Apple's 8 Newest Products: What You Should Know

Apple has been on a tear in terms of refreshing its product lineups, including in Mac and iPad—with a special focus on updating long-neglected devices.

The Latest From Apple

Apple fans, rejoice: While we haven't seen a new iPhone yet from Apple so far in 2019, the company's other major hardware product lineups have all seen significant updates. The Mac and iPad have both seen big refreshes, with a focus on updating long-neglected devices in the portfolios. Apple has also released a new version of AirPods and even a new iPod Touch in the first half of the year. And this week at WWDC, the company released a new display aimed at creative professionals. The moves suggest a re-commitment from Apple to its non-iPhone hardware, at a time when iPhone sales—and smartphone sales in general—are slipping.

What follows are the key details to know on the eight newest Apple products released in 2019.

Mac Pro

Previously updated: 2013

This week, Apple announced a fully revamped version of the Mac Pro desktop, aimed at creative professional users such as video and audio editors. Apple CEO Tim Cook touted the new Mac Pro as the "most powerful Mac we have ever created," capable of massive performance through Intel Xeon processors that feature up to 28 cores. The new Mac Pro will also offer up to 1.5 TB of system memory—thanks to a six-channel memory architecture and 12 physical DIMM slots—along with eight PCIe expansion slots.

The new Mac Pro will offer AMD Radeon Pro 580X graphics as a starting point, but the desktop will be configurable with Radeon Pro Vega II graphics—which offer up to 14 teraflops of performance and 32 GB of memory with 1 TB of memory bandwidth. For even bigger graphics performance, the Mac Pro can come with the Radeon Pro Vega II Duo--which contains two Vega II GPUs—or even with two Vega II Duos. Meanwhile, the new Mac Pro will feature a stainless-steel frame with an aluminum housing, which can be removed for easy access to the desktop's internal components.

The new Mac Pro will be available in the fall for a starting price of $5,999.

Pro Display XDR

In tandem with the new Mac Pro, Apple unveiled a brand-new display for creative professionals intended for use with the Mac Pro. The Pro Display XDR will offer a 32-inch Retina display with 6K (6,016 x 3,384) resolution, which Apple says is its largest Retina display to date. The Pro Display XDR will also offer up to 1,600 nits of brightness and will be rotatable for "portrait mode" with Apple's new Pro Stand, the company said.

The Pro Display XDR will have a starting price of $4,999, which doesn't include a stand. The Pro Stand will cost an additional $999. Both will be available for ordering in the fall.

iMac

Previously updated: 2017

Apple's focus for the iMac refresh is around performance, with the 27-inch iMac now available with ninth-generation Intel processors, featuring six or eight cores. The 21.5-inch iMac is now offered with eighth-gen Intel processors, offering four or six cores. Both models of the all-in-one are offered with AMD Radeon Pro or Radeon Pro Vega graphics. For RAM, the 21.5-inch iMac offers up to 32 GB and the 27-inch model features up to 64 GB. Other highlights include an optional 4K Retina display on the 21.5-inch model (the base model is FHD), while the 27-inch iMac comes with a 5K (5,120 x 2,880 resolution) Retina display.

The new 21.5-inch iMac with FHD starts at $1,099, and with 4K starts at $1,299. The new 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799.

MacBook Pro

Previously updated: 2018

Apple has been more consistently updating its powerhouse MacBook Pro notebook than any other member of the Mac lineup in recent years. For the 2019 model of the MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar), that's meant a less-dramatic update: the form factor hasn't changed, with the MacBook Pro updates again focused on improving performance and the ever-troubled keyboard. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro adds an option for eight-core Intel processors for the first time, making it 40-percent faster than the previous six-core MacBook Pro, Apple said. Overall, Apple has added speedier eighth-gen and ninth-gen Intel Core processor options for the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros. Apple has also changed the materials used in its butterfly keyboard mechanism, in an attempt to reduce user issues with sticky and unresponsive keys on the MacBook Pro.

The new 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has a starting price of $1,799, while the 15.6-inch MacBook Pro starts at $2,399.

iPad Air

Previously updated: 2014

With the refresh to the iPad Air, key updates from Apple include the addition of support for the Apple Pencil stylus (sold separately). The iPad Air gets a 70-percent performance boost and "twice the graphics capability" from the inclusion of the A12 Bionic processor, according to Apple. The tablet features a 10.5-inch Retina display—which is 20 percent larger than in the past—with 2,224 x 1,668 resolution and up to 500 nits of brightness. And, staying true to its "air" branding, the tablet weighs just a pound and measures just a quarter of an inch thick. Along with supporting the Apple Pencil, the new iPad Air works with Apple's Smart Keyboard, as well, and promises up to 10 hours of battery life per charge.

The iPad Air 3 is available for a starting price of $499.

iPad Mini

Previously updated: 2015

Apple also refreshed its most compact-sized version of the iPad, the 7.9-inch iPad Mini. Like the iPad Air, the new iPad Mini offers improved performance from the A12 Bionic chip and support for the Apple Pencil stylus. The display offers 2,048 x 1,536 resolution—providing the "highest pixel density of any iPad," Apple said—and is 25 percent brighter than in the past, with brightness of 500 nits. The new iPad Mini also measures just a quarter of an inch thick and weighs two-thirds of a pound. On battery life, the tablet promises up to 10 hours on a charge.

The iPad Mini 5 is available for a starting price of $399.

AirPods

Previously updated: 2016

Apple's second-generation update to the AirPods—a set of wireless earbuds that can be controlled by voice—does not change the form factor, instead opting for internal improvements. Those include the inclusion of the H1 chip, which Apple says it designed with headphones in mind. The chip provides more-efficient performance, faster connections and up to 50-percent longer talk time, according to Apple. AirPods can also now be controlled with the wake word, "Hey Siri." Additionally, the AirPods are offered with a new Wireless Charging Case that allows for charging up the device on a Qi charging pad.

AirPods 2 with standard charging case are available for $159, while AirPods 2 with the Wireless Charging Case are available for $199.

iPod Touch

Previously updated: 2015

Apple didn't make any form factor changes in the new update to the iPod Touch, instead opting for internal upgrades, particularly around performance. The new iPod Touch adds the A10 Fusion processor, which Apple claims offers twice the performance of the previous model. The updated model also offers 3X faster graphics and supports augmented reality and Group FaceTime for the first time, Apple said. Additionally, the new iPod Touch offers a 256 GB configuration for the first time, along with 32 GB and 128 GB models.

The seventh-generation iPod Touch is available for a starting price of $199.