The photo above displays, from left to right, a Sierra Blue iPhone 13 Pro Max, a Sierra Blue iPhone 13 Pro, a Starlight iPhone 13, and a Starlight iPhone 13 Mini (Forbes)
By Matthew Mancini
September 14th, 2021
Apple Inc. (AAPL: NASDAQ) revealed their new line of products and updates to their existing devices on Tuesday at their “California Streaming” event to focus on the upcoming holiday shopping season. Their CEO, Tim Cook, stated at the famous Steve Jobs Theater that, “these are the best iPhones we’ve ever created”, according to MarketWatch.
Although Apple’s iPhone 13 and, for those that like the smaller model of the earlier iPhone generations, iPhone 13 Mini will look quite similar to the previous models, they now come in new colors – pink, blue, midnight, starlight, and red. They are slimming down the notch that holds the front-facing camera which will provide more usable screen space for iPhone users.
The new product line has a new internal processor with the A15 Bionic chip which will allow for better performance relative to their competitors. The 4-core graphics-processing unit, or GPU, will give Apple’s products 30% better performance compared to what Apple referred to as “the competition”. Apple’s 6-core central processing unit, or CPU, was claimed to be 50% faster than “the competition”. The iPhone 13 Mini and iPhone 13 are also increasing storage space with the lowest option being 128GB with the highest being 512GB.
The company is adding onto their Pro line with the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. They come in graphite, gold, silver, and sierra blue. Apple is substantially increasing their iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max storage capabilities with a 1TB option.
The camera system for these two models received an update as well with a new 77 mm telephoto lens with 3 times optical zoom as well as new wide and ultrawide cameras. There is an improved display with up to 120Hz ProMotion that can go as bright as 1,000 nits. The Super Retina XDR displays on both models support a refresh rate of between 10-120Hz.
Apple’s announcement included a series 7 Apple Watch that has displays 20% larger than previous models. The enhanced screen is the first time Apple increased the size of their screens since the series 4, or three years ago. Apple’s COO, Jeff Williams, additionally said that the borders are 40% thinner, the screens are 70% brighter, and more crack resistant. Apple also upgraded the charger claiming that it will charge 33% faster with its new USB-C driven charger.
The iPad was revamped too since their last model, with a new A13 chip which Apple claims will make the model’s CPU, GPU, and neural engine 20% faster. The company claims that the neural engine will improve the Live Text feature, a new iPadOS 15 update that allows users to convert textual information from photos taken.
For the first time since 2019, Apple updated their iPad Mini and increased the starting price to $499 compared to $399 of the previous model. The 6th Generation of the iPad Mini will now include a TouchID sensor at the top right corner and a USB-C port which allows it to connect to external devices like cameras or audio equipment.
Its CPU will bring a 40% increase in performance and the GPU will offer an 80% increase in performance versus prior models of the iPad Mini, according to Apple.
All of these updates come at a time when Apple is under immense scrutiny due to complaints from the developer of the game Fortnite, Epic Games, regarding consumer purchases and payment methods on Apple’s App Store. The company has also faced backlash from legislators who have called for newer antitrust laws because they claim that current ones, like the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act, fall short at addressing the immense monopolistic power that Big Tech conglomerates yield in our current age.
As legal bodies continue to debate about the largest U.S. public company and potentially form new legislation in the process, Apple will launch their new products later this month.
Here are all the products Apple announced today, along with their prices and launch dates (source: CNN):
10.2-inch iPad - Starts at $329. Available next week.
8.3-inches iPad mini - Starts at $499. Available next week.
41mm and 44mm Apple Watch Series 7 - $399. Available later this fall.
5.4-inch iPhone 13 Mini - Starts at $699.
6.1-inch iPhone 13 - Starts at $799.
6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro - Starts at $999.
6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max - $1,099. All iPhones will be available on September 24.
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