Apple really did reveal a bucketload of surprises in this concluded event. It streamed from the headquarters at Cupertino and focused more on the hardware. Here’s a quick rundown of what was announced;
1. The HomePod Mini
“Bold, fun and tinted surface”. The HomePod mini offers a huge upgrade in sound quality despite its small size (3.3 inches).
With Siri at the heart of this device, having multiple HomePod minis around your home automatically makes it a fully functional sound system.
The HomePod mini will be available in 5 colours; white, space grey, blue, orange and yellow and would be available in November for $99.
2. Voice Plan
This new addition to Apple Music’s subscription model allows you to access songs, playlists and videos using just your voice for $4.99.
3. AirPods (3rd Generation)
The new third-generation AirPods now make use of spatial audio which enables an immersive experience for the user. The new AirPods have a fast sensor for music and phone calls and are sweat and water-resistant. It also features an adaptive EQ (tunes music to your ears).
The 3rd generation of AirPods offers an impressive 6 hours of listening time and a quick charge of 5 minutes. The AirPod’s case also got a huge bump in power capacity; as it offers an extra 30 hours of total listening time.
All these new features come with a price tag of $179. Orders can be placed right now but will be made available next week.
4. MacBook Pros and new M1 Chips (M1 Pro and M1 Max)
The highly anticipated “M1X” was finally released as the M1 Pro. Apple also had an even more powerful chip up its sleeve in this event and announced it as the M1 Max. These two chips offer significantly better performance than its predecessor, the M1.
Two pro models of the MacBook line-up were also revealed; the 14 and 16-inch respectively. These models can now run high resource-intensive applications as they are powered by the newly revealed M1 Pro and Max, whilst offering an enhanced battery life. Connectivity is now even faster as ports have been returned.
The 14-inch goes for a starting price of $1999 while the 16-inch starts at $2499. Orders can be made but will be available next week.
