Apple Announces Third Generation AirPods and Launches MacBook Pro

Apple has announced the third generation of its wireless AirPods, the latest generation of the company’s very popular true wireless earbuds with spatial sound. The company also released the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Priced at $ 179, the third-generation AirPods are available to pre-order today and will go on sale next week on October 26.

And with a new design that combines aspects of the previous AirPods and AirPods Pro, the third-generation AirPods retain tough plastic with a one-size-fits-all size for most ears.

But the look is undergoing a major change for the first time since 2016, as the new headphones have much shorter stems than before. The earbuds are now also sweat and water resistant with an IPX4 rating for both the earbuds and the charging case.

Battery life extends to 6 hours of continuous listening and up to four hours of talk time. Five minutes of charging provides approximately one hour of battery life.

And with the case, you get a total of 30 hours of listening time. It has a force sensor for easy control of music and phone calls. AirPods are now also part of the MagSafe wireless charging ecosystem.

The new third-generation AirPods feature a redesigned custom controller and Adaptive EQ that automatically adjusts and optimizes audio output by combining the power of the H1 chip with the company-designed audio system.

The internal microphone for audio and then Adaptive EQ, powered by arithmetic audio, adjusts the low and mid frequencies to account for what might be lost due to differences in setting.

The company mainly focuses on spatial audio and combines Dolby Atmos music with its new AirPods. Supports the same dynamic head tracking capabilities as AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.

The original AirPods launched in 2016, followed by the second generation that added wireless charging and other modest improvements. AirPods Pro arrived in 2019 with a traditional in-ear fit with silicone ear cushions.

Last year, Apple expanded its AirPods line to cover on-ear headphones for the first time with the launch of the AirPods Max at $ 549.

And there was a lot of pressure for the latest AirPods to maintain the enormous popularity of previous generations. Headphones are popular due to their ease of use and seamless integration with the company’s system of devices, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

But Apple faces stiff competition, especially at lower prices. Aside from the latest alternatives from Samsung, Sony, Amazon, Jabra, and others, newcomers like Nothing have sought to differentiate themselves in terms of design and value with prices starting at around $ 99.

Apple brought spatial audio to AirPods

“The AirPods have transformed wireless headphones with their innovative design, incredible sound and magical experience,” said Greg Joswiak, the company’s senior vice president of global marketing. We’re excited to introduce the next generation of AirPods, with unrivaled audio via Adaptive EQ and spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, along with seamless interaction between Apple devices, making the world’s best-selling headphones still top.

The third generation AirPods builds on the audio quality AirPods are known for, starting with a custom controller and high dynamic range amplifier that together produce powerful sound with crisp, high frequencies.

The microphone is covered with an acoustic grill to help reduce wind noise, so the speaker’s voice is clearly visible on calls.

The AirPods also feature AAC-ELD, a superior voice codec that offers Full HD audio quality, providing clear and natural communication for FaceTime calls.

Using advanced spatial sound algorithms and applying directional audio filters to tune the frequencies each ear receives, the new AirPods can position the sound around the wearer.

Audio Sharing allows listeners to share audio streams between two sets of AirPods, AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, while using their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV.

A new skin detection sensor accurately marks whether AirPods are in the ear and pauses playback when removed.

To help with voice clarity, beamforming microphones block out ambient noise and focus on the user’s voice. While users can also enjoy a hands-free experience just by saying Hey Siri for requests.

Apple launches 16-inch MacBook Pro

Apple also announced the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, promising to update both the design and performance. The new models will be available in silver and space gray next week, starting at $ 2,499.

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro can be configured with the M1 Pro and M1 Max, the company’s new 10-core processors with 8 high-performance cores and 2 high-efficiency cores.

The M1 Max has twice the M1 Pro GPU cores (32 for the M1 Max to 16 for the M1 Pro) and twice the memory bandwidth, plus 64 GB of unified memory (the M1 Pro has 32 GB).

The chassis also received a recent redesign. The device weighs 2.1 kg with a thickness of 16.8 mm and its screen is 16.2 inches.

The touch bar has been replaced by physical switches, and there is an HDMI port on the right side, as well as a Thunderbolt 4 port and an SD slot, with a headphone jack and two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left.

14 MacBook Pro

14-inch MacBook Pro

The company also redesigned the MacBook Pro, which now includes a 14-inch display, the company’s new M1 Pro and Max chipset, a cap, and a wide range of ports in addition to the standard Thunderbolt ports.

Prices start at $ 1,999 and can be requested on Mondays. Get the HDMI port and SD card reader back, and add a MagSafe 3 connector for charging (though you can also charge it using the Thunderbolt ports).

The device has a 14.2-inch ProMotion MiniLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is branded Liquid Retina Pro XDR.

The device has thinner bezels than the previous generation. It also includes a notch that includes the 1080p webcam but without the FaceID function.
In terms of resolution, the 14-inch model runs at a resolution of 3024 x 1964 pixels. It can operate at 1,000 lumens of sustained brightness and 1,600 lumens of peak brightness.

And you can configure your new 14-inch MacBook Pro with the new M1 Pro or M1 Max chipset. And they both have 10 CPU cores.

The M1 Pro can have 14 or 16 GPU cores, while the M1 Max has 24 and 32 GPU cores.

The new MacBook Pro comes with 16GB of RAM. You can upgrade to 32GB with the M1 Pro, or 64GB with the M1 Max.

In addition to all the new ports, the MacBook Pro adds a third Thunderbolt port compared to its 13-inch counterpart.

Thunderbolt ports are now Thunderbolt 4, an upgrade from Thunderbolt 3 ports on previous models.

new operating system

Apple revealed during its Unleashed event that the next version of its operating system, macOS Monterey, will begin rolling out as an update on Monday, October 25.

The new operating system includes several improvements to FaceTime, including support for spatial audio.

It also offers other cool features, such as the ability to use SharePlay to listen to music and watch videos with your friends.
One of the biggest changes is Universal Control. It allows users to easily switch between their Mac and their iPad.

The feature also enables seamless file transfer between multiple devices and iPad typing from the MacBook keyboard.