Apple One More Thing event: Five key takeaways

San Francisco - The MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini will integrate Apple's new M1 chip which delivers improved battery life.

Apple Inc on Tuesday announced three new computers with its own microprocessor chip, called the M1, as it starts to move away from its long-time partner Intel Corp.

Apple, which has used Intel chips in its computers since 2006, had said in June it would make Macs with its own new "Apple Silicon" chips.

The M1 chip is expected to improve battery life, be faster and more efficient, and will run on the latest version of Mac operating system, Big Sur.

The Cupertino, California-based company said it would release the latest MacOS on November 12, but did not announce any other devices in Apple's third event in two months.

Here are five key announcements from the event:

APPLE SILICON DUBBED M1

Apple's chip, called the M1, is built using a 5-nanometer processor technology and is packed with 16 billion transistors, the most the company has ever put into a chip. It will be used in three of its devices.

NEW MINI

The entry-level desktop computer, Mac mini, will come with the latest M1 chip that has an 8-core CPU in its familiar 7.7-inch silver aluminum square design. Its price starts at $699 (Dh2,567).

MACBOOK AIR

Apple also launched a 13-inch MacBook Air with the new chip, starting at $999 (Dh3,669) and with a battery life of up to 18 hours, the longest ever for the sleek wedge-shaped notebook that has not radically changed its form-factor since founder Steve Jobs removed it from a manila envelope in the 2008 launch event.

PRO WITH THE LONGEST CHARGE

Its new 13-inch MacBook Pro will have a starting price of $1,299 (Dh4,771) and will have a battery life of 20 hours in a single charge, promising to deliver up to twice the battery life of the previous generation using the latest chip.

The three new computers will be available for pre-order from Tuesday and will begin arriving to customers starting next week.

NEW SOFTWARE

The new Macs will come with Big Sur, the latest version of its desktop operating system. It will let iPhone and iPad apps to run directly on the Mac. The update will be available to eligible device owners beginning Thursday.