Big Announcements From Apple’s Spring 2021 Event: iPhone 12 And 12 Mini In Purple, New iMacs, iPads, AirTags

Apple have on Tuesday announced a host of new services and hardwares during its first event of 2021, products like a redesigned iMac, long-rumored lost-item trackers called AirTags and purple iPhone 12.

There were expectations about new iPads, and Apple did show those off, however the company also unveiled a whole lot more.

Newly redesigned iMacs, a new Apple TV 4K with a refreshed remote, and a location-broadcasting iPhone accessory called AirTags.

The virtual event was packed with information and even more new products. Here’s everything Apple announced.

New iMacs

Last year, Apple updated the 27-inch iMac with faster processors and greater graphics capabilities, but it’s been years since Apple truly overhauled the iMac. Thanks in large part to the company’s relatively new, custom-designed M1 chip, Apple was able to ditch the bulky thermal system in earlier iMacs and finally give the desktop PC a proper makeover.

During today event, the company revealed completely redesigned hardware today, a super-slim all-in-one machine that has about 50 percent of the volume of previous models.

The new iMac has a 24-inch, 4.5K display, and comes in seven bright colors: green, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, and silver.

It has an updated, 1080p front-facing camera with a new sensor, new microphones (Apple says the best mics ever in an iMac), and six speakers that support spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. It also has a new foot, supports TouchID (Apple’s fingerprint-based authentication system), and has a smaller charging block that includes an Ethernet port.

However, the big deal with the new iMac will undoubtedly be its power and speed. It’s supposedly fast; Apple claims it wakes instantly, and it’s expected to be a whopping 85 percent faster overall than the previous iMac, which ran on Intel silicon.

For the much power and speed, the new 2021 iMac starts at $1,299 and will cost $1,499 if you want to increase the specs even more. They are available to order now.

Purple iPhone 12

Apple took many people by surprise by announcing two new iPhones today – iPhone 12 and an iPhone 12 mini – with a new color choice, a soft purple hue.

The 12 mini is a bit of a shock, as there are reports that the recently released mini models have slow sales.

Speaking about the new iPhone with the colour choice, Apple says;

This new color beautifully accentuates the flat aluminum edges of iPhone 12, which are perfectly color-matched to the precision-milled back glass.

Additionally, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, expressed;

The new purple finish, just in time for spring, adds another bright and fun option to the lineup, and we think customers are going to love it.

Everything about this iPhone (except the color) is identical to the iPhone 12 that has been on sale since October. The other specs are pretty much standard for iPhone 12 with 5G, iOS 14.5, an A14 Bionic chip with a 16-core Neural Engine that completes 11 trillion operations per second, and computational photography features like Deep Fusion and night mode.

This purple color will be available for preorder this Friday and will start shipping on April 30.

New iPad Pro

Apple’s 2021 high-end iPad Pro now runs on the same M1 processor as recent Macs. This gives the high-end tablets a considerable speed boost: The CPU is 50 percent faster than last year’s iPad Pro, with 40 percent faster graphics, according to Apple.

The other big change is specific to the larger 12.9-inch model, which now uses Mini-LED technology on the LCD display for backlighting.

USB-C port on both iPad Pro models now supports Thunderbolt, so you can hook your iPad up to multiple monitors or storage devices, and that connector port has much faster data transfer speeds.

There’s also the option to add 5G connectivity to your iPad Pro so you can get high-speed wherever you are. Peculiarly, the new iPad Pro’s selfie camera has such a wide field of view that it can zoom in and follow you around during video calls, ensuring you never leave the frame.

The 11-incher starts at $799, and the 12.9-inch model starts at $1,099. Preorders start on April 30, and the tablets will ship in May.

AirTags

Apple finally announced long-rumoured small item trackers called AirTags, which can be attached to keys, luggage or other items and later located via the Find My app if they are lost.

Find My app hunts down the AirTags with a feature Apple calls Precision Finding. To prevent your AirTagged items from being swiped by Find My users, Apple says it is including additional security measures in the AirTags.

The AirTags are located by an iPhone using geolocation, input from the camera, audible signals, and haptic feedback.

Seeing AirTags in FindMy will require an update to iOS 14.5, which Apple says will be released next week.

The most interesting technological mechanism in the AirTags is the Ultra-Wideband signal tech used to pinpoint location. UWB is a technology that allows fast wireless data transfer and location tracking down to a matter of centimetres.

AirTags go on sale April 30, costing $29 for a single tracker or $99 for a four-pack.)

Apple TV

Apple TV 4K got some pretty compelling upgrades, most relying heavily on the added speed from the newest A12 Bionic chip that’s now inside. The new silicon allows high-frame-rate HDR—perfect for sports fans and for those shooting 5K at 60 frames per second on the iPhone 12 Pro.

The tiny box that connects to your TV looks the same as before but now comes with a 100-percent-recycled-aluminum remote that’s been fully redesigned. A clickable, touch-sensitive pad sits in the middle of the silver clicker, with all-new power and mute buttons, and a iPhone-mirroring Siri button on the side.

The new model will cost $179 for 32 gigabytes of internal storage and $199 for 64 GB. It will be available for preorder April 30. Products are expected to ship in the second half of May. The remote will be available separately for $59.

Podcast Subscriptions

Apple is redesigning its podcast app and launching a podcast subscription service,which will allow individual hosts to offer extra content to paying subscribers, in a bid to take on Spotify’s growing podcasting empire.

The podcast-discovery experience on Apple’s mobile devices is getting a refresh. Apple’s Podcasts app has been redesigned to include more suggestion options, including some new curated channels to make finding good shows a little easier.

Also, paying to subscribe to certain podcasts will earn listeners access to exclusive episodes, early access to regular episodes, and an ad-free listening experience. Subscription podcasts will become available in most of the world next month.

Podcast creators will need to join a creator’s program for $20 a year in order to charge listeners a subscription fee, and Apple will take its standard 30 percent off the top of any earnings.

Apple Card Changes

Spouses and family members will now be able to merge credit lines on the Apple Card, a change that comes after users, including Apple founder Steve Wozniak, said their spouses were given lower credit limits in some cases when it was first launched in 2019, which disproportionately affected women.

Bigger and better products are expected to be announced by Apple in coming, most especially iPhone 13.