Apple’s got a couple of new iPhones for you: a red iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus model and a 128GB iPhone SE.

Both were rumoured and now both are official alongside Apple’s new iPad lineup of slates which no longer carry the Air branding and now sit between the iPad Mini and iPad Pro.

The new iPad features Apple’s A9 chipset – the one used inside the iPhone 6s – which should translate into some decent performance uplift.

Apple’s left pretty much everything else alone. The new iPad has the same display, camera, memory and battery life as its predecessor.

The only real difference is the CPU and how the tablet is branded. Like Apple’s laptop line, the company seems keen to get away from the “Air” brand.

The new iPad costs £339 for a 32GB model with wifi only; or £559 for a 128GB model with 4G.

The iPhone SE update is pretty much what we expected: Apple doubled the storage capacity to 128GB, so it’s now available in 32GB and 128GB for the same price as before (£379).

RED iPhone 7

The red iPhone 7 updates are exactly the same as the current iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The new colour option is part of an initiative with Product Red, whereby some proceeds from sale of the handsets will go towards helping the fight against HIV and Aids.

“Since we began working with (RED) 10 years ago, our customers have made a significant impact in fighting the spread of AIDS through the purchase of our products, from the original iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition all the way to today’s lineup of Beats products and accessories for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

“The introduction of this special edition iPhone in a gorgeous red finish is our biggest (PRODUCT)RED offering to date in celebration of our partnership with (RED), and we can’t wait to get it into customers’ hands.”

The red iPhones will be available from March 27. 

And that, ladies and gentleman, is what you call a DULL product launch.

Here’s hoping Apple’s Q4 iPhone announcement is a little more exciting.

Click on over to PAGE 2 for all the pre-launch rumours. 

Apple will apparently unveil a bunch of new iPads later this month. The event, which is still not yet official, could also see a new iPhone SE model launched as well as a new red version of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

MacRumors reckons the event will happen sometime next week, so between 20-24 of March. No invites have been sent out, however, meaning Apple is either A) leaving it very late or B) isn’t inviting any press and just asking along its celebrity buddies.

The source of the news is cited as reputable supply chain people, meaning those that supply component parts for Apple products. These chaps claim Apple will release a trio of new iPad models that are aimed at firming up the company’s rather disjointed lineup of tablets.

Expect to see a new 10.5in model, a 12.5incher and a 9.7in model. Whether Apple’s iPad Air will make a return remains to be seen. All of the listed models above could well be Pro models. And, to be honest, the Pro model kind of feels like a natural successor to the Air, anyway.

Wild Cards?

There is also a strong belief that Apple will introduce an updated iPhone SE, one with 126GB of storage, alongside a new colour option (red, in case you were wondering) for its current iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus lineup.

Other reports suggest we could see a refreshed iMac and a new variant of the latest MacBook Pro with a new CPU inside it.

The ultimate wildcard, however, is the launch of Apple’s new iPhones – the iPhone 7s and iPhone 8. This would be a huge deal, as Apple doesn’t normally launch these handsets until later on in the year.

Personally, I do not see this latter thing happening. Apple’s a stickler for tradition and I don’t see it messing with something that is working very well – it’s just too risky, as the iPhone is Apple’s biggest cash cow by far.

The iPhone SE refresh makes more sense. But you have to wonder what it will feature? Most believe it will simply ship with higher storage options, though there is the possibility of refinements inside the handset to its memory, imaging and CPU.

As a big fan of the iPhone SE, I hope Apple does more with the new handset than just add in more storage.