Apple's second and most likely final hardware event was held Monday. Unleashed featured Apple spending about an hour discussing updates to its Mac- and Music product lines. Monday's presentation was more interesting than the iPhone 13 event. This was due in large part to the MacBook Pro's first major refresh in five years. Here's what the company revealed at the event.
MacBook Pro
Apple
The redesigned MacBook Pros were unsurprisingly the highlight of the event. There's plenty to learn between the new 14-inch and 16-inch models. Both laptops are a return to form for MacBook Pro's line. Apple has replaced Touch Bar with a standard set function keys and added MagSafe, an SD card slot, and an HDMI port. Both computers now have 120Hz ProMotion displays. The screen size of the 14-inch model is 3,024x1,964, while that of the 16-inch variant is 3,456x2,234 panels. Both models have an iPhone-style camera spot that is likely to cause division.
You can also configure both models with Apple's new M1 Pro or Max chips (more details to follow). The base models of the 14-inch and 16-inch models will cost $1,999 and $24,99, respectively. Both computers are available for pre-order now. General availability will follow on October 26th. MacOS Monterey will be available the day before, on October 25th.
M1 Pro and M1 Max
Apple
The new M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips from Apple are at the heart of both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Each has a 5nm 10-core processor that consists of eight high-performance cores as well as two high-efficiency units. They differ in their potential video and memory performance. The M1 Pro has 16 GPU cores, can hold 32GB RAM and 200 GB/s bandwidth. The M1 Max has 32 graphics cores, doubles the memory bandwidth, and can support up to 32GB of RAM. Apple claims that the chips are 70% faster than its M1 SoC predecessor and provide up to 1.7x faster performance than other CPUs from Intel or AMD. The company's new Final Cut and Logic suites should be used quickly.
AirPods
Apple
We were certain that Apple would bring out the latest version of its AirPods. We didn't expect many new features, other than a similar design to the AirPods Pro. What we found today was unexpected. The updated AirPods don't have ANC, but they do support Spatial Audio with dynamic Head Tracking and Adaptive EQ. This allows the AirPods adjust the low- and mid-range frequencies in real time. The included charging case provides up to 30 hours of battery life and IPX4 water and sweat resistance.
Pre-Order the AirPods Starting Today for $179 They will start shipping October 26th. Apple is offering a $129 discount on the second-generation AirPods for those who wish to save money.
Apple Music Voice Plan
Apple
The company also announced a discounted Apple Music Plan along with the third-generation AirPods. The cost is $5 per month, but you cannot control the service via Siri. Apple pitched this plan as the perfect complement to the HomePod mini. Apple's tiny smart speaker will also be available in additional colors, including blue, orange, and yellow starting in November.
You can follow all the latest news from Apples Mac event right now.
