Apple unveils new iPad Air, iPhone SE and desktop Mac

Technology giant Apple has unveiled 5G versions of its lower-end iPhone SE and iPad Air, including a redesigned Mac desktop computer and a faster processor.

The announcement was made on Wednesday during a virtual broadcast from Apple Park in Cupertino, California, kicking off what’s likely to be the company’s most prolific year yet for new product releases.

CEO Tim Cook took to the stage sporting a blue shirt and yellow Apple watch band, which may have been seen as a subtle show of support for Ukraine, as Russia continues to invade the country.

Many were excited to see what Apple had up its sleeve and the Cupertino company did not disappoint.

Apple TV+

Apple kicked of its launch with new a new addition to its Apple TV Plus line-up with sports.

Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) announced “Friday Night Baseball”, a weekly doubleheader with live pre- and postgame shows that will be available to fans in eight countries exclusively on Apple TV+ as soon as the regular season begins.

In addition to “Friday Night Baseball”, fans in the US will be able to enjoy “MLB Big Inning”, a live show featuring highlights and look-ins airing every weeknight during the regular season.

Fans will be able to watch marquee games on Friday nights, free from local broadcast restrictions, across devices where Apple TrV+ can be found, including on the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV 4K and HD, and on tv.apple.com, along with select smart TVs, gaming consoles, and cable set-top boxes.

“Friday Night Baseball” will be available on Apple TV+ — and, for a limited time, without the need for a subscription.

New iPhone 13 colour 

Clearly there was a demand for a green iPhone and Apple came to the party.

The company announced two all-new colours for iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13, alpine green and green.

The iPhone 13 line-up launched last year features a Ceramic Shield front cover and includes the A15 Bionic chip, 5G triple camera array and incredible battery life.

The new alpine green iPhone 13 Pro and green iPhone 13 will be available for pre-order this Friday, March 11, with availability starting Friday, March 18.

New iPhone SE

Apple’s low-end iPhone SE was rejuvenated with new internals featuring the powerful A15 Bionic, 5G, better battery life, improved durability, and a new camera system with advanced features like Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, and Deep Fusion.

However, the physical home button remains on the new device.

The A15 bionic in the new iPhone SE, is the same chip that powers the iPhone 13 line-up.

Along with 5G, longer battery life, and improved durability, iPhone SE comes in three colours — midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED.

Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing Kaiann Drance said the iPhone SE has been an incredibly popular choice with existing users and for new iPhone customers.

The iPhone SE will be available for pre-order this Friday, 11 March, with availability beginning Friday, 18 March in the US, with prices starting at $429 (R6 570 excl. VAT and duties).

South African availability and pricing remains to be confirmed.

New iPad Air

Apple has improved on its iPad air which now features the M1 Chip.

The new iPad Air also features the new Ultra-Wide front camera with Centre Stage for video conferencing, a USB-C port with up to 2x faster transfer speeds, and 5G on cellular models.

The iPad Air features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with 3.8 million pixels including 500 nits of brightness, full lamination, a P3 wide colour gamut, True Tone, and an anti-reflective screen coating.

Apples said advanced cameras and compatibility with the latest accessories enable users, including content creators, gamers, and students, to push the boundaries of creativity, productivity, and self-expression.

The new iPad Air comes in an array of colours: space grey, starlight, pink, purple, and a new blue.

The new iPad Air is available to order beginning Friday, 11 March, and will be in stores beginning Friday, March 18.

The entry-level Wi-Fi-only model will carry a price tag of $599 (R9 173, while the cheapest Wi-Fi + Cellular version will start at $749 (R11 470).

South African availability, launch dates and pricing is yet to be confirmed by the iStore.

New M1 Ultra chip

Apple also announced a new chip, the M1 Ultra, which it says is the next giant leap for Apple silicon and the Mac.

Featuring UltraFusion, Apple’s packaging architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips to create a system on a chip (SoC) with levels of performance and capabilities.

The new SoC consists of 114 billion transistors, the most ever in a personal computer chip.

M1 Ultra can be configured with up to 128GB of high-bandwidth, low-latency unified memory that can be accessed by the 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine, providing astonishing performance for developers compiling code, artists working in huge 3D environments that were previously impossible to render, and video professionals who can transcode video to ProRes up to 5.6x faster than with a 28-core Mac Pro with Afterburner.

Apple said the 32-core Neural Engine in M1 Ultra runs up to 22 trillion operations per second, speeding through the most challenging machine learning tasks.

Mac Studio and Studio Display

Mac Mini redesigned? Perhaps, well that’s what all the techies observed when Apple introduced the Mac Studio and Studio Display.

Apples said Mac Studio is an entirely new Mac desktop and display designed to give users everything they need to build the studio of their dreams.

The company said Mac Studio is powered by the M1 Max and the new M1 Ultra.

“It is the first computer to deliver an unprecedented level of performance, an extensive array of connectivity, and completely new capabilities in an unbelievably compact design that sits within arm’s reach on the desk.

“With Mac Studio, users can do things that are not possible on any other desktop, such as rendering massive 3D environments and playing back 18 streams of ProRes video.”

Apple also showcase the Studio Display, which it says is the perfect complement to Mac Studio which pairs with any Mac.

It features an expansive 27-inch 5K Retina display, a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera with Centre Stage, and a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with spatial audio.

“Together, Mac Studio and Studio Display transform any workspace into a creative powerhouse.”

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing said Mac Studio ushers in a new era for the desktop.

Mac Studio and Studio Display are available to order from Wednesday, arriving to customers beginning Friday, 18 March.

The Mac Studio will start at $1,999 (R30 569, excl. VAT and sales tax) in the US

Local pricing and launch details remain to be confirmed.

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