Apple’s ‘Spring Loaded’ event saw the announcement of not one, but two M1 devices. The first, a vastly redesigned iMac, will be available in seven new colours and features a 24-inch 4.5K display. The second is a new version of the iPad Pro with a Thunderbolt 3 connection and a new Liquid Retina XDR display technology for the display of the 12.9-inch version.
The Apple iMac, which had been largely the same design for several years, will offer a new, colorful chassis which is just 11.5mm thick, with a 1080p FaceTime camera and a studio-quality mic array for video calls.
It’ll also receive the increased performance from the M1 chip, while sporting 4 USB-C ports, a new magnetic power cable with integrated Ethernet, and a wireless keyboard which offers a TouchID fingerprint sensor. The 2021 iMac starts at $1299, with a higher-spec version available for $1499. The old model is already high up in our list of the best home computers, and this new model is bound to be a winner too.
The new iPad Pro will support 5G connectivity (in compatible areas) and will come with up to 2TB of faster storage. A new Ultrawide camera offers a 12MP sensor for video calls, as well as a new feature called Centre Stage which will auto-pan the camera to focus on the subject.
The 12.9-inch version will offer a display analogous to that of Apple’s Pro Display XDR, made up of ten thousand Micro-LEDs which the company calls Liquid Retina XDR, allowing for 1,000 nits max full-screen brightness.
The new iPad Pro starts at $799 for the 11-inch version and $1099 for the 12.9-inch. That's quite a high price, but you are getting some excellent tech here.
Both the iMac and the iPad Pro will be available to pre-order from April 30, and will ship in the second half of May. iPads feature highly in our guide to the best tablets and, again, these new models will likely enter the list once we've had chance to test them.
