This is likely to be the last Apple event of 2018, and for tech geeks, it promises to be a good one. The event by Apple has been hosted in an opera house in Brooklyn, a totally different place to conduct the launch of its iPad models that Apple touts take ‘creativity to the next level.
The event takes off with Tim Cook taking the attention
Apple’s focus has always been to provide people with tools to unleash their creativity – Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
Apple unveils what it’s calling the biggest change to the iPad since its inception eight years ago. The new iPad Pro is 5.9 mm thinner with no Home button swiping certain spots on the screen to get back to previous pages. The iPad Pro also features a nearly edge-to-edge display and rounded corners. The iPad Pro also supports Face ID and USB-C, so it can connect to monitors up to 5K to turn into a workstation. It can even charge your iPhone, essentially turning it into your own personal power bank.
The iPad Pro 10.5-inch starts at $649 while the new 11-inch model starts at $799 for the base variant. The 12.9-inch model starts at $999 for the base variant. The LTE variants are available for all the models. The pre-orders open today and sale starts November 7.
Another reveal of the event is the MacBook Air that offers the freedom of portability. It has a 13.9-inch display with thinner bezels and quadrupled resolution – 4 million pixels. The color gamut has been overhauled with 27 percent more colors. The narrow border design has the FaceTime camera on the top of the laptop. Touch ID has arrived on the MacBook Air! Apple’s T2 security chip protects the fingerprint data. It has a modern keyboard and a new touchpad with 20 percent more service area.
It has 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage. It costs $1,199, which Apple says is the most affordable pricing. The pre-orders are now live and the sale starts on November 7.
The next to reveal in the event was the new Mac mini. It has been showcased by Tom who is calling it’s the biggest update ever to the Mac mini. It now comes with four- and six-core processors, eighth-generation processors to deliver 5 times faster performance to reduce boot times for intensive apps. The Mac mini comes with up to 64GB of RAM – the highest ever on a Mac mini. Four-times faster SSDs with 4x speed on the Mac mini. The Mac mini has Gigabit Ethernet, two USB ports, HDMI ports, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet port.
The Mac mini entry-level model with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD costs $799 in the US and it will be available starting November 7. Pre-orders are now live in the US.
Apple also introduces the new Apple Pencil. The new Apple Pencil just magnetically attaches itself to the edges of the iPad Pro and begins being charged so you can stick it out whenever you want. The detachable keyboard is also magnetic and attaches in instantly to iPad Pro.
There are newly integrated tap gestures which can perform functions inside apps, like an eraser in Notes. The new Apple Pencil costs $129. Note that the new Pencil is only compatible with the new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models. The squared edge not only helps with attachment to the iPad Pro, but it also makes it easier to rest the iPad on a table – the old cylindrical one would roll all over the place.
The last thing at the event is iOS 12.1. The iOS 12.1 brings dual-SIM support, Group FaceTime, and new emojis on the iPhone and iPad. That’s another set of new reveals by Apple wrapping up the event with an amazing musical performance “what better way to celebrate that creativit”.
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