Even in situations as complicated as this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has been able to surprise us with many launches. Phones, tablets, computers and even a new service. In this article we review all the products launched by Apple in 2020. Did you remember them all?
The year of the Macs and the Apple Silicon
This year was marked in red by Apple and it was the year destined to begin the transition from Intel chips to their own processors. However, they also renewed their Mac range with Intel at the beginning of the year, or at least part of it.
The company renewed the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13-inch and Mac mini adding the possibility of acquiring them together with the tenth generation of Intel processors. In the case of laptops, the keyboards with a butterfly mechanism, which had such a bad experience for 4 years, were finally slammed and a well-known mechanism called “scissors”, comparable to the Magic Keyboard of the iMac, gave way.
Although the desktop range did not bring the expected design renewal, if we find ourselves in the summer with a 27-inch iMac to which a series of components were added that make it even more powerful than the iMac Pro launched in 2017.
Already in the month of November we find ourselves, now, with the first Macs with M1 chips . This nomenclature is the one used by the company to name its first own ARM processors for computers. The Macs revamped earlier this year (‘Mini’, ‘Air’ and ‘Pro’) have been the early adopters, getting really amazing performance results even for those who had the most hope of them. A good appetizer for a 2021 in which great things are expected from these processors.
The iPad Air dressed up as iPad Pro
2019 had been a blank year for Apple’s most powerful iPad range, but in 2020 it was time to see renewal. The iPad Pro of this generation brought with them the identical design to the previous ones, except for the integration of a double camera with a LiDAR sensor on the back. The processor is still the most powerful today, saving the M1.
However, the key to the new iPad came through software thanks to the complete integration of mice and trackpads, for which the company presented the so-called Magic Keyboard , a keyboard with an identical mechanism to its Mac namesake and that incorporates a trackpad converting the tablet in an excellent hybrid with computers.
The iPad Air is possibly the main star in this catalog, as it finally incorporated an “all screen” design reaching 10.9 inches and making it compatible with the same accessories as the 11-inch model of the iPad Pro. It was even added USB Type-C and an attractive range of colors to choose from.
The normal iPad , the one aimed at students, was also renewed . This eighth generation came to be a simple processor renovation jumping to an interesting A12 Bionic that gives it greater longevity at the software level and allows it to carry out heavy processes with more comfort than with the A10 that incorporated the previous generation model.
The Apple Watch is now for all audiences
After a somewhat decaffeinated Series 5 in 2019, this 2020 had to make a more relevant difference to the Apple Watch Series 6 and it was. Sensors capable of measuring the level of oxygen in the blood were added, an improvement in the brightness of the screen in sleep mode with the Always On Display and improvements in charging times, as well as the battery in general.
However, the star has been the Apple Watch SE , a more economical and attractive watch for all those public to whom health functions such as ECG or oxygen measurement do not seem tempting. At the aesthetic level it is the same as the Series 6 and incorporates the same chip as the Series 5 to offer fluidity in the system and guarantee its long useful life.
The year with the most new iPhones in history
Not one, not two and not even 3. Not even 4. 5 iPhone are the ones that Apple has launched in 2020! They began with the long-awaited renewal of the iPhone SE with a second generation that, while offering a classic Home button design, guaranteed the best possible experience with the A13 Bionic chip that at the beginning of the year was still Apple’s most advanced processor for an iPhone. Its economic price opened the door to a specific niche of the public.
However, the expected ones were the iPhone 12 . The normal model and that bears just that name was an improved version of the iPhone 11, with straight edges in the purest iPhone 4 style, with a new OLED screen and a double camera that improves what was seen the previous year. Identical to this in performance came the iPhone 12 mini , with a compact size and 5.4 inches to satisfy the hunger of lovers of compact phones. And above with 5G connectivity.
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max did come with changes in size compared to their predecessors, the ‘Pro’ model went from 5.8 inches to 6.1 inches, while the large one is the largest in history reaching 6.7 inches. A LiDAR sensor capable of improving photographs in modalities such as portrait was added and in the case of the ‘Max’ the size of the lenses was increased, offering an even more complete photography and video experience.
From ‘mini’ sound to ‘Max’ sound
After several years in which Apple has had to deal with fierce competition from inexpensive speakers from Amazon and Google, it presented the HomePod mini as a revolutionary speaker that despite its small size stands up to even the big ones, saving distances with the HomePod classic. Its price of 99 euros has also been a key factor in its arrival on the market.
And when no one expected an Apple launch anymore and 2020 was closed, at the beginning of this month of December the announcement of the AirPods Max came out through a press release . These, which had been rumored as AirPods Studio, come to bring the full Apple sound experience championing the new post-Beats era and with excellent features such as active noise cancellation that promises to put its competition in trouble.
The software also made its appearance
As is tradition, at WWDC 2020 Apple presented the new operating systems for its computers. iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS 11 Big Sur, watchOS 7 and tvOS 14 have brought interesting improvements to continue providing a unique user experience in the brand’s products.
Of all these, we are left with the change that macOS Big Sur brought, leaving behind the number ’10’ that had been with us for almost two decades since OS X. All this with an aesthetic change that equates these devices to the iPad and that opened the door to the aforementioned first Macs with the company’s own chips.
From iOS 14, he highlighted the arrival of widgets on any screen or the integration of the Apps Library in which to store those applications that we do not want to appear on any of the other screens.
Apple Fitness + completed the collection
iCloud, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple News + and Apple TV + are the services that the Californian company had been offering for some time now. This has now been joined by Apple Fitness + , a streaming sports training service that for now is only found in some countries, but that is the icing on the cake.
In order not to leave anyone behind and not to force them to pay too much, the company also launched Apple One subscription packages that include several of these services at a lower price than if they were contracted individually.
Apple’s best year?
To all these products were also added the now classic accessories such as iPhone cases, Apple Watch straps and others. All this forming a set that has ended up giving Apple record figures of income worthy of study at such a complex time for the world economy after the health alert. Some launches suffered delays and who knows if perhaps something was left in the pipeline precisely because of this pandemic, but it is clear that in Cupertino they must be fully satisfied with everything they have been launching. And you? What assessment do you make of this 2020 Apple?