Apple has just finished their last product launch of 2012 and have unveiled a raft new products. Some we already knew about: the iPad Mini and the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. But, others were straight out of blue. There were refreshes for the 4th Generation iPad, the Mac Mini and the biggest surprise was the all-new super thin iMac.
First up, is the new iPad Mini. We been speculating about it for years, and now it actually exists. It will have 7.9-inch display, with the same resolution as the current iPad 2. Now, we all wanted a Retina display – but there are actually advantages of this screen compared to the iPad 2’s. It obviously shares the same amount of pixels, but over a much smaller screen size – so it's bound to look a bit sharper than the current iPad 2.
It obviously comes with the new Lightning port connector and comes in a range of different storage options: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Its camera functionality has been given a significant boost and is better than the current iPad 2. It has a 5-megapixel iSight camera on the rear and a HD FaceTime camera on the front.
The iPad Mini is just as powerful and the iPad 2 and comes with a dual-core A5 processor. You can shoot 1080p video, there’s 4G support with LTE wireless, support for new dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and they've even redesigned the SmartCover with a new hinge.
Ultimately, the iPad Mini is every bit as good as the iPad 2, if not, better. It can be held in one hand and is only 7.2mm thick, which is ¼ of the thickness of the new fourth-gen iPad.
Pre-orders start this Friday, October 26, and will begin shipping November 2 for the Wi-Fi version. LTE version will begin shipping two weeks later. Prices start at £269 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version and starts at £369 for the 4G version.
As well as a new iPad Mini, Apple unveiled a new revision of the fourth-gen iPad. It now comes with the new Lightning port, improved Wi-Fi via with support for 802.11a/b/g/n dual-band, LTE 4G, 720p Facetime Camera, it keeps its 10 hours of battery life, and doubles the CPU and graphics performance, with the new A6X processor.
The iPad 4 can be pre ordered on the October 26 with the Wi-Fi versions shipping on November 2. LTE versions will start shipping two weeks later.
As many had predicted Apple has now made the 13-inch MacBook Pro a Retina version, it comes with the same Retina display you'd find in the 15-inch model, but only smaller.
The new version 20% thinner than the current 13-inch MacBook Pro, and now sports a gargantuan 2560 x 1600 resolution. You can spec it with a 768 GB solid-state hard drive, Core i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processors and there's support for 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4. It's graphics capabilities are taken care of via a Intel HD 4000 graphics card and it will last up to 7 hours on a full charge. It will start shipping today and starts at £1449.
The firm also announced a new stunning new iMac which is a measures a svelte 5mm at the edges. They've dumped optical drive and it now comes with a completely "re-engineered" internal components. The display comes in two flavors: 21.5-inch and 27-inch, with 1920 x 1080 for the 21-inch version and 2560 x 1440 resolutions for the 27-inch version. Apple has added a 720p FaceTime HD camera, dual mic, improved speakers and it weighs less than the previous model.
Apple has redesigned the new display so it reduces reflection by up to 75 per cent. In addition, because the LCD now sits right up against the glass, content with now leap off the screen more than ever.
Powered by third-generation Intel Core processors, the new iMac is the fastest yet. Every model in the lineup comes as standard with a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, starting at 2.7GHz and topping out at 3.2GHz. A 1TB hard drive comes as standard on the new iMac, with the option to upgrade to a 3TB drive.
The iMac also offers a new storage option, called Fusion Drive, which combines a 1TB hard drive with high-performance flash storage -- 128GB worth. The fusion Drive automatically and intelligently manages your data so that frequently used apps, documents, photos and other files stay on the faster flash storage, while infrequently used items move to the hard drive.
Across the line, the new iMac features advanced NVIDIA GeForce graphics processors built on the new Kepler architecture, delivering up to 60 per cent increased performance for graphics-intensive tasks.
Both versions start shipping in November and at time of writing the prices haven't be unveiled for UK customers.
Last but not least, Apple unveiled a new version of their Mac Mini, it now comes with a 2.5GHz Intel Ivy Bridge i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. While the cheaper version will come with a 2.3GHz Ivy Bridge i7 processor, 4GB of RAM and two 1TB hard drives.
Elsewhere they've added USB 3.0, SDXC card slot, thunderbolt port, HDMI and a gigabit Ethernet port. The Mac mini also offers the new Fusion Drive. The new Intel HD Graphics 4000 card delivers up to 65 per cent more performance than the previous generation of integrated graphics.
Prices start at £499 and it starts shipping now.
