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Apple April Event in 5min
Everything Apple announced at its 2021 Spring Loaded event
Apple’s April 20th “Spring Loaded” event really lived up to its name, as it saw the announcements of several new Apple products and services. I’ve taken the liberty of including the most important highlights of each, and have organized the launches in the order of what felt like the most impactful and interesting to most readers first. Without further ado, let’s give you a quick breakdown and keep this to 5 minutes, as promised.
Colourful & Redesigned M1 iMacs
Strikingly thin and stunningly colourful, the new iMac uses M1 as a processor. The new 4.5K display currently only comes in one size of 24 inches. This iMac includes a 1080p FaceTime HD camera with studio quality microphones, and a speaker system supporting Spatial Audio. This makes iMac a perfect work from home and desktop video watching experience. It comes with 4 USB-C ports, 2 of them being Thunderbolt, and has a new magnetic power connector with a colour-matched woven cable. The Magic Mouse, Keyboard and Trackpad also match the iMac’s colours, and the keyboard comes in 3 different configurations, one of which supports wireless Touch ID. The new keyboards also include new buttons.
M1 iPad Pro (yes, you read that right)
The iPad Pro is now officially powered by the M1 chip, and supports 5G. New storage options max out at 2TB! The 12.9-inch iPad’s new Liquid Retina XDR display uses mini-LED technology, with 1000 nits of sustained brightness with 1600 peak brightness, and over 2500 dimming zones, for delightful HDR content with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The front facing camera is now a 122-degree ultra wide that allows for what Apple calls Centre Stage, where the camera’s software automatically pans and adjusts to keep you in frame in video calls. The Magic Keyboard now comes in white as well. Price starts at $799 and $1099 for the respective 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros, can be pre-ordered April 30th, and ships after mid-May.
AirTags
These compact trackers help you find your misplaced items, and use Ultra Wideband technology for precise localization that conveniently integrates into Apple’s Find My network. Your iPhone can use “Precision Finding”, ie. step by step precise directions to your items. They can be engraved with emojis or text, and come with keychain and loop accessories. They are sold alone for $29, or in a 4-pack, at $99. They also come in a high-end, Hermès edition, but you don’t want to know the price, trust me… Okay fine, they range from $299 to $449.
Apple TV 4K with Redesigned Remote
Powered by the A12 Bionic chip, the new Apple TV now plays HDR in high frame rates. An improved AirPlay allows for high frame rate HDR as well. It also introduces a new calibration method that uses an iPhone’s sensors to automatically adjusts colours without tinkering in the television settings. The new Apple TV remote is now more boxy and in an aluminum enclosure all around. A mute button is introduced, the Siri button is moved to the right side, like on iPhone, and the confusing Menu button is replaced with a straightforward back button. The ring preserves the touch pad functionality, while adding clickable directional buttons. The outer ring is scrollable to allow for timeline navigation. Apple TV can be pre-ordered April 30th, and ships in the second half of May.
Purple iPhone 12
An interesting and unexpected announcement by Apple, launching a new colour halfway through the iPhone’s yearly release cycle. Pre-orders start Friday April 23rd, and the purple iPhone will be available April 30th.
Apple Card Family
Apple Card now allows partners and spouses to share and merge their credit lines and account rights, helping them build credit equally. Apple Card can also now be used by anyone in the family over the age of 13, with spending limits and parental controls built right in.
Apple Podcasts
The Apple Podcasts app has been redesigned. Shows and episodes have newly designed pages, and the introduction of channels are meant to help you find new shows from your favourite podcasters. Apple Podcast subscriptions help unlock new content and ad-free listening, and is launching in 170 countries worldwide in May 2021.
Overall, this was an interesting and fully loaded spring event that lives up to its “Spring Loaded” name. Apple managed to impress and surprise regardless of all the circulating rumours. It was great to see the numerous changes and features across the Apple lineup that were directly informed by this past year’s limitations. Moving forward, I’m very excited to see what some of the seeds that Apple is planting today amount to in the future.
With that said, cheers and keep looking forward to the future!
