Last month, when writing about Apple’s Fall 2013 Product Announcement, I’d guessed at a few announcements that they didn’t end up making. Today, Apple announced all of those things and more.
OS X Mavericks
OS X 10.9 ”Mavericks”. Available today. Free (down from $19.99 last year).
MacBook Air
Lighter and faster than the last model. Faster 802.11ac wireless networking, Bluetooth 4.0 and Thunderbolt 2. Available today. Starting at $999.
MacBook Pro with Retina Display
Lighter and faster than the last model. Faster 802.11ac wireless networking, Bluetooth 4.0 and Thunderbolt 2. Available today. Starting at $1,299.
MacBook Pro (non-Retina)
Quietly discontinued in favor of the all-Retina lineup.
Mac Pro
An incredibly powerful machine. Faster 802.11ac wireless networking, Bluetooth 4.0 and Thunderbolt 2. Available in December. Starting at $2,999.
iLife and iWork (for iOS and OS X)
New versions for iOS as well as OS X. Faster, better, simpler, more powerful. Free with any Mac or iOS device purchase.
iPad Air
New line of iPads, replaces “iPad classic”. Smaller, lighter, faster. MIMO wireless networking. Available November 1. Starting at $499. iPad 2 sticking around for $399.
iPad mini with Retina Display
iPad mini with a Retina Display. Starting at $399. Available in November. Last-generation iPad mini sticking around for $299.
iPad
Quietly discontinued in favor of the iPad Air.
What was not announced and/or what we didn’t get
For all the rumor and speculation from analysts and pundits, here’s where we landed.
- Anybody with a brain knew that there wouldn’t be an iWatch or iHDTV.
- No “Touch ID” fingerprint sensors in the new iPads. We’ll be unlocking our iPads like neanderthals for the foreseeable future.
- No iMac or Mac mini updates.
- No Apple TV updates.
- No updates to the Thunderbolt display. (I was secretly wishing for a Retina-capable Thunderbolt display with 4K resolution.)
- iPad Air gets the same larger-pixel update as the iPhone 5s got for better indoor shots, but stays at 5 MP.
- iPad Air and iPad mini are still on 802.11n wireless networking speeds, but the iPad Air makes up for it with dual-signal MIMO networking.
- No Gold/Champagne-colored iPads.
- After reading through the things that the analysts are saying about Apple, they still have absolutely no idea how Apple works — despite Apple operating like clockwork, year after year.
