It’s only been a few weeks since Apple’s last big announcement event, but they’re already at it again.
The last one focused on iPhones and Apple Watches. This time around? They were all about new chips, new AirPods, and new MacBook Pros.
Too busy to follow along live? Here’s pretty much everything you need to know, boiled down to just the bullet points.
New AirPods
The base level (read: non-Pro) AirPods are getting an upgrade — a new look, Spatial audio support, the Pro line’s “force sensor” for controlling music/calls, and improved sweat/water resistance. Apple says the battery life has been improved as well, bumping the promised run time from 5 hours to 6 hours on a single charge.
The third-gen AirPods will ship for $179 beginning next week.
M1 Pro and M1 Max
Apple blew minds when it introduced its own absurdly fast chip with the M1 in 2020. Now they’ve gone and doubled down, introducing not one, but two new M1 chips — the M1 Pro and M1 Max.
Apple says the M1 Pro CPU is up to 70% faster than the original M1, with a GPU up to 2x faster, 32GB of unified memory, and 200GB/s of memory bandwidth.
The M1 Max, meanwhile, bumps the unified memory up to 64GB. Both M1 Pro and M1 Max support up to 10 CPU cores; on the GPU front, the Pro does up to 16-core, while the Max supports up to 32-core.
These things are gonna be really, really fast.
New MacBook Pro
Looking to put those new chips to good use, Apple introduced a new generation of Macbook Pros. And in a rare backpedal from the company, some of the MacBook Pro’s more contested recent changes are being undone.
The highlights:
- It’ll come in two sizes: 16-inch or 14-inch.
- MagSafe is back! The Touch Bar is gone! It has ports — including an SD card slot, and an HDMI port!
- 120Hz ProMotion support for smoother scrolling
- In what’ll probably be the most argued-about aspect of this model, it’s got a camera notch. That lets them squeeze in a bit more screen, but means, well, a notch.
- The camera has been upgraded to 1080p, with Apple promising doubled performance in low-light.
- The entire audio system has been overhauled, with larger tweeters and woofers for improved audio fidelity.
- 14-inch model will start at $1999, while the 16-inch model will start at $2499.
Other Stuff:
- You’ll now be able to ask Siri to play different themed playlists via Apple Music — like a playlist for relaxing, dinner parties, or hiking.
- Apple is introducing a new $5 per month “Voice Plan” for Apple Music — basically, as we understand it, a cheaper plan for those willing to ditch the interface and use only Siri for queueing up songs.
- HomePod mini will now come in three new colors: dark blue, orange, and yellow.
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