Apple unveils low-cost iPhone with 5G and speedy A15 Bionic chip, souped-up Mac and iPad Air

Apple showed off an upgraded version of its affordable iPhone SE at an online event this morning, plus a lineup of new products with an emphasis on hardware grunt including the iPad Air 5, the new M1 Ultra processor, a new Mac brand, Mac Studio, based on its new, souped-up M1 Ultra chip.

The latest model in Apple's affordable iPhone SE line gains 5G and the A15 Bionic processor. Photo / Supplied

The signature new feature in the new iPhone SE (from $799) is 5G support, but the new model also gets tech-and-spec boosts across the board, including the addition of a high-performance processor (the A15 Bionic) and better battery life. There is still a single 12 megapixel camera on the rear (you'll have to go higher up Apple's food chain for a trio of lenses), but you do get new features like better handling of high-contrast pictures, thanks to new software smarts powered by the A15.

The SE's 4.7-inch display, and aluminium and glass design sticks closely to its predecessor. Old-schoolers will appreciate that it retains a physical home button.

There's TouchID for unlocking, and you also get IP67 water resistance. The new iPhone SE will be available for pre-order from this Saturday (March 12) and ship from Friday week (March 18).

And Apple promises the new SE will offer two hours more battery life per day - so you can stream video for up to 15 hours - thanks to a larger capacity battery.

Analysts see the SE aimed at mid-range Androids in a global smartphone market where Apple and the leading Android brand, Samsung, are neck and neck - with Apple pulling ahead in the most recent quarter, according to market tracker IDC.

Spark and Vodafone NZ are well into their 5G mobile network upgrades. 2degrees went live with its first 5G service last week, but has yet to add iPhone support - but says it's on the way.

The new iPhone SE and iPad Air do not support millimetre wave 5G, but that spectrum band is not yet available on any NZ mobile networks - and likely won't be until Apple's next release cycle.

If you shop from Apple's higher shelf the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 have also had a pep up with two new colours announced today: alpine green and green.

The USB-C port on the new iPad Air is now up to 2x faster than the previous generation, and connects cameras, external storage, and displays with up to 6K resolution. Photo / Supplied

The new iPad Air gets the same Apple-designed M1 chip as the latest iPad Pro. Apple says that gives it a 60 per cent performance boost over the previous Air and makes it twice as fast as a Windows laptop in the same price range (the new iPad Air will sell from $1049 Wi-Fi only and start at $1299 for Wi-Fi plus 5G; pre-orders start this Saturday with delivery from Friday week).

The USB-C port doubles in speed to 10Gbps and there's support for the Apple Pencil - plus the Smart Keyboard Folio and Magic Keyboard if you want to go down the laptop-replacement route.

The new iPad Air also gains support for Centre Stage - Apple's camera technology that keeps you in the middle of the frame if you move around during a video call.

The Mac Studio Display and Mac Studio. Photo / Supplied

The new Mac Studio comes in a case that closes to the size of a Mac Mini but packs unprecedented power thanks to the new M1 Ultra chip - available in both 24 core and 48 core versions.

Apple, which for a time took a minimalist approach to ports, continues its renaissance of plugs and jacks with the Mac Studio, from a retro 3.5mm headphone jack through to the ability to connect to up to five displays at the same time, with four of them having up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via USB-C, and another with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0.

You can also connect to the new Studio Display, which features a 27-inch 5K Retina screen, an advanced camera with Centre Stage and amazing high-fidelity audio.

Apple bills the Mac Studio as 7.5x faster than the 27-inch iMac, and up to 3.7x faster than the 16-core Mac Pro when transcoding video, and it was this release that got the hardcore Apple fans salivating this morning.

The Mac Studio starts from $3599 (with the M1 Max) and the Mac Studio Display from $2999. Both are available for order from today, with deliveries from Friday week. See full tech specs here.

Sports streaming

Apple also announced a foray into sports streaming, for US viewers, at today's event.

The tech giant has reached a deal to show Major League Baseball games on Apple TV+ on Friday nights.

It was not immediately clear when the baseball streaming would kick off, or which teams the deal would cover, but Apple joining Amazon and Facebook in dipping its toes into sports rights is an interesting development, and one to keep an eye on.