On 4/20, Apple finally held its Spring Event, unveiling its latest treats. This event was really packed with updates and announcements. I watched and rewatched the keynote and gathered a couple of thoughts about what was announced.

iPad Pro 🔥

This was the most speculated hardware announcement and the product I was looking forward to most as I am upgrading this year. Apple didn’t disappoint, and while the 11″ model I plan on buying won’t feature that sharp new mini-LED display, I’m satisfied. The inclusion of the M1 is huge and makes me wonder what else Apple has in store for the iPad. I’m expecting iPadOS 15 to bring a slew of new features that further push the boundaries of what iPad Pro can do. I usually get a cellular iPad, so the inclusion of 5G is nice. The new white Magic Keyboard is also super sharp—makes me wish I hadn’t thrown down on the black one just last month.

AirTags 🔍

After years of speculation and anticipation, AirTags finally make their entrance on the grand stage. Priced at $29/each or $99 for four, I imagine these will be pretty popular among iOS users. The AirTag design looks pretty clean and straightforward, and I love the inclusion of a user-replaceable battery. I don’t know what more I can say about AirTags—they’re neat. It’s no wonder they have Tile scared.

iMac 🖥

I will be completely honest, I was almost certain we wouldn’t see any new Mac hardware until WWDC. Fortunately, that was not the case, and Apple unveiled the beautiful new 24″ iMac in seven stunning colors. I really liked the industrial look of the Pro XDR Display, so I was thrilled to see iMac take those design cues. People have voiced concern on Twitter about the white bezels, but historically the iMac has always had white bezels. It’s an iMac G5 that’s a third of the thickness, with just a splash of G3 color.

One thing I can’t get used to, however, is the missing Apple logo on the chin. Billed as a clean, distraction-free design, the new iMac looks like an EVT sample that escaped the lab and was approved for production.

Nevertheless, I like the new design overall and cannot wait to see it in person. I’m on the fence about getting one of these iMacs at some point. I don’t exactly need one, but I also missed the boat on a tangerine iMac G3 the first time around. Could I make such a grave mistake again?

Apple TV 📺

RIP to the glass touchpad-covered Siri remote. The new one seems nice, and still retains some features like a smaller touchpad, and even adds new ways to navigate with a click wheel-like motion. It’s nice to see Apple TV get a spec bump, but it is otherwise unchanged. The color balancing feature that uses your iPhone’s sensors to choose the best color settings looks wild and is even coming to older Apple TV models.

Other thoughts 💭

Apple Card Family features are game-changing for the credit industry, with them allowing spouses to merge their credit lines and share credit reporting. I have previously heard rumors of Apple expanding their financial features and eventually offering checking accounts, possibly based on the Marcus by Goldman Sachs platform. It would be interesting to see this come to fruition.It’s nice to see purple join the iPhone 12 lineup. Unrelated: Mid-cycle color updates always remind me of the infamous white iPhone 4 that launched with a cool 10-month delay.

Something that will live rent-free in my mind for the rest of my life is the moment Tim Cook scaled a building, tunneled through the HVAC, and pulled off a human disguise in order to steal and remove an M1 chip from the board of a MacBook Pro and transplant it into an iPad Pro. ■