Apple’s Spring Loaded: M1-powered Macs and iPads, AirTags, and more

Apple’s Spring Loaded was the company’s first tech event of the year. Apple made a bunch of announcements at the event, including the completely overhauled iMacs, a new iPad Pro running on the M1 processors, and an item-tracker accessory it calls AirTags. Here is everything Apple announced at the event:

iMac 2021: Complete overhaul

The new iMac 2021 lineup is powered by Apple’s very own M1 chip and has received a completely overhauled look and design. This new all-in-one Apple computer features a new design for the first time in almost a decade. For starters, the new iMacs are one of the slimmest personal computers at a mere 11.5mm thickness. Thanks to Apple’s new smaller logic board, these new iMacs have reduced their overall volume by almost 50 percent. The new iMacs are available in seven different color variants: blue, green, pink, silver, yellow, orange, and purple.

iMac 2021

Apple launched multiple variants of the new iMac, and all feature a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display. Moreover, Apple also announced that these new iMacs will feature an all-new updated camera, microphones, and powerful speakers with spatial audio. Apple said the new iMacs are almost 85 percent faster than its predecessors, which were powered by Intel chipsets. Thanks to Apple’s Rosetta, these new iMacs will also support a majority of iPhone and iPad games and applications.

The new iMac starts at $1,299. They will be available starting April 30 and will ship in the second half of May. More information and technical specifications about these new 24-inch iMacs can be found here.

iPad Pro: Powered by M1

iPad Pro, considered to be the most powerful tablet by many, is now powered by the new M1 chipset and, according to Apple, is the most powerful iPad and fastest device of its kind ever. Period. A unique aspect of the new iPad Pro is that it is powered by a mini-LED display panel and will support 5G networks. Speaking in terms of design, the new iPads are thinner and lighter than the previous versions. The device is launched in two variants: an 11-inch version and a large 12.9-incher. While both sport a Liquid Retina XDR display, the 12.9-inch model offers a peak brightness of 1600nits, thanks to its mini-LED display panel.

iPad Pro

Under the hood, the new iPad Pro is powered by an 8-core M1 chipset paired with an option of choosing either 8GB or 16GB of RAM. Storage on these devices starts from 128GB and goes all the way to 2TB. For imaging, the new iPad Pro comes with a dual-camera setup consisting of wide and ultrawide cameras with 12MP and 10MP resolutions, respectively.

As far as the pricing is concerned, the 11-inch model of the new iPad Pro launched at Spring Loaded starts from $799 while its larger sibling starts at $1,099. These devices will also be available starting April 30 and will ship in the second half of May.

AirTags: Making up to the hype

The company also announced the much-awaited and rumored AirTag at the event. AirTag is a small tile used to track items. Users can pair AirTags with an iPhone and clip it to any small item such as keys, handbags, or wallets to find them on Apple’s Find My app.

Apple AirTag is a small, portable, and lightweight stainless steel disk with an Apple logo on one side and with an option for personalized free engraving on the other side. AirTag comes with a replaceable CR2032 battery and promises one year’s worth of battery life. These AirTags can be brought along with a leather key ring, leather loop, polyurethane loop, Belkin Secure Holder with strap, and a Belkin Secure Holder with key ring. Apple also teamed up with luxury designer brand Hermès to provide some insanely priced luggage accessories to pair with AirTags.

Apple AirTags

AirTags sends out a secure and encrypted Bluetooth signal that can be detected by nearby Apple devices on the Find My network. This information can then be transferred to the owner of the object to help them locate the AirTag. Keeping privacy in mind, Apple confirmed that users can use the Find My app and be a part of the encrypted network without even sharing their information with anyone, including Apple. AirTags are only meant to tag objects/items and not people. AirTags can be paired with devices running iOS 14.5 or later.

AirTags will be available starting at $29 each or users in a pack of four for $99. Users can place their orders starting here.

Apart from these major Spring Loaded announcements, Apple also announced an all-new 4K Apple TV powered by an A12 Bionic chipset. For some reason, Apple also announced a new purple color variant of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini. While many were excited about these announcements, users expecting a new version of AirPods or an entry-level iPad faced disappointment. What do you feel about these new products launched at Spring Loaded?

Images: Apple

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