We had a Nokia event earlier this morning, and Apple have ended the day with an event of their own. We expected new iPads and new Macs – and that’s exactly what we got!
New iPads
There were two new iPads announced at the event – a new full-size iPad, called the iPad Air, and a new small-size iPad, the iPad Mini with Retina display.
iPad Air
The iPad Air is an update to the full-size iPad line, bringing the design of the iPad Mini and the colour of the iPhone 5S. That means much thinner bezels, and a thinner and lighter body all-around. The iPad Air will come in two colours, white and space grey. The overall look isn’t as noticeable as the gold iPhone 5S, but it definitely looks good. The only potential drawback to the new design? Sharper and boxier edges.
Inside, things have been improved with the addition of the Apple A7 chip that debuted in the iPhone 5S. That means faster CPU and graphics performance, as well as the new motion coprocessor that should (eventually) result in some pretty cool context-sensitive apps and accessories. As with all recent iOS products, the iPad Air runs iOS 7.
The iPad Air will cost £399, and will ship on 1st November – just over a week from today. That price is for the 16 GB Wi-Fi only version – adding LTE or additional storage will cost extra – £80 for each storage upgrade (to 32, 64 or 128 GB) and £100 for LTE. That puts the top of the line model at £739.
We’re already adding our iPad Air accessories to the site, so be sure to stay tuned for the latest word on iPad Air cases, covers, chargers and a whole lot more in the coming days and weeks.
iPad Mini with Retina
The second new iPad of the day was the iPad Mini with Retina display. As the name suggests, this new model comes with the same high resolution as the full-size iPad – 2048 x 1536 – but at the smaller 7.9″ size. That’s a whole lot of pixel density, and it should make for a gorgeous looking tablet. The only downside to the Retina display is that it it makes the Mini a bit thicker and heavier, although at 0.3 mm and 23 grams, the physical difference is fairly minimal.
The Retina display iPad Mini also comes with the A7 chip, same as the iPad Air and iPhone 5S, and the corresponding increase in processing and graphical power.
The iPad Mini with Retina display will start at £319, and comes in the same Space Grey and Silver colour options as the Air. As with the larger tablet, adding LTE costs an extra £100 and adding extra storage is an extra £80, making the most expensive model £659. The iPad Mini with Retina will be available “later in November” – presumably around the same time the new games consoles are released!
New Macs
Apple announced some new MacBook pro notebooks and more details on the redesigned Mac Pro at the event.
MacBook Pro with Retina
Apple launched its latest Air laptops with new Haswell processors earlier this year, and now they’re back to refresh their MacBook Pro lineup with even faster Intel CPUs. The MacBook Pro continues to be available in two sizes, 13″ and 15″, and each has gotten thinner and lighter for this year’s update.
The new Haswell processors give minor performance improvements, but much improved battery life – you can expect 9 hours of battery life on the 13″ model, and 8 hours of battery life on the 15″ model. Graphical performance is also improved on both models, with the 15″ model offered with the option of a GT 750M graphics card for some serious gaming firepower. Both 13″ and 15″ models also include faster PCIe flash storage, faster 802.11ac wireless and faster Thunderbolt 2 ports.
Of course, both new MacBook Pros are pricey. The 13″ model starts at £1099 for a 2.4 GHz Core i5, 4 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD. The highest end 13″ model is £1499, but gives you a 2.6 GHz Core i5 CPU, 8 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD. Over in 15″ land, things are even more expensive – expect to pay £1699 for the cheapest model, which comes with a 2 GHz Core i7, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB of storage. If you want a discrete graphics card, you’ll have to pay £2199 for a model that includes that Nvidia 750M GPU, a 2.3 GHz Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB SSD. All new MacBook Pros are shipping today.
Mac Pro
We first got a taste of it at WWDC, and now Apple are back with a release date. The newly redesigned Mac for professionals will be available in December, and will start at £2999. You get a lot for your money – a Xeon E5 CPU, dual Firestation Pro graphics cards, plenty of RAM and storage space and seemingly endless I/O options. The coolest feature is probably still that trash can design, with a ridiculous amount of hardware fitting inside a can with 1/6th the volume of the past Mac Pros and produces no more noise than the Mac Mini.
Conclusion
So there we have it – the biggest announcements of Apple’s iPad and Mac event!