Apple event announcements: All the new products unveiled at Spring Loaded 2021 launch

Apple has announced its most powerful iPad to date during a virtual event, alongside a colourful version of the iMac computer and a new Bluetooth device that helps owners locate lost devices.

The Spring Loaded event is likely to be the last raft of major product announcements before WWDC, the company’s annual software developers conference, in the summer. Like last year’s event, this year’s WWDC will be an online-only affair and will run between 7-11 June.

M1 chip in the iPad Pro

After making headlines with the creation of its own silicon M1 processor last year, Apple has decided to transplant the chip into an iPad for the first time.

The latest iPad Pro, which comes in 11-inch and 12.9-inch versions, also supports 5G connectivity like last year’s iPhone releases and promises significant leaps in speed, performance and connectivity compared to its predecessor, which went on sale last year. Apple claims its GPU (graphics processing unit) can perform 40 per cent more quickly than last year’s model, while its CPU’s (central processing unit) performance is up to 50 per cent faster.

Its 12MP front-facing camera has a new feature called Centre Stage that automatically adjusts itself to keep the subject in the centre of the frame during video calls or filming, while the larger device boasts a new mini-LED (light-emitting diode) display design that uses more than 10,000 LEDs for a brighter picture with improved contrast.

It is the first iPad with Thunderbolt USB 4 support – allowing users to connect a greater variety of accessories or connect to a 10Gbps Ethernet connection.

The revamped tablet starts from £799 for the smaller model and £999 for the larger and will go on sale in the second half of May.

Bright ‘n’ beautiful iMacs

The iMac has had a makeover, complete with a new flatter design and a range of bright finishes in a nod to the iconic candy-coloured iMac G3 that was wildly popular in the late 90s.

Measuring 11.5mm thick, its 4.5K Retina display measures 24-inches diagonally and sports 11.3m pixels to recreate more than one billion colours to render images more vividly.

It’s is the first iMac built around the powerful M1 chip and to support Apple’s fingerprint scanning TouchID technology for verifying identities or making purchases.

The new iMac, which comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver, also features a 1080p front-facing camera and six speakers to deliver spatial audio, which Apple says is the best camera and audio combination in a Mac to date. Prices will start from £1,249 and it’s due to go on sale in May.

AirTag item trackers

Long-rumoured but finally confirmed, Apple’s AirTag is a new stainless steel accessory for iPhones that helps you to quickly locate whatever it’s attached to, including backpacks, wallets, keys or larger items such as luggage.

AirTag uses a combination of Bluetooth and Apple’s Find My app and network to track and alert you to its location and will rival Tile, which makes Bluetooth-enabled tracking devices. Each lightweight, circular AirTag contains a speaker to play a noise to help track it down and a battery, which Apple promises can be replaced once it’s run its course.

Unlike Tile’s stickers, AirTags don’t come with their own adhesive but are designed to be placed inside pockets or bags. To attach to a suitcase or a bunch of keys, you’d need to purchase a separately-sold AirTag accessory loop or keyring.

Once set up an Airtag will show up inside the Find My app on the owner’s iPhone, through which they can alert it to play a noise to help them find it. Those who own an iPhone 11 or more recently released model can take advantage of Precision Finding, which Apple says can more accurately determine the distance and direction to a lost AirTag when it is in range via the device’s camera, ARKit, accelerometer, and gyroscope.

Each individual tag will cost £29, while a pack of four will cost £99. AirTags will go on sale 30 April.

Purple rain for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

While iPhones were always unlikely to make an appearance during this event, watchers will have been pleased by a fleeting appearance to announce a new colour finish.

Following in the footsteps of 2019’s iPhone 11, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are being launched in a new shade of purple that’s due to go on sale on 30 April. While the new models are otherwise identical in terms of hardware to those launched late last year, the purple devices join the existing black, white, red, green and blue finishes.

Overhauled Apple TV 4K

Among the announcements was the latest Apple TV 4K set top box, which has a high frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision and a new A12 Bionic chip to enable improved graphics and faster audio processing and video decoding.

A redesigned Siri-enabled remote features a new navigation clickpad ring to help faster scrolling through menus, while the box itself can use the light sensor in an iPhone to compare the TV’s colour balance to the industry-standard specifications.

Prices start at £169 and the device will start shipping in the second half of May. The Siri remote will be sold separately for £55.

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