Apple ‘Unleashed’ Event 2021: Apple held its second fall event in 2021 on Monday and as anticipated, the event included announcements regarding the new additions to the MacBook Pro lineup and the new AirPods. During his keynote address, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that the theme of the event was “Music and the Mac”, both of which inspire creativity, as per him. But in case you missed the event, don’t worry because TheSpuzz Online has rounded up all the exciting announcements. Like Tim Cook said, the theme for the event was “Music and the Mac”, and so, let’s take a look at the music aspect of it.
Also read | Everything you need to know about Apple’s 2021 MacBook Pro 14-, 16-inch ‘game-changing’ laptops
The first announcement in the Music aspect was that the HomePod Mini is getting three new bold colours – blue, yellow and orange. These will be in addition to the already available colours of white and space grey. Not only will the body of the HomePod Mini get these colours, but all of the details have been matched with it too, including the tinted touch surface, the volume buttons, the mesh fabric and even the woven power cable. The HomePod Mini is also getting feature enhancements like multi-user voice recognition in order to offer personalised experience to each user, automatic Siri volume on the basis of the ambient noise, controls for Apple TV.
The HomePod Mini will start rolling out in 17 countries this November, and yes, India is in fact one of them! Interested users will be able to purchase a HomePod Mini in the colour of their choice starting November for a price of Rs 9,900.
But is that all in the music segment? Nope.
Apple has announced hundreds of new playlists that have been curated by experts, they say, to fit every mood, activity and occasion. In the announcement, Cupertino said that the playlists were available for occasions like dinner parties or hiking, and also for if someone wanted to maybe relax. In fact, if users like a particular song, they can even give the command, “Play more like this,” and they would get a personalised experience of listening to new songs that suit their taste.
These curated playlists are coming to Apple Music. But what is more is that Apple has brought out a whole new subscription plan for Apple Music and this is called the Voice Plan. The plan has been designed exclusively for Siri, and would let users access the entire catalogue of songs, playlists and stations on Apple Music using just their voice and Siri.
Users would be able to sign up for this plan by either asking Siri to start the Apple Music Voice trial, or by going to the Apple Music app and signing up for it. The plan would be available “later this fall” in 17 countries, which yes, again, includes India. What’s more is that this plan will be available to users for a subscription cost of Rs 49 a month, and users would be able to access it through all of their Siri-enabled devices.
The last announcement in the music section of the event was the AirPods. Finally, after a lot of anticipation, Apple has finally announced the third generation AirPods. Similar to AirPods Pro in their looks, the new AirPods have a shorter stem, and a new contoured design. Not only that, but the AirPods will also have spatial audio and will deliver sound via Adaptive EQ. The spatial audio feature with dynamic head tracking will come in handy with Apple’s Dolby Atmos support for Apple Music to provide users with an immersive listening experience, Cupertino said.
The new AirPods also have an enhanced battery life, now having six hours of playback time. With a charging case, the AirPods can have 30 hours of listening time after a single full charge. The AirPods have been contoured so that they sit well in the users’ ears and it delivers the sound directly in the ear. The mic in the new AirPods has also been covered by an acoustic mesh so that the speaker’s sound goes through clearly without ambient noise like the wind passing through.
“The new AirPods feature Adaptive EQ that tunes sound in real time based on how AirPods fit in the user’s ear. An inward-facing microphone monitors for sound, and then Adaptive EQ, powered by computational audio, tunes the low and mid frequencies to account for what may be lost due to variances in fit,” Apple said in a statement.
These AirPods also have MagSafe and wireless charging support and are compatible with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.
The AirPods (3rd generation) have been priced at Rs 18,500 in India, and can be ordered online via the Apple Store.