Apple Unleashed Event Highlights: The Apple Unleashed Event has wrapped up and the company launched the new MacBook Pros 2021, to Airpods 3, and new colours for the HomePod mini. Here's everything you need to know about what Apple launched during its Unleashed event today, as it happened.
And it's a wrap! Apple's Unleashed event has come to an end
Apple is yet to announce how much the newly announced MacBook Pro models and the new AirPods 3 will cost users in India, so stay tuned and we will be back with more information when it is made available.
Apple announces pricing for the new MacBook Pro models
Apple has revealed the pricing for the MacBook Pro models – all that power does not come cheap. While the 14-inch model is a big performance and feature jump over the older 13-inch model, it will set users back by $1,999 while the 16-inch model will cost users $2,499. They will be available in the US from next week.
Here's a quick look at Apple's new MacBook Pro features
Apple talks performance on the M1 Pro and M1 Max chipsets
Paired with 7.4 GB/s SSDs, Apple is touting the 64GB of memory support offered on the M1 chipsets and better battery life. Apple says the 14-inch model will offer 17 hours of battery on video playback and 21 hours on the 16-inch model. It can also charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes.
Apple's new MacBook Pro features a notch, with a 1080p camera
It looks like Apple had to add a notch to reduce those bezels, but it didn't add Face ID. Apple says that the MacBook Pro models come with a six-speaker sound system for Spatial Audio. The display supports 1000 nits of sustained brightness, 1600 nits of peak brightness and a 10,00,000:1 contrast ratio.
The Touch Bar is gone, and the function keys are large again
Apple announces the new MacBook Pro.. with a notch!
With 14 and 16-inch models, the Apple MacBook Pro models come with a display notch. The MacBook Pro models also feature HDMI ports, Thunderbolt 4 and an SD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack. And MagSafe has returned!
A quick recap of Apple's M1 Max chipset
Apple has launched the new M1 Max chipset that can support up to 64 GB of RAM with a 10 core CPU and a 32 Core GPU. It has 57 billion transistors and ProRes hardware decoding and boasts new security features.
Apple talks improvements to macOS for the new chipsets
Apple is describing how the OS and technologies like Metal, machine learning and other technologies offer over 20 times faster machine learning and more over the older Core i9 chipsets. Apple reiterates the same benefit of the M1, allowing apps for iPad and iPhone to run on the M1 Pro and Mi Max chipsets.
Here's a quick comparison between the M1, the M1 Pro and the M1 Max chipsets
Apple launches another chip! Meet the M1 Max chipset with 400 GB/s memory bandwidth and 57 billion transisistors
Apple claims the M1 Max chipset has more CPU performance than any other PC laptop chip and offers up to 1.7 times more performance., while consuming 70 percent less power.
MacBook Pro models launched with M1 Pro chipset, the first Apple Silicon for the MacBook Pros
Apple Johny Srouji explains the massive performance improvements by scling up the M1 architecture with the M1 Pro, doubling the width of memory interface and offering up to 200 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This chipset has 33.7 BILLION transistors with 10 core CPU and 16 core GPU.
Apple AirPods 3 launched with Spatial Audio and six hours of battery life
Apple's new AirPods 3 come with Adaptive EQ, which first debuted on the AirPods Pro, adjusting frequencies to hear audio just as the artist intended, according to Apple. These will also feature the same one touch setup and the battery life should go on for six hours now.
Apple announced new colours for the HomePod mini, to be sold at $99
Apple has introduced new colours for the HomePod mini in addition to the white and grey, users can now get Blue, Orange and Yellow colours. These will cost $99 and will arrive in November.
Apple announces a new Voice Plan for Apple Music
With the new Voice Plan, users can use their voice to talk to Siri and access every song on Apple Music for only $4.99 a month. India pricing is yet to be revealed but the country is on the list of supported regions!
Tim Cook gives us an overview of Apple's existing music products
Apple kicks off its Unleashed Live event
The Apple live event has begun and Apple is giving us a dose of nostalgia with a cool video clipped with all the best sounds from Macs put together in one video.
Here's a handy cheat sheet for everything we've heard about the upcoming MacBook Pro models
Will Apple bring back large function keys?
A report by MacRumors suggests that the MacBook Pro models expected to arrive today could feature large (or should we say regular-sized) function keys to the devices. There are reports that Apple is doing way with the Touch Bar, so there would theoretically be more room for the company to make slightly larger function keys, but we will only know more once the event begins.
MacBook Air unlikely to make an appearance today
According to market analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, we are unlikely to see a refreshed MacBook Air launch today. Kuo believes that the MacBook Air will get an upgrade in 2022, instead of today. But given how Apple loves to surprise us – like the last event where Apple launched its new iPad models and left out the much anticiated AirPods 3.
MagSafe charging to make a return?
Once a popular feature on its MacBook and MacBook Pros customers could see the return of the popular MagSafe charging on today's upcoming devices, according to reports. Back in 2016, Apple discontinued MagSafe on the MacBook and MacBook Pro, while the MacBook Air continued to sport the magnetic charging for a few years before it was discontinued. Why is MagSafe worth having? Tripping on your cable means you might pull your laptop to the floor, or suffer an injury yourself, but with MagSafe, the connector would snap right off and save you and your device from injury and damage respectively.
Tim Cook Tweets
Apple CEO Tim Cook
Holiday sales on mind?
Some analysts believe Apple on Monday will also update its AirPods wireless ear buds, though rumors of an update have circulated ahead of other Apple events this year without coming to pass. Add-on devices like AirPods tend to be large sellers during holiday shopping seasons and have become one of Apple's fastest-growing categories, with its home and accessories segment growing 25% to $30.6 billion in Apple's fiscal 2020.
Apple overhaul
The expected MacBook Pro introduction comes weeks after Apple overhauled its iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad lineup.
When Mac sales jumped
The new Apple chip, along with a general rise in laptop sales as employees and students stocked up on tech hardware to work and learn from home, prompted a boom in Mac sales during the pandemic. Revenue rose 11% to $28.6 billion in Apple's fiscal 2020, even as iPhone revenue declined 3%.
Apple Store down
Apple Store is down, as expected. Ahead of most events teh Apple store goes down and this generally indicates that new hardware is coming on it.
More powerful chips coming
Apple has already placed a first generation in-house-designed M1 chip into some MacBooks as well as its Mac Mini and iMac desktop machines, but the new larger MacBook Pro models are expected to feature a second, more powerful generation of the company's chip.
Apple Event
Apple's Intel dependency
Apple's most powerful laptops still relied on chips from Intel Corp.
MacBook Pro models with 14-inch and 16-inch screens
Bloomberg has previously reported that Apple plans to release two new MacBook Pro models with 14-inch and 16-inch screens. The Cupertino, California-based company introduced some new laptop models last year that for the first time used its "Apple Silicon" chips, which it said would be phased into the company's desktop and laptop lineup over the course of two years.
Apple Live event to start at 10:30pm
The venue of the Apple Unleashed Live event is Apple’s own Cupertino headquarters and the livestream has been made available on a number of channels including their website and YouTube too.