Apple released a new slew of products for the second time in a month. September was about the iPhone and iPad, today was about the Mac and Music. Let’s dive in.
MacBook Pro Receives Redesign Featuring M1 Processors And More Ports
The big announcement of the day was updates to the MacBook Pro line of laptops. The laptops have received a complete redesign. There is a lot to get to. First off, the laptops are now powered by the M1 Pro or M1 Max processor (more on those later). The screens are now 14.2 and 16.2 inches in size, and feature an iPhone like notch in the top of the display. That notch does not add any additional functionality to the laptop, and it appears it is only there so the laptop can have a similar visual look as an iPhone. There is a 1080p webcam in the notch, but no FaceID, or any other kind of camera. Apple tries to make it look ok by using darker screenshots on its website, but on lighter backgrounds it looks pretty terrible. The display itself is much higher resolution than the previous MacBook Pros, with the new 16” model featuring almost a full 4k display.
Next up is the port selection. Apple has actually added ports back to the MacBook Pro this year. Previous MacBook Pros had either two or four thunderbolt ports. The 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros this year feature three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and the return of the MagSafe connector for power. The laptops can still charge via USB-C, but the return of MagSafe will please many. HDMI and the SD card slot will also be a very welcome addition to the target demographic of these laptops.
Another thing sure to please the audience is the new MacBook Pros finally ditching the much maligned touch bar. In its place is the return of a proper row of function keys.
Apple talked a lot about the speaker and mic quality of these laptops, as well as championed the thickness and weight. I don’t think the laptops are particularly svelte, but they are among the thinnest and lightest in their class. It should also be noted that while Apple likes to talk about how power efficient the M1 Pro and M1 Max Processors are, the 16 inch MacBook Pro comes with a 140 Watt power adapter, which is significantly higher power than the 96 Watt adapter that came with the previous 16 inch MacBook Pro. Whether the computer needs that much power, or that just enables faster charging remains to be seen.
These look like solid workstation class laptops. The MacBook Pros aren’t built for the average user, and their prices reflect it. The 14 inch model starts at $2500 in Canada, while the 16” model starts at $3150. They can be ordered now and are available on October 26. The 13 inch MacBook Pro with two thunderbolt ports remains in the lineup starting at $1700.
The M1 Pro and M1 Max Power The New MacBook Pros
Apple released the M1 processor last year, where it powers the MacBook Air, 13 inch MacBook Pro, 21 inch iMac, and the iPad Pro. This year doesn’t see a huge upgrade to the M1, but the M1 Pro and M1 Max are more powerful versions of that processor. Where the M1 features 4 high performance processing cores and 4 efficiency cores, The M1 Pro and M1 Max feature 6 or 8 high performance cores and just 2 efficiency cores. This, combined with a higher wattage rating, leads Apple to claim up to 70% more CPU performance than the M1. The graphics power of the M1 Pro and M1 Max are a similar story. The M1 features either 7 or 8 graphics processors, where the M1 Pro and Max feature up to 32 graphics processors. They aren’t necessarily more powerful, there is just more of them to make it run faster.
Apple did its usual graph to show how much better the M1 Pro and M1 Max are compared to an Intel processor, but apple doesn’t like to put a scale on the Y axis of its graphs, so we will have to wait for real world results. I would expect it to be very capable.
Lastly, the naming of these processors seems very un Apple like. During the presentation, various speakers kept talking about both “M1 Macs” as well as the “M1 Max.” And while with the written word it isn’t awful, trying saying “M1 Macs running M1 Max” out loud. I feel like Apple could have thought these names through a little better.
AirPods Get An Update and Apple Music Gets Weird
The basic Airpods haven’t had a meaningful update since 2019, and have the same basic look as the 2019 model. Apple has finally updated its most popular headphones, with the AirPods (3rd Generation). The AirPods 3 have the same basic shape as the Airpods Pro, but do not feature interchangeable ear tips or noise cancelling. The new $240 headphones look like a nice, if expensive update to the AirPods. However, I don’t get their place in the lineup when price is taken into consideration. The AirPods pro are only $80 more at $330, and can often be found on sale for around $270. There really isn’t a reason to buy the AirPods 3 over the AirPods Pro at that price.
The second generation AirPods remain on sale for $180, which is a $40 price cut from their previous $220 price.
Lastly, Apple Music has a new pricing tier that I promise isn’t a joke, as much as it looks like one. For $5 month, you can subscribe to Apple Music… but only through voice control using Siri. Yes, for $5 month you can yell at your phone to play music, but not use an app to control music, or look at the Apple Music library. It feels like a joke, but its actually on the Apple website, so I guess this is a real thing.