Mark Gurman, the Bloomberg veteran known for accurate Apple scoops, says the company plans to seed an iOS 26.4 developer beta the week of February 23 and to host a product event in the week of March 2. The beta is reported to contain portions of Apple’s revamped Siri, while the spring event will reportedly introduce an iPhone 17e with a maintained $599 entry price, a new chip and MagSafe capability, an entry-level iPad powered by an A18 chip with Apple Intelligence support, and an iPad Air upgraded to an M4 processor.
A developer beta is the first practical foothold for third-party software makers to test compatibility and integrate new platform features; the presence of Siri functionality in 26.4 suggests Apple is rolling its conversational and generative-AI efforts into the near-term mobile experience rather than reserving them for a later major release. For developers this means an earlier preview of APIs and behaviour to adapt apps to new voice-driven flows and any Apple Intelligence hooks that might require different privacy or performance trade-offs.
The rumored iPhone 17e details are telling. Preserving a $599 starting price while upgrading the chipset and adding MagSafe signals a dual strategy: protect the brand’s entry-level price point to keep conversion rates high, while expanding the accessory and services ecosystem through MagSafe. Adding magnetic compatibility to a lower-tier model could lift accessory sales and lock more users into Apple’s hardware‑plus‑services model without forcing an outright price increase.
The reported iPad line moves underscore Apple’s push to diffuse advanced chip performance and AI features across more affordable hardware. An entry iPad with an A18 chip that supports Apple Intelligence would put on-device AI within reach of education and mainstream consumers, while an iPad Air bumped to M4 silicon narrows the performance gap with the Pro line. These shifts are consistent with Apple’s longer-term goal of embedding AI across its ecosystem while keeping hardware tiers attractive to different buyer segments.
Taken together, the software and hardware timing points to a tightly choreographed spring sprint: incremental iOS updates to preview AI features for developers, followed by hardware releases that extend AI-capable silicon and new accessory opportunities into lower price bands. For Apple this is about momentum — proving that its Apple Intelligence vision will be delivered across its installed base, not locked behind the highest-end devices.
Uncertainty remains. Gurman’s track record is strong but product plans are always subject to change; features in a developer beta can be partial and may not reach consumers as announced. Moreover, integrating more AI into mobile experiences raises questions about on‑device performance, battery life, and the practical limits of privacy‑preserving AI that Apple has promised, all of which developers and regulators will watch closely.