A Few Thoughts on the Apple Peek Performance Event

Wow. Quite a day for Apple. Here are a few initial thoughts:

The Mac Studio

  • For ages people have wanted a desktop Mac “between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro”. You could make the argument that this is that. Although with it eclipsing current Mac Pros, I’m not sure.
  • We’ve been talking about the return of the iMac Pro. Is the Mac Studio + Studio Display the new iMac Pro?
  • The pricing seems about right. It makes a lot more sense to me than Apple’s $100 watch bands. Just think about it that way: a new Mac Studio or 20 watch bands?
  • At the end of the event, John Ternus teased the eventual release of the Mac Pro. I feel like that will be very much a niche product given the power of the Mac Studio.
  • I’ll have more on this new Mac later. I need to process.

The Studio Display

  • I did not expect the new display today. I’m thrilled we got it.
  • This display is what everyone was looking for. Apple quality, good feature set, and the stand comes with it.
  • I was expecting the price to be $1,999. I was pleasantly surprised they beat that.
  • Also, more on this later. I need to think about it.

Apple TV+

  • Apple TV+ has more content that I’ve enjoyed than I expected by this point. It’s not clear to me what Apple is trying to become with this.
  • Friday Night Baseball: It makes sense for Apple to add sports to the mix. I’m guessing baseball isn’t the only sport they’d like to add.

iPhone

  • I prefer the new shade of green over what they did in the iPhone 11, which was too gray for my taste.
  • The iPhone SE serves a definite place in Apple’s lineup and it is good to see them continuing to improve it.
  • Apple is using the word “Iconic” here to carry a heavy load. As the years go by, I am increasingly wondering if it makes sense to keep the old design and the physical home screen button. I expect there is a certain segment of Apple customers that really want that button, but has that ever stopped Apple in the past from ditching a button?
  • $429 is a great price
  • They covered the iPhone SE in 5 minutes.

iPad Air

  • M1 in iPad Air was a surprise to me, though in hindsight it shouldn’t be. Now the M1 is driving everything from iPad Air up to an iMac.
  • Again, the lines between iPad Air and iPad Pro are pretty blurry.