Apple has had a big old week of new releases, firing new product out like cotton clobber from a T-shirt gun. Want the low-down? We got you.
First up is the eminently practical Apple MacBook Air, which at first glance looks just like the MacBook Air you could buy last week. But there are four pretty awesome changes in this generation.
Number one: a £100 price cut. While you could buy a £999 MacBook Air before, it was one with a last-generation processor. Not so this time.
All of ‘em get a new processor, called the Apple M4. This is basically a natural progression in Apple’s range, bringing a hefty boost to processor performance. And a tidy graphics one too.
If you have a 2020 MacBook Air from when Apple first started using its own processors, you’re looking at a 60-plus per cent jump in raw grunt.
This time around every MacBook Air also starts with 16GB RAM. There’s no 8GB model, which is grand as Apple charges a bloomin’ fortune for upgrades. So we’re getting £100 off the old price structure, plus a “free” £200 upgrade. Nice. You can thank Apple Intelligence for that, as it’s apparently a bit of a RAM hog.
The MacBook Air M4 also gets a new 12MP Center Stage webcam. This can not only follow you around the room so you can strut around like a CEO in video meetings, it can also show what’s in front of the laptop. It’s kinda a content creator style view, called Desk View.
It’s a fairly safe update from Apple, but given the MacBook Air has been one of the most approachable all-rounder laptops for, well, more than 15 years, that’s just what we need. Like last time around, the MacBook Air comes in 13.6in and 15.3in screen sizes.
New iPads
Next up are the new iPad Air and base iPad. These aren’t major upgrades, but they do get meaningful boosts to their brain power.
The iPad Air gets around a 20 per cent performance boost thanks to its new Apple M3 processor. And the base iPad gets a mega jump from the old Apple A14 Bionic to the Apple A16. That represents a 30-plus per cent performance jump since the last affordable iPad model, which has been around since 2022.
Are these the most exciting new iPads ever? Not quite, but buying one now means you’ll have an up-to-date and supported iPad for the longest possible time.
The base iPad, which we have often recommended in the past, does come with a little warning this time, though. You won’t be able to use Apple Intelligence on it. That’s Apple’s take on AI, and while it’s rolling out slowly and cautiously, we hope it’s going to be pretty useful in the not-too-distant future.
Do you need Apple Intelligence to play games, watch films and surf the web? Hells no. The new base iPad starts at £329, the iPad Air, which is available in 11in and 13in sizes, starts at £599 (£799 for 13in model).
Have some change left over? You can also pick up the new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air (both 11 and 13 inch models). It's a tweak of an already-great design, but brings a better hinge, a larger touchpad and a row of function keys.
It's £269, and when attached will make an iPad Air feel about as serious a work computer as an iPad Pro.
Mac Studio
Apple also has something for folks who still mistakenly think iPads are babies’ toys, a new Mac Studio range.
These are pro-grade computers, even though they are just a 20cm by 20cm square of aluminium under 10cm tall.
This new generation comes with Apple M4 Max and M3 Ultra processors and — in a move we always find a touch confusing — the M3 Ultra is the more powerful of the two. We’re yet to test exactly how powerful the M3 Ultra is, but the M4 Max? It’s around three times as powerful as a classic 2020 MacBook with the M1 processor.
Prepare the bank account for a shockwave, though, because the M4 Max Mac Studio starts at £2099, the M3 Ultra one at £4199.
We had a play around with the Apple Configurator just to see how high we could get the numbers to go. A Mac Studio with 512GB RAM and 16TB storage will set you back £14299. That said, two grand for the entry-level version? Not bad for the sheer power you get.
The new Mac Studio range is available to pre-order now, currently listing as due for delivery between 25-28 March.
