Apple Event Highlights: iPhone SE 3, iPad Air 5, Mac Studio and more

Apple’s Peek Performance event is now over, and the Cupertino-based company announced a slew of new products. The event clearly focused on Apple’s powerful chipsets, including the new M1 Ultra, which is present on the new Mac Studio desktop.

Here’s all the latest products unveiled at the Apple event.

Apple M1 Ultra chip

A 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine are all included in this new super chip. There’s also up to 128GB of RAM available. The M1 Ultra, according to Apple, can transcode video to ProRes 5.6 times faster than a 28-core Mac Pro with Afterburner. In the same power envelope, it is expected to give 90 percent greater multi-threaded performance than the fastest available 16-core PC processor.

Furthermore, the Neural Engine’s 32-core processor can perform up to 22 trillion operations per second. The new Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, according to the tech giant, can play back up to 18 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video, a feat that no other processor has yet achieved.

Apple Silicon now powers practically the entire Mac lineup, and Apple has stated that the M1 Ultra “completes the M1 family of chips,” which could imply that the M1 Ultra is the company’s final M1 chip. Apple’s M2 series of semiconductors is expected to eventually replace all M1 chips.

Mac Studio

The Mac Studio is a new Mac desktop that will be offered for those who have the M1 Max or M1 Ultra processor. It’s a square box (7.7 inches in diameter and 3.7 inches in height) that takes up very little room and fits under most displays flawlessly. With the M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips, things that creators and software developers can do with the Mac Studio are limitless.

Apple claims that the Mac Studio with M1 Ultra can play 18 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video, something that no other computer can handle right now. Furthermore, the M1 Ultra allows for the insertion of up to 128GB of RAM, which is a game-changer.

There are four Thunderbolt 4 connectors, a 10GB Ethernet port, an HDMI port, two USB-A ports, and a pro audio jack for wired headphones or wired speakers on the back of the Mac Studio. The new Mac Studio costs Rs 1,89,900 with the M1 Max chip and Rs 3,89,900 with the M1 Ultra chip in India.

Apple Studio Display

Apple’s Studio Display is an extension to the Mac Studio. It’s a 27-inch panel with 5K resolution and 600 nits of brightness. Once you have a powerful CPU, you need a powerful display to bring justice to it. Studio Display, which can tilt up to 30 degrees comes with a slim aluminium design.

The Studio Display also comes with the Nano-Texture glass which was first introduced on the Pro Display XDR. The camera and audio system of the Studio Display are powered by the A13 Bionic which enables Center Stage for the 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera on the screen.

The speakers on the Studio Display support spatial audio for music and video with Dolby Atmos, creating a truly cinematic viewing experience altogether. There are three USB Type-C ports on the display and a Thunderbolt port too.

Apple has also launched a new silver and black colour option for Magic Keyboard with Touch ID along with a Magic Mouse to complement the Studio Display. The Studio Display with standard glass is available starting at Rs 1,59,900 and with the Nano Texture glass is starting at Rs 1,89,900. You can manually choose the stand you want with the Studio Display while ordering.

iPhone SE 3

This is the most affordable iPhone that Apple makes. The second gen model is no longer listed on its online store, which is to say, it has been discontinued – to no one’s surprise.

Powered by the A15 Bionic processor, the iPhone SE comes with a 12-megapixel wide camera. The brand has given features like Smart HDR 4, Deep Fusion, Photographic Styles, and Portrait Mode. The screen is exactly the same as the iPhone SE 2. This is 4.7-inch ‘Retine HD’ LCD with True Tone and 625nits peak brightness. The smartphone is rocking Apple’s A15 Bionic chip with a 6-core CPU and 4-core GPU same as the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini.

For all intents and purposes, the iPhone SE 3 will be your gateway to the iPhone-verse now, with price in India starting at Rs 43,900.

iPad Air 5

The iPad Air will be equipped with Apple’s M1 chip, which will provide much improved performance as well as 5G connection. It also works with the Magic keyboard. It has a symmetrical bezel and a 10.9-inch liquid retina display. Similar to the iPad Air 4, it has a fingerprint sensor on the top of the standby button and a USB-C port on the bottom. The brand new M1 chipset is the most significant change for the 5th generation iPad. With its 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU, the M1 SoC will provide the iPad Air 5 a significant performance bump. According to Apple, the CPU is 60% quicker and the GPU is 2X faster than the previous model.

The iPad Air 5 has a 12-megapixel ultra wide front-facing camera for connectivity with a support for center stage, which is new camera technology of Apple that keeps the subject of the video during video calls in the frame even if they move around.

The iPad Air 5 WiFi only variant comes at a starting price of Rs 54,900 and the WiFi + cellular connectivity model will be available starting at Rs 68,900. The iPad Air 5 will be available from March 18.