Apple Event: Episode I for 2022 kicked off this morning, and as predicted, it starred the new budget-friendly iPhone SE 5G and iPad Air, but it also gave us some things we weren’t ready for in a new M1 chip and a completely unnecessary, yet so very Apple, green iPhone 13.
As you were likely enjoying your sleep, we thought we’d round up everything Apple announced this morning during its Peek Performance event. Let’s start with the iPhone SE 5G.
iPhone SE 5G
Apple put rumours to rest, officially announcing its new iPhone SE 5G. While more budget-friendly, and packing a way better battery life than its predecessors, it still has Touch ID and a lot of wasted screen real estate. The iPhone SE 5G has a 4.7-inch display and isn’t all that dissimilar from the 2020 version of the SE. It’s the third-generation of its budget-friendly device but the first one to get 5G. It runs the A15 Bionic chip which is the same chip that powers the iPhone 13.
It packs a 12 MP camera and is available in three colours: midnight (black), starlight (white) and (PRODUCT)RED (um, red), with a starting price of $719. It has everything we were expecting Apple to announce during its Peek Performance event. You can read more about the specs here and some Aussie-specific details over here.
iPhone 13 and 13 Pro, but make it green
In news that no one was expecting, Apple launched two (2!) green iPhone 13s. The iPhone 13 lineup will be available in green, while the Pro phones will come in an ‘alpine green’. So, other green. Apple only announced its iPhone 13 (including the last-ever mini, the Pro and the Pro Max) in September. The specs of these two new iPhones are exactly the same of their less-green siblings – as Tim Cook said during the Apple event this morning, it has everything good the iPhone 13s have. Highlights of course are the A15 Bionic chip, advanced 5G, an absolute beast of a camera system and a huge leap in battery life.
The iPhone 13 Pro and Max in alpine green will be available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options, starting at $1,699 RRP for the Pro and $1,849 for the Pro Max. The iPhone 13 and Mini will be available in the new green in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options, starting at $1,349 for the 13 and $1,199 for the Mini. You can read more about the new Kermit-friendly iPhones over here.
5th gen iPad Air
Although the 9th generation iPad is probably still the one you’ll want to buy for your parents who can’t live without a home button, Apple has once again delivered some compelling reasons to choose its iPad Air over the company’s pricier iPad Pros. The latest upgrade to the iPad Air was dropped this morning, it has a new M1 chip that the company is touting as up to twice as fast (this is the same chip found in its laptops). It underwent a complete redesign and comes in four colours (space grey, starlight, pink, purple and a new blue tone) and will be available in 64GB and 256GB models. It features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, with 3.8 million pixels and promising 500 nits of brightness, full lamination, a P3 wide colour gamut, True Tone and an antireflective screen coating.
Apple is promising all day battery life with this thing. Challenge accepted, Apple. You can read more about the iPad Air’s chip over here and some Aussie-specific info on the 5th gen device over here.
Mac Studio
The Mac Studio packs Apple’s M1 Max chip or its newly-announced M1 Ultra (we’ll get to that in a second). The M1 Ultra is without a doubt Apple’s most powerful chip yet. Apple reckons it delivers “unprecedented performance and extensive connectivity in an incredibly compact design”. It measures 19.7 cms x 9.5 cms but don’t let its size fool you, it boasts groundbreaking performance.
Mac Studio starts at $3,099 RRP. You can read more about what the Mac Studio is packing over here.
Studio Display
Accompanying the Mac Studio is the Studio Display. Studio Display sees Apple re-enter the mainstream monitor space. Studio Display features a 27-inch 5K Retina screen, an advanced camera with Centre Stage aaand Apple reckons it boasts amazing high-fidelity audio. It’s clearly marketed towards creatives.
Up until today, the only monitor Apple sold was the Pro Studio XDR, which is a 32-inch, 6K display that costs $9,999 if you get the nano-texture glass and add the stand for another $1,699. Studio Display will set you back $2,499 RRP. And while not a budget monitor, it makes sense than the bigger monitor if you just want it as a companion to your MacBook Pro (or the new Mac Studio desktop). You can read more about the Studio Display over here.
New M1 Ultra
Apple surprised the tech world today by unveiling the M1 Ultra, its most powerful chip yet. With the M1 Ultra, the company combined two M1 Max dies using a custom-build architecture for double the performance. Apple calls this architecture “UltraFusion” and it supposedly connects with 2.5TB/s of interprocessor bandwidth between the two die while using less power than the alternative. Apple claims the chip, which has 114 billion transistors, enables low latency, “massive bandwidth,” and “incredible” power efficiency.
Apple TV+ meets baseball
Supremely American is that baseball fans can now tune in to two games on Friday nights (U.S. Eastern and Pacific Daylight Time) during the regular season, through on Apple TV+.
This article has been updated since it was first published.