A new iPhone launches this month: Talking Tech podcast

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Hey there listeners. It's Brett Molina. Welcome back to Talking Tech. So spring has arrived early for fans of Apple products. Apple hosted its spring event on Tuesday, announced several new products, including an updated iPhone SE, a new version of the iPad Air, and a very new, very expensive Mac. I write about all the details. You can read them on tech.USAtoday.com. The iPhone SE will launch on March 18th. Pre-orders are available starting March 11th. The phone costs 429. So, it's a little bit more than the second generation iPhone SE. What do you get? You get a 4.7 inch display, which is the same as the last one. You get 5G support, which I think is very significant because now you have a budget-friendly 5G iPhone for people that want an iPhone but they don't want to spend the tons of money for the 13.

It also has the latest chip, the A15, which is the one that powers the iPhone 13. So, you're talking about a smart phone that is going to be affordable, but it's also going to be very zippy because that chip is pretty fast. The 13, it's got a lot of zip to it. And I feel like this SE is going to have similar performance. According to Apple, it is twice as fast as an iPhone 7, and it's nearly twice as fast as an iPhone 8. It's got a lot of the same bells and whistles. The home button, you've got Touch ID, you've got all those features, the single camera on the back like the second generation, that remains as well. Because in the new chip though, you will get a look at some updated features as well that you've seen on the 13. So, it's an interesting combo of affordability, but also some modern touches.

So, I'm interested in trying out this phone. And again, it's a sweet spot I think for people that want an iPhone and just don't want to spend 800 and $900,000 for a model. The new iPhone SE will also be available in three colors, midnight, starlight, and red. So, we'll see where that goes. Also on the iPhone front, two new finishes for the iPhone 13. The iPhone 13 is now available in a darker green. I describe it as like a forest green kind of color. And then the iPhone 13 Pro will be in an alpine green finish, which is a lighter green. Almost reminded me a little bit of a mint kind of color.

As for other stuff that Apple unveiled during its event, we got a new iPad Air. This is the thinner, lighter version of the iPad that we're used to... It's going to add the M1 chip, which is obviously going to be a big help as far as graphics and processing and everything like that. It will have a 12-megapixel ultra-wide front camera, which means you can use center stage, which is the feature that's available on front cameras that will keep users in the frame centered when they're on screen. So, if you're on a video call, or if you're recording anything, it'll keep you at the center of the screen.

This iPad Air will also support 5G. So, if you go that route and go with a cellular model, that'll have 5G. Also it works with all the accessories like the Apple keyboard, and the new Apple pencil. Like the iPhone, it's going to launch on March 18th, and it starts at 599 and it's available in several different colors, including gray, starlight, and blue. The last thing that Apple introduced was the Mac Studio. And the audience for this feels like it's pretty small because it's very focused on power users, folks who are working in studios, whether you're in a gaming studio, music studio, wherever it is. It's targeted for people who want the optimal Mac performance. It's a really small device. It actually measures about three and a half inches tall, and it's about seven inches wide. It's not that big. It supports all these different ports, Thunderbolt, HDMI, ethernet,, everything like that.

They also revealed a 27-inch Mac Studio Display, which looks really cool. It has its own 12 megapixel camera, six speakers, and it supports spatial audio. The one thing I will note though is they're not cheap. So don't... If you really want something super duper fast, then go for it. But again, not cheap at all. The Mac Studio starts at 1999, and this is the one running on the M1 Mac's chip. Apple also introduced an M1 ultra chip, which again, makes everything go super fast, super smooth. You can run a ton of different programs at once, and your Mac doesn't skip a beat. If you want to get a Mac Studio with the ultra chip, it costs 3999. So, almost $4,000. And that doesn't count the price of the display. If you want that with the display, the Mac Studio Displays starts at 1599.

So, you're talking about $5,600 if you want the top line Mac Studio with the display. Again, meant for a very specific audience, very interesting computer, definitely a very top end offering, but yeah, expensive. And it's funny, the Spectrum's so funny where you have the low budget-friendly affordable iPhone with this super power-user, heavy-duty Mac Studio that costs you almost six grand. But that's what we got today. If you want to learn more about everything that Apple announced, if you want to keep them on the latest with Apple and everything else, tech, be sure to visit us at tech.USAtoday.com. Listeners let's hear from you. Do you have any comments, questions, or show ideas, any tech problems you want us to try to address? You can find me on Twitter @brettmolina23. Please, don't forget to subscribe, and rate us, or leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, anywhere you get your podcasts. You've been listening to Talking Tech. We'll be back tomorrow with another quick hit from the world of tech.