Top Stories: New MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, HomePod, and More

[MacRumors]

Surprise! This week ended up being a very busy one for Apple with a number of announcements for several new products we knew were in the works but thought might not be launching quite so soon.

We'll have a lot more to come over the next few weeks as the new products launch, but read on below for all of the announcement details!

Apple Announces New MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, HomePod, and More

Apple made some rare January product announcements this week, introducing updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, an updated Mac mini, a new full-size HomePod, and more.

We've put together a recap of everything that Apple announced this week for those looking for a quick overview of all the new products introduced this week. We've also rounded up all of our coverage of the announcements below with more details about each new product.

Apple Announces New MacBook Pros With M2 Pro/M2 Max Chips, Up to 96GB RAM, and More

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are available with Apple's latest M2 Pro and M2 Max chips for up to 20% faster performance and up to 30% faster graphics. The laptops can now be configured with up to 96GB of RAM and feature Wi-Fi 6E, an upgraded HDMI 2.1 port with support for an 8K external display, and an extra hour of battery life.

The laptops can be pre-ordered now on Apple's online store, with the first deliveries to customers and in-store availability to begin January 24.

Apple Announces New Mac Mini With M2 and M2 Pro Chips at Lower $599 Starting Price

Apple also updated the Mac mini with new M2 and M2 Pro chip options, resulting in the final Intel-based Mac mini being discontinued. There are no design changes, but M2 Pro configurations are equipped with four Thunderbolt 4 ports and an HDMI 2.1 port.

The new Mac mini can be pre-ordered now on Apple's online store, with the M2 base model starting at a lower $599 price. Availability begins January 24.

Apple Announces New HomePod for $299 With Full-Size Design, S7 Chip, and More

The second-generation HomePod features a virtually identical design as the full-size HomePod that was discontinued in 2021. The Siri-enabled smart speaker has two fewer tweeters and microphones than the original model, an S7 chip for computational audio, a U1 chip for handing off music from an iPhone, and support for Spatial Audio. The speaker also supports Matter for controlling smart home accessories.

The new HomePod is available to pre-order now for $299 in white and midnight colors and launches on February 3.

iOS 16.3 Coming Next Week: Here's What's New

In its press release about a new Unity watch band for the Apple Watch, Apple said a matching Unity wallpaper for the iPhone will be available next week on iOS 16.3, which confirms that the software update will be released to the public next week — here's what's new.

The only major new features coming in iOS 16.3 are support for physical security keys as a two-factor authentication option for Apple ID accounts and a worldwide expansion of optional Advanced Data Protection for iCloud accounts.

Apple Launches Black Unity Sport Loop With Matching Apple Watch Face and iPhone Wallpaper

Apple this week released a special-edition Black Unity Sport Loop for the Apple Watch in celebration of Black History Month. Available now for $49, the band features the word "Unity" woven into the fabric with red, green, and black yarns that pay homage to the Pan-African flag, according to Apple.

Apple is also releasing a companion Unity-themed iPhone wallpaper and watch face with iOS 16.3 and watchOS 9.3.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Article Link: Top Stories: New MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, HomePod, and More

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

An enjoyable week of product releases.

Can't wait to see the reviews for the new 14 and 16 inch Macbook Pro's.

So I think the Mac Pro and 15 inch Macbook Air should be the next Macs to get released, I hope?

 

[MBAir2010]

that new Mac Mini is great, twice the speed and same price?
Bravo !

 

[Realityck]

What an exceptional week, to be honest Apple made up in one day what they lacked in the last 2 quarters.

 

[FightTheFuture]

that new Mac Mini is great, twice the speed and same price?
Bravo !

$100 lower actually

 

[EightyEight]

8GB RAM in the mini is a crime. Apple is relying on swapping to disk, causing unnecessary wear on the SSD.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

8GB RAM in the mini is a crime. Apple is relying on swapping to disk, causing unnecessary wear on the SSD.

How absurd that anyone should diss Apple for providing more choices to consumers. I am a strong proponent of buying more RAM rather than less RAM, but one can easily envision many usages where 8 GB will suffice. Unused RAM adds zero value, so those buyers should not be forced to waste money buying useless extra RAM.

 

[FloridaScrubJay]

Cannot wait for my new MacBook Pro 16” M2 Max 96 GB memory and 8 TB drive arriving February 1-3. My fully maxed out 2019 MacBook Pro is showing its age. Lightroom should soon rock!

 

[PowerButton]

Does this mean the M3 will be on a 3nm fabrication?
I’m also curious to see benchmarks on the new MacBook Pro 16 M2 Max vs M1.

 

[Bregalad]

"products we knew were in the works but thought might not be launching quite so soon."

Except that some of those products had been widely expected last fall so one could argue that they're actually late.

I have been a Mac owner since 1992. Except when I switched from CRT to LCD each new display has been as large or larger than the one it replaced. Moving to a smaller display, as I was sometimes forced to do at work, feels so wrong and inefficient that I won't do it. That's why I was so disappointed when Apple moved away from multiple sizes of iMac to multiple colours instead.

Not so long ago Apple offered a mid-level Intel computer inside their 5K display and charged $1999 for the unit. Now the 5K display by itself is $1699. With Apple's usual 40% gross profit margin, that means either they were only paying $180 for the computer inside the iMac (yeah right!) or, more likely, the display is commanding a ridiculously high profit margin.

Sure they can charge what the market will bear. I'm just surprised the market is willing to bear such an enormous increase in cost. Even the lowest cost entry-level Mac with a 5K display now costs $2298. The lowest cost 27" iMac was always spec'd in line with the high end mini. That pairing today is $2998 instead of $1999.

The big advantage with the new setup is the ability to keep the display and upgrade the Mac paired with it. That's nice, but I'm not sure it's worth a 50% price increase up front. Eventually new Macs will use different outputs that don't work with older displays forcing users to replace both pieces again.