New AirPods, Macbooks: key highlights from Apple’s latest event
Apart from the third-generation AirPods, Apple also announced deeper Siri integration for Apple Music, two new Macbooks and stronger Mac processors
Apple announced a slew of new products on Monday night at an event called ‘Unleashed’, which also included its latest Macbooks and updates to its audio lineup. The tech giant announced the first overhaul of its entry-level AirPods since 2019, a new $4.99 music plan that only works through its digital assistant Siri and different colors for its HomePod mini speaker, a Bloomberg report on the event explains.
The third-generation AirPods feature spatial audio, longer battery life, and an all-new design. According to an official release, these new AirPods are resistant to sweat and water, and feature a force sensor for easy and intuitive control of music and phone calls. Longer battery life will allow up to six hours of listening time and up to 30 hours of total listening time with a charging case.
The company also introduced three new, vibrant colours of its HomePod mini speaker. HomePod mini will be available in these new colors, orange, yellow and blue, along with white and space grey, with colour-matched details throughout, starting in November for Rs 9,900.
Rounding off the upgrades to its audio lineup, Apple also unveiled the Apple Music Voice Plan, a new subscription tier for Apple Music designed around Siri. The Apple Music Voice Plan will offer subscribers access to the service’s catalog of 90 million songs as well as Apple Music Radio through Siri. This service is available for Rs 49 per month.
“Apple Music is also adding hundreds of new mood and activity playlists created by Apple Music’s editorial experts that are fully optimised just for voice. Subscribers can ask Siri to ‘Play the dinner party playlist,’ ‘Play something chill,’ or even ‘Play more like this’ for a truly personalised music experience,” the release explains.
Another big announcement that turned heads was around two new Macbook Pro models, which will run on the all-new M1 Pro and M1 Max, the first pro chips designed in-house for the Mac. According to a Reuters report, the new chips are meant to have better performance than the company's previous M1 chips, but also use less power than rival chips from firms like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.
The new MacBook Pro also features a liquid retina XDR display, more ports for advanced connectivity and a 1080p FaceTime HD camera.
Also read: Has Apple really stopped innovating?
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First Published:19 Oct 2021, 07:30 AM IST
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