The first Apple Event of 2022 kicked off on March 8, and the Cupertino tech giant lived up to its Peak Performance event name. Tim Cook introduced a few products that have a mass appeal and a few that simply don’t. Here’s everything that Apple announced at its March 2022 Peek Performance launch event.
Apple TV+ Updates
Tim Cook began with showcasing the best of Apple TV+ and the award nominations some of its films and TV shows received. Though sparser in content, Apple’s answer to Netflix has always seen much appreciation during Apple Events. Though there’s some brilliant content to watch, Apple still has a long way to go in this regard.
However, they did announce a few upcoming titles like Spirited, Luck, Argylle, and Cha Cha Real Smooth. The “Something exciting to share” tagline did get me slightly excited, but it turned out for sports fans. Namely: baseball fans. Friday Night Baseball is now available on the Apple TV+ app, and games will be broadcasted on Fridays. Unfortunately, this new release is not coming to the Indian audiences just yet.
Going Green with iPhone 13 and 13 Pro
There’s always a moment of drama when you see the iPhone name highlighted during an Apple Event. But this time around, two new brilliant shades of green were announced for the iPhone 13 and the 13 Pro models. While the iPhone 13 and 13 mini have a brighter, shinier green, the Pro models have a more subtle matte finish. The new colour is simply called Green on the iPhone 13 and 13 mini devices, but the one on the Pro models is interestingly called Alpine Green. Prices for both models remain unchanged.
A New iPhone SE 2022
The 2022 iPhone SE is here with an A15 Bionic processor and, like tipped earlier, still has the same iPhone 8 like design. Can’t believe they compared it with the iPhone 8 in terms of performance! While the competition has introduced foldable screens, Apple sells a decade-old phone with a new chip like it’s perfectly normal. I know many of us wish they’d done something better in terms of design.
Nevertheless, the new SE iPhone is available in three colours: Midnight, Starlight, and Product RED. Battery life has been bumped, and Apple has graciously added 5G support. The single rear camera is 12MP with Computational Photography, Deep Fusion, HDR4, and Photographic Styles. There’s an improved video quality at night as well. Like the iPhone 13, the outer plastic is gone, and there is no charging adaptor. Prices start at ₹43,900 for the 64GB model, ₹48,900 for the 128GB variant, and up to ₹58,900 for the 256GB avatar. Apple India will start taking pre-orders on March 11, 6:30 PM onwards, and the device will be available from March 18.
Here Comes iPad Air 5
If we had to name one product that was the event’s highlight, it has to be the iPad Air 5. Apple has now packed in the M1 processor, but the iPad Air’s new generation retains the same design as the Air 4 with a single rear camera set-up.
Apple says that the new iPad Air 5 with M1 is twice as fast as the best selling Windows laptop. We did expect to see a new iPad Air but installing it with an M1 processor wasn’t foreseen at all. Honestly, the Air 5 might be overkill, in our opinion. Who would now go for the 11-inch iPad Pro? The iPad Air 5 also retains the same Liquid Retina Display. However, the front camera has been updated to a 12MP ultra-wide unit that supports Centre Stage.
Also on offer is 5G connectivity and a 2X faster USB-C port. The iPad Air 5 is available in shades of Purple. Space Grey, Starlight, Pink, and a new darker Blue. With upgrades to the processor and the front camera, Apple hasn’t increased the price of the iPad Air 5. The new model still starts at ₹54,900. The Air 5 will be up for pre-order from 6:30 PM on March 11, and shipping starts from the 18th.
M1 Goes Ultra
Tim Cook mentioned that people are loving the performance and efficiency of the new Apple silicon-based macs, which is pretty true. I love my M1 Air for its performance and battery life. Apple says they have received record-breaking sales of Apple silicon.
So, it seems the performance that Apple wanted us to peek at was on the M1 Ultra processor. The top-of-the-line Apple processor has a bandwidth of 2.5TB/s with blazing-fast performance, thanks to a secret UltraFusion feature. The new M1 Ultra is 7 times faster than the M1 processor and 10 times faster than any PC. The RAM tops off at a staggering 128GB of Unified Memory resulting in 8 times faster performance than the M1 CPU. Moreover, it’s likely the last new chip in the M1 family.
Mac Studio Out Now
M1 Ultra is made for a studio, as Apple believes that’s where new ideas come from. With a philosophy of Performance, Connectivity, and Modularity, Apple announced the new Mac Studio desktop — a completely new Mac that comes with a choice between the M1 Max or the M1 Ultra chipset. As earlier tipped, Apple was working on a more powerful Mac mini and, from the looks of it, the Studio is the Mac mini Pro. The Mac Studio looks like a grown-up Mac mini.
In terms of connectivity, the Mac Studio packs in 4 USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10GB Ethernet port, 2 USB A units, 1 HDMI Pro, and a high-resolution audio jack on the back. Apple has also provisioned two USB-C ports in the front, a single Thunderbolt 4 unit, and an SD card slot. Priced at a whooping ₹1,89,900 for the Mac Studio with M1 Max and a staggering ₹3,89,900 for the one with the M1 Ultra processor, the Mac Studio can be purchased right now and you can expect shipments to start from March 19.
Apple’s Studio on Display
Alongside the Mac Studio, Apple also unveiled a new Studio Display. With a near bezel-less design, it is all screen with an aluminium enclosure. You can even tilt the screen as per your preference with the help of the built-in stand, go for a height-adjustable mechanism, or you can mount it in landscape or portrait mode.
Apple’s Studio Display is 27 inches in size and comes with a 5K Retina display which supports a billion colours and TrueTone. The Studio Display has been installed with an A13 Bionic chipset and a 12MP camera that supports Centre Stage. There’s a three mic array system and six high fidelity speakers with woofers and tweeters. The Studio Display also supports Spatial Audio. The Apple Studio Display is available in two variants, one with standard glass and the other with nano-texture.
Connectivity on Studio Display comes in the form of three USB-C ports and 1 Thunderbolt port. You can charge your MacBook with a 96W power outlet through Thunderbolt and connect three Studio Displays on a single Mac. The standard glass variant will cost you ₹1,59,900, and the nano-textured unit will set you back by ₹1,89,900. While the normal tilt-adjustable stand or the VESA wall mount come at no additional cost, the tilt and height-adjustable unit will cost another 40K. All models can be purchased right now.
Apple has also reintroduced the black shade for the Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse. The company mentioned that the transition to Apple Silicon is nearly complete, and only the Mac Pro remains to be given the M treatment. Stay tuned for a detailed look into each of the new Apple products showcased at the Peek Performance March 8 Apple Event.