Yesterday (April 20) was actually a Big Apple Day. They held the Apple Spring Loaded Event, and there are many big announcements; some are expected and some surprising. Let’s talk about the five most significant announcements made in a one-hour keynote of the Apple Spring Loaded Event.
1. iMac with M1 (colorful and powerful)
Yes, indeed, it is expected that the new iMacs are coming with M1 in them. But it’s a big surprise they are now available with a “stunning design in a spectrum of vibrant colors.” The industry is aware that M1 is the most advanced, powerful, and power-efficient chip designed in the house of Apple Silicon. Consumers are happy with their M1 MacBooks.
“With a giant leap in performance per watt, every Mac with M1 is transformed into a completely different class of product. This isn’t just an upgrade. It’s a breakthrough.”
-Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.
Tim Cook also added that the “M1 represents the majority of Mac sales,” which made Apple take another step forward by bringing it to the new iMacs and iPads (we’ll talk later in this article).
The new 24″ iMac has a 4.5K display, an improved six-speaker sound system, a 1080p FaceTime camera, Studio-quality mics, and M1. With the Apple M1 chip in it, the iMac now has an 85% faster CPU, two times faster GPU, and three times faster ML. The power cable from the power brick matches the color of the iMac you bought, and also, you can now connect the ethernet cable directly to the power brick. Also, you buy a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse with matched color. The new Magic Keyboard has a Touch ID built-in.
The new iMac is available in 7 different colors, and the pricing starts from $1299 (INR 119900). It will be available to purchase from April 30, and the shipping begins in the second half of May.
2. iPad Pro with M1
Tablet PCs are PCs now. At least I can say that while watching the new iPad Pro announcement. There is a lot of hype created around M1, and that’s a deserved hype. Along with Macs, the M1 chip is now powering the iPad. The iPads are always intentionally advertised as some kind of semi-computers. A lot of work that you do on a PC can also be done on an iPad. That “PC nature” of an iPad has reached another level now with the new iPad Pro powered by Apple M1.
Less talk as you can see all the specifications collaged into the above image. The iPad Pro has two color options, Space Grey and Silver. The storage options vary from 128GB to 2TB, and so does the price. It has two variants, the 11-inch one starts from $799 (INR 71900), and the 12.9-inch with Liquid Retina XDR display starts from $1099 (INR99900).
3. AirTags
After being rumored for a long time, Apple finally brought AirTags into the light. The small tracker devices can be attached to any object, and you can track it with the Find My app. The AirTag is equipped with a U1 Ultra Wideband chip. So, any iPhone with a U1 chip can track the object more precisely; they call it Precision Finding.
You can also customize your AirTag with an emoji or custom text on it. The AirTags can be customizable with widely available accessories. It will be available to order from April 23. An AirTag costs $29 (INR 3210), and a pack of 4 costs $99 (INR 10990).
4. Apple TV 4K with A12 Bionic Chip
After almost four years, Apple came up with a new Apple TV 4K. It is now equipped with the same A12 Bionic chip found on the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. It will now support HDR with high frame rate videos. And there’s one more awesome feature. It can now balance colors for any TV by using iPhone’s light sensor to measure and calibrate the colors.
It revealed a new Apple TV remote with a nice set of gestures and functions. And the Siri button is now placed at the side edge of the remote.
The Apple TV 4K will cost $179 (INR 18900) for 32GB and $199 (INR 20900) for 64GB variant. It will be available to order on April 30th, and the shipping starts in the second half of May.
5. iPhone 12 Mmmmm, purple
Apple revealed a new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini color, it’s Mmmmm, purple. “It matches with the spring,” said Tim. The new color option of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini will be available to pre-order from April 23, and the shipping starts from April 30.
In addition to the above 5 biggest announcements, Apple also announced the in-app subscription for the Podcasts app, Apple Card Family, and Ted Lasso Season 2, which debuts on July 23 exclusively on Apple TV+.
Watch the entire Apple Spring Loaded Event here:
So that’s been it. Thank you for reading, and do share the article if you get a bit piece of information. Also, keep an eye on this space for more relevant updates. Stay safe, and we hope to see you around.