It is an Apple event that creates less suggestion, the one that went on stage in these minutes in Cupertino. Because the iPhones – which have always been the flagship item of the Californian giant – have already arrived a few weeks ago. Yet, for those waiting for news on the new Macs and the new headphones (Airpods), there was no shortage of surprises. Here, then, what Tim Cook and his team presented.
Apple Music, ecco Voice Plan
It’s called Voice Plan, and it’s the new plan for the Cupertino company’s music streaming service that will be available in a few weeks. Apple Music is the first and true competitor of Spotify, and the Californian company has decided to break the mold a little with this plan, available for 4.99 euros per month, with which we will load our playlists directly through Siri. Here, the real point is this: the music will be controllable only through the voice assistant. And that, somehow, suggests that a lot is meant for HomePods, Apple’s little smart speakers. It is no coincidence that a brand new one was presented, which also arrived in Italy (until now it had never happened).
The new HomePod Mini (also in Italy)
And in fact the new HomePod Mini are the second announcement of the evening. They arrive at the market in early November and the colors range from yellow, orange and blue, plus only black and white. They will cost 99 euros. It will be interesting to see the debut of these devices on our market. AirPods 3 They were highly anticipated. And Apple pulled them out of the hat. The AirPods 3 earphones promise great things. The design is very similar to that of the AirPods Pro, but it seems to lack the classic silicone rubber (which not everyone likes).
So shorter stick than the previous two generations, and much improved audio. There is a new dedicated driver that should work very well in listening to music, defining bass and treble better. From the data released by Apple, these AirPods 3 should guarantee an autonomy of 6 hours. And with just 5 minutes of charging in its case, they should ensure you listen to music for about an hour. Not bad. The price? 199 euros. The second generation AirPods (for 149 euros), and the AirPods Pro (which now include a MagSafe charging case, for 279 euros) also remain on the market.
New M1 Pro and Pro Max processors
It seems yesterday that Apple announced the M1 processor, decreeing the end of an era (that of Intel chips on Macs). Now it is time for a new announcement. Here then is M1 Pro, which further improves performance: CPU up to 10 cores, and GPU up to 16 GB. But as for the iPhone, in addition to the Pro, there is also the M1 Pro Max, and here we are in the field of processors for machines dedicated to professionals. M1 Pro Max, in fact, from the announced specifications has 4 times the graphics performance of M1, all without affecting consumption and therefore energy performance: CPU up to 10 cores, and GPU even up to 16 GB.