Apple Refreshes iPad Pro, iMac Portfolio

Apple’s Spring Loaded event late on Tuesday continued to show off new and refreshed product lines.

Other than the new AirTag locators, Apple TV 4K and the purple iPhone 12 launches, Apple also took tweaked its tablet and desktop computer portfolio.

This included the iPad Pro and the iMac range. In March this year Apple announced that it was discontinuing the iMac Pro, which had been aimed at users who needed more power than a standard iMac or MacBook Pro.

iPad Pro

The first refresh concerned the new iPad Pro which has been upgraded with Apple’s latest M1 chip, as well as 5G connectivity, and a 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display.

This new tablet is available to order beginning 30 April online, and from Apple Store locations from mid May, before its availability in the second half of May.

Both the new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space grey finishes, and come with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations.

Pricing wise, the 11-inch iPad Pro starts at £749 for the Wi-Fi model and £899 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at £999 for the Wi-Fi model and £1,149 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

So what exactly is new with these latest iPad Pros?

Well, Apple claims these new devices are the most powerful and advanced iPad Pros ever, with the M1 chip delivering “a massive leap in performance”

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro features a new Liquid Retina XDR display that Apple says offers “a stunning visual experience with more true-to-life details to the most demanding HDR workflows.”

Other new tweaks with the iPad Pro includes support for Thunderbolt, as well as USB-C ports with USB 4 support.

In addition, there is an all-new Ultra Wide front camera enables Centre Stage, a new feature that automatically keeps users perfectly framed for even more engaging video calls.

“The revolutionary M1 chip has been a breakthrough for the Mac, and we’re incredibly excited to bring it to iPad Pro,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing.

“With M1’s huge jump in performance, a groundbreaking extreme dynamic range experience on the 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, up to 2TB of high-speed storage, Thunderbolt expansion, a four-speaker audio system, pro cameras with LiDAR Scanner, blazing-fast 5G connectivity, an amazing video-calling experience with Centre Stage – combined with the advanced features of iPadOS and a powerful pro app ecosystem all in a device users can hold in one hand – there’s nothing else like iPad Pro,” he said.

Apple says that the M1 8-core CPU design features the world’s fastest CPU cores in low-power silicon – delivering up to 50 percent faster CPU performance than A12Z Bionic.

Apple iMac

The upgraded iMac portfolio saw a few more features thrown into the mix.

The new 24-inch iMac is available to order beginning 30 April online, and will be available in select Apple Store locations in the second half of May.

Pricing for the iMac with 7-core GPU starts at £1,249 and £1,124 for education, and is available in green, pink, blue, and silver. It features an 8-core CPU, 8GB of unified memory, 256GB SSD, two Thunderbolt ports, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse.

The iMac with 8-core GPU starts at £1,499 and £1,304 for education, and is available in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. It features an 8-core CPU, 8GB of unified memory, 256GB SSD, two Thunderbolt ports, two additional USB 3 ports, Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Mouse, and Ethernet.

All the new iMac features vibrant colours, the M1 chip, and a 4.5K Retina display, coupled with the best camera, mics, and speakers ever in a Mac, and Touch ID for the first time, Apple claimed.

The thin design of the new iMac range is thanks to the M1 chip, being just 11.5 millimeters thin.

Apple says that enabled by the system-on-chip architecture and power efficiency of M1, the logic board and thermals are dramatically consolidated and reduced in size compared to the previous generation’s, “allowing the side profile of iMac to practically disappear.”

It said the more compact design reduces the volume of iMac by 50 percent, allowing it to take up less space and fit easily in even more places.

The 24-inch 4.5K Retina iMac display comes with 11.3 million pixels, 500 nits of brightness, and over a billion colours.

This is coupled with a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, studio-quality mics, and a six-speaker sound system, which Apple says is the best camera and audio ever in a Mac.

And Touch ID comes to iMac for the first time, making it easier than ever to securely log in, make purchases with Apple Pay, or switch user profiles with the touch of a finger.

“M1 is a gigantic leap forward for the Mac, and today we’re excited to introduce the all-new iMac, the first Mac designed around the breakthrough M1 chip,” said Greg Joswiak. “

With its striking design in seven stunning colours, its immersive 4.5K Retina display, the best camera, mics, and speakers ever in a Mac, and Touch ID, combined with the amazing performance of M1 and the power of macOS Big Sur, the new iMac takes everything people love about iMac to an entirely new level,” he said.

The new iMac is available in the following colours, including green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver.