iPad (Generation 6, 2018)

The iPad Generation 6 was considered Apple’s “base” iPad when it was released on March 27, 2018. It was offered in Silver, Gold, and Space Gray. It was available in 32GB and 128GB configurations with Wi-Fi-only or with Wi-Fi+Cellular capabilities. This example is a 32GB Space Gray Wi-Fi-only model.

This iPad was announced in Chicago at an education-focused event at Lane Tech High School. An Apple Press Release stated:

“The new 9.7-inch iPad and Apple Pencil give users the ability to be even more creative and productive, from sketching ideas and jotting down handwritten notes to marking up screenshots. The new iPad is more versatile and capable than ever, features a large Retina display, the A10 Fusion chip and advanced sensors that help deliver immersive augmented reality, and provides unmatched portability, ease of use and all-day battery life.”

The iPad generation 6 used a 9.7-inch LED-backlit Multi-Touch Retina display at 2048 x 1536-pixel resolution (264 ppi). This iPad measured 9.4 inches (240 mm) x 6.6 inches (169.5 mm), and was 0.29 inch (7.5 mm) thick. It weighed 1.03 pounds (469 g). This iPad was powered by the A10 Fusion chip.

The back camera was 8 Megapixels with features such as Autofocus, Panorama (up to 43 megapixels), and HDR. The front FaceTime HD Camera was 1.2 Megapixels.

This iPad used five sensors including a 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, and an ambient light sensor. Its Home button included the Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor.

This was the first base-model iPad to support the Apple Pencil and the Logitech Crayon, and it originally shipped with iOS 12.

Source: Apple (Tech Specs, Newsroom)

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)

At the time of its release, the MacBook Pro 15-inch with Retina Display was a solid “Pro” choice, but an iterative update from its predecessor with no new design elements, major features, or new technologies. This MacBook Pro used Intel’s Core i7 “Haswell/Crystalwell” processor with four cores. This example is the 2.0GHz model, and a 2.3GHz was also available.

The 15.4-inch Retina Display was LED-backlit display with 2880 x 1800 resolution (220ppi). The laptop measured 0.71 inch (1.8 cm) thick, and 14.13 inches (35.89 cm) wide x 9.73 inches (24.71 cm) tall. It weighed 4.46 pounds (2.02 kg).

According to Apple, the physical ports included:

  • MagSafe 2 power port
  • 2 Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps)
  • 2 USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps)
  • HDMI port
  • Headphone port
  • SDXC card slot

Wireless technologies included 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0.

The full-size keyboard was backlit and used an ambient light sensor. Apple advertised the battery life as 8 hours, and it charged using an 85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter.

Sources: Apple, EveryMac

iPhone (original, 8 GB, 2007)

The original iPhone was officially announced on January 9, 2007, and was released on June 29, 2007. The original iPhone was available in 4, and 8 GB capacities, with a 16 GB capacity released on February 5, 2008.

The original iPhone introduced the “multi-touch” display that allowed control by dragging one or more fingers across the glass display, although no interface controls required multiple fingers in the iPhone OS 1.0. This iPhone has sensors including an accelerometer (to detect landscape or portrait orientation), an ambient light sensor (to control screen brightness), and a proximity sensor (to turn off the display when held to the ear).

Other features included Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0, and a 2.0 megapixel camera. The case is 2.4 inches by 4.5 inches, is 0.46-inch thick, and weighs 4.8 ounces.

This example is in somewhat rough shape cosmetically, but still functions perfectly. It includes the charging base station that shipped with the original iPhone.

Sources: EveryMac

Magic Trackpad (original, 2010)

Apple’s Magic Trackpad was made of glass and aluminum and was announced on July 27, 2010. It used a matching design and angle to the Apple Wireless Keyboard, and the two devices could sit side by side and function well together. The Magic Trackpad release corresponded to an update of the iMac line of desktop computers and could be ordered along with a new iMac as a Mouse replacement.

Apple described the Magic Trackpad:

“The Magic Trackpad brings the intuitive Multi-Touch gestures of Mac notebook trackpads to the desktop. With its glass surface, the wireless Magic Trackpad enables users to scroll smoothly up and down a page with inertial scrolling, pinch to zoom in and out, rotate an image with their fingertips and swipe three fingers to flip through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Trackpad can be configured to support single button or two button commands and supports tap-to-click as well as a physical click.”

The Magic Trackpad used a Bluetooth connection and was powered by two AA batteries.

This version of the Magic Trackpad was replaced with the Magic Trackpad 2, released on October 13, 2015.

Sources: Apple, Wikipedia

MacBook Pro 15-inch (Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz, early 2008)

This MacBook Pro 15-inch laptop was released in early 2008 with an identical case design as its predecessor. It shipped with a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo (Penryn) processor and 2 GB of 667 MHz SDRAM. It contained a 200 GB hard drive and 8X DVD RW/CD-RW SuperDrive. The display was an LED-backlit 15.4-inch widescreen at 1440×900 resolution.

Although the external case did not change from the “Santa Rosa” processor version of the laptop that preceded it, the keyboard design removed the numeric keypad accessed using the fn (function) key and replaced the right-side enter key with an additional option key, the same laptop keyboard layout still in use now (as of February 2020). This MacBook Pro also used the same trackpad design as the MacBook Air of the time, adding multi-touch gestures.

Ports on this MacBook Pro included an ExpressCard slot, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 400, Firewire 800, two USB 2.0 ports, optical digital audio in/out, and DVI out. Wireless connections included AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1. It also included an iSight video camera and MagSafe power connector, both standard at the time.

When I acquired this laptop, its battery had burst while installed in the laptop. The battery failure caused the battery to bow in the center and it was lodged in the case. Using a few iFixIt spatula tools, I was able to extract it safely and then properly dispose of the ruptured battery.

Source: EveryMac

iPod touch Generation 2 (8 GB, 2008)

The iPod touch Generation 2 is similar in features to the iPhone 3G, but lacks phone features, mobile phone networking, GPS, and a camera. While the back of the iPod touch Generation 2 is made of stainless steel (instead of plastic), its shape is similar to the iPhone 3G.

The iPod touch Generation 2 featured a multi-touch 3.5-inch display with 320×480 resolution, an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), and 8, 16, or 32 GB of flash memory.

Compared to the original iPod touch, the Generation 2 model adds external volume controls on the left side of the device, an integrated speaker, external microphone (supported via the Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic), support for the Nike+iPod Sport Kit, a Genius feature to dynamically create playlists, and shaking the device to shuffle songs.

Source: EveryMac.com