Apple’s ‘field trip’ invite to Chicago stirs speculation

With a calligraphic “Let’s take a field trip,” Apple extended an email invitation Friday for an education-focused event on March 27 in Chicago.

Invitees were asked to join Apple to “hear creative new ideas for teachers and students” at an event that will be held at a north Chicago high school.

Apple did not disclose what the March 27 event will be about — or what new products it will reveal.

That hasn’t stopped multiple media outlets and Apple-focused tech blogs from guessing. One speculation is a rumored 9.7-inch iPad in the $259 price range to appeal to students and young adults.

The iPad speculation is also bolstered by Apple’s invitation itself, which contained a calligraphic scroll “Let’s take a field trip,” possibly implying ties to the Apple Pencil — the stylus only available on the iPad.

Another possibility is the introduction of a new, cheaper successor to the MacBook Air, according to The Verge. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a reliable history of predicting upcoming Apple products, expected Apple will release a 13-inch MacBook Air with a lower price tag.

Apple has made strides in its educational initiatives in Chicago in recent years. In December, the company announced it was “working with the city of

Chicago to bring coding opportunities to Chicago’s nearly 500,000 students through a citywide expansion of Apple’s Everyone Can Code program.” The initiative, which starts in spring, aims to educate public school students in Swift, Apple’s in-house coding language.

Apple did not respond immediately to a request for comment on whether the event in Chicago will be livestreamed.

Apple has been busy sending out invitations this week. On Wednesday, the company announced this year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference will take place June 4-8 in San Jose’s McEnery Convention Center.