Apple has launched new hardware in its Air line-up, updating the devices with the latest generations of its in-house silicon chips while offering further price cuts for the latest version of the MacBook.
The company introduced the MacBook Air with the M4 processor, with its starting price now at Dh3,999 in the UAE, notably less than the Dh4,599 price tag for the M3 version last year and 20 per cent lower compared with the M2 model in 2022. A 13.6-inch M4 MacBook Air with the maximum hardware is now Dh9,039, compared to the M3's Dh9,639. For students and teachers, the device now starts at Dh3,579.
Apple says spreadsheet calculations can be made on the new device nearly five times faster, video editing is up to eight times quicker, and photo editing is up to 3.6 times faster. Web browsing is up to 60 per cent faster compared with a laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 7 chip, it added. The move is aimed at delivering "more value to consumers than ever before", Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said.
Apple also unveiled the seventh generation of the iPad Air, but with an older M3 chip. The company, said the device brings advanced graphics architecture to the iPad Air for the first time.
The iPad continues to be aimed at students, travellers and content creators "who need powerful productivity on the go", Apple said. The new iPad Air is up to 35 per cent faster and has graphics that are up to 40 per cent faster, "enabling more accurate lighting, reflections, shadows and extremely realistic gaming experiences".
Apple also introduced the new Mac Studio, which it describes as the "most powerful Mac ever made". It uses the M4 Max and the new M3 Ultra, which was also revealed on Thursday. The M3 Ultra has the most powerful CPU and GPU in a Mac, with double the Neural Engine cores and "the most unified memory ever in a personal computer", the company said.
The announcement of the new devices comes two weeks after Apple unveiled the iPhone 16e, its most affordable flagship device, which succeeds the iPhone SE line-up. It also comes amid rumours about an iPhone Air, a thinner version of the device. If the rumours are true, it is expected to be introduced in September at the company's annual iPhone launch.
Samsung, the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturer, already unveiled the slim Galaxy S25 Edge in January, which it expects to be in retail within the first half of 2025.
Apple is expected to be busy in 2025, especially with the ramping up of Apple Intelligence, its generative AI platform. The company last month announced that it will integrate Apple Intelligence on its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, amid a challenge arising from Google, which has teamed up with Samsung for its own Project Moohan headset.
