iPad Air (original, WiFi+Cellular, 2013)

When the iPad Air was released, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, commented:

“…the new iPad Air is another big leap ahead. It is so thin, light and powerful, once you hold one in your hand you will understand what a tremendous advancement this is. iPad Air with its 9.7-inch Retina display weighs just one pound and packs the incredible performance of iOS 7 running on a 64-bit desktop-class Apple A7 chip, and delivers all-day battery life in the lightest full-sized tablet in the world.”

Apple described the iPad Air as 20% thinner and 28% lighter than the iPad Generation 4 (the base iPad at the time).

The iPad Air had many available configurations with 2 colors (Space Gray and Silver), 2 wireless connectivity options (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+Cellular), and 4 storage capacities (16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB). This model is Space Gray, has Wi-Fi+Cellular, and 16GB of storage.

The iPad Air is 9.4 inches (240 mm) wide x 6.6 inches (169.5 mm) tall, and 0.29 inch (7.5 mm) thick. It weighed 1.05 pounds (478 g). Its Retina Display was 9.7 inches with 2048 x 1536 resolution (at 264ppi).

Wireless technologies included Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, and this model allowed cellular service including LTE.

The front camera was a 1.2 Megapixel FaceTime HD Camera that could record 720p HD video. The back camera was a 5 Megapixel iSight Camera with features including autofocus, face detection, tap to focus, tap to control exposure, geotagging, and HDR.

Sources: Apple, (Newsroom, Tech Specs), EveryMac

Apple Watch Series 7 (45mm, Silver Stainless Steel, California Poppy Leather Link band, 2021)

The Apple Watch Series 7 is similar to the Series 6 that preceded it, but has a larger, edge-to-edge display, a more durable case, and faster charging capabilities. Like all previous Apple Watch models, the Series 7 uses Apple’s Digital Crown and a touch display with haptic feedback. Apple described the Series 7 as having “a reengineered Always-On Retina display with significantly more screen area and thinner borders.”

The Series 7 introduced two new sizes, 45mm and 41mm. This example uses the 45mm display. The display is a 396×484 LTPO OLED and is “Always On.” The display is protected by Apple’s Sapphire crystal that adds durability.

The cellular-equipped Apple Watch Series 7 models were available as an option with the aluminum colors and standard with stainless and titanium models. The cellular Apple Watch models can connect to the Internet without an iPhone (non-cellular models can answer phone calls if an iPhone is “tethered” and in range). Cellular models require an add-on cellular data service obtained through your cellular provider that links your iPhone number to the Watch and costs approximately $10 per month.

Apple described the color choices:

“Apple Watch Series 7 introduces five beautiful new aluminum case finishes, including midnight, starlight, green, and a new blue and (PRODUCT)RED, along with a range of new band colors and styles. Stainless steel models are available in silver, graphite, and gold stainless steel, along with Apple Watch Edition in titanium and space black titanium.”

The Apple Watch Series 7 has a ceramic and sapphire crystal back. Upon release, Apple offered eleven pre-configured options:

  • Green Aluminum with Clover Sport Band
  • Starlight Aluminum with Starlight Sport Band
  • Midnight Aluminum with Midnight Sport Band
  • Blue Aluminum with Abyss Blue Sport Band
  • (PRODUCT)RED Aluminum with Red Sport Band
  • Gold Stainless Steel with Dark Cherry Sport Band
  • Gold Stainless Steel with Gold Milanese Loop
  • Silver Stainless Steel with Starlight Sport Band
  • Silver Stainless Steel with Silver Milanese Loop
  • Graphite Stainless Steel with Abyss Blue Sport Loop
  • Graphite Stainless Steel with Graphite Milanese Loop

Two aluminum Apple Watch Series 7 Nike options were available at release as pre-configured options:

  • Starlight Aluminum with Platinum/Black Sport Band
  • Midnight Aluminum with Anthracite/Black Sport Band

Two Apple Watch Series 7 Hermès options were available at release:

  • Space Black Stainless Steel case with patterned blue and black leather Circuit H Single Tour Band
  • Silver Stainless Steel case with brown leather Single Tour Deployment Buckle

In addition to the included Hermès-designed bands, Apple Watch Series 7 Hermès devices with black housings include a black Hermes Sport Band and models with silver housings include an orange Hermes Sport Band.

This silver stainless steel 45mm example shipped with a Starlight Sport Band. It is shown here with a California Poppy Leather Link band.

Sources: Apple, EveryMac

iPad Pro 11-inch (Generation 3, Wi-Fi, 128GB, 2021)

The Generation 3, 11-inch iPad Pro appears the same externally as its two predecessors, but uses Apple’s significantly faster M1 chip and adds an enhanced front camera. This iPad Pro featured an Apple M1 chip with an 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores along with a 16-core Neural Engine. The iPad Pro website boasts that this model is “Supercharged by the Apple M1 chip” with “Mind-blowing performance.”

Apple adds:

“With M1, iPad Pro is the fastest device of its kind. It’s designed to take full advantage of next‑level performance and custom technologies like the advanced image signal processor and unified memory architecture of M1. And with the incredible power efficiency of M1, iPad Pro is still thin and light with all‑day battery life, making it as portable as it is powerful.”

This iPad Pro 11-inch uses an LED-backlit 2388×1668 Liquid Retina display (264 ppi, 600 nits) with a thin black bezel with rounded corners and flat sides. This iPad is Space Gray, and it was also available in Silver. This 128GB models used 8GB RAM (as did the 256 and 512 GB options, while the 1 and 2 TB models used 16 GB of RAM).

This iPad Pro included a USB-C port (Thunderbolt/USB 4) for charging and wired connectivity. Wireless connectivity included 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. Cellular models were also available.

The 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera was the first iPad camera to offer the Center Stage feature that automatically keeps people in the camera frame by zooming and panning. Its two rear cameras included a 12-megapixel wide angle and a 10-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens.

Like iPhone Pro models of the time, this iPad Pro also included LiDAR and Face ID. It could also use a Generation 2 Apple Pencil that charged using a magnetic connection on the side of the iPad. A similar iPad Pro with a 12.9-inch screen was sold at the same time as this 11-inch model.

Sources: Apple, EveryMac

iPad 10.2-inch packaging (Generation 8, Wi-Fi + Cellular, 2020)

This packaging set shipped with the iPad Generation 8 with Wi-Fi + Cellular. This entry-level iPad had a 10.2-inch touch screen and included the optional cellular network service. According to Apple:

“The new iPad combines tremendous capability with unmatched ease of use and versatility. With the powerful A12 Bionic chip, support for Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard, and the amazing new things you can do with iPadOS 14, now there’s even more to love about iPad.”

The packaging included a cardboard envelope, a 4-page pamphlet with a color diagram of the iPad’s basic features, a 2-sided safety guide, a cardboard insert with an attached metal SIM-eject tool, and two white Apple stickers.

Source: Apple (iPad, Press Release)

Apple Watch Series 4 (cellular, 44 mm, stainless steel case with white Sport Band, 2018)

The Apple Watch Series 4 was the first major redesign of the Apple Watch family and added several important functions, including health-related features. The display was over 30% larger and filled the entire screen with curved corners, it added more advanced input capabilities, more powerful processing, and more advanced sensors. This model also included GPS and cellular service for use in the United States and Canada.

Like all cellular-capable Apple Watch Series 4 models, this watch could connect to the Internet without an iPhone and send and receive phone calls with an activated cellular service. It was controlled with a Digital Crown with haptic feedback and Force Touch.

This Apple Watch Series 4 model is 44 mm (previous Apple Watch models were 38 mm and 42 mm) with a 368×448 OLED screen. This stainless steel case model used a sapphire crystal to cover the display. All Series 4 models used a ceramic and sapphire crystal back to connect to the wireless charger.

The Apple Watch Series 4 shipped with “revolutionary health capabilities, including a new accelerometer and gyroscope, which are able to detect hard falls, and an electrical heart rate sensor that can take an electrocardiogram (ECG) using the new ECG app.” When announced on September 12, 2018, the ECG feature was not available until it was released on December 6, 2018, through an iOS update.

The ECG feature on Apple Watch Series 4 marked “the first direct-to-consumer product that enables customers to take an electrocardiogram right from their wrist, capturing heart rhythm in a moment when they experience symptoms like a rapid or skipped heart beat and helping to provide critical data to physicians. The irregular rhythm notification feature on Apple Watch can now also occasionally check heart rhythms in the background and send a notification if an irregular heart rhythm that appears to be atrial fibrillation (AFib) is identified.”

In addition, a new accelerometer and gyroscope could detect falls and automatically call 911.

There were 12 different options for this particular Apple Watch Series 4 model:

  • silver aluminum case with white Sport Band
  • silver aluminum case with seashell (gray) Sport Loop
  • gold aluminum case with Pink Sand Sport Band
  • gold aluminum case with Pink Sand Sport Loop
  • space gray aluminum case with black Sport Band
  • space gray aluminum case with black Sport Loop
  • silver stainless steel case with white Sport Band (this Apple Watch)
  • silver stainless steel case with silver Milanese loop
  • space black stainless steel case with black Sport Band
  • space black stainless steel case with black Milanese loop
  • gold stainless steel case with stone Sport Band
  • gold stainless steel case with gold Milanese loop

Source: EveryMac.com, Apple.com (announcement, ECG)

Apple Watch Series 3 Nike+ (42mm, silver aluminum case with Bright Crimson/Black Nike Sport Band, 2017)

The Apple Watch Series 3 models had a faster processor and added GPS, a barometric altimeter, and Siri support. This Apple Watch Series 3 is a Nike+ 42 mm model that included GPS and cellular capabilities in United States/Canada, allowing it to send and receive phone calls and access the Internet without an iPhone. This was the first Apple Watch series with this capability. The cellular Apple Watch Series 3 models added a red dot to the Digital Crown.

This Apple Watch had a 312×390 OLED screen and included exclusive Nike watch faces, a built-in Nike+ Run Club app, and audio guided runs featuring the voice of a Nike+ Run Club coach.

Four different options were available for this specific Apple Watch Series 3 Nike+ cellular model:

  • silver aluminum case with Pure Platinum/Black Nike Sport Band
  • space gray aluminum case with Anthracite/Black Nike Sport Band
  • silver aluminum case with Bright Crimson/Black Nike Sport Band
  • space gray aluminum case with a Black/Pure Platinum Nike Sport Loop

This Watch is the silver aluminum case with Bright Crimson/Black Nike Sport Band.

Source: EveryMac.com

iPad (Generation 3, cellular, 32 GB, white, 2012) with iPad Smart Case (green)

The iPad Generation 3 was significantly more powerful than the two previous iPad models and introduced the “Retina” display, a 9.7-inch multitouch screen at 2048×1536 (264 ppi). Internally it used a dual-core 1 GHz Apple A5X processor with quad core graphics; 1 GB of RAM; 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage; a rear-mounted 5 megapixel iSight camera (1080p); a front-mounted FaceTime camera; 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0.

This specific iPad model supported 4G LTE connectivity on Verizon’s network in the US.

According to Cult of Mac, the iPad Generation 3 had the “shortest lifespan of any iPad in history. Apple debuted the fourth-gen model just 221 days after the iPad 3 went on sale. The iPad 4 added the Lightning connector, making the iPad 3 the last iPad to support the old 30-pin dock connector.”

The Smart Case for was made of polyurethane and fit several iPad models including iPad 2 (2nd generation), iPad (3rd generation), and iPad with retina display. The Smart Case offered full protection and the cover was magnetic so when the case was open the iPad woke up and automatically went to sleep when closed.

The interior of the case was made of a soft, color-matched microfiber lining that helped keep the display clean. By folding the cover into a triangle, Apple advertised the case positions as a “FaceTime and movie stand” while upright and a keyboard stand to “tilt iPad into a comfortable typing position” when flat.

Sources: EveryMac.com, Cult of Mac