As well as the widely rumoured 5G iPhone SE, Apple also unveiled a new Mac model, external monitor and chip on Wednesday that will set you back more than a staggering $18,000 if you want the highest specifications.
The Mac Studio and Studio Display are aimed at professionals who require a lot of computational power, like video editors and graphic designers. Combined these will cost $6600 for just the base models.
The Mac Studio is not too dissimilar to the Mac Mini in that it's a small, square box designed to sit on your desk. But the power inside puts it on a whole new level.
The Studio is 7.7-inches square at the bottom and just 3.7-inches high but contains four Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back, a 10GB ethernet port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port and pro audio jack.
On the front there's an SDXC card reader as well as another two ports. If you select the M1 Max version, those are USB-C ports; but with the new M1 Ultra chip those become two additional Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The Studio can power up to four Pro Display XDR monitors as well as a 4K television concurrently.
At the highest specification, Apple says it will handle 18 streams of 8K ProRes video at the same time.
The Studio Display is a 27-inch screen with 14.7 million pixels and a 5K Retina display. The base model has a 30-degree tilt to the screen, while extra can be paid for one that also has an adjustable height.
There's also a nano-texture glass option for the front of the display for those that work in bright studios, again at an additional cost.
The Studio Display has an Apple A13 Bionic chip inside it with a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a three microphone array for video conferencing.
It's the same front-facing camera as the newer model iPads and supports Center Stage, ensuring the camera remains focused on individuals as they move around the room while on video calls.
The processing power of the A13 chip also allows for high fidelity audio, with a six speaker sound system built in. That includes support for Spatial Audio, Apple's own format that provides all round sound, as well as Dolby Atmos from video playback.
There are three USB-C ports on the rear of the monitor, with one Thunderbolt 4 port offering up to 96W of power - enough to charge any MacBook.
The Studio Display with standard glass and a tilt-adjustable stand will set you back $2999, with nano-texture glass costing $500 more and the height-adjustable option $700 on top of that, maxing out at $4199.
The cheapest Mac Studio starts at $3599, powered by Apple's M1 Pro chip, with 32GB unified memory and 512GB of SSD storage. The base M1 Ultra model starts at $7099.
For one powered by the M1 Ultra, with a 20-Core CPU, 64-Core GPU and 32-Core Neural Engine, with 128 GB unified memory and 8TB of SSD storage you'll pay a massive $14,099.
So, for those who want the most powerful Mac Studio and Studio Display, the total cost at launch in Aotearoa is $18,298.
Even at that price, social media feedback appears largely positive, with most recognising the performance is worth the premium for those that need the power. Others have lamented the need to get a mortgage just to buy one.
Both the Mac Studio and Studio Display are available to order now and ship on March 17, if your credit card can handle the huge bill.
