Apple unveiled some of its latest innovations in devices at its “Peek Performance” event held virtually – the Mac Studio, M1 Ultra, Upgraded iPhone SE, Upgraded iPad Air.
Here is a summary of the event activities:
The Upgraded iPhone SE
This iPhone SE makes a comeback at $429 to compete with the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi in the mid-range smartphone market. The device now comes with 5G, iOS15 and a faster A15 Bionic chip, the same chip found on the iPhone 13. The phone features an aerospace-grade aluminum and glass design making it durable as it is beautiful, built around a 4.7-inch Retina HD display.
The device retains its Touch ID button, upgraded with a 12-megapixel lens and is IP67 water resistant.
Compared to the previous iPhone SE at a price tag of $399 and the new iPhone 13 starting at $799, it is still the cheapest smartphone in the iPhone family.
The Upgraded iPad Air
The new iPad Air features the new faster M1 chipset found in MacBooks, ultra-fast 5G, a new front camera with Center Stage for a more natural video conferencing experience.
According to Apple, the advanced chip would make the device faster than the fastest competitive tablet and up to two-times faster than the best-selling Windows laptop.
The new iPad supports Apple Pencil, the Smart Keyboard Folio and Magic Keyboard, providing the additional functionality laptop users need to turn the iPad Air into a functional laptop
Available in 64GB and 256GB configurations, the new iPad Air comes in space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue finishes and is available to order as from Friday, March 11, and will be in stores beginning Friday, March 18.
The Apple M1 Ultra
The Apple M1 Ultra features UltraFusion, Apple’s innovative packaging architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips to create a system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities.
Apple says the M1 Ultra is the last one in the M1 family, which previously included the M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max. The original M1 made its debut in the Mac mini, Macbook Air and MacBook Pro in November 2020. The chip is twice as fast and will be loaded in the newly launched Mac Studio.
The M1 Ultra features an extraordinarily powerful 20-core CPU with 16 high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores which delivers 90 percent higher multi-threaded performance than the fastest available 16-core PC desktop chip in the same power envelope. Additionally, it reaches the PC chip’s peak performance using 100 fewer watts.2 That astounding efficiency means less energy is consumed and fans run quietly.
Apple Mac Studio and Studio Display
The brand new Mac Studio, measuring 3.7″ by 7.7″, is a relatively new device, similar to the Mac mini but bigger.
The Mac Studio is powered by M1 Max and the new M1 Ultra, and according to Apple, is the first computer to deliver an unprecedented level of performance, an extensive array of connectivity, and completely new capabilities in an unbelievably compact design that sits within arm’s reach on the desk. Apple claims that the Mac Studio that uses the M1 Max chip, is 3.4 times faster than iMac, while the one with M1 Ultra is 80% faster than Apple’s top Mac Pro.
The Mac Studio sports 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports and an SD card slot in front and an additional four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10 Gbps Ethernet port, two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI port and a “pro” audio jack port at the back of the device. The device supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.
Apple also unveiled the Studio Display, a perfect complement to Mac Studio, and also pairs beautifully with any Mac. The Studio display features an expansive 27-inch 5K Retina display, a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Center Stage, and a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with spatial audio.
The Studio Display features the A13 Bionic chip, delivering amazing experiences with its highly advanced camera and audio system and a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Center Stage to deliver the ultimate video conferencing display.
The Mac Studio is priced at $1,999 for the M1 chip version and costs as high as $3,999 for the M1 Ultra loaded computer. The Studio Display is priced at $1,599.
