Apple Spring Loaded Event : Everything that was announced

 

Apple just held its first product launch event of the year, where it announced the iPad Pro 2021, a new iMac, Apple TV, and airbags. The event was live-streamed via Apple’s official website and YouTube channel.

iMac

The new 24-inch iMac features an all-new design that comes in seven different color options to choose from: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. 

The new all-in-one Apple computer has been upgraded with a new design for the first time since 2012.

The new iMac has a 24-inch IPS LCD with 4.5K (4,480 x 2,520 pixels) resolution, 500 nits brightness, P3 wide color gamut, True Tone technology, and over a billion colors. Unlike the existing iMacs which have a curved design, the iMac 2021 features a flat back panel along with sharp edges, which gives it a modern look.

Powering the iMac 2021 is Apple’s M1 chipset that does its duty in the MacBook Air and the  MacBook Pro which were launched last year. The 24-inch iMac is configurable with either a 7-core GPU or an 8-core GPU. In all configurations, you get an 8-core CPU. You can also configure the machine with either 8GB of unified memory or 16GB of unified memory. Storage options include 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB.

The base model iMac (2021) includes two Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack. Higher-end configurations include two Thunderbolt ports, two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and ethernet connectivity on the power brick.

In terms of pricing, there are especially two tiers of the 24-inch iMac. 

$1,299 – 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU with 8GB of unified memory, 256GB SSD, two Thunderbolt ports, a Magic Keyboard without Touch ID, and a Magic Mouse. 
Available in: Green, pink, blue, and silver. 
$1,499 – 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU with 8GB of unified memory, 256GB SSD, two Thunderbolt ports, two USB 3 ports, a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, a Magic Mouse, and Ethernet connectivity. 

You can also upgrade the $1,499 tier with up to 16GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage inside.

iPad Pro 

The new iPad Pros look almost identical to the previous models, they are much more powerful than the previous model thanks to the presence of Apple's M1 chip under the bonnet. Apple claims the chip 'delivers "50% faster" CPU and "40% faster" graphics performance compared to the A12Z Bionic processor found in the 2020 iPad Pro.

The biggest upgrade is for the new iPad Pro 2021 is Apple's adoption of the mini-LED display — though that's only in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021. So you'll want to go big to get improved brightness and contrast and to make HDR content look more accurate than ever. 

Apple's taken the smarts from its XDR display to make the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021 more pro-level, giving creatives extreme dynamic range (XDR) wherever they can bring the 1.5-pound tablet. Inside that tablet, there are 10,000 mini-LEDs, which are 120x smaller than the LEDs in the 2020 iPad Pro.

The XDR display is rated for 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness, and 1,600 nits of peak brightness in HDR. Apple rates the mini-LED iPad Pro for a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

There's also a 16-core Neural Engine, and Apple's claiming you'll see 2x fast storage access. Other performance highlights include the gains you'll get from the upgraded USB-C port, which has Thunderbolt and USB-4 support. This provides 4x as much bandwidth and support for 6K external displays.

As part of its new iPad Pro unveiling, Apple also announced the availability of the Magic Keyboard in a new white color.

The iPad Pro 2021 is a little more expensive than the iPad Pro 2020. The 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 starts at $799, $50 more than the 2020 model, while the 12.9-inch model is $1,099, making it $100 more than the previous model.

5G connectivity costs an extra $200.

AirTags

AirTag is a tracking device developed by Apple. This small circular tag is designed to be attached to items like keys and wallets to allow these accessories to be tracked using Bluetooth right alongside Apple devices in the Find My app.

A single Apple AirTag costs $29 / £29 / AU$45; you can also purchase a pack of four for $99 / £99 / AU$149. AirTags can be pre-ordered now and will go on sale on April 30. 

iPhone 12 ( Purple Color)

Apple has announced the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini in a new purple color, with pre-orders starting this Friday. The new iPhone 12 isn’t different from the existing model, it’s just a new color for a device. 

Podcast Subscriptions

Apple is rolling out subscriptions for Apple Podcasts.  Apple Podcasts Subscriptions will be available to listeners in over 170 countries and regions in May. Pricing for each subscription is set by creators and billed monthly by default. In addition, creators can additionally offer annual billing, which subscribers can manage from their Apple ID account settings. The company is also redesigning its Apple Podcast app.

Apple TV 4K with a new processor, remote

The Apple TV 4K box is finally updated. It now boasts of a new A12 processor and also includes redesigned remote made out of aluminum with physical buttons.  The new Siri-enabled remote has a click pad and a new outer-ring. It even gets a power button and the Siri button is on the side just like the iPhone. The remote is backward-compatible with older Apple TVs than run tvOS, and it will be available in May.It will cost $179 for 32 GB and $199 for 64 GB.