Apple held its Spring “Peek Performance” event at 10 a.m. PT today and had a lot to show off. Check out our full account of the event, and if you want to watch it for yourself, the video is embedded below.
Apple normally provides several ways to watch its events. This includes the company’s own Apple Special Events page and its YouTube channel. Those watching on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV can also tune in via Apple’s TV app. This last option naturally offers the best viewing experience, since it’s Apple’s own service.
Apple brought a lot of products to the table this time. In addition to the new hardware, detailed below, we got two new colors for the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro. The iPhone 13 now comes in green and the iPhone 13 Pro comes in Alpine Green. Both of those new colors will be available starting March 18.
Apple also announced a new Friday Night Baseball addition to Apple TV+. Every Friday, two MLB baseball games will be available to stream exclusively on Apple TV+. This is assuming, of course, there is Major League Baseball season this year.
Apple did not disappoint with its fifth-generation iPad Air. The new iPad comes with the M1 processor inside for a powerful experience. “The new Air is up to 2x faster than the bestselling Windows laptop in its price range,” according to Apple. Another notable improvement is in the 12-megapixel ultrawide camera with Center Stage support, rounding out Apple’s collection of iPads that support the video feature. The new iPad Air starts at $599, with 64GB of built-in storage, and comes in five colors.
As expected, Apple refreshed the least-expensive iPhone in its repertoire, the iPhone SE. The newer version of the iPhone SE brings the latest A15 Bionic chipset and 5G capabilities. The new iPhone SE has the exact same design as the previous generation iPhone SE, which also had the same design as the iPhone 8. Fans of the previous iPhone SE will find a lot to like here, even though the price starts at $429.
If you were wondering what comes after M1 Pro and M1 Max, meet the M1 Ultra. Apple’s latest silicon is essentially two M1 Max processors joined together using new die-to-die technology Apple calls “Ultrafusion.” According to Apple, “The Ultrafusion architecture uses a silicon interposer that has twice the connection density of any technology available. It connects over 10,000 signals and provides an enormous 2.5 terabyte per second of low latency interprocessor bandwidth between the two die using very little power.”
Of course, Apple couldn’t drop the M1 Ultra processor and not put it in anything, so Apple introduced the Mac Studio and the Studio Display. These creator-focused devices bring a ton of power to bear. The Mac Studio has a similar footprint to the Mac Mini, but it’s taller. The Mac Studio has plenty of I/O, including four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10-gig Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, HDMI, and a pro audio jack. The Mac Studio M1 Max starts at $1,999 and the M1 Ultra version starts at $3,999, with preorders starting today.
The Studio Display is a 27 inch, 5K Retina display with 600 nits of brightness and optional VESA mounts or tilt-and-raise stand. The display features 14.7 million pixels for a total of 218 PPI. It, too, has a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera built into the display for Center Stage. The Studio display starts at $1,599, with preorders starting today.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.
Apple's next cheaper iPhone could get a brand-new processor while keeping its most stubborn display compromise. Digital Chat Station tips the iPhone 18e for a 2027 release with a 2nm A20 chip and a 6.12-inch OLED screen still limited to 60Hz.
The rumored camera setup includes a single 48MP rear camera and a possible 24MP selfie camera. There's new hardware to consider, but buyers hoping Apple would extend that upgrade generosity to smoother scrolling could be disappointed.