It’s time for new products from Apple again. A lot of rumors have been going around for months, and some of them are proven to be wrong. From iPad Air 2 to iPad mini 3, from iMac with Retina 5K display to the new OS X Yosemite, here’s everything you need to know from Apple’s latest announcement.
iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3
Both iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 gain Touch ID sensors and gold color version. iPad Air 2 is powered by A8X chip, has the latest anti-reflective display with no air-gap technology. Plus the WiFi connection is upgraded to 802.11ac. People can pre-order iPad Air 2 starting from October 17. The release date is “end of next week”.
On the down side, iPad mini 3 stays with A7 processor from last year, has no anti-reflective display like the one in iPad Air 2, and no 802.11ac WiFi. No love for iPad mini this year. And as a huge supporter of iPad mini, I am very disappointed. Practically the ONLY improvement on iPad mini 3 is Touch ID. Nothing else. And they bumped the price for that! I will surely stick with my iPad mini 2 for another year.
iMac with Retina 5K display
Well, simply put, this is a high-end computer with gorgeous display. This new iMac model offers 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, configurable to 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7. The standard memory is 8GB, configurable to 32GB. The display is 27″ Retina 5K display with IPS technology. The screen resolution is 5120 x 2880. It comes with 1TB Fusion Drive, configurable to 3TB. For graphics, Apple chooses AMD Radeon R9 M290X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. The bad news? It’s the price! This new iMac does NOT replace the old models. It adds a new premium models, starting at $2,499.
Mac mini
Apple refreshes Mac mini with better specs. There are 3 models to choose. At $499, the low-end model offers 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 500GB normal hard drive and 4GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory. At $699, the mid-end model offers 2.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 1TB hard drive and 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory. Finally, the high-end model costs $999 and offers 2.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 1TB Fusion Drive and 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory. There are custom configurations to be chosen, up to 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 and 16GB memory.
OS X Yosemite
This is not a new hardware, but OS X Yosemite is also available for public download today. The new OS is free, and it will finally implement Continuity features, allowing deeper integration and seamless work with mobile devices running iOS.
This new OS also introduces new look to the OS, embracing the flat-design started in iOS7. It also allows us to send and receive SMS right from the desktop computer by routing them through iPhone. The long awaited iCloud Drive is finally here on desktop computers. The Notification Center is improved with Today View and widget support.
Other Things
In a word, Apple’s announcement today is disappointing for me. There is no new Apple TV. I thought their invitation tagline “It’s been way too long” refers to new Apple TV. Apparently I was wrong. Also no new Macbook this month. iOS 8.1 will be available on Monday (20 Oct 2014). Hopefully it won’t be another major disaster. There’s a new iTunes update today, even for Mavericks users. And one thing I immediately noticed is: the iTunes icon changes into a new design with striking red color.
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