What to expect from Apple's new iMac, iPad Air, and iPad mini

New Apple iPad Air and iPad mini

Apple has announced two new iPads a week ahead of the company's March 25 event: a 10.5-inch iPad Aid and a refreshed iPad mini.

Not only does the new iPad Air have a larger display with over half a million more pixels than the previous generation, but it also "delivers a 70 percent boost in performance and twice the graphics capability" thanks to an A12 Bionic chip.

The refreshed iPad mini also features the same A12 Bionic chip that amps up the 7.9-inch tablet's power, performance, and graphics speed. This generation comes with Apple Pencil support and, according to Apple, has a Retina display that's 25 percent brighter than before and now has "the highest pixel density of any iPad."

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Both models feature upgraded front and back cameras that can capture 1080p HD videos, scan documents, and create AR experiences.

The company also announced on Monday that an update coming to iWork for iOS next week will feature a slew of new Apple Pencil capabilities in Keynote including the easy implementation of build effects like rotate and scale.

The new iPad Air and iPad mini are available starting today online and next week in stores starting at $749 and $599, respectively. Each comes in three colour options with either 64GB or 256GB configurations.

The release of new hardware this week further suggests that the March 25 event will focus on the launch of Apple's Netflix-like streaming service.

New Apple iMac desktops

Just one day after Apple announced the brand-new 10.5-inch iPad Air and a refreshed iPad mini, the company unveiled its updated iMac desktop computers in two sizes and two times the performance.

On Tuesday, Apple announced its updated lineup of iMac desktop computers, finished with new processors and graphics chips, in two sizes: 21.5-inches and 27-inches.

More specifically, the smaller model is powered by either an 8th-generation Intel quad-core i3 processor or an 8th-gen Intel 6-core i5 processor capable of delivering, according to Apple, up to a 60 percent increase in performance. On the other hand, the 27-inch model features either the 8th-gen or 9th-gen 6-core Intel i5 processor that more than doubles the performance.

Both desktops in all configurations come with Radeon Pro Vega graphic cards in varying amounts of speed and memory. Though the 21.5-inch model has a 4K Retina display and the larger desktop has 5K, both "result in text that looks like a printed page, sharper photos with more detail, and the ability to edit 4K video at full resolution."

Naturally, the entire lineup is powered by macOS Mojave, the latest version of Apple's desktop operating system newly complete with dark mode, Stacks (a feature that organises desktop files), and a redesigned Mac App Store.

The new 21.5-inch iMacs start at $1,899, while the 27-inch models span start at $2,599 with everything included. Both are available online today and in retailers next week.

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