ICYMI: Fall 2021 Apple Announcement

If you missed the latest Apple event and the introduction of a 14" MacBook Pro, look no further! We have the highlights of all the new products from the announcement. TLDR: Apple has fully committed to Apple Silicon for their portable devices so no more portable Intel chip Macs. Oh, and MagSafe is back!

But first...

Music

AirPods Pro

Everyone’s favorite headphones, AirPods, get a third generation that introduces spatial audio. They are also sweat and water resistant making them great for workouts (and if you don’t already own a pair--they really don’t fall out of your ears even during exercise!). Some other upgrades are that the battery life is better (six hours of listening time) and they are now able to do MagSafe wireless charging. 

Other Music Highlights

Apple has added a new streaming plan (Voice for $4.99 a month) and the new HomePod Mini comes in fun colors (navy, orange, yellow, black, and white) for $99. 

New M1 MacBook Pros in 14” and 16”

While no longer having Intel can cause some pains for specific users, once Apple silicon is fully embraced there is a lot to get excited about. Apple has made these new computers pretty amazing for the power user. 

New M1 Pro/M1 Max Chips

Apple has upgraded their flagship M1 chip lineup to include M1 Pro and M1 Max. These chips now have “unified memory” so there is no separate graphics card to upgrade. If you’re in need of super high level graphics, you’ll want to steer toward the M1 Max. 

M1 Pro Highlights: 

• Up to 2x faster CPU performance than previous generation 16-inch MacBook Pro,1 with a 16-core GPU for up to 5.2 teraflops of graphics performance
• Supports 16GB or 32GB of superfast unified memory
• Enhanced media engine with dedicated ProRes logic can play up to 20 streams of 4K or four streams of 8K ProRes video

M1 Max Highlights: 

• Offers the same amazing CPU performance as M1 Pro and up to 4x faster graphics than the previous generation 16-inch MacBook Pro,2 with an up to 32-core GPU that delivers up to 10.4 teraflops of graphics performance
• Supports 32GB or 64GB of superfast unified memory
• Play up to 30 streams of 4K or seven streams of 8K ProRes video

Other highlights

• The displays are now Liquid Retina XDR displays 
• Battery life got a significant bump with up to 21 hours of video playback 
• 1080 p FaceTime camera
• Redesigned keyboard 
• Ports! The new MacBook Pros come with 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, a 3.5 mm headphone jack...and...MagSafe 3 port is back (for those of us who have tripped on our cables recently and shook our fists in the air lamenting our non MagSafe ports

Conclusion

With the death of the Intel chip for Apple comes back some amazing pro features in the new MacBook Pro lineup. Alongside macOS Monterey, it promises to be a palpably upgraded experience for Mac lovers. 

Need help picking out the right MacBook Pro for your business? Let us know! We can help you get the right specifications and ensure that your Macs are enrolled in Apple Business Manager. 

Credits
Images courtesy of Apple.com