New Apple products that we pretty much know are coming soon, thanks to leaks

The Apple of today is not the Apple of yesteryear. In the Steve Jobs era, secrecy over future products was an obsession, and while the company still likes to keep tight-lipped, it seems sometimes as though it’s so large and working on so many different things, that information about those products can’t help but leak out, like mustard from an overfull sandwich.

As Apple tries valiantly to keep its cards close to its chest, eagle-eyed enthusiasts are poring over everything from support documents to underlying code in order to find hints about what the company’s next project is.

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys knowing-it-all about what Apple may be working on—and, let’s face it, you’re reading Macworld, so you are—then you live for these sorts of tidbits. So, while we’re all still stuck in our homes and desperately looking to the future as an escape, let’s take a quick spin through devices that we’re reasonably certain Apple is getting ready to unleash.

SE what I mean?

Some folks have been waiting for a new low-cost iPhone since well before Apple discontinued the iPhone SE, and indications seem to be that it’s imminent. A Belkin screen protector for sale on Apple’s own store listed compatibility with the iPhone 8, iPhone 7, and iPhone SE, lending credence to the theory that new version of that cheaper model will come in roughly same size and shape as the current lower end iPhones.

Apple

In the past, Apple has released smaller iPhone updates—including the original iPhone SE and the (Product)Red iPhone 8 in the spring, as it’s midway through the annual refresh cycle. And, if the impacts of the coronavirus do end up delaying this year’s new high-end iPhones, Apple could even afford to let the new iPhone SE come out a bit later than previous mid-cycle models, which generally have appeared in March or early April.

Finally, the confirmation of the SE name—which has deep history, all the way back to one of the earliest Macs—does seem to bolster the idea of Apple filling the low-cost end of its iPhone line-up with a “new” model of phone every couple years. If the previous SE is any indication, expect this older chassis to contain some updated internals, for a price that won’t break the bank.

Get over your ears

Apple’s had great success with the AirPods and AirPods Pro, so it only makes sense that the company would venture into other types of headphones as well. After all, good as in-ear headphones are, they don’t accommodate every type of ear or every use case.

Apple/Beats

That appears to have been backed up by leaks of images from upcoming builds of iOS, showing headphone glyphs in white and black, that resemble some of the Beats over-the-ear headphones that are already sold by Apple’s music subsidiary. The glyphs show up in places that you’d expect to see headphones represented, such as iOS’s battery widget. (This isn’t the first time unreleased Apple…