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Apple tree flew from Cupertino to Brooklyn (my hometown!) to take over the entire block surrounding BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for the introduction of some new Macs and iPad Pros. The new Macs, in item, were long-awaited — the Mac lineup, taken in sum total and bated from the MacBook Pro, has gone longer than it e'er has before without updates.

Commencement up was an entirely new MacBook Air model, redesigned from the ground upwardly. The new MacBook Air finally gets a Retina screen; it's the same thirteen.three-inch size every bit before, merely with dramatically smaller bezels. The estimator retains its wedge shape, tapering off equally you get from the hinge to the lesser edge past the trackpad, and the enclosure is fabricated with a new alloy and 100 percent recycled aluminum. It now weighs a scrap less, at 2.75 pounds (downwardly from two.9 or 3 pounds, depending on prior configuration). The Air gets Apple tree's quieter 3rd-generation butterfly keyboard. The jury is even so out as to whether the tiny rubber surrounds under each cardinal will solve the grit-failure outcome, but at least it's a trivial better to type on. There's no Touch on Bar (which is little surprise, given that the lower-finish 13-inch MacBook Pros don't have information technology either.)

Nether the hood are 8th Gen Intel CPUs and graphics, up to 16GB RAM, and upward to 1.5TB of flash storage. The new model gets 12 hours of web browsing or xiii hours of video playback on a charge. The trackpad gets Force Touch, stereo speakers that are 25 per centum louder than earlier, an assortment of three microphones, and ii Thunderbolt three USB-C ports that also back up a 5K external display, but no SD card slot anymore every bit expected (however disappointing). There's also improved onboard security thanks to the embedded T2 fleck, including automatic AES-256 data encryption and a secure kick procedure.

The new Air starts at $1,199 with 8GB RAM and a Core i5 — $200 more before, which is seriously unfortunate, although it'south also got some good upgrades — and volition be available starting Nov. 7. The $999 Air from before sticks effectually once once more.

Next up is the new Mac mini. It finally gets a quad-core CPU over again, this time as standard. It's been missing, and sorely missed, since 2022 when Apple made all Mac minis dual-core just. That said, the base CPU is just a 3.6GHz quad-core Core i3. The Mac mini'south all-flash storage for the kickoff time likewise. Around back are four Thunderbolt iii ports, 2 USB-A ports (!), HDMI, and x Gigabit Ethernet.

The Mac mini starts at $799 — $300 more than before, but with 8GB RAM, a 128GB SSD, and a 3.6GHz quad-cadre Core i3 standard, and it's bachelor today. A six-core CPU is also bachelor, and y'all tin can pack a Mac mini with 64GB RAM and 2TB storage if you're fabricated of coin. Apple is also playing up the Mac Mini's potential for build and render farms, software evolution, live music performances with MainStage 3, and powering digital fine art and signage installations, all of which are refreshingly pro-level applications for this car once again.

Finally, the iPad Pro likewise got refreshed. Information technology's now available in xi-inch (instead of 10.five) and 12.9-inch varieties and is even thinner than before. The new models support Face ID, lack home buttons, and have smaller bezels, all as rumors had predicted, plus a new magnetic charging setup for the Apple tree Pencil. Within is Apple tree's 7nm A12X Bionic CPU, with 10 billion transistors, an 8-core CPU, and a seven-core GPU that we're going to take to notice out more nigh. Perchance the biggest change hither is a move to USB-C, which is especially interesting considering the latest iPhones appear last month stuck with Lightning. You can use the USB-C port to connect an external monitor or charge your iPhone. There'south as well a redesigned, two-position Smart Keyboard Page that works with the new iPad Pro.

The 11-inch model is $799, and the 12-inch model is $999, both with 64GB of storage. You can at present even put 1TB of storage in one if you are 1 of those made-of-money people. These will also be available starting Nov. seven, and the older ten.5-inch model will stick around equally well as the excellent-value base model (still the best choice for well-nigh people) at $329.

Conspicuously missing from the consequence were new iMacs. The current 2022-era models still soldier on, inexplicably with 8GB and hard drives as standard. The to the lowest degree expensive iMac with a quad-core CPU, 16GB RAM, and a 256SSD, all table stakes for audio and video product piece of work, costs $i,700, and information technology'due south all outdated hardware. And I've yet to meet another creative professional that tin afford the base of operations $5,000 iMac Pro, the merely semi-contempo, loftier-powered Mac desktop introduction, on top of all their other equipment needs. The new Mac mini helps hither, at to the lowest degree.

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