Apple Finally Launches New MacBook Air, Mac Mini, iPad Pro
Apple 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 particular, were long-awaited — the Mac lineup, taken in sum total and aside from the MacBook Pro, has gone longer than it ever has before without updates.
First up was an entirely new MacBook Air model, redesigned from the ground up. The new MacBook Air finally gets a Retina screen; it’s the same 13.3-inch size as before, but with dramatically smaller bezels. The computer retains its wedge shape, tapering off as you go from the hinge to the bottom edge past the trackpad, and the enclosure is fabricated with a new alloy and 100 percent recycled aluminum. It now weighs a bit less, at 2.75 pounds (down from 2.9 or 3 pounds, depending on prior configuration). The Air gets Apple’s quieter third-generation butterfly keyboard. The jury is still out as to whether the tiny rubber surrounds under each key will solve the dust-failure issue, but at least it’s a little better to type on. There’s no Touch Bar (which is little surprise).
Under the hood are 8th Gen Intel CPUs and graphics, up to 16GB RAM, and up to 1.5TB of flash storage. The new model gets 12 hours of web browsing or 13 hours of video playback on a charge. The trackpad gets Force Touch, stereo speakers that are 25 percent louder than before, an array of 3 microphones, two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports that also support a 5K external display, but no SD card slot anymore as expected (however disappointing). There’s also improved onboard security thanks to the embedded T2 chip, including automatic AES-256 data encryption and a secure boot process.
The new Air starts at $1,199 with 8GB RAM and a Core i5 — $200 more than before, which is seriously unfortunate, although it’s also got some good upgrades — and will be available starting Nov. 7. The $999 Air from before sticks around once again.
Next up is the new Mac mini. It finally gets a quad-core CPU again, this time as standard. It’s been missing, and sorely missed, since 2014 when Apple made all Mac minis dual-core only. That said, the base CPU is just a 3.6GHz quad-core Core i3. The Mac mini’s all-flash storage for the first time as well. Around back are four Thunderbolt 3 ports, 2 USB-A ports (!), HDMI, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
The Mac mini starts at $799 — $300 more than before, but with 8GB RAM, a 128GB SSD, and a 3.6GHz quad-core Core i3 standard, and it’s available today. A six-core CPU is also available, and you can pack a Mac mini with 64GB RAM and 2TB storage if you’re made of money. Apple is also playing up the Mac Mini’s potential for build and render farms, software development, live music performances with MainStage 3, and powering digital art and signage installations, all of which are refreshingly pro-level applications for this machine once more.
Finally, the iPad Pro also got refreshed. It’s now available in 11-inch (instead of 10.5) 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 Pencil. Inside is Apple’s 7nm A12X Bionic CPU, with 10 billion transistors, an eight-core CPU, and a seven-core GPU that we’re going to have to find out more about. Perhaps the biggest change here is a move to USB-C, which is especially interesting considering the latest iPhones announced last month stuck with Lightning. You can use the USB-C port to connect an external monitor or charge your iPhone. There’s also a redesigned, two-position Smart Keyboard Folio 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 now even put 1TB of storage in one if you are one of those made-of-money people. These will also be available starting Nov. 7, and the older 10.5-inch model will stick around.
Conspicuously missing from the event were new iMacs. The current 2015-era models still soldier on, inexplicably with 8GB and hard drives as standard. The least expensive iMac with a quad-core CPU, 16GB RAM, and a 256SSD, all table stakes for audio and video production work, costs $1,700, and it’s all outdated hardware. And I’ve yet to meet another creative professional that can afford the base $5,000 iMac Pro, the only semi-recent, high-powered Mac desktop introduction, on top of all their other equipment needs. The new Mac mini helps here, at least.
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