Just a few weeks after its California streaming event, Apple has hosted another event, Unleashed on Monday, and it was just as big as the last one.
While the California event was focused on the iphone 13 smartphones and new series 7 watches, the highlight of the Unleashed event was the new MacBook pros, alongside new Airpods.
2021 MacBook pros
The new MacBooks come in two sizes- 14inch and 16inch. The notable feature about the new MacBooks is that they are much faster than their predecessors. This is due to the new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors/chips which Apple claims is 4 times faster than the M1 chip in previous models.
M1 Pro has up to a 10-core Central Processing Unit, 16-core Graphics Processing Unit, and supports up to 32GB of unified memory. The M1 Max has a 10-core CPU with up to 32GB GPU and supports up to 64GB of RAM.
Apple discontinued MagSafe (quick-release connector) five years ago when it moved to USB-C charging on its new laptops, but the MagSafe is back to this latest lineup of MacBook Pro laptops.
The new MacBook Pros can still charge via USB-C also, but the updated MagSafe 3 plug delivers more power than before. Apple says the MacBook Pro can charge up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.
The TouchBar that Apple introduced in the 2016 line of MacBook Pro laptops is gone. This comes as a relief to users who say it served no real function for them. The Touch Bar was a unique addition to Apple’s laptop line that allows applications to offer touch access to their most important functions.
A visible feature is a notch on the top of the display with a new 1080p FaceTime HD camera, up from 720p. This improvement promises better image quality. Also, there is a new port for SD cards and HDMI slot.
The starting price for the MacBook 14-inch model is $1999, while the 16-inch model will start at $2499.
Airpods 2021
Five years after the introduction of Airpods by Apple, they are now on the third generation of Airpods. The new Airpods, called Airpods 3, are like the AirPods Pro as they have shorter stems.
Another new feature for the third-gen AirPods is that they are water resistant with IPX4 certification. They come with a touch sensitive feature that allows you to control music and calls. The audio performance is improved as it comes with Apple’s Spatial Technology only available in AirPods Pro and the AirPods Max.
The AirPods 3 also comes with a significant improvement to battery life. The 2019 AirPods offered 24 hours of playback in total while the new AirPods 3 offer a 30-hour max battery life, alongside wireless charging.
The third-generation AirPods will cost $179, $50 more than the $129 price of the second-generation AirPods but still a lot less expensive than the $249 AirPods Pro.
Others
Apple disclosed a new Apple Music subscription plan; a Voice Plan for $5 that allows you to access all of Apple Music but only with Siri. Apple Music is also getting new playlists for hundreds of moods. The Homepods mini series is also available in new colours- yellow, orange and blue.
The new update of operating system for MacBooks, macOS Monterey will be publicly available on October 25, 2021. Its features will include better tab management in Safari, Quick Notes, and Low Power Mode. Users will also be able to change the colour of their cursors.
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