Today’s “One More Thing” event is Apple’s third major product announcement in 2 months. Back in September, the tech giant unveiled a refreshed iPad, iPad Air, a duo of new Apple Watch models, and the Fitness+ subscription service during the “Time Flies” keynote. Last month, the “Hi, Speed” event brought us the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro smartphone lineup, as well as the affordable HomePod mini.
Today’s event, named after an iconic Steve Jobs expression, focused on new Mac desktop and laptop computers, powered by the company's own, groundbreaking M1 chip. Apple announced the major hardware change during this year’s WWDC keynote in late June.
Apple M1 Chip
Apple's all-new M1 chip has a space-saving, unified architecture, which brings a number of essential components closer together. Built using a 5-nanometer process, the M1 chip also has a large number of transistors (16 billion), packed into a tiny space. The cutting-edge architecture makes the chip more powerful and energy-efficient than its competitors, and will make your Mac the same.
The M1 chip has a powerful 8-core CPU, designed to offer industry-leading performance and power efficiency. Half of the cores are made for demanding tasks, while the other half have a higher power efficiency that's ideal for lighter use.
The chip's GPU is just as impressive. Apple remarked that it is the most powerful integrated graphics chip it has created to date and has up to twice the power of its leading competitors.
Combined with macOS Big Sur, the M1 chip will deliver a major speed boost across a number of original and third-party apps, as well as OS experiences. The privacy and security gains will be significant, too.
The M1 chip will also allow users to run iOS and iPadOS apps on their Mac. This breakthrough will make Macs even more versatile by allowing users to switch between their Apple devices more seamlessly.
MacBook Air With M1 Chip
The upgraded MacBook Air with an M1 chip is an even more exciting take on the world’s most popular notebook according to Apple. By equipping it with the new chip, Apple made the notebook more than three times faster than its already excellent predecessor, while keeping the same $999 starting price tag.
The five-times boost in graphics power is notable, especially considering the notebook’s elegant form factor. Apple noted that the new M1 chip makes the MacBook Air faster than 98% of today’s laptop computers. Despite its massive performance gains, the new MacBook Air has much longer battery life (up to 18 hours!) and no built-in cooling fans.
The Retina display of the new MacBook Air is upgraded with support for a wider P3 color gamut. Ultra fast Thunderbolt 4 ports and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity are also on board.
MacBook Pro (13-inch) With M1 Chip
Apple added the M1 chip to the 13-inch MacBook Pro as well. The compact notebook for power users has more processing and graphics oomph to go with its longer battery life (up to 20 hours). It’s has best-in-class privacy and security features, too.
Studio-quality microphones, a new FaceTime HD camera, Wi-Fi 6, and Thunderbolt 4 are other noteworthy upgrades. Pricing of the notebook has remained unchanged. It starts at $1,299. Apple will continue offering 13-inch MacBook Pro variants with Intel chips.
Mac mini with M1 Chip
The new Mac mini with an M1 chip is three times faster than the model it replaces, yet is just as tiny. The device’s six-times bump in graphics power is also significant. The compact desktop joins the iPhone 12 mini and the HomePod mini as a 2020 Apple product that carries the legendary "mini" moniker.
Apple will offer the Mac mini with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage. Pricing of the ultra compact desktop computer will start at $699. The product is already available to order.
Read More:
Our Favorite MacBook Accessories
The Best Noise-Canceling Earbuds of 2020
Your MacBook Deserves an Equally Amazing Stand
Follow BestProducts.com on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest!
