Apple event: Latest major launch planned to happen soon – but not for new iPhones or other products

AirPods 2, iPad Mini and new Macs have all been rumoured for release – but the focus of March event is set to be services

In this file photo taken on September 12, 2018 attendees gather for a product launch event at Apple's Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California (NOAH BERGER / AFP)NOAH BERGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Apple is preparing for its next big launch event, according to a new report – but there might not be new products.

The company is rumoured to be working on a whole host of new updates: an improved iPad Mini, a second version of the AirPods, as well as new Macs. That had many to hope that the company would hold one of its regular March events, and start selling many of those long-expected products.

Apple will be holding one of those March events at its campus in California on 25 March, according to a new report from BuzzFeed. But those products won't be the central focus, according to the same report.

Instead, the event will be headlined by Apple's news subscription service, which has been the subject of intense discussions between media organisations and the company. The new service is expected to allow users to pay a flat fee for news articles and other content, and then see that money split between Apple and the news outlets that people read.

The event could also include other new subscription services. That could mean that Apple's long-rumoured TV and film subscription platform – a rival to Netflix and Amazon Prime – could also launch.

BuzzFeed's report explicitly said that it was unlikely that Apple would launch the new iPad Mini and revised AirPods that have been repeatedly rumoured. It would be very rare for Apple to call a major release event of this kind and not launch a single new product.

Apple has been focusing more and more on subscriptions, which it sees as a way of continuing to generate revenue even after customers have bought its products. Its services business has been growingly rapidly and has become a central part of its financial updates, and it has launch a range of new paid services such as Apple Music in recent years.

Apple usually holds three major events through the year. June's WWDC focuses on software updates and sometimes includes the launch of new services, a September event always serves as a the unveiling of the new iPhone, and the semi-regular March event usually hosts other products and often focuses on the iPad.