Apple’s March Announcements — A Green iPhone 13, New iPad Air, Mac Studio & Studio Display, And The iPhone SE

This morning’s Apple announcement certainly gave us a lot to take in. And while it’s not nearly as highly-anticipated as the brand’s usual iPhone keynote during September every year, the Peek Performance event still gave us 4 new devices to look out for — namely, the new iPhone SE, new iPad Air, Mac Studio and Studio Display. Oh yes, and two new shades of Apple-green for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro as well. Read on for the full low-down.

Mac Studio and Studio Display

Apple’s new Mac Studio and Studio Display, are their latest versions of a Mac desktop and display respectively, which offers users even more powerful performance beyond their portable line of laptops.

MAC STUDIO

The Mac Studio is powered by M1 Max and the new M1 Ultra, the world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer, which delivers on next-level performance despite the compact, sleek design we’ve come to expect from the brand. This helps greatly in rendering massive 3D environments and playing back 18 streams of ProRes video, for instance, ideal for creatives who are admittedly Apple’s target audience here.

For its performance stats, when powered by either M1 Max or M1 Ultra, there’s a lot of performance upgrades to look forward to, especially when M1 Ultra is touted as the “next giant leap for Apple silicon”. The M1 Max enables up to 2.5x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with 10-core processor, up to 3.4x faster graphics performance than the 27-inch iMac, and over 3x faster than Mac Pro with its most popular graphics card. As for the M1 Ultra, it enables up to 3.8x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with 10-core processor, up to 4.5x faster graphics performance than the 27-inch iMac, and up to 80 percent faster than the fastest Mac graphics card available today.

The device is compact indeed; it’s built from a single aluminium extrusion with a square footprint of just 19.7 centimetres and a height of only 9.5 centimetres, which fits nicely under most displays for a minimalist workspace. A smart thermal design means it can handle great performance, with double-sided blowers, precisely placed airflow channels, and over 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom of the enclosure guide air to help cool the high-performance chips, while we’re promised it remains quiet even under intense workloads.

For connectivity, there are ports on both the back and front of the device. The back sees four Thunderbolt 4 ports to connect displays and high-performance devices, a 10Gb Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a pro audio jack for high-impedance headphones or external amplified speakers. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 are built in as well. On the front for more convenient access,  there are two USB-C ports, and an SD card slot to easily import photos and video.

STUDIO DISPLAY

On the other hand, the Studio Display is he perfect complement to the Mac, featuring a 27-inch 5K Retina display, a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Centre Stage, and a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with spatial audio.

It features a beautiful all-screen design with narrow borders, followed by an all-aluminium enclosure on its slim profile, complete with a built-in stand that’s tilt- and height-adjustable. For its on-screen display, the 27-inch 5K Retina screen allows for over 14.7 million pixels and support for over one billion colours, which make images come to life. Other nifty features include True Tone technology that automatically adjusts the display’s colour temperature to your surroundings,  anti-reflective coating, and even a nano-texture glass option that scatters light to further minimise glare.

For video calls, look to the upgraded camera and audio system, which includes a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Centre Stage, a feature that automatically keeps users centred in the frame even as they move around. It also features a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system, the best ever created for Mac, and a three-microphone array for crystal-clear calls and voice recordings.

The new Mac Studio and Studio Display are available to order from Monday, March 14, on apple.com/sg/store and in the Apple Store app, and is coming soon to select Apple Store locations and Apple Authorised Resellers.
Mac Studio starts at S$2,899, and S$2,609 for education. Additional configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/sg/store.
Studio Display is S$2,299, and S$2,159 for education. Additional technical specifications, including nano-texture glass and a choice of stand options, are available at apple.com/sg/store.

iPad Air

Those who love the iPad Air‘s winsome versatility and compact design can rejoice knowing that Apple is introducing a new version to the beloved line-up. This one uses the Apple-designed M1 chip, which delivers a massive leap in performance, while it’s also available in a new slate of colours. Other upgrades include a new Ultra Wide front camera with Centre Stage optimised for video calls, a USB-C port with up to 2x faster transfer speeds, and a 5G upgrade on cellular models.

The M1 chip’s performance boost means the affordable model can handle even more demanding apps, with all-day battery life too; its 8-core CPU delivers up to 60 percent faster performance, and the 8-core GPU delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance compared to the previous iPad Air. This means you can edit multiple streams of 4K video, play graphics-intensive games, design in 3D, and have more realistic augmented reality (AR) experiences.

An upgraded Ultra Wide 12MP front camera with Centre Stage lets you hop on video calls with your loved ones, or for learning and work, as seamlessly as possible, with realistic and high detail. There’s also a 12MP Wide camera on the back of the iPad Air to capture sharp photos and 4K video, scan documents, and enjoy amazing AR experiences. As for its screen, you may expect a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with 3.8 million pixels and advanced technologies, including 500 nits of brightness, full lamination, a P3 wide colour gamut, True Tone, and an anti-reflective screen coating. The thin and lightweight iPad Air comes in: space grey, starlight, pink, purple, and a stunning new blue.

The new iPad Air is available to order beginning Friday, March 11, from apple.com/sg/store and in the Apple Store app, with availability beginning Friday, March 18.
Wi-Fi models of iPad Air are available with a starting price of S$879 and Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at S$1,099. The new iPad Air, in 64GB and 256GB configurations, comes in space grey, starlight, pink, purple, and blue finishes.

iPhone SE

Apple’s most affordable iPhone is made even better, which should please those who’ve been waiting months for the news. The new iPhone SE features the performance of the A15 Bionic, which makes for more advanced camera capabilities and overall user experience, now supports 5G and a longer battery life with a 4.7-inch display. It also comes in three colours: midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED.

Its new display takes on the same aerospace-grade aluminium and glass design seen on the back of the iPhone 13 series, with the tough glass on its front and back; it’s also designed to protect against spills and sees the already-familiar Home button with Touch ID. The efficient A15 Bionic, introduced with iPhone 13, then makes everything way faster and more seamless, from launching apps to handling demanding tasks, so it’s 1.8x faster than the iPhone 8, and even faster compared to older models.

With that system upgrade, it means the iPhone SE can now support an all-new camera system, complete with a 12-megapixel ƒ/1.8 aperture Wide camera. Other functions include Smart HDR 4, which uses intelligent segmentation to apply different adjustments for colour, contrast, and noise for optimised exposure and lighting of subjects; Photographic Styles, for presets and intelligent filters; Deep Fusion, which uses advanced machine learning to do pixel-by-pixel processing; and Portrait mode. We also get significantly improved videos with reduced noise, particularly in low light, with better white balance and truer skin tone.

the iPhone SE will be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB models in midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED starting at S$699.
available for pre-order at 5 a.m. PST / 9 p.m. SGT on Friday, March 11, with availability beginning Friday, March 18.

iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro in Green

It’s not just one green we’re getting, but two — an alpine green (left) and green (right), coming to the iPhone 13 line-up. Kinda enough said, really.

“People love the design of iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13, and we’re excited to unveil the stunning new alpine green and green finishes, which join the wide range of beautiful colours on the iPhone 13 lineup,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “These new colours give customers even more options when choosing their iPhone, and we can’t wait for them to take advantage of all the iPhone 13 lineup offers, including unmatched performance with A15 Bionic, our best camera systems, massive improvements to battery life for everyday needs, fast 5G, incredible durability, and so much more.” We’ll leave you to admire the new shades then.

IPHONE 13 PRO AND IPHONE 13 PRO MAX are currently available in sierra blue, graphite, gold, and silver, and will be available in the new alpine green in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options, starting at S$1,649 and S$1,749 respectively.
iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are currently available in (PRODUCT)RED,6 starlight, midnight, blue, and pink, and will be available in the new green in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options, starting at S$1,249 and S$1,149 respectively.
available for pre-order at 5 a.m. PST / 9 p.m. SGT on Friday, March 11, with availability beginning Friday, March 18.