WHILE the new releases promoted by last night’s ‘Spring loaded’ event were not as sweeping as some analysts had predicted – no new Apple Pencil or AirPods – what was on offer was exciting enough for many Apple fans.
There were some smaller updates, including a purple model of the iPhone 12 and an upgrade of the Apple TV, but the major focus of Apple’s stylish presentation were the colourful new iMacs, the even more powerful iPad Pro and the new Air Tag, a high-tech solution to making sure you never lose track of your keys.
The new iMac, now once again in colour
A refined and sleek throwback to the coloured Macs of yesteryear, these new computers are powered by the powerful M1 processor – which came out last year in the Macbook Air and the 13-inch Macbook Pro.
The new CPU is the most powerful ever in an iMac and this results in a computer that will be faster and snappier in basic functions like web browsing but will also perform well on more intensive applications.
It also allows for a much smaller motherboard which therefore leads to a much smaller machine in general – in this case a mind-boggling 11.5mm thickness and weight of about 4-kgs.
Of course while thinness is preferred on laptops and other mobile devices, is it really that necessary for a desktop? Would an extra half millimeter with more ports hurt the aesthetics?
Speaking of looks, the iMac features a stunning 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with all the bells and whistles. Suffice to say, whatever one chooses to watch on it will probably look incredible.
Apple’s machine will also feature the best camera for video calls (1080p HD), a microphone that can isolate your voice from background noise and a powerful six speaker audio setup.
There is also seamless integration between the iMac and the latest iPhones, such as calls and texts appearing on both, and AirDrop and Universal Clipboard allow the easy sharing of text and images between devices.
Finally the Magic Keyboard comes with Touch ID (at least on the higher end models), which brings over the touch functionality from Apple’s mobile devices. There is also the ability of swapping user profiles based on the fingerprint, which would be useful in an office setting.
Pricing is premium as expected, with the most affordable model at RM5,599 and the most expensive at RM7,249. Pre-orders can be made at this end of the month, and the machines will be available at the end of May.
iPad Pro, the rich gets richer
Already the most powerful high-end tablet on the market, the addition of the M1 processor to the iPad Pro is almost overkill. Whatever could be accomplished on Apple’s market leader can now be done… faster? There’s no word on battery life yet, though it would be surprising if it was an improvement over the current model.
The more expensive model (of an already pricey machine) comes with a 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display that provides almost too real visual quality and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate that will look great running games. It will probably look a lot better than most televisions.
The tablet’s cameras were also a big selling point, one of which is an Ultra Wide camera that comes with the new Center Stage feature. Basically what this allows you is for the camera to track you as you move around during a video call. It can also track faces, allowing for wide angle conversations.
Like other new iPads, this Pro model is also compatible with the portable Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil.
Malaysian pricing for the 11-inch model is at RM3,499, while the 12.9-inch model with the XDR display is priced at RM4,799. Pre-orders can be made at this end of the month, and the machines will be available at the end of May. – The Vibes, April 21, 2021
