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Apple Inc.’s first product event of 2022 featured new chips for its personal computers, a refreshed iPhone SE and iPad Air, and the first move into broadcasting live sports by the most valuable company in the U.S.
At a product event broadcast from Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., campus on Tuesday, Chief Executive Tim Cook announced that Apple will begin putting a revved-up version of its M1 chips into Mac computers, called the M1 Ultra. Apple has seen a surge in Mac sales since moving to its own silicon late in 2020, and the M1 Ultra is the latest in a line of chips that also include the M1 Pro and M1 Max.
The new iPhone SE will have Apple’s
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A15 Bionic chip, the same one that’s featured in the iPhone 13. The chip promises performance improvements as it speeds up processing and battery efficiency.
Apple is also bringing 5G to the iPhone SE line for the first time, after bringing this connectivity to its main iPhone line back in late 2020. The iPhone SE is Apple’s lower-cost iPhone.
The phone has a glass and aluminum design and a 4.7-inch display. It will come in three color options: midnight, starlight, and red. Unlike other iPhones, the iPhone SE will have a fingerprint sensor.
The starting price is $429 and preorders will kick off Friday. The device officially becomes available March 18.
The company also announced a new iPad Air model, which will feature the company’s M1 chip as well as the option for 5G connectivity.
Apple is bringing a 12-megapixel camera to the front of the iPad Air, which will have a $599 starting price and feature 64GB and 256GB storage options. As with the iPhone SE, users will be able to preorder the device starting Friday before it becomes available March 18.
Apple is also adding new green color options for its iPhone 13 and 13 Pro models.
Additionally, Cook announced that Apple has secured broadcasting rights for Major League Baseball, though the professional baseball league is currently in a labor lockout that is expected to delay the beginning of the season. Big Tech companies have been trying to secure sports-broadcasting rights, with Alphabet Inc.’s
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YouTube broadcasting select MLB games last season and Amazon.com Inc.
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broadcasting the National Football League’s Thursday Night Football offering last season.
Apple was reportedly bidding for a package of weekday MLB games earlier this year, after The Walt Disney Co.’s
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ESPN decided to not broadcast games on weekdays in a new deal with the league. ESPN is focusing on its Sunday Night Baseball offering, according to the reporting.
Apple said in a news release that the games will be available without a subscription “for a limited time” in eight countries: the U.S., Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the UK. The company plans to expand to other countries, and will launch a live show on weeknights called “MLB Big Inning” that will offer live coverage of MLB in the U.S., as well as a channel for subscribers in the U.S. and Canada that will offer game replays, commentary, highlights and other offerings.
