Everything Apple just announced at its ‘Spring Loaded’ event: New iPad Pros, AirTag and more

Missed the Apple ‘Spring Loaded’ event last night? Tim Cook revealed a lot in a one-hour, but if you need the TL;DR, we’ve got you covered!

Apple Podcasts Subscription

Apple continues to follow the subscription route (after Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade and Apple One) with the introduction of Apple Podcasts Subscription. Benefits include ad-free listening, access to additional content and early/exclusive access to new series or episodes.

“Apple is putting creators first with their approach to the subscription model. Offering subscriptions provides new flexibility and options for consumers, and is an important addition to helping creators better monetise their works. All of this will lead to more investment and even better shows for podcast fans.” — Dennis Kooker, president of Global Digital Business and US Sales at Sony Music Entertainment

Apple Podcasts Subscription will be available in over 170 countries and regions come May 2021.

*Pricing for each subscription will be set by creators and billed monthly, with the option for annual billing. Users under Family Sharing will be able to share the subscription.

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini gets a new colour

Good news for fans of the colour purple—and those looking to purchase a new iPhone—as the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are getting a stunning purple finish. The phones will be shipped with iOS 14.5 installed.

READ MORE: What’s the difference between the phones in the iPhone 12 line-up?

AirTag

Having been rumoured for almost several Apple events (we mentioned this back in 2019 even), Apple has finally unveiled AirTag (previously assumed as Apple Tag). It’s a small accessory linked with Apple’s Find My app so you can attach it to your important belongings such as a handbag, keys and backpack, and track it if it gets lost. While it uses the global Find My network, Apple ensures that the location data remains private and anonymous with end-to-end encryption. It features precision-etched polished stainless steel, and is IP67 water- and dust-resistant.

There’s a built-in speaker to play sounds to help locate it when it’s within Bluetooth range—similar to pinging your iPhone with the Apple Watch—and a removable cover to easily replace the battery when needed. You can even personalise the AirTag with free engraving, which includes the usage of up to 31 emojis.

AirTag will be available for RM149.

The next generation of Apple TV 4K

Another highly-anticipated release, the new Apple TV 4K aims to deliver the best entertainment experience at home. With an A12 Bionic chip at its core, graphics performance, video decoding and audio processing all get a huge boost. For example, the Apple TV 4K now supports high frame rate HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Dolby Vision video, so your shows will play more smoothly and appear more lifelike. Not to mention, you’ll be able to play videos shot on iPhone 12 Pro in full 60-fps Dolby Vision via AirPlay. To complement the experience is a redesigned Apple TV Remote with an innovative clickpad control.

The new Apple TV 4K will be available from RM849 onwards, while the new Apple TV Remote will be available separately for RM229.

New iMacs with M1 chip and a whole spectrum of colours

Spring has sprung, even with the new line-up of iMacs. Looks like the M1 chip is being shared with the rest of the Apple family members, and rightly so! Redesigned and rebuilt, inside out, the new iMacs have been fully upgraded with the following:

• A thinner build at 11.5mm thin, reducing the volume by 50%
• 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with True Tone technology
• The display has an anti-reflective coating for better comfort and readability
• 1080p FaceTime HD camera, studio-quality mics, and a six-speaker sound system
• Touch ID on the Magic Keyboard
• New colours: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver

The new iMac will also come with two Thunderbolt ports, two additional USB-C ports and a 1 Gbps Ethernet port (in the power adapter).

The new iMac with an 8-core GPU will be available from RM6,449 onwards.

New iPad Pro gets the breakthrough M1 Chip too

The iPad Pro has been delivering top-of-the-line performance, but now, with the Apple-designed M1 chip, it will be taking yet another leap. Expect 2x faster storage, up to 2TB capacity and up to 16GB of memory—it’ll make the iPad Pro the fastest device of its kind. That’s not all the iPad Pro (2021) will be getting, though. Additionally, users will be able to enjoy a new Liquid Retina XDR display; support for Thunderbolt; and an all-new Ultra Wide 12MP front camera with Centre Stage, which automatically helps users stay perfectly framed during video calls. Choose between the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The latter now supports 5G.

The new iPad Pros will be available at the following prices:

• The 11-inch model starts at RM3,499 for the Wi-Fi model and RM4,149 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model
• The 12.9-inch model starts at RM4,799 for the Wi-Fi model and RM5,449 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model

The new releases will be available via apple.com/my, the Apple Store® app and through Apple Authorised Resellers. While there are no firm dates for the Malaysian release, we’ll be sure to update here as soon as we know.