During their October “Unleashed” event, Apple officially announced their latest MacBook Pro powered by the improved M1 Pro chip.
New MacBook Pros with M1 Pro and M1 Max
Apple has unveiled two new versions of the MacBook Pro what the new 14-inch and 16-inch models.
“We set out to create the world’s best pro notebook, and today we’re excited to introduce the all-new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max — a game-changing combination of phenomenal performance, unrivaled battery life, and groundbreaking features,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The all-new MacBook Pro adds a breathtaking XDR display, more ports like MagSafe 3, an advanced 1080p camera, and a sensational six-speaker sound system, all in a stunning new design. The new MacBook Pro simply has no equal and is by far the best pro notebook we’ve ever built.”
The laptops are powered by the new M1 Pro chip which has a 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU and 200 GB/S of memory bandwidth.
The new MacBook Pros feature a Liquid Retina XDR Display, with miniLED technology like the 12.9-inch M1-powered iPad Pro.
Battery life is up to 17 hours on the 14-inch and up to 21 hours on the 16-inch. There’s also Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, Magic Keyboard (sans TouchBar) with Touch ID, and a 1080p FaceTime HD camera in the display’s notch.
The new Macs feature a six-speaker sound system that supports spatial audio.
For ports, both models have Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, SDXC card slot and a MagSafe 3 port. There’s also fast charging support to get you up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.
The M1 Max chip brings a 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU and 400 GB/S of memory bandwidth.
The M1 Max-powered 16-inch MacBook Pro can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM.
The new MacBook Pro 14” starts at $2,499 CAD and comes with an 8-Core CPU (M1 Pro), 14-Core GPU, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.
For $3,149 CAD, you can get the new MacBook Pro 14” with an 8-Core CPU (M1 Pro), 16-Core GPU, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD.
Meanwhile the new MacBook Pro 16” has three configurations.
For $3,149 CAD, you can get the new MacBook Pro 16” with an 10-Core CPU (M1 Pro), 16-Core GPU, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.
At $3,399 CAD, you can get a 10-Core CPU (M1 Pro), 16-Core GPU, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD.
Then the $4,399 CAD option, you get a10-Core CPU (M1 Max), 32-Core GPU, 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD.
All the new MacBook Pro models are up for pre-order today and ship on October 26th.
AirPods (2021)
In addition to the new MacBooks, Apple also introduced the third gen version of their AirPods.
“AirPods forever changed wireless headphones with their groundbreaking design, incredible sound, and magical experience,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We are excited to introduce the next generation of AirPods, featuring unrivaled sound through Adaptive EQ and spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, along with seamless interaction between Apple devices — making the world’s best-selling headphones even better.”
The new AirPods are still powered by the H1 chip but now feature a new contoured design and supports spatial audio.
There’s also IPX4 rating for water and sweat resistance. The AirPods also feature Adaptive EQ.
Battery life on the new AirPods is around six hours with four hours of talk time. Five minutes of charging gets you an hour of battery life.
The new AirPods’ case has MagSafe support to use with that ecosystem.
The AirPods (3rd generation) are available today for $239 CAD ($179 USD) and ships on October 26th.
New colours for HomePod Mini
Apple also introduced a few new colours of the HomePod Mini including yellow, orange and blue.
“HomePod mini sounds incredible, and with access to more than 90 million songs in the global Apple Music catalog and deep integration with your Apple devices, it’s the must-have smart speaker for iPhone users,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With new vibrant colours, HomePod mini fits in even more places and delivers amazing sound, the power of Siri, and simple and secure smart home controls, all while protecting your privacy.”
The new HomePod Mini colours are available now for $129 CAD.
TheCanadianTechie 