Apple’s ‘Spring Loaded’ Event: Full Run-Down

Published in

Mac O’Clock

6 min readApr 24, 2021

It’s a beautiful spring morning for an AppleEvent — Spring Loaded

On Tuesday, April 20, Apple ended their first event of 2021 by streaming a virtual keynote called “Spring Loaded” held at its campus in Cupertino, California.

During the event, Apple unveiled a new podcast subscription service and a bunch of new hardware products including the much-awaited AirTags, the Bluetooth tracker.

If you missed the event, here’s what you need to know.

Apple Podcasts Subscriptions:

Apple unveiled Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, a global marketplace for listeners to discover premium subscriptions offered by their favorite creators alongside millions of free shows on Apple Podcasts.
Starting in May, Podcasts Subscriptions will be available to listeners in more than 170 countries and regions.
Apple’s new Podcast subscriptions include a variety of benefits curated by creators, such as ad-free listening, access to additional content, and early or exclusive access to new series.
The company is also redesigning its Apple Podcast app to help you find new shows. With iOS 14.5, listeners can access a redesigned Apple Podcasts app featuring an enhanced Search tab that provides quick access to Top Charts and categories.
Pricing for each subscription is set by creators and billed monthly by default. Creators can additionally offer annual billing, which subscribers can manage from their Apple ID account settings.
Through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share a subscription.

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini in purple color:

Apple announced iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini in purple will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, April 23, with availability beginning Friday, April 30.
This new color beautifully accentuates the flat aluminum edges of iPhone 12, which are perfectly color-matched to the precision-milled back glass.
This gorgeous new color joins the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini family, which is already available in Blue, Green, Black, White, and (PRODUCT) RED stunning color options,
Pricing for iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, (64/128/256 GB models), starting at $799 (US) and $699 (US) respectively.

Apple introduces new iPad Pro featuring M1 chip:

The new iPad Pr with magic Keyboard in a gorgeous new White color

Apple announced the most powerful and advanced iPad Pro ever by bringing an Apple-designed M1 chip which will delivers a massive leap in performance.
Apple’s new iPad Pro will be available in 11-inch and 12.9-inches in silver and space gray finishes. It is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations.
The 12.9-inch model features a new Liquid Retina XDR display.
iPad Pro now includes support for Thunderbolt port that supports a wider range of accessories. Additionally, an all-new Ultra Wide front camera enables Center Stage, a new feature that automatically keeps users perfectly framed for even more engaging video calls.
The new iPad Pro’s cellular models support 5G connectivity on the go, and provide users with pro-level throughput for high-speed accessories.
The Magic Keyboard, which offers a comfortable typing experience with backlit keys, an integrated trackpad, and its floating design, now comes in a gorgeous new White color.
Apple Pencil remains unchanged.
The new iPad Pro is available to order beginning Friday, April 30, and will be available in the second half of May.
The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 (US) for the Wi-Fi model and $999 (US) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model, and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,099 (US) for the Wi-Fi model and $1,299 (US) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model

Apple announces new iMacs with colorful options:

The new iMac comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver colors

Just like the iPad Pro, the iMac is coming with an M1 processor and not an Intel chip inside.
The all-new iMac featuring a much more compact and thinner (11.5 mm thin) aluminum design, and it comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver colors.
The new iMac features a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, 500 nits of brightness, and over a billion colors, delivering a brilliant and vivid viewing experience.
The new iMac also includes a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, studio-quality mics, and a six-speaker sound system — the best camera and audio ever in a Mac.
For the first time, Touch ID comes to iMac along with color-matched accessories. It ships with Apple’s new magnetic power connector.
The new 24-inch iMac is available to order beginning Friday, April 30, on apple.com and in the Apple Store app.
iMac with 7-core GPU starts at $1,299 (US) & $1,249 (US) for education and is available in green, pink, blue, and silver.
iMac with 8-core GPU starts at $1,499 (US) & $1,399 (US) for education and is available in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver.

Apple TV 4K With the A12 Bionic and Siri Remote:

Apple TV 4K with A12 Bionic and an all-new Siri Remote

Apple today announced the next generation of Apple TV 4K, delivering high frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision and connecting customers to their favorite content with the highest quality
Apple TV 4K runs on the A12 Bionic chip that provides a significant boost in graphics performance, video decoding, and audio processing.
It also includes a new Siri Remote made out of aluminum, combines a trackpad with clickable D-Pad buttons.
Users will also be able to use their iPhone’s light sensor to calibrate the Apple TV to help adjust any slight shifts in color and brightness.
For the first time, AppleCare+ will be available for Apple TV.
The new Apple TV 4K will be available starting at $179 (US) for 32GB and $199 (US) for 64GB.
The new Siri Remote will be available separately for $59 and is compatible with the previous-generation Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD.
Customers can order the new Apple TV 4K beginning Friday, April 30, with availability beginning in the second half of May in more than 30 countries and regions, including the US.

Apple introduces AirTag:

Apple’s new accessory — AirTag equipped with the Apple-designed U1 chip

At last, Apple has finally announced AirTag, a brand new accessory for the iPhone, features precision-etched polished stainless steel, and is IP67 water- and dust-resistant.
Each AirTag is equipped with the Apple-designed U1 chip using Ultra Wideband technology, enabling Precision Finding5 for iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 users.
A small and elegantly designed accessory that helps keep track of and find the items that matter most with Apple’s Find My app.
A built-in speaker plays sounds to help locate AirTag, while a removable cover makes it easy for users to replace the battery.
AirTag features the same magical setup experience as AirPods — just bring AirTag close to iPhone and it will connect.
AirTag can be purchased in one and four packs for just $29 (US) and $99, (US) respectively, and will be available beginning Friday, April 30
Apple and Hermès are introducing AirTag Hermès, featuring an elegant assortment of handcrafted leather accessories including the Bag Charm, Key Ring, Travel Tag, and Luggage Tag. Hermès accessories will be sold with a custom-engraved AirTag based on the brand’s iconic Clou de Selle signature.