Apple announces a new MacBook Air, Mac Mini and iPad Pro

Apple made a couple of announcements at their October 30th event, including a new MacBook Air, Mac Mini and iPad Pro.

MacBook Air

The new MacBook Air has been redesigned and now has a 13-inch Retina Display. It also comes with Touch ID for login and Apple Pay. For added security, Touch ID on the device uses Apple’s T2 Security Chip.

“The first MacBook Air revolutionized Mac with its thin wedge-shaped aluminum design. It forever changed the entire industry for portable computers and became the world’s most loved notebook,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Redesigning MacBook Air started with a stunning Retina display and all-day battery life, and then we added Touch ID and the Apple T2 Security Chip, the latest processors, incredible sound, the third-generation keyboard and Force Touch trackpad, high speed Thunderbolt 3 ports, and of course macOS Mojave in a beautiful, thinner, lighter, all-aluminum design that a whole new generation of MacBook Air customers are going to love.”

You can still expect all-day battery life on the new MacBook Air with up to 12 hours of video playback.

The keyboard on the new MacBook Air is the 3rd Gen version of Apple’s butterfly mechanism keyboard. There’s also a Force Touch trackpad, faster SSDs, wide stereo sound speakers, two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 and a headphone jack.

The new MacBook Air comes with an 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor with up to 16GB of RAM. It can be configured with up a 1.5TB SSD. The laptop is made from Apple’s custom-designed aluminum alloy which uses 100% recycled aluminum, making it the “greenest Mac ever”.

The new MacBook Air is available pre-order today and starts shipping on November 7th. The laptop comes in three colours, gold, space grey and silver.

The new MacBook Air starts at $1,499 CAD and comes with a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. The specced out MacBook Air costs $3,239 CAD and comes the same Intel Core i5, 16GB of RAM and a 1.5TB SSD.

Mac Mini

The Mac Mini has finally been given an update in what seems like ages. Apple’s last update to the Mac Mini was back in 2014.

The new Mac Mini comes in a Space Grey colour scheme and is 5 times faster than the outgoing model. It can be equipped with either a quad and 6-core 8th Gen Intel processors, up to 64GB of RAM and up to a 2TB SSD.

“Mac mini is loved by customers for its ability to be used in incredibly diverse environments — from casual desktop use, to live professional performances, to multiple Mac mini computers powering through video renderings and compiling software code, to racks of thousands in giant app build farms — anywhere a small-but-mighty Mac is needed to get the job done,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Mac mini customers are going to flip over the new Mac mini. It has more than five times the performance, up to 6-core desktop-class processors, an Apple T2 Security Chip, faster memory up to 64GB, high-performance all-flash storage, and is packed with advanced ports including four Thunderbolt 3, two USB-A, HDMI video, audio and Ethernet up to 10Gbps. All of this power is packed into the same size enclosure as before, perfect for customers updating or creating all-new installations where Mac mini is the ideal solution.”

The Mac Mini comes with plenty of ports, there are four USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3, Ethernet (with a 10Gb Ethernet option available), HDMI 2.0, two USB Type-A ports and a headphone jack.

Just like the new MacBook Air, the new Mac Mini is made from the same Apple-designed aluminum alloy made from 100% recycled aluminum.

The new Mac Mini is available for pre-order today and it will ship on November 7th. Pricing for the new Mac Mini starts at $999 CAD for a quad-core Intel Core i3, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. The top of the line Mac Mini costs $4,999 CAD and comes with an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.

iPad Pro

Apple also introduced a new version of their iPad Pro. It’s powered by the A12X Bionic chip with a Neural Engine, which is for advanced machine learning for things like Face ID and AR apps.

“The new iPad Pro is a huge step forward for powerful, creative, mobile computing; it has an all-new thinner design, speeds through projects with the super-fast A12X Bionic chip and unlocks with a glance using Face ID in any orientation — while you’re sitting or standing, with iPad Pro on your desk or lap, with the new Smart Keyboard Folio and new Apple Pencil,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “There has never been a mobile device anything like the new iPad Pro; it has a gorgeous edge-to-edge Liquid Retina display that curves into the corners, breakthrough performance that outperforms most laptops, Face ID, support for the new Smart Keyboard Folio and new Apple Pencil, advanced new cameras and sensors for the best AR experiences ever in any device, a high-speed USB-C connector, louder speakers, faster wireless and more, all packed into a thinner device that has all-day battery life and is 25 percent smaller in volume.”

The new iPad Pro comes in two screen sizes, 11-inch and 12.9-inch Liquid Retina displays. The screen offers Apple’s True Tone technology and ProMotion for 120Hz ultra-smooth scrolling and responsiveness. The device also comes with a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, which can be used to connect to a 5K display or even charge an iPhone.

Just like the iPhone XS & XS Max, Apple has removed the home button on the new iPad Pro and replaced with Face ID.

Alongside the new iPad Pro, Apple introduced a second-generation Apple Pencil which magnetically attaches to the device and wireless charges at the same time. There’s also a new Smart Keyboard Folio case for the new iPad Pro. You can expect up to 10-hours of battery life on the new iPad Pro.

The new iPad Pro comes in four storage options, 64, 256, 512 and a new 1TB option. It’ll be available in two colours, Space Grey and Silver. The new iPad Pro is available for pre-order today and ship on November 7th.

Here’s the pricing for the 11-inch iPad Pro:

• 64GB (Wi-Fi) – $999 CAD
• 256GB (Wi-Fi) – $1,199 CAD
• 512GB (Wi-Fi) – $1,449 CAD
• 1TB (Wi-Fi) – $1,949 CAD
• 64GB (Wi-Fi & Cellular) – $1,199 CAD
• 256GB (Wi-Fi & Cellular) – $1,399 CAD
• 512GB (Wi-Fi & Celluar) – $1,649 CAD
• 1TB (Wi-Fi & Cellular) – $2,149 CAD

Below is the pricing for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro:

• 64GB (Wi-Fi) – $1,249 CAD
• 256GB (Wi-Fi) – $1,449 CAD
• 512GB (Wi-Fi) – $1,699 CAD
• 1TB (Wi-Fi) – $2,199 CAD
• 64GB (Wi-Fi & Cellular) – $1,449 CAD
• 256GB (Wi-Fi & Cellular) – $1,649 CAD
• 512GB (Wi-Fi & Celluar) – $1,899 CAD
• 1TB (Wi-Fi & Cellular) – $2,399 CAD

The new Apple Pencil will cost $169 CAD and the Smart Keyboard Folio will go for $239 CAD for the 11-inch iPad Pro and $269 CAD for the 12.9-inch model.

Source: Apple, (2), (3)