April 2021 Apple Event Thoughts

Apple Events - April 2021

iMac

Cool to see colorful Mac hardware again. It’s also interesting to see how close all their devices (iMac, MacBook, iPad) get over time. All the logic boards are starting to look the same these days.

The new keyboards with Touch ID surprised me because of the security implications. Although considering they’re doing even more authentication over Bluetooth stuff lately (with iOS 14.5 letting you unlock your iPhone with your watch when you have a mask on) this makes sense. It does seem like they suddenly have way more keyboard and mice SKUs to deal with now.

Also, when it comes to audio, I have definitely noticed a lot of attention on speakers/sound on Apple’s devices these days (based on my experience with AirPods, a 2020 MacBook Pro, and a HomePod mini) so I’m guessing they aren’t exaggerating very much about the sound improvements on these.

iPad Pro

M1 Chip

I figured there would be a lot of overlap between Apple’s usage of A series and M series chips. I can’t imagine they’ll still be manufacturing two different chips for very long. I was still surprised at first when they announced the M1 in the iPad, but it makes sense along with the other changes (Thunderbolt, new XDR display, etc).

New Display

It’s cool to finally see what all the mini-LED rumors were all about. Very impressive to see iPad displays with those kinds of specs.

Other iPad Stuff

There really isn’t much of a hardware difference between iPads Pro and the new iMacs now. Differences:

1. Software: iOS vs macOS.
2. Camera situation. I’m not sure if the new 1080p camera on iMacs is better than the new ultra wide camera on iPads Pro. Cool that they both got camera upgrades though. Also, Center Stage on iPad Pro actually looks pretty dope.
3. Cell connectivity. I still don’t think 5G was anywhere near ready to go, but it’s nice that it’s available on iPad Pro now.
4. AR. You either get amazing AR potential with iPad Pro, or none at all with iMac.

iPhone 12

There’s a new color. I like it.

It’s annoying that you don’t get interesting colors if you go with the “best” most expensive version of the phone though.

Apple TV

Processor

I’m skeptical about the high-framerate 4K HDR experience when everything we’re watching is compressed for streaming anyway.

I also don’t have much confidence in gaming on Apple devices. All the parts are there (very good processors, pretty good discovery/distribution with the App Store, compatibility with PS5/Xbox controllers), but they never seem to want to take it all the way. Btw, I actually laughed out loud when they talked about the power of the processor and how Apple TV is “console quality” and then immediately showed footage of whatever version of Devil May Cry looks like it was made on the PS2.

Anyway, for those reasons, I don’t really care about the processor upgrade.

Remote

This is the part everyone cared about right? Huge improvement. I’m actually really into the throwback “iPod click wheel”-like thing.

Other Apple TV Stuff

• I don’t care about Ted Lasso. I know it’s a good show, but I still don’t really care.
• The color balance adjustment thing is actually a really cool feature. I like it.

AirTags

Shrug. I don’t really lose stuff that often. I’m very curious about some of the things they did for privacy and safety (like stopping people from secretly tracking others) with these.

Also nice to see an actual use for the ultra wideband chips they’ve been putting in their devices lately.