iPhone SE 3, M1 Ultra, iPad Air: All Today’s Apple Announcements

Apple held its first event of 2022 this Tuesday (8) with news for its products. Confirming several rumors that have come out in recent weeks, the company has updated its “entry” line of phones with the new iPhone SE and brought an iPad Air with iPad Pro power to the market.

One thing that has become clear is Apple’s advancement of its hardware independence, with a focus on the chip line itself. It is in this year 2022 that the company should complete the transition of Intel chips, which should be completed with a Mac Pro to be announced in the future.

The main news that Apple presented today can be seen in our summary below.

1. iPhone 13 and 13 Pro: two new colors

iphone 13 alpine green
New colors for iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro.

Just like it did at the first event of 2021, Apple released new colors for the iPhone 13 at this event today. They arrive for the iPhone 13 (alpine green) and iPhone 13 Pro (green). The new colors will be available soon in select countries on March 18th, with pre-sales starting next Friday (11th). The hardware of the models, of course, has not changed.

2. New iPhone SE with 5G

iPhone SE 2022
Colors of the new 3rd generation iPhone SE are black, white and red.

One of today’s big announcements was the 3rd generation iPhone SE. The phone has the same look as the 2nd generation iPhone SE (2020), but with the glass used in the new iPhone 13. Along with the latest models, it also has the A15 Bionic chip and options of up to 256 GB of storage.

iphone se 2022

The addition of the most powerful (and recent) chip brings new capabilities to the “cheap” smartphone. These include Smart HDR 4 for the cameras, compatibility with 5G connectivity, and longer battery life, according to the brand. Also according to Apple, the device performs 1.8x faster than the iPhone 8.

The pre-sale of the new iPhone SE also starts this Friday (11) and sales on March 18, with the availability of black, white, and red colors. Here in Brazil, prices are as follows:

  • iPhone SE 3 (64GB): $ 429
  • iPhone SE 3 (128GB): $ 479
  • iPhone SE 3 (256 GB): $ 579

3. iPad Air with M1

ipad air ipad pro
New iPad Air brings functions and “power” of iPad Pro.

Another hardware announcement of the day was the iPad Air with an M1 chip. The same is also used in the iPad Pro line and promises cutting-edge performance for the new model presented today. It has only two options with 64 GB (R$ 6,799) and 256 GB (R$ 8,399) of storage and is available in space grey, pink, purple, blue, and white.

ipad air 2022

In addition to the new chip, the iPad Air has 5G connectivity, USB-C input, and, unlike iPhones, it comes with a 20W power adapter in the box. Its screen is 10.9 inches in size (2360 x 1640 pixels) and is compatible with the 2nd generation Apple Pencil.

On both the front and rear cameras, the new iPad Air features a single 12 MP camera. A differential is the use of the Central Stage function for video calls, which “accompanies” the user as he moves around the screen.

It is worth noting that the tablet has the Touch ID fingerprint reader and will be available with iPadOS 15.4, which is scheduled for release next week.

4. M1 Ultra: Apple’s new most powerful chip

m1 ultra chip
Architecture of the new Apple M1 Ultra chip.

Apple announced this Tuesday (8) another proprietary chip, the M1 Ultra. The high-performance chip supports up to 128GB of unified memory (RAM), has 20 CPU cores and a 64-core integrated GPU. According to Apple, it is eight times more powerful than the original M1.

Aimed at high performance and energy efficiency, Apple also claimed that the chip is capable of delivering performance similar to high-end GPUs such as the Nvidia RTX 3090, with up to 200W less power consumption.

The numbers are also impressive. That’s 114 billion transistors and 32 Neural Engine cores in a new architecture dubbed UltraFusion. With the new machine learning chip, Apple ensures that the M1 Ultra is capable of executing up to 22 trillion operations per second.

5. iOS 15.4, iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3

Next week, Apple will release iOS 15.4, iPadOS 15.4, and macOS Monterey 12.3. The updates bring a series of new features. For the iPhone, unlocking cell phones with Face ID arrives, starting with the iPhone 12, without the user having to remove their protective mask. For Macs and iPads comes Universal Control, which lets you control multiple devices with just a mouse and keyboard.

This integration between Apple devices allows, for example, to copy files from an iPad and transfer them to a Mac quickly, being an ” evolution” of Sidecar. Despite not having indicated a specific date, the updates will likely reach users on March 18, when the new products should go on sale.

6. Mac Studio

Apple Mac Studio and Studio Display.

To debut the M1 Ultra, Apple also introduced the Mac Studio today. It is a kind of beefier Mac mini, bringing both the new chip and the M1 Max. The computer can still be equipped with up to 128 GB of RAM, up to 8 TB of storage (SSD) and its starting price is R$ 22,999 – if you choose the strongest configuration, the value is close to R$ 100 thousand.

mac studio

Considered a high-end computer, Mac Studio is aimed at activities that need high performance. It supports up to four Pro Display XDR displays via USB-C and an extra one via the HDMI port. There are also Ethernet connections (10Gb), two USB-A, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

7. Apple Studio Display, iPhone chip monitor

Apple also announced a new display at today’s event. It is the Studio Display, with 5K resolution and 27 inches in size. Its starting price is $18,000 and it will also be available on March 18th. It has a P3 color tone, 600 nits brightness, and True Tone technology.

mac display

Among the differentials, Apple bets on improvements to the camera and sound outputs. Now, the monitor has a 12 MP ultra-wide camera (f/2.4, 122º) capable of capturing more space from the environment. It also has a sound system with six speakers and woofers, offering stereo sound (Spatial Audio).

The Apple Studio Display also has the A13 Bionic chip, from the iPhone 11, which allows you to use most of these features and also makes it compatible with the “Hey Siri” command.

By Janet J

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