American technology giant Apple Inc on March 8 announced the third-gen iPhone SE with A15 Bionic chip, M1-powered iPad Air 5G, M1 Ultra chip, Mac Studio, and Studio Display.
Here are the highlights of everything announced at the Apple Peek Performance event along with the India pricing and availability details of select products.
iPhone SE 5G
This time, Apple has stuffed the A15 Bionic processor inside, the same one found inside the iPhone 13 models.
That means this budget-model iPhone is nearly as capable as the super-expensive iPhones, and Apple says this chip enables better battery life too.
One can also get 5G connectivity, so access faster internet speeds on carrier’s network, and the glass around the phone is the same Ceramic Shield that protects Apple’s iPhone 13 models.
The SE also has a 12-megapixel main camera, which allows for similar features introduced in the mainline iPhones, like Photographic Styles and Deep Fusion.
That’s all it gets for new optical guts there are no additional sensors here. Even the 7-megapixel selfie camera is the same.
The new iPhone SE doesn’t also include support for the MagSafe accessory system.
It has the 4.7-inch LCD screen and IP67 water resistance to the home button with Touch ID.
It comes in three colors: midnight, starlight, and Product(Red).
Preorders open up this Friday and it goes on sale March 18 for $429.
iPad Air
The newest iPad the biggest update is the inclusion of Apple’s custom-designed M1 chip in the tablet—the same chip that’s in iPad Pros (and some MacBooks).
Apple claims this offers up to 60 percent improved performance from the previous iPad Air. This also makes the fifth-generation iPad Air two times faster than the “best-selling Windows laptop in its price range,” Angelina Kyazike, engineering product manager for iPad, said during the event.
The tablet’s display is a bit brighter, and its front camera now includes a 12-megapixel wide angle camera. This means it supports a software feature called “Center Stage,” which keeps humans zoomed and centered in the frame during video calls, and will supposedly make FaceTiming on the iPad Air less awkward.
This new tab will start at $599 when it goes on sale this Friday, and will ship in 6GB4 and 256GB configurations. Per usual, cellular connectivity is an option in addition to Wi-Fi.
But again, its biggest selling point is undoubtedly the new chip as the very slow but eventual merging of Mac and iPad system features continue.
And while iPad sales dipped in 2021, Apple still leads the overall tablet market, with nearly 40 percent market share
For M1 Ultra Chip & MAC studio details
