October Apple event: The release of so called "game-changing MacBook Pro"

 Apple held its second launch event for this fall on October 18th. There were only a few products to unveil, but they are oozing with technical evolutions. Although we get to see the new third-generation AirPods, the center attraction was the new MacBook Pros. Apple is continuing the shifts to their custom silicon, and they are coming with something new and improved. They are calling the new SoC M1 Pro and M1 Max. Both new chips bring new technology to the table.

Newly designed MacBook Pro (Image: Apple)

To accommodate the new performance improvements, Apple is offering new laptops to their customers. There is a new 16-inch and 14-inch MacBook Pro available with the new SoC. They not only come with upgraded internals, but they also offer upgraded designs. Apple is offering the best configuration to the pro users this time. If you are waiting for a new MacBook Pro, you can consider the new ones. Before buying one, however, the consumers should research the new MacBook Pro price. 

The new third-gen AirPods

The new iteration of the regular AirPods comes with some significant features. They have an improved design alongside their charging case. AirPods 3 looks like the Pro variants now minus the ear tips, of course. The charging case is also similar to the AirPods Pro one. It has a new acoustic chamber inside, which combines with Adaptive EQ provides the best listening experience.

3rd Generation AirPods (Image: Apple)

Aside from the revised design, the new AirPods get upgraded internals. The processing chip is the same this time, but Apple is offering new features with the H1. Alongside Adaptive EQ, new AirPods also supports Spatial Audio. This feature was previously exclusive to AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. Although it does not feature Noise Cancellation, the consumers are still getting a well great package. 

MagSafe feature of the new AirPods 3 (Image: Apple)

IP-x4 water resistance of the new AirPods (Image: Apple)

The new AirPods 3 have better battery life with six hours of listening time. Considering the charging case capacity, listeners can listen to music for up to 30 hours. Apple also upgraded the charging system by introducing MagSafe to the case. All of the new features come with a $179 price tag. It sits between the AirPods 2nd gen ($129) and AirPods Pro ($249). From what it seems, Apple is offering multiple options to everyone with different AirPods prices. 

The M1 Pro and the M1 Max

The AirPods unveiling was live for a short period. They came with their latest invention in the Mac world. Starting the second year of two-year transitions to Apple Silicon, they unveiled new SoCs named M1 Pro and M1 Max. Both new chips seem to have significant improvements from the last year's M1. 

The new iteration of Apple Silicon M1 Pro and M1 Max (Image: Apple)

Upgraded die size of the new chips M1 Pro and M1 Max (Image: Apple)

The M1 Pro Comes with an improved die size that houses 33.7 billion transistors. It is almost double compared to M1's 18 billion. This new chip comes with 10 CPU cores. All of them divide into eight high-performance cores and two high-efficiency cores. In the GPU department, M1 Pro shines way brighter than the M1. It has 14 to 16 GPU cores. The Neural engine, however, has the same configuration this time. It has up to 32 GB of fast unified memory to offer an industry-leading 200 Gbps bandwidth. 

Up to 32 GB of fast unified memory of the M1 Pro with 200 Gbps bandwidth (Image: Apple)

M1 Max offers up to 64 GB unified memory with 400 Gbps bandwidth (Image: Apple)

The M1 Max takes the improvement to the next level. Although the CPU configuration is the same as M1 Pro, GPU has significantly more cores. It handles graphics-intensive tasks with 24 to 32 GPU cores. The package houses a mere 57 billion transistors with up to 64 GB of fast unified memory. The memory bandwidth also sits way higher at 400 Gbps. For the tech-savvy enthusiasts, Apple showed a bunch of graphs showing the CPU, GPU performance improvement.

Incredible CPU performance of M1 Pro and M1 Max with industry leading low power consumption figure (Image: Apple)

The new chips offer significant GPU performance improvement without consuming too much power like the Intel counterparts (Image: Apple)

The top of the line M1 Max Offers similar graphical performance to the dedicated graphics solutions without consuming too much energy (Image: Apple)

Both M1 Pro and M1 Max supports three Pro Display XDRs and a 4K tv at the same time (Image: Apple)

With the new chips combined with Mac OS and Rosetta, Apple will dominate the computer industry. Their performance figures are showing extraordinary results already. For the pro users, the new packages bring the best combination of performance and efficiency. 

The new MacBook Pros

After introducing the new brains for Macs, Apple unveiled the new MacBook Pros for 2021. The latest iterations come in a 14-inch and a 16-inch form. You can configure both devices with M1 Pro or M1 Max. The configuration of the chips, however, will change based on the pricing. With the new chips, Apple claims significant improvements in content editing, 3D rendering, and programming. Since the real-life usage differs from benchmarks, their claim is yet to testify. The most impressive prospect, however, is the battery life. The 14-inch and the 16-inch give almost 70% and 110% improvements over the previous year. 

The new MacBook pro 14 and 16 (Image: Apple)

The displays of the new MacBook Pros have improved specifications. Apple brought their ProMotion technology to the new panels. They also pack the mini-LED technology that provides a 1,000 nits sustained brightness, a 1,600 nits peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. This improved feature perfects the HDR content watching experience on MacBooks. Thanks to ProMotion, the adaptive refresh rate goes up to 120Hz for all those smooth scrolling experiences. The new display panels offer the best technology to the Pro creators. That is why Apple is calling the new Liquid Retina XDR units the world's best notebook display. All of the improvements pale to the new notch design, however. Looking at it for the first time, one might think of a FaceID system situating underneath. It only houses a 1080 p FaceTime camera but no FaceID system. 

The new Liquid Retina XDR display gives the most diversity to the pro creators (Image: Apple)

Stunning picture quality with mini-LED technology with 10,000 local diming zones (Image: Apple)

Impressive sound system with Spatial Surround sound system for the audiophiles and music creators (Image: Apple)

Alongside other improvements, Apple completely redesigned the outer look of the new MacBook Pros. Both 14 and 16-inch models have a new keyboard layout that houses a full row function key. There is an upgraded six-speaker Spatial Surround sound system on the new MacBook Pros. Last but not least, the ports are back with the latest devices. Both of the MacBooks are configurable with M1 Pro or M1 Max. 

New keyboard dock with full function key row (Image: Apple)

The ports are back in the new MacBook Pros 14 and 16 (Image: Apple)

The legendary MagSafe feature is back with the new 2021 MacBook Pros (Image: Apple)

The price starts from $1999 for the 14-inch model and goes up to $6000 for the fully-specced 16-inch variant. In the base variant 14-inches, though, there are 8 CPU cores instead of 10 in the M1 Pro.

Conclusions

The October event was not too significant as the iPhone 13 launch event. Apple, nonetheless, announced some impressive new hardware in this keynote. Aside from the new MacBook Pros and AirPods 3rd Generation, there are a few new color options for the HomePod mini. 

What do you think about the new MacBooks and AirPods? Are you ordering a new portable workstation for yourself? Or, is your audiophile soul looking for upgraded AirPods 3?