Apple Inc has said it will add a 15-inch MacBook Air to the company’s lineup, powered by an Apple-designed M2 processor chip. The laptop with six speakers will start at $1,299 and be available next week. The 13-inch MacBook Air will drop to $1,099. Apple updated its Mac Studio desktop machine, saying its new M2 Ultra chip can process artificial intelligence work that rival chips do not have enough memory to handle.
Apple also introduced a new version of the Mac Pro, its highest-performing desktop, with an M2 Ultra chip. Until Monday, the Mac Pro was the last computer in Apple’s lineup that still used an Intel chip. Apple’s Mac lineup has experienced a revival since it started using its own chips in 2020, but in recent quarters sales have slumped along with the broader PC market. The big highlight of the day is expected to be Apple unveiling a mixed-reality headset, its first big move into a new product category since the introduction of the Apple Watch nine years ago. The launch will see Apple test a market crowded with devices that have yet to gain traction with consumers and put it in direct competition with Facebook-owner Meta Platforms.