Apple’s March 2022 Event Announcements

The March announcements have added a few new members to the Apple lineup; the peak performer prize is headed to the chubby ‘Mac mini’ like addition – the Mac Studio. Powered by the M1 Max and the newly minted M1 Ultra, essentially fusing 2 M1 Max chips in a design that lets Apple virtually double the power of the M1 Max, all while remaining highly power efficient. That aside, let’s take a brief tour of the lineup.

First up is the third generation iPhone SE. With improved battery life and 5G capability as noted enhancements, it still sports the home button and same screen size as the previous SE and iPhone 8 for users that prefer a home button over Face ID.

It’s been about 18 months since the iPad Air had an update, and this one sees an M1 processor and an 8-core GPU, which means it has almost twice the graphics power of its predecessor. In addition, this 10.9″ iPad has a 12-megapixel front camera with Center Stage, a feature that uses the front-facing ultra-wide camera and machine learning to help keep you and anyone else with you in the frame for things like video calls or meetings.

The above image gives an excellent visual representation of the M1 chip portfolio – the newest being the M1 Ultra just released. The ability to fuse the M1 Max CPUs is due to the 2.5TB/s interprocessor connection that the M1 Max allows, offering a 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, a 32-core neural engine (for AI processing) and up to 128GB RAM. The M1 Ultra makes its first appearance in the newly released Mac Studio.

The Mac Studio, resembling a chubby Mac mini, is set to pack a lot of processing power into a small package. It is available with either the M1 Max or the M1 Ultra CPU. Connectivity is through 4x thunderbolt ports on the back and 2x USB-C or thunderbolt ports on the front (depending on the CPU selection), 2x USB-A, 1x ethernet, 1 x 3.5mm, 1x SDXC slot (front), 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.

The Mac Studio M1 Max can be configured with up to 64GB unified memory, and the M1 Ultra with up to 128GB, both have internal storage options up to 8TB. In addition, built-in support for running 4 x XDC displays and a 4K TV ensures enough video options for most.

The new Mac Studio Display is designed as the ideal companion for the Mac Studio. It is a 5k 27″ display with a built-in 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with Center Stage for video conferencing and anti-reflective coating. It is set to be a truly immersive experience with six speakers and spatial sound.

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