Apple’s anticipated “Unleashed” special October Event was a huge success, and it certainly did not disappoint with announcements of new products including everything we expected and then some. In this post, we have chronicled every new announcement that the Cupertino-based company made in its October 18 virtual Mac Event.
Apple Music Voice Plan
Price: $4.99 per month
Among everything Apple announced, this was certainly the most random. The Apple Music Voice Plan allows users to access new curated playlists for hundreds of moods, all voice-activated by Siri. According to the announcement, users can use voice-activation to get Siri to play songs, stations, and playlists.
HomePod Mini
Price: $99
The HomePod Mini received a new update this year as well, but according to the announcement, not much has changed except the color options. Now available in yellow, orange, and blue—three more colors than last year—the HomePod mini seems to match the previously announced iMac lineup in terms of color options and cable aesthetics. It boasts the regular features like intercom, Siri, and everything else that was available last year.
AirPods 3
Price: $179
AirPods 3 features a new design akin to the AirPods Pro. This time, however, AirPods 3 is fashioned with a universal fit and also allows Spatial Audio support due to the addition of new sensors that detect the user’s head movements. AirPods 3 do not feature Active Noise Cancellation or Transparency Mode—features only found on the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. The battery life on the AirPods 3 moves up to six hours, with the charging case holding 30 hours of battery life. Read more about it in our Airpods 3 announcement post.
MacOS Monterey
Apple again announced its new macOS update, but touched very minimally on the upcoming OS, which has a slightly new look compared to its earlier announcement. However, we now know that Monterey will be available on October 25. It may, however, be missing its flagship feature: Universal Control. According to Apple, that may be coming a little later. As with previous macOS updates, macOS 12 Monterey will again be a free upgrade for any compatible Mac or MacBook. To read more about all the new features coming to Monterey, read our in-depth article here.
MacBook Pro (14’’ and 16’’)
Price: $1999 for 14-inch, $2499 for 16-inch
Among all the new Apple announcements, the Macbook Pros were the most anticipated, and they did not disappoint. Apple has finally brought its in-house chips to the MacBook Pro. With the M1 Max in the and M1 Pro chips to the new MacBook Pros, Apple has blown away the vast majority of the competition once more. To put it mildly, most PCs struggled to hold a candle to Apple’s M1 chip from last year, and the performance of the M1 chip is abysmal compared to what Apple has done here with these two beasts.
The MacBook Pros come with improved port selection (HDMI and SD card slot), MagSafe, and a bulkier chassis, allowing for better thermals. These are huge changes compared to the old design.
The 16.2-inch Mac features a 3456 x 2234 pixel display, and the 14.2 inch model boasts a 3024 x 1964 display. And, oh yes, ProMotion comes to the Mac’s Liquid Retina XDR display, pushing refresh rates to 120Hz for butter-smooth animations graphics performance.
So what are your thoughts on the announcements from the Apple Unleashed October 18 event? Let us know!
