iPhone SE 2022, Mac Studio, and New iPad Air: What’s the Most Exciting Announcement From the Apple Event?

Apple hosted its first product event of the year on Tuesday, where it unveiled the anticipated iPhone SE (2022) — alongside the iPad Air (2022), Mac Studio, and the Studio Display. While the Mac Studio is the showstopper here, the iPhone SE might be the most important announcement for both Apple and its audience at large. It doesn't have any noticeable changes — however, the iPhone SE (2022) does have iPhone 13's internals, including the A15 Bionic SoC as well as an upgraded rear camera.

Host Akhil Arora speaks with Executive Editor Jamshed Avari and Senior Reviewer Aditya Shenoy to talk about all the products Apple introduced at its Tuesday event on this week's special episode of Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital.

For this year's iPhone SE, Apple has retained the same design and aesthetics that it introduced on the iPhone SE (2020) a couple of years back. There are, though, few minor changes on the designing front — including the new glass protection at the front and back that is claimed to be the same panels that debuted on the back of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 models last year.

The new iPhone SE also comes in an IP67-rated dust- and water-resistant aerospace-grade aluminium build. Further, there are slightly different colour options that Apple calls Midnight, Starlight, and (PRODUCT) RED.

However, the iPhone SE (2022) comes with the A15 Bionic chip that is touted to deliver up to 1.8 times faster CPU performance over the iPhone 8. The new chip also enables features including Live Text in the Camera app and on-device dictation — thanks to the built-in 16-core Neural Engine.

The other major change in the iPhone SE (2022) is the presence of the new rear camera that comes with computational photography benefits that were earlier available on the iPhone 13 and previous flagship models, including Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, Deep Fusion, and Portrait mode.

Apple has also included 5G support on the iPhone SE (2022) to make it a viable option in markets where the next-generation cellular connectivity is already available or is about to roll out.

Put all that aside and pricing is a sticking point, at least in India. iPhone SE (2022) price in India starts at Rs. 43,900 for the base 64GB variant. It also comes in a 128GB model at Rs. 48,900 and the top-end variant with 256GB storage at Rs. 58,900.

In India, the iPhone SE (2022) isn't an affordable option to pick. Moreover, its design is too dated up against most Android phones today.

You can also get an iPhone 12 mini at around the same pricing or even at a lower price for the base variant during festive sales.

But nonetheless, the iPhone SE (2022) comes with Apple's top-of-the-line mobile chip and the form-factor that was available only on older models up until now. It could, therefore, be a worthy upgrade for the existing users who are on iPhone 6 or iPhone 7.

Alongside the iPhone SE (2022), Apple this time brought the iPad Air (2022) as its new regular iPad offering. The new iPad Air also comes with the A15 Bionic SoC and an upgraded front camera with support for Center Stage. It also has a 5G option for you to choose from.

With the iPad Air (2022), Apple essentially seems to be focusing on customers who want an iPad not just from a consumption perspective, but also for creating new things, including artwork. It can also be paired with Apple's keyboards and Pencil (2nd generation) to deliver an upgraded productivity experience.

This week's Apple event has also introduced Mac Studio and Studio Display as the two new hardware offerings specifically for pro-users. The Mac Studio is designed for people looking for a modular computer that can deliver top-notch performance in a form-factor that is smaller in size over the Mac Pro and is similar on the footprint with the Mac mini, albeit taller.

The Mac Studio is powered by Apple's all-new M1 Ultra as the new SoC — the new chip is essentially a combination of two M1 Max chips to deliver a faster computing experience.

To make things clear, Apple confirmed that the Mac Studio will not replace the existing Mac Pro. It said that the upgrade to the Mac Pro will debut later this year.

The Studio Display, on the other hand, is designed to offer an enhanced viewing experience. It works as an external 27-inch 5K monitor, with a camera that supports Center Stage and inbuilt speakers to deliver high-fidelity audio.

We discuss more about all these new Apple products on this podcast episode that runs for over 30 minutes. So, hit the play button on the Spotify player embedded above to listen to our full conversation.

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New Orbital episodes release every Friday — this week is an exception due to the Apple event. So, make sure to tune in each week.