Specifications for Apple Watch6, Apple Watch SE and iPad Air4 have been leaked just before launch

Specifications for Apple Watch6, Apple Watch SE and iPad Air4 have been leaked just before launch

Specs on the Apple Watch 6, iPad Air 4, and other new Apple devices were leaked hours before the big Apple event began.

Noted leaker Evan Blass revealed a few details about the three big products Apple is expected to bring to the stage later today.

Blass claims that we will see two different tablets later today. One is the long-rumored iPad Air 4, which he says will feature the A14 chipset and a USB-C port; the A14 Bionic is widely considered to be Apple's new chip that will also be used in the iPhone 12. However, this will be the first time we see this new processor, as no iPhone is expected to be announced at this event.

Apple uses a Lightning connector on its phones, so it would not be surprising to see a USB-C port on the iPad Air. There is already a precedent with the iPad Pro, which has been using USB-C for several generations.

Although Blass does not mention it here, we also expect the iPad Air to have Apple's first Touch ID sensor built into the power button. This is because the iPad Air is said to feature a full-screen design, and this is Apple's way of doing that without using the more expensive Face ID camera on the front.

Another tablet we will see is apparently the new basic iPad, which will be the 8th generation; according to Blass, it will still use the Lightning port, but will have the A12X chipset.

The A12X first appeared in the 2018 iPad Pro and is a few years old now, but that in itself is a big boost compared to the A10 Fusion chip in the seventh-generation iPad, which is about to celebrate its fourth anniversary.

Moving from tablets to wearables, the Apple Watch 6 and the new lower-priced Apple Watch SE will come in two sizes and, like previous Apple Watches, will have either Bluetooth only or LTE connectivity.

Unusually, Blass claims that the Watch 6 will feature the "S4," presumably referring to the wearable chipset that first appeared in the Apple Watch 4 and was later replaced by the S5 chip in the Apple Watch 5.

It would be an odd choice for Apple to revert to a nearly two-year-old chip for its flagship wearable. However, since the Apple Watch SE is rumored to use the Apple Watch 4 design, it makes sense to use the S4. We can only hope that this is a typo on the part of Mr. Blass or one of Apple's internal sources.

Other rumored features of the Apple Watch 6 include a new case design, the use of optical sensors instead of a digital crown for navigation, and the introduction of SpO2 monitoring for improved health and fitness monitoring.

Mark Garman, a Bloomberg writer and longtime source of reliable Apple leaks, also discussed Apple's new wearable. He says not to expect much new about the Apple Watch 6 beyond an SpO2 monitor and a new chipset, but that the Watch SE will be more similar to the Watch 5. However, this seems to contradict other rumors, so it will be interesting to see what is true today.

If you want to hear more details straight from the mouth of an Apple spokesperson, you can watch Apple's September 15 event live online. We expect no iPhone 12 news in today's presentation, but it's possible we could finally see some kind of small teaser for Apple's next event to unveil its new phone.

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