Apple held its first event of 2022 on March 8 and, after burying the lede by announcing the new shows that are coming to Apple TV Plus, the tech giant announced some truly exciting additions to the Apple family. Perhaps the biggest piece of news is the release of a brand new Mac computer called the Mac Studio and a monitor to go with it called the Studio Display. In addition to the Mac news, we also saw a new M1 iPad Air in five beautiful colors, the iPhone SE 3 complete with 5G, a brand new M1 Ultra chip to power the Apple line, a new "Friday Night Baseball" program on Apple TV, and green colors added to the iPhone 13 line. Here are all the details on the new devices.
Mac Studio: Apple's Newest Computer Comes in Strong
Availability
- Pre-order: Now
- Available in stores: March 18
Price
- Starting at $1,999 for the M1 Max Version
- Starting at $3,999 for the M1 Ultra Version
Perhaps the biggest announcement of Apple's March event was the Mac Studio, a new computer model aimed at professionals and enthusiasts with demanding workloads. This small desktop unit sports either the powerful M1 Max or a brand new M1 Ultra CPU, offers 64 or 128 gigs of unified memory, and packs up to 8 TB of internal storage. The base model offers four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, Ethernet, and HDMI on the back, with two more USB-C ports on the front, alongside an SDXC card reader. Though the price tag is definitely more geared for professional spaces, lower-end versions remain within the grasp of the true enthusiast looking to upgrade from an old iMac Pro. Unlike the iMac Pro it aims to replace, the Mac Studio will need an external monitor (which is no doubt why Apple also announced the new Studio Display, but you don't need one of those with your Mac Studio, anything with an HDMI port will do). The Mac Studio is available for purchase as of March 8, to reach consumers starting March 18. It comes in only one color: aluminum. Read our full coverage of the new Mac Studio.
Image Courtesy of Apple
The Studio Display: Bright Screen, Center Stage & Spatial Audio
Availability
- Pre-order: Now
- Available in stores: March 18
Price
- Standard glass starts at $1,599
- Nano-texture glass starts at $1,899
The all-new Studio Display was announced alongside Mac Studio. The 27-inch 5K Retina screen has 600 nits of brightness, which is the brightest most monitors go, and supports over one billion colors, which is actually more than the human eye can see. It also features a 12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera with Center Stage, which means the camera will keep you in the middle of the frame even as you move around—perfect for video conferences and virtual social events. The Studio Display has a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system that supports spatial audio. Buying options include standard glass, which has an anti-reflective coating, or nano-texture glass, further minimizing glare by scattering light. You can also pick between a tilt-adjustable stand, a tilt- and height-adjustable stand, and a VESA mount adapter. The Studio Display can be mounted horizontally or vertically. To complement the Studio Display, Apple also announced a new silver-and-black color option for Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse; these can be purchased separately. Read our full article for details on the Studio Display.
Image Courtesy of Apple
iPhone SE 3: 5G, Pro Camera Features & Affordable Pricing
Availability
- Pre-order: March 11
- Available in stores: March 18
Price
- $429 for 64 GB
- $479 for 128 GB
- $579 for 256 GB
Apple announced the third-generation iPhone SE, and the latest iteration of this simple, streamlined phone has a lot to offer. Though the SE uses older technology such as a Home button with Touch ID and a single-lens camera, the compact new iPhone also includes many features of a higher-priced model. Whether you're looking for 5G connectivity, longer battery life, high-end iPhone photography and video features, or beefed-up processing power and speed, the SE 3 can definitely hold its own. What's more, the third-gen iPhone SE starts at just $429, a very reasonable price compared to the iPhone 13 mini, which will set you back a minimum of $699. To see how the SE 3 stacks up against the iPhone 14 mini we could see in the fall, read our full iPhone SE 3 coverage.
Image Courtesy of Apple
2022 iPad Air: Giving the Pro a Run for Its Money
Availability
- Pre-order: March 11
- Available in stores: March 18
Price
- Fifth-generation iPad Air (Wi-Fi) starts at $599.
- Fifth-generation iPad Air (Wi-Fi + Cellular) starts at $749.
The fifth-generation iPad Air is 60% faster than the previous generation, with a better graphics display, 5G capabilities, and 2x faster transfer speeds between devices. As an added bonus, this iPad Air comes in an array of fun colors, including space gray, starlight, pink, purple, and blue. With the newly-added Apple Silicon M1 chip, the iPad Air has essentially closed the gap between the Air and Pro models (which has the same M1 chip). This means that at a lower price, the iPad Air is almost as fast and powerful as the current iPad Pro. The main differences between the models are that the iPad Pro offers a larger display, has a better camera, and can be configured with a larger amount of storage. But the 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1099 and the 11-inch iPad Air starts at $599, so the competition is close, at best. Read our full article for iPad Air details.
Should You Buy a 2022 iPad Air?
The new iPad Air is faster than its predecessor, with 5G capabilities, a better graphics display, and an excellent quality camera. With the powerful addition of the Apple Silicon M1 chip, the iPad Air has become fierce a competitor for the iPad Pro. And, with the additional bonus of an array of colors and a $599 starting price point—almost half the price of the current 13-inch iPad Pro—this new iPad Air is hard to pass up. But a tech-savvy consumer who is interested in a larger display, and a more computer-like performance may want to wait until the fall for the next generation of iPad Pro. In addition, the extensive upgrades to the Air could indicate that the Pro will also be receiving a large upgrade in the fall as well. The choice is difficult, and while no one can predict exactly what will happen this fall, the 5th-generation iPad Air is an amazing device that warrants serious consideration. Check out our full analysis.
Image Courtesy of Apple
Friday Night Baseball
Apple TV+ has stepped into the world of sports broadcasting with its new feature, Friday Night Baseball. It will be offering double-header baseball games on a weekly basis, independent of what is being broadcast in your area. They'll be offering coverage before and after, and general baseball news throughout the week. However, considering the ongoing MLB lockout due to contract negotiations, there isn't currently a 2022 baseball season, so it might be a while before we see this feature actually take off.
Image Courtesy of Apple
New Green iPhone 13 & iPhone 13 Pro
Last but not least (actually, it was announced second and very well might be the least important part of the event), we have new green color options available for the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro. The alpine green of the iPhone 13 Pro is similarly muted as the rest of the Pro color options, and the green of the iPhone 13 is too dark to excite much of the team here. Color options have definitely never been a highlight of the iPhone 13 line, and compared to the ever-popular purple of the iPhone 12 spring color release, this one fell flat among the iPhone Life staff. Still, the dark green options are likely to hit just the right note with some consumers out there, and the new color release might prompt those who have been on the fence to finally spring for a 13.
Everything Apple Didn't Announce
There was a lot of excitement about the new devices that debuted in today’s Apple event, despite Apple failing to announce newer versions of their four current Mac devices: the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, the Mac mini, and the iMac, all of which we'd been speculating about. We were especially hoping for a newer version of the iMac since it’s the only device in the Mac line that doesn’t have the newest in-house processors that were announced today. Could newer versions of the three Mac devices make their debut in the next Apple event coming this fall? Read more about what we still think is coming down the line this year.
