you'd like more details on any of the above, we've rounded up everything we're expecting from Apple's March 21st event right here.

One thing we don't know is whether or not CEO Tim Cook will address the biggest story about Apple right now: the fight over encryption. These keynotes are Apple's biggest stage and this one is literally happening on Apple's home turf, so it would be surprising if Cook didn't say something. But it's probably a good guess it won't be the main focus.