This is going to be my first blog post of the year which is why whilst a little late I’ll admit I want to start it by wishing everyone around the globe a happy new year! At the time of the writing, it’s the 20th of January and already close to February (Less then 2 weeks) it feels like it’s flown by!
It also seems that Apple have decided to kick-start the year with a flurry of announcements. Most of them are product refreshes especially with the Mac but first let’s have a look at a new generation of the original HomePod
Apple Brings Back The Original HomePod
Apple this week re-launched the Original HomePod. Starting at £299 the second generation HomePod comes with a much faster S7 chip & a refreshed display at the top of the device. The device also comes with 2 new sensors. Temperature and a humidity sensor & these will of course work all in the Home app.
Apple releasing this new HomePod means customers now have some more choices when it comes to buying a smart speaker from Apple. The HomePod for £299 or it’s much smaller brother the HomePod Mini for £99. (It went up by £10 at the same time of the announcement)
I’ve actually written a more in-depth look at the new HomePod which you can read here -> https://kylewilkinson53.wixsite.com/kylewilkinsononline/post/the-re-birth-of-the-original-homepod You’ll see then that the lower price of the device isn’t all what it seems either.
Three new Apple Mac’s with MORE Power
Well first I’m starting with the news of Apple announcing a new generation M2 Pro & M2 Max chip. Apple silicon chips are undoubtly amazing but don’t be fooled by Apple’s well paid marketing team, unless you have an intel running Mac still or a PC. There is still no real reason to go an upgrade just yet. I’m using an M1 powered MacBook Pro and I can’t say I’ve ever noticed a drop in power or performance just yet.
With these 2 refreshed chips Apple also announced a refreshed (They look the same & as far as I am aware it is only the Apple Silicon chip that is different) MacBook Pro & Mac Mini.
The MacBook Pro starts at £1,349 & a fully kitted out 16 inch model will set you back £6,749 (96GB of unified memory [RAM] in a laptop is pretty mad]. However, if you are like me then for now I would personally stick with my M1 MacBook Pro the only thing I could think of that would possibly make me (or you) want / need to go upgrade is if your on the go a lot & need to plug all sorts of things in to your computer. My M1 MacBook Pro is the 2020 edition and having just 2 USB-C ports and nothing else, not even ONE USB 3.0 port is incredibly annoying.
The MacBook Pro 13-inch model now comes with double that (4 USB-C ports [USB 4]) and the 14 + 16-inch model also comes with an HDMI port & an SDXC card slot. An improvement no doubt but still a nightmare with dongles and I think just 1 USB 3 slot would make a huge difference.
Apple Celebrates Black Unity Pride Month
Apple for the third-year running is celebrating “Black Unity Month” during February. I’m starting by looking at my one of my all-time favourite Apple products and that is the Apple Watch. Each year Apple like to release a new Apple Watch strap to celebrate. This year’s version is called the “Black Unity Sport Loop” and I’ve already decided that I want it to be my first watch band that I buy this year. Just like other sport loop watch straps it costs £49.00 to purchase & comes in 41mm & 45mm sizes.
Just like previous years you’ll notice across the Apple Services platforms (For example Apple Music & the App Store) that during February there will be all sorts of events happening celebrating the event too.
So it seems that Apple may have a lot planned for this year with quite a few announcements only a couple of weeks into the year! Last week 9To5Mac reported that the new “Apple Devices” for Microsoft Windows mentions two currently unreleased OS’s. (RealityOS & xrOS) You can read more on that report here: https://9to5mac.com/2023/01/11/apple-devices-app-windows-xros-realityos/ Will this also be the year we see the launch of Apple Glasses and will Apple finally launch the dedicated Apple Music Classical app which was meant to launch last year?
Thanks for reading.
Kyle Wilkinson
Take a look at my in-depth look at the new HomePod NEXT -> https://kylewilkinson53.wixsite.com/kylewilkinsononline/post/the-re-birth-of-the-original-homepod
Twitter – Talking about Apple but to be honest all sorts of small geeky things & running – www.twitter.com/kylewilkinson46
Instagram – Everything worth sharing from my #ShotOniPhone only collection – www.instagram.com/kylewilkinson53
YouTube – Sometimes I talk on here instead of writing it down & See my Apple opinions in the most different way around - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC89S8ERNGsvZlZoesLCMGKA
All Images above from Apple's Newsroom here -> www.apple.com/newsroom
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