Today Apple had lots of announcements to make about the Mac lineup at a virtual press event today. In particular, the high end MacBook Pro got the M1 Apple silicon treatment, and the next generation of AirPod arrived. Here is what, when, and how much.
MacBook Pro
14-inch model starts at $1,999
16-inch model starts at $2,499
Preorders begin today, available next week
The new generation of MacBook Pro is a beast. It’s available in either a M1 Pro or M1 Max configuration and can be ordered with up to 8TB of storage and 64GB of memory. The 14″ model is 3.7 times faster than the previous 13″ Intel model that it replaces, and the 16″ model is twice as fast as its predecessor.
The new models see the return of the function keys rather than the Touch Bar.
Connections include a headphone jack, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, an SD card slot, and MagSafe 3 (with the ability to fast charge to 50% in 30 minutes). You can still charge by USB-C via the Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The display is a mini LED Liquid Retina XDR which is said to be stunning and power efficient. It has a 120Hz Pro Motion refresh rate.
The camera has been upgraded to 1080p and handles low light much better.
The speaker system sounds impressive with Spatial Audio support.
The battery life gives you about 17 hours of video playback on the 14″ model, and 21 hours on the 16″.
SSD read speeds are 7.4GB/s. For comparison a laptop hard drive runs around 60 MB/s, SSD upgrades are around 550MB/s, and previous Intel models are about 2.5GB/s.
AirPods 3
$179
Orders begin today, available next week
The new generation of AirPods includes a redesigned shape, spatial audio support, water resistance, and MagSafe charging.
Miscellaneous
- Apple Music gets playlists for hundreds of moods and activities. For example, ask Siri to “Play music for a dinner party.”
- Apple Music Voice Plan for $4.99/mo, designed for people who just want to access Apple Music via using Siri, perfect for people who just need Apple Music on their HomePods. Users can subscribe in the Music app or by saying “Hey Siri, start my Apple Music Voice trial.”
- HomePod mini gets more colors in November: yellow, blue, orange.
- MacOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, tvOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1 should be available on October 25.
- AirPods Pro now come with a MagSafe charging case.
- 2nd Gen AirPods are reduced to $129.
- Minor update for iMovie released with support for iPhone 13 Cinematic Mode and M1 Pro/Max optimization.
- Logic and Final Cut get updates for Spatial Audio and 8K ProRes