April 2021 Apple Event Thoughts

This was a pretty packed event, especially for the spring. Apple announced (or teased) several updates to services, included the ability for users to share an Apple Card account and a new podcasts service. When it comes to hardware, we got updates in four major categories, from Apple TV to iMac, and the introduction of a cool new accessory. Let’s get to it.

iPhone 12

The only update here is that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini now come in a purple color, which happens to look nicer in photos than it does in person. It’s not the same purple from the iPhone 11, and it isn’t great, in my opinion. It’s a little darker but also a bit dull.

Apple TV

The Apple TV certainly deserved some attention. Unfortunately, it didn’t get much. The only difference in the actual Apple TV hardware seems to be that they swapped 2016’s A10 chip for 2018’s A12. They did update the remote, though, and fortunately you can purchase it separately to use with any Apple TV released since 2015. I particularly like the remote’s iPod-esque click wheel functionality, but it still doesn’t seem like as great of a remote as Apple could come up with. It still has the confusingly similar “back” and “home” buttons that I never know how to choose between when trying to back through the operating system.

iPad Pro

The big story here is that the iPad Pro lineup is now powered by the Apple M1 chip, the same Apple-designed processor used in most of the Mac lineup. The decision to put the M1 chip in the iPad Pro took me a bit by surprise, but it’s not so shocking when you consider how hard Apple has tried in the past few years to convince us that the iPad Pro can replace your computer. It certainly seems to be more powerful, but the 2018 iPad Pro still kicks ass. The 2020 update was just a slight speed bump and a LiDAR Scanner. The 2021 iPad Pro is another speed bump (and an impressive new display, in the 12.9” model) to the same basic device from 2018, which is just as powerful today as it was three years ago.

If Apple wants to make the iPad Pro replace your computer, what they need to do is rejuvenate iPadOS with more powerful capabilities. The reason people aren’t switching to iPads instead of Macs or PCs isn’t because they’re underpowered, it’s because they don’t give you a way to harness all their power like you can with a laptop.

iMac

The new iMacs have an an absolutely stunning form factor. The thinness is incredible: thinner than two iPhones stacked on top of each other. But it isn’t perfect. My biggest complaints are the fact that it still has a chin (with no logo, curiously) and the color choices they made. I’m not mad that it comes in colors, and I like that they roughly tried to match the colors of the retro Apple logo. But the shades are weird; why would they pick a green with so much of a blue tint, a color that’s so dissimilar to the yellow that fits right beside it in the lineup; why is the red one called pink instead of red; why is the orange so similar to the pink; why do they all have that hideous two-tone thing going on where they have a beautiful, vibrant color on the back, and a gross, pale color on the stand, chin, and peripherals? They should’ve stuck with the same color for the whole machine, and picked colors that are a little more equidistant from one another on the color wheel. As far as the lack of a gray or black option, I think we’ll just have to wait for Apple to release a “Pro”-grade desktop for that.

When it comes to the actual performance and specs though, Apple has left nothing to be desired. The M1 blows the old iMacs out of the water, and they have larger displays than the smaller Intel iMacs they replace (I assume we’re going to get a larger “Pro” desktop later this year to replace the 27” Intel iMacs). Touch ID on the keyboard is fantastic and long awaited.

I’m not much of a desktop guy, but these make me wish I were.

AirTags

It’s been a long time coming, but they’re finally here. If you haven’t heard, AirTags are a brand new accessory from Apple that you can attach to items you might lose or misplace, and in that case, you can use your iPhone to locate the AirTag and find your item.

They’re totally private, but they make use of all the iPhones in the world to find your stuff. Basically, if you leave an AirTag somewhere or it gets taken, anytime someone who has an iPhone comes within bluetooth range of your AirTag, their iPhone will (unbeknownst to them) recognize your AirTag and note its location so that you get frequently updated data on where your AirTag is located. You can also use an iPhone 11 or newer to get specific, guided instructions on how to find your nearby AirTag with a mode they call Precision Finding, where your iPhone will tell you exactly how many feet away your AirTag is, and in what direction. If all that doesn’t work, you can make it play a sound to help you find it even faster. Again, Apple has made sure that this all happens in a totally private way, so that AirTag owners, other iPhone owners, nor Apple themselves actually get any location data that can be associated with any of the individuals involved.

They only cost $29 for a single AirTag, or you can get four for $99, and they offer free engraving. They also offer some nice accessories, I really like the saddle brown leather keychain.

Also check out CopyrightBro’s full AirTag review, which will be published later this week.