Apple’s Spring Loaded event: rumors, news, and announcements – The Verge

Weird Apple design: ‘Spring Loaded’ edition

2021-04-23T13:00:00-04:00

The iMac’s big chin. | Image: Apple

Apple's product design is usually very good, setting industry standards for how many of the gadgets and computers we use every day look and feel. But the company's many hits make the less obvious design decisions stand out that much more.

Thanks to the huge amount of new stuff Apple introduced at its "Spring Loaded" event on Tuesday, we have a lot of new Apple designs to scrutinize. While the company generally did pretty well with this round of updates, there are still a few things that made us raise our eyebrows.

The iMac still has a big chin

The new iMac and its large chin. | Image: Apple" data-portal-copyright="Image: Apple">

I think Apple's new iMacs look really good - except for that darn chin, which, once again, proudly …

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Your AirTag can’t say horseshit but it can say shit horse

2021-04-20T20:31:34-04:00

After what feels like ages of rumors, speculation, and worry that I was getting way too obsessed with a Bluetooth item tracker that seemed similar to ones made by several other companies, AirTags are finally here. But before you preorder the Mentos-esque pucks, there's something you should be aware of: if you want to engrave your AirTags, you can't combine a horse and poop emoji in that order.

That's right, the emoji version of "horseshit" is a no-go when getting an engraving for Apple's newest product. Here's what happens when you try to make that your engraving of choice:

Curiously, poop and then horse ("shit horse") is totally fine, tho …

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Apple launches new iPad Pro with M1 processor

2021-04-20T13:41:59-04:00

Right on schedule, Apple has launched the next generation of its iPad Pro. As was the case with the recent MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, Apple's improvements to the iPad Pro are largely on the inside.

The device has a new eight-core M1 processor, the same chip that powers the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini. Apple claims this will deliver "a big jump in performance" over the previous generation. The graphics performance is over 1,500 times faster, per the company. The chip brings a number of new features, including a "next-generation 16-core Apple Neural engine" and an advanced image signal processor. Apple also says you can expect up …

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Apple announces thinner iMac with M1 chip and bright colors

2021-04-20T13:29:48-04:00

The redesigned iMac will be available in seven colors. | Image: Apple

Apple introduced a redesigned iMac today with a slimmer display, an Apple Silicon chip, and a case with bright, bold colors that throws back to the classic colorful all-in-one iMacs. Apple said the new iMac was designed from the ground up for the M1 chip.

The new iMac has a 24-inch, 4.5K display with narrower borders around the top and sides. It still has a large chin on the bottom, but the rear of the display is now flat instead of curved. Apple says the volume has been reduced by over 50 percent. The screen also has Apple's True Tone tech for automatically adjusting the color temperature.

Apple is also promising a much-needed update to t …

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Ted Lasso season 2 is coming in July, and it looks as charming as ever

2021-04-20T13:26:05-04:00

Apple's event today was full of hardware and new products, but the company also took some time to have fun by unveiling a new trailer for Ted Lasso's second season. The show - which stars Jason Sudeikis as a perpetually positive football coach who takes on a gig helming an English soccer team - has been one of the breakout hits on Apple TV Plus, the company's fledgling streaming service.

I always hear the question: who let the dogs out (who who who who)? With respect to The Baha Men, I prefer WHEN let the dogs out (when when when when)?

'Cause guess what, Greyhounds? Our 2nd season starts 7/23! Can I get a Bah Amen!? That's what I used to t …

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Apple unveils a redesigned remote for its new Apple TV 4K

2021-04-20T13:19:24-04:00

The Apple TV remote is one of the weakest parts of the company's set-top box, and Apple is, at last, addressing it today. The company just unveiled a redesigned Siri remote alongside its new Apple TV 4K. You'll get the new remote with the new $179 4K set-top box, or it's available separately for $59. As well as being compatible with the new Apple TV 4K, it also works with the 2017 model and Apple TV HD. Apple will also sell the remote bundled with the Apple TV HD for $149.

The new Siri remote has an iPod-style scroll wheel, a five-way click pad, touch controls, a mute button, and a power button that can turn your TV on and off. Meanwhile, t …

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Apple announces new Apple TV 4K

2021-04-20T13:19:05-04:00

The new Apple TV 4K with redesigned remote | Image: Apple

Apple has just announced a new Apple TV streaming box, replacing the Apple TV 4K that came out in 2017. The new model retains the name of the prior model but comes with a more powerful A12 Bionic chip that lets it play HDR video at higher frame rates. It's also powerful enough to support 60fps Dolby Vision playback over AirPlay from a compatible iPhone.

The old Apple TV 4K, which has been Apple's flagship set-top box for four years, supports 4K streaming as well as HDR, including Dolby Vision. It also supports Dolby Atmos sound codecs. But it doesn't support 120Hz refresh rates, which might be important should you ever want to play serious …

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Apple announces $29 AirTag, a new Tile-like item tracker

2021-04-20T13:09:37-04:00

Apple is officially launching a Tile-like item tracker that will work with the company's software and services. Dubbed AirTag, the small circular tag will allow you to track items within Apple's "Find My" app on iOS. Much like Tile, Apple's AirTags will be useful for tracking items like keys or wallets, and you'll be provided with notifications when you're separated from your item.

The AirTag itself is a small puck-like device that includes a built-in speaker, accelerometer, Bluetooth LE, and a user-replaceable battery. Apple says the tracker should last for a year of battery life, and you can use an NFC tap to activate a lost mode.

AirTag …

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Apple Podcasts launches in-app subscriptions

2021-04-20T13:09:06-04:00

A monumental change is coming to Apple Podcasts' business: the company is launching subscriptions within the Apple Podcasts app. During its spring event today, the company announced that people will be able to subscribe to content from the app for extra perks, like ad-free and bonus content, as well as early access. It'll launch in 170 regions and countries next month.

Initial partners include Pushkin Industries, QCODE, and NPR. It appears that content creators will have to pay Apple $19.99 per year in order to offer subscriptions, and Apple will take 30 percent of revenue for the first year of a subscriber's lifetime and 15 percent for the …

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Apple’s ‘Spring Loaded’ iPad Pro event live blog

2021-04-20T12:30:00-04:00

Apple seemingly has a big backlog of products to announce. We've been anticipating new iPad Pros, AirTags, AirPods, an Apple TV, and just maybe a new iMac with Arm-based Apple Silicon. The tagline for today's event, "Spring Loaded," seems to be a hint that today's live stream will be chock-full of new stuff. All signs, however, point to new iPad Pros being the star of the show.

And it might not be just hardware. Apple is increasingly pushing its own services. Perhaps there will be more on tap today to fill out its Apple One bundle. Obvious candidates are some kind of premium podcast option or maybe even an HD option for Apple Music, but the …

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