Photo: Apple
By: Nick Gambino
Apple held its first event of 2022 on Tuesday where they unveiled a slew of new hardware products, most of which we predicted last week. There’s nothing that will blow your socks off, but depending on what your Apple fetish might be, there could be something of mild interest here for you.
Here’s a rundown of all the new Apple goodies unveiled at the “Peek Performance” event held virtually in Cupertino, CA.
iPhone SE 3
We were pretty sure we were going to see the iPhone SE 3 at the event and we (along with the rest of the tech world) were right. The new affordable version of the iPhone comes with 5G support and the more powerful A15 Bionic processor chip. This one starts as low as $429.
iPad Air 5
Like the iPhone SE, the iPad Air is also getting a modest boost to bring it up to par with the rest of Apple’s offerings. The iPad Air 5 sports the new in-house M1 chip as well as 5G support. For those who use the iPad Air in place of a laptop, you can now use it with the wireless Magic keyboard. Starting price is $599.
M1 Ultra
Speaking of in-house chips, Apple has created a new super chip, the M1 Ultra, that is essentially two M1 Max chips smashed together for ultimate power. They say it’s a whopping 8 times faster than the M1 processor chip and supports 128GB of memory. News of this chip leads us into Apple’s next reveal from the event.
Mac Studio
The Mac Studio is perhaps the biggest unveiling because it’s a brand-new product. It’s essentially a souped-up Mac mini targeted at creative professionals (hence the “Studio” moniker). The powerful new Mac has a plethora of ports and the option of fitting it with either the M1 Max chip or the new M1 Ultra.
The price jump between these two is significant so here’s hoping the M1 Ultra delivers. You can get the Mac Studio with the M1 Mac chip for $1,999 or the M1 Ultra for $3,999.
Oh and just one more thing…
Studio Display
It’s been a while since Apple sold a standalone monitor sans computer that the regular consumer could afford. The new Studio Display 27-inch monitor offers a 5K Retina display and a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera replete with Center Stage for video calls. It also packs a pretty robust audio set-up with six speakers featuring their very own Spatial Audio. Buying Apple ain’t cheap, so this monitor is going to cost you at least $1,599.
That’s everything Apple revealed at the “Peek Performance” event. As I said, nothing to blow your socks off, but if you’re in the market for shining new Apple hardware and have the coin to spend, maybe there’s something here for you.
