By : Apple unveils new $4,000 Mac Studio with an M1 Ultra chip, along with refreshed iPhone SE and iPad Air
Apple Inc. kicked off its first product event of 2022 by launching a new version of its iPhone SE device and announcing that it will begin exclusively broadcasting Major League Baseball games on Friday nights.
At a product event broadcast from Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., campus on Tuesday, Chief Executive Tim Cook announced the new iPhone SE will have Apple’s
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A15 Bionic chip, the same one that’s featured in the iPhone 13. The chip promises performance improvements as it speeds up processing and battery efficiency.
Apple is also bringing 5G to the iPhone SE line for the first time, after bringing this connectivity to its main iPhone line back in late 2020. The iPhone SE is Apple’s lower-cost iPhone.
The phone has a glass and aluminum design and a 4.7-inch display. It will come in three color options: midnight, starlight, and red. Unlike other iPhones, the iPhone SE will have a fingerprint sensor.
The starting price is $429 and preorders will kick off Friday. The device officially becomes available March 18.
Apple is also adding new green color options for its iPhone 13 and 13 Pro models.
Cook also announced that Apple has secured broadcasting rights for Major League Baseball, though the professional baseball league is currently in a labor lockout that is expected to delay the beginning of the season. Big Tech companies have been trying to secure sports-broadcasting rights, with Alphabet Inc.’s
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YouTube broadcasting select MLB games last season and Amazon.com Inc.
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broadcasting the National Football League’s Thursday Night Football offering last season.
Apple was reportedly bidding for a package of weekday MLB games earlier this year, after The Walt Disney Co.’s
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ESPN decided to not broadcast games on weekdays in a new deal with the league. ESPN is focusing on its Sunday Night Baseball offering, according to the reporting.
Apple said in a news release that the games will be available without a subscription “for a limited time” in eight countries: the U.S., Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the UK. The company plans to expand to other countries, and will launch a live show on weeknights called “MLB Big Inning” that will offer live coverage of MLB in the U.S., as well as a channel for subscribers in U.S. and Canada that will offer game replays, commentary, highlights and other offerings.
