Apple launches new MacBook Air – and cuts price

New laptop arrives alongside updated Mac Studio, and a day after new iPads

(Apple)

Apple has launched a new MacBook Air – and cut its price.

The new computer comes with Apple’s latest M4 processor as well as an upgraded camera. That will make the computer faster and also mean that it can use Apple’s “Center Stage” technology, which allows the camera to follow people around the room.

But most notable is perhaps the new price: it will now start at $999, or the same in pounds. That is $100 less than the previous version.

The new update also came alongside updated versions of the Mac Studio, which Apple calls the “most powerful Mac ever”. It will now come with the M4 Max, and also the M3 Ultra.

Previously, Apple has offered four versions of each generation of its chips: a base model, a Max, a Pro and an Ultra. This time around, Apple does not seem to have released an Ultra version of its highest-end chip, and the new Mac Studio gets a chip that is a generation old.

Some reports have suggested that the M4 Ultra might be saved for an upcoming Mac Pro. That computer has recently taken a slightly odd position in Apple’s line-up, since it has the same basic specs and performance as the much cheaper Mac Studio.

The new update to the MacBook Air comes a day after Apple released updates to the base version of the iPad as well as the iPad Air, on Tuesday. On Monday, Tim Cook had teased new “air” products coming this week – and the MacBook Air update means that the company has now revamped all the products with that branding.