We share a list of some of the latest Apple products available on the market
Unlike most tech companies apple only does two big product launches a year. Around mid-year it announces software, iPads and computers, but the big product bonanza, including the iPhone unveiling, happens later in the year. This event can feel like a tornado of speeds and feeds, colours and contours, but this helpful guide will help you figure it all out.
iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max
There’s no doubt that the iPhone 14 Pro is where the serious upgrades are for Apple’s smartphone series in 2022. It has an upgraded A16 Bionic processor, an improved camera system, and the first always-on display on an iPhone.
Finally, the notch has gone on the iPhone 14 Pro. It’s been replaced by a pill-shaped cut-out that Apple is calling the Dynamic Island which takes up less screen space and can be extended to show notifications. Apple says the triple-lens rear camera setup, with a new 48 megapixel sensor, is three times better in low-light situations.
The 6.1-inch display is the brightest yet and even the selfie camera has been upgraded with a better autofocus system. The Pro Max model is basically the same phone, but with a bigger 6.7-inch screen.
iPhone Pro (128GB) R27000
iPhone Pro Max (128GB) R29500
iPhone 14 and Plus
You could be forgiven for being somewhat disappointed by what the iPhone 14 has to offer in comparison with the Pro model: there’s no fancy Dynamic Island cut-out at the top of the screen, and the rear camera module isn’t nearly as advanced although there are improvements over the cameras on the iPhone 13.
What’s more, the iPhone 14 sticks with the same A15 Bionic processor as its predecessor although, technically, that is already well overpowered for most users. The display size stays at 6.1 inches but the rear camera system has been upgraded to reduce noise in photos and offer faster exposure times, and there’s a new action mode for video that reduces camera shake.
In terms of design its identical to the iPhone 13 although the colours have been tweaked: you can pick the phone up in blue, purple, black, white and red. The Plus model is basically the same phone, but with the bigger 6.7-inch screen.
The Pro Max and Plus models, sporting the bigger 6.7-inch screens also create room for much bigger batteries, so you’ll easily get through a full day on a single charge.
iPhone (128GB) R21000
iPhone Plus (128GB) R24500
AirPods Pro 2
It’s taken a while to get to the second generation of AirPods, but the Pro 2 buds look to have been worth the wait. Apple says the Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency features are now better than ever, meaning that the earbuds should be smarter at blocking out the outside world or allowing through selected sounds, and that the bass and audio clarity has been improved.
Then there’s Personalised Spatial Audio mode, which positions you in the middle of the musicians’ performance and you can tune this feature to your preferences on the phone. These upgrades are all down to the new H2 chip fitted inside the AirPods Pro 2, enabling better on-board processing.
Battery life has been improved too: you get 90 minutes more than the original Airpods Pro. The charging case gets a few improvements as well. It’s sweat and water resistant and will beep more loudly when you’re trying to locate it with your iPhone.
R5500
Watch Ultra
This watch grabbed all the attention this year: it’s Apple’s tougher, longer lasting, bigger, more powerful smartwatch, and it’s going up directly against the likes of Garmin in the outdoor watch market.
It’s also going to cost you more money as well, but you might consider the price worth paying for everything you get. At 49mm it’s significantly larger on the wrist than the Apple Watch 8, and it’s made from aerospace-grade titanium, with a brighter screen that’s easier to see in sunny conditions.
There’s also an additional button on the side, which you can customise to link to a particular action, saving you tapping at the screen. It even has upgraded GPS, too.
R 20 000
Apple Watch 8
Apple did launch other wearables in 2022. The regular Watch 8 verges on plain boring. There’s no redesign, just some new colours and straps, a small speed boost and more battery life. The more affordable Watch SE 2 loses the temperature sensor, has a smaller screen and less battery life.
Watch 8 R10 000
Watch SE2 R6300
Apple Silicon MI and M2
In 2020, when Apple announced it would make its own computer processors, it seemed overly ambitious. But it ultimately delivered what is now regarded as Apple’s most technologically advanced product for over a decade.
The first M1 chipset was wildly impressive, crushing all competitors for pure horsepower in video rendering and most other tasks, and all that while using less power and needing no noisy fans to keep things cool.
The M1 gradually rolled out into laptops and desktops and then into iPads too. The M1 Pro and M1 Max added a performance boost of up to 70% over the standard Ml, depending on the task, while speeding up graphics processing dramatically.
The first M1 Ultra, which combined two M1 chips, appeared in the Mac Studio, and then the M2 turned up in the MacBook Air and Pro, bringing more processing power while using less energy and extending laptop battery life.
Mac Studio
Only those with serious computing requirements need apply here: the Mac Studio is a beast of a desktop machine, looking like several Mac Minis stacked on top of each other (and with the performance to match).
The fact that you can configure this to cost a little less than £8k tells you all you need to know about the Mac Studio. It features the best M1 Ultra chipsets around, comes packed with connection ports, and is a serious contender for the best computer that Apple has ever put out, let alone the best of 2022. It costs a lot of course – and that’s without a keyboard, mouse or monitor included – but it’s also absolutely worth the price of admission.
R46000
MacBook Air M2
It’s been 12 years since Steve Jobs slid the first MacBook Air out of a vanilla envelope, and the 2022 version of the laptop continues to impress with its thinness and its lightness. It’s also super-powerful these days too, thanks to the brand new M2 chipset inside it, part of the ongoing Apple Silicon revolution.
For those who don’t need Pro-level power or a huge display, the M2 MacBook Air is the ideal pick, especially if you prefer macOS (which itself keeps on getting better and better). This time around it’s been given a modern redesign (with an increase in display size along the way) and an improved webcam, while the long, long battery life is once again sensational.
R26000
MacBook Pro M2
Apple has begun fitting its MacBook Pros with the M2 chip, with the 13-inch model the first to get it this year. That M2 CPU means both performance and battery life are excellent, and this is a laptop that’s super-quiet too — even under demanding workloads, the MacBook Pro M2 manages to not break a sweat.
We are a bit surprised to see the design from the previous iteration retained however, Touch Bar and all, and it feels a little bit like this is a stopgap between generations: the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros feature fresh looks, though they don’t yet have the M2 chip. But it certainly hits the sweet spot for portability and performance in a MacBook right now.
R28000
iPad Air 5
The iPad seems such a simple device and yet Android manufacturers have struggled to compete. The iPad Air neatly fills the gap between the entry-level iPad and the high-end iPad Pro that costs more than a laptop. The 10.9-inch slate includes the arrival of Stage Manager with iOS 16, letting you resize windows on the iPad for the first time.
It features the blazingly fast Apple M1 chip under the hood combined with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of on-board storage.
Add in a keyboard and the Apple Pencil, and the iPad Air 5 becomes an even more powerful and versatile machine than before, and something close to a true laptop replacement. It’s difficult to think of many phone, tablet or computer tasks that you can’t breeze through with the iPad Air 5 at your fingertips, and — as you would expect from the fifth generation of a device — it’s a polished and refined experience in terms of both its hardware and its software.
Perhaps the only criticism you can level at the iPad Air 5 is that it’s a bit closer than it should be to the pricing for the 11-inch iPad Pro.
R13200
iPhone SE (3rd Gen)
Apple’s most affordable and most compact phone continues to attract buyers — for its compactness, and low price, obviously — and its worth bearing in mind that the same iOS software and apps run on both the iPhone SE and the flagship iPhones that cost up to three or four times as much.
While the design hasn’t changed much when it comes to the 2022 version of the handset, the internal components are now much faster, and the small phone has gained 5G connectivity as well. With a very capable camera and plenty of storage available, you need a good reason or two to spend any more on an iPhone, and the iPhone SE looks set to continue for a few more generations yet.
R11000
