Apple Reveals New MacBook Air, iPad Pro and Mac mini

Apple has officially kicked off its Oct. 30 media briefing at the Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, NY, where it took the wraps off of a slew of products including a MacBook Air with Retina Display as well as a revamped iPad Pro.

Looking to catch up on all the big announcements? Here's everything you missed.

MacBook Air with Retina Display

After years of lying dormant, the MacBook Air is officially back. The refreshed Air will finally get a 13.3-inch Retina Display, as well as a slew of updated internals including 8th-gen dual-core processors and up to 16GB of RAM. The new Air's 2050 x 1060 display touts four times the resolution of the previous model, offering a whopping 4 million pixels. The design is even thinner, sporting 17 percent less overall volume compared to the previous Air and weighing just 2.75 pounds.

MORE: Apple Unveils New MacBook Air with Retina Display for $1,199

The sleek new machine will pack two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and will come in a variety of colors including silver and gold. The laptop will support Touch ID built right into the keyboard for fingerprint logins, packs Apple's T2 security chip and will sport a top-facing FaceTime camera despite its very slim bezels.

Apple says the new Air's improved keyboard offers four times the stability over the previous generation for a "more precise, responsive typing experience." You can also expect a Force Touch trackpad that's 20 percent larger. The Air is built to offer 12 hours of wireless web browsing, and 13 hours of iTunes video playback.

The new MacBook Air will launch Nov. 7 starting at $1199, and is available for pre-order now.

iPad Pro

Apple is launching a brand-new iPad Pro, which sports a thinner, revamped design, slimmer bezels and a 11-inch and 12.9-inch Liquid Retina display options. The tablet offers magnetic charging support for Apple Pencil, a USB-C port, and a speedy A12X processor that promises twice the graphics performance over previous models, better AR quality and up to 10 hours of battery life.

MORE: New iPad Pro: All-Screen, Face ID and Xbox-Level Graphics

The new iPad Pro finally adopts the Apple's Face ID functionality for instant logins, which will work in both portrait and landscape modes. And like on recent iPhones, these new features come at the expense of a physical home button and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Apple's refreshed iPad Pro will launch alongside a revamped Apple Pencil, which attaches magnetically to the tablet for charging and pairing and can perform a variety of functions with a quick tap. Apple is also launching a refreshed Smart Folio Keyboard, which promises more flexible angles for typing.

The new iPad Pro starts at $799 for the 11-inch model, and $999 for the 12.5-inch version. Both will be available Nov. 7.

The older 10.5-inch model will continue to be available for a cheaper $649.

Mac Mini

Speaking of products that are long overdue for a refresh, the Mac Mini is back. The new Mac mini sports up to a more powerful 6-core processor, up to 64GB of RAM, and a myraid of ports including four Thunderbolt 3 connections and up to 10GB Ethernet support. It's also the first Mac mini to use all flash storage. Config options include up to a Core i7 CPU and up to 2TB RAM.

MORE: Apple Updates the Mac mini for 2018

The new Mac mini launches on Nov. 7 starting at $799.

Michael Andronico
Editor
A devout gamer and tech enthusiast, Mike Andronico joined the Laptop team in July 2013. With a B.A. in Journalism from Purchase College and experience at GameNGuide, Examiner and 2D-X, Mike tackles everything from iPhone rumors to in-depth hardware reviews.