Apple's first event of 2022, streamed from Cupertino on Tuesday, 8 March under the title "Peek Performance", was about putting its fastest chips into its cheapest and its most expensive machines at the same time. Chief executive Tim Cook announced four products, all shipping on 18 March.
iPhone SE, third generation: $429
The budget iPhone keeps the iPhone 8 body, a 4.7-inch Retina screen and a Touch ID home button, but gets the A15 Bionic, the same chip as the iPhone 13, and 5G. Apple says it is up to 26 times faster than the iPhone 8 it resembles. There is a single 12-megapixel rear camera with Deep Fusion and Smart HDR 4, a 7-megapixel front camera, IP67 water resistance, wireless charging and up to 15 hours of video playback. Colours are midnight, starlight and red; storage starts at 64 GB for $429, $30 more than the previous SE.
iPad Air with M1: $599
The 10.9-inch iPad Air now runs the same M1 chip as the MacBook Air, with an 8-core GPU, a 12-megapixel front camera with Center Stage that follows you around the frame during video calls, and optional 5G. Wi-Fi models cost $599, cellular $749, in grey, pink, purple, blue and starlight.
Mac Studio and M1 Ultra: from $1,999
The surprise was a new desktop. The Mac Studio looks like a tall Mac mini and comes with either the M1 Max or the new M1 Ultra, which is literally two M1 Max chips joined by a connector Apple calls UltraFusion so that software sees one 20-core processor with up to 128 GB of memory. Ports include four Thunderbolt 4, 10-gigabit Ethernet, three USB-A, HDMI and an SD card slot. The M1 Max model starts at $1,999 and the Ultra at $3,999. Beside it sits the Studio Display, a 27-inch 5K monitor with a 12-megapixel camera and speakers, for $1,599.
What it means in Bangladesh
- The SE is the one to watch. Apple has no official store here; phones come through authorised resellers and grey importers. A $429 list price still lands well above Tk 50,000 after duty and margins, but it is the cheapest route to a current Apple chip and, importantly, 5G.
- The Mac Studio is a video editor's machine. Dhaka's post-production houses have been waiting for an Apple Silicon desktop that is not the $6,000 Mac Pro; this is it.
- Check the box for local warranty. Grey-market iPhones are often region-locked or carry no service cover; the price difference rarely justifies it.
