Rumor suggests Apple pencils in mid-March for iPad Air 3 launch

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One downside to being the most successful company in the world is that speculation about your activities never, ever ends. And so it is that today we're hearing that Apple is planning on revealing its next iPad model – likely the iPad Air 3 – at a keynote event in mid-March.

The mid-March timeframe also lines up with rumors that Apple was planning to announce new Apple Watch bands in that timeframe, although this latest rumor from 9To5Mac suggests we'll also see new Apple Watch models take the stage.

Also rumoured for an official reveal is the iPhone 5se – the 4-inch version of the iPhone 6C that we always wanted but never got, but that will have an updated A9/M9 chip combo for always-on Siri and NFC chip for Apple Pay.

Pencil it in

One factor lending credence to the rumor is that the iPad Air is in dire need of a refresh – last year's iPad upgrade saw the iPad mini 4 and the iPad Pro get announced, while the traditional 9.7-inch model was neglected.

The rumors suggest that this new version of the Air will feature not only updated iPad Pro-like speakers, but also support for the Apple Pencil accessory.

With Apple launching its innovative Classroom app for iPad use in education with iOS 9.3, it's also a ripe time to upgrade its flagship iPad model in order to sell more hardware to schools around the world.

The event is rumored to happen some time during the week of March 14, although exact time and dates haven't been locked down yet.

• Hey Apple! Here's our wishlist for the new iPad Air 3

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