Apple announces new iPhone and iPad event for 21 March
Apple has sent out the invitations to an event on 21 March, where it is expected to unveil a new generation of the iPad and a smaller version of the iPhone.
According to sources the new iPhone will look similar to the iPhone 5s, but will contain updated components.
Apple's event will be held the day before it is due to go head-to-head with the US government over an attempt to make the tech giant hack an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers. Chief exec Tim Cook has said the company will resist the government's efforts to force it to break the encryption on the iPhone, a move he described as "an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers".
The company recently set a new record for US corporate profits last in the first quarter of the year – however it also warned that sales are on the verge of tumbling for the first time in over a decade.
Cook predicted that iPhone unit sales will decline in the current quarter, blaming volatility in the global economy.
“We’re seeing extreme conditions just about everywhere we look, unlike anything we have ever experienced before,” he said.
“Major markets have been impacted by slowing economic growth and falling commodity prices. In the last quarter alone the currency impact has been very large. We are in an environment that is macroeconomically incredibly different from last year.”