Apple Announces New Products Including 'iPad Pro'
Equipped with In-House Developed Semiconductor 'M1' Chip
[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] Apple unveiled new products including the ‘iPad Pro’ and ‘iMac’ equipped with its self-developed system-on-chip (SoC) M1.
On the 20th (local time), Apple held a special event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, USA, showcasing numerous new products such as the new tablet PC ‘iPad Pro’, the all-in-one desktop ‘iMac’, and the wireless tracking device ‘AirTag’.
The biggest feature of the new iPad Pro is the application of the M1 chip, a semiconductor chip designed by Apple itself. The M1 chip is a semiconductor chip developed by Apple that integrates the central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) into one. The iPad Pro’s 8-core CPU features the world’s fastest CPU cores in a low-power chip. It boasts up to 50% faster CPU performance compared to Apple’s previous chipset, the A12Z Bionic. The GPU is equipped with an 8-core GPU, making it up to 40% faster than its predecessor. With the M1 chip, the new iPad Pro now has an advanced image signal processor (ISP), a high-bandwidth unified memory architecture with up to 16GB of memory, and device storage capacity of up to 2 terabytes (TB).
A new Liquid Retina XDR display has also been applied. Over 10,000 state-of-the-art mini LEDs are used across the entire back of the display to enhance image quality. It supports 5G service, enabling faster internet usage. The new iPad Pro comes in two versions, 11-inch and 12.9-inch, with two color options: Silver and Space Gray, and five storage options up to 2TB.
The new iMac, boasting a slimmer profile at ‘11.5mm (1.15cm)’ thickness, was also unveiled. The drastically changed design is the first thing that catches the eye. With the system-on-chip architecture and M1 application, power efficiency has improved, allowing the logic board and thermal management components to be integrated and reduced in size. The simplified design has cut the volume in half. It is available in vibrant colors including Green, Yellow, Orange, Pink, Purple, Blue, and Silver.
The display features a thin bezel 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels. It delivers vivid images with a wide P3 color gamut, over 1 billion colors, and 500 nits brightness. True Tone technology automatically adjusts the color temperature according to the surrounding environment, providing a natural viewing experience. The iMac also features Touch ID for the first time, making login and Apple Pay payments more convenient.
In addition, Apple introduced the accessory ‘AirTag’, which helps find lost items such as bags or keys using an iPhone, as well as purple-colored (Purple) versions of the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini.
Similar to the Galaxy SmartTag released earlier this year, AirTag is a wireless tracking accessory that can be attached to easily lost valuables such as wallets and keys, allowing users to locate the current position of the item via iPhone or iPad. It is expected to be useful not only for items but also for locating infants and pets.
AirTag uses Apple’s self-designed U1 chip along with the iPhone’s accelerometer, gyroscope sensor, camera, and ARKit to process input data and guide users to the AirTag’s location using sound, haptic signals, and visual feedback.
The purple versions of the standard iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini were also revealed. This adds the purple color option that was previously only available for the iPhone 11. Greg Joswiak, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, said, “The outstanding iPhone 12 is the world’s most popular smartphone, and customer satisfaction for the iPhone 12 lineup reaches 99%. The new purple color introduced for the spring season adds a brighter and livelier option to the lineup, which we believe customers will welcome.”
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