HomePod (white, 2017)

Apple described the HomePod a “breakthrough wireless speaker for the home that delivers amazing audio quality.” HomePod can be controlled using Siri, “with an array of six microphones…users can interact with it from across the room, even while loud music is playing.”

HomePod’s features include an upward-facing woofer, a custom A8 chip, seven beam-forming tweeters (each with an independent amplifier), automatic room-sensing technology to optimize sound, and a six-microphone array with advanced echo cancellation. When Siri is in use, a multicolor waveform appears on the top of the HomePod using a round 272×340 display. In addition, touch controls are also available on the top of the HomePod.

The HomePod was available in white and space gray. Inside, the HomePod was powered by a 1.4 GHz Apple A8 processor and used 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0.

The device runs an operating system that Apple refers to as audioOS (based upon iOS). The audioOS is specifically designed for the HomePod to play audio, run Siri, and control the custom round screen.

When the HomePod was announced in February 2018, multi-speaker support was demonstrated, but the feature was not released until September 2018 along with AirPlay 2. The September 2018 update also added support for multiple timers, Find my Phone, Siri short-cuts, phone calls (while in proximity to iPhone), and music search by lyrics.

I am a fan of the HomePod. I use two in my living room as my primary way of accessing Apple Music and controlling smart home devices. I also added a single HomePod to my bedroom.

Sources: EveryMac.com, Apple.com, Wikipedia.com

iPad Pro (12.9-inch, Wi-Fi, 2015) with Smart Keyboard for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2015) and Apple Pencil (original, 2015)

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro was powered by an Apple A9X processor and had 4 GB of RAM; 32, 128, or 256 GB of storage; a rear-mounted 8 megapixel iSight camera (1080p); a front-mounted 1.2 megapixel FaceTime HD camera (720p); 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.2; dual microphones; two sets of stereo speakers; and a Lightning port. The screen was a 12.9-inch TFT touch-sensitive Retina display with 5.6 million pixels (2732×2048 at 264 ppi) and included an antireflective coating. A cellular-equipped model was also available.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro was available in silver with a white front, gold with a white front, and space gray with a black front. This model is space gray.

This iPad Pro included a new Smart Connector that provided connectivity and power for the Apple Smart Keyboard.

The Apple Pencil was announced with this first-generation iPad Pro on September 9, 2015. The Pencil could be used with the first and second generation iPad Pro models. It connected wirelessly using Bluetooth and had a removable cap that concealed a Lightning connector for charging. It used pressure sensitivity and angle detection and had very low latency, making it function like a real pencil with no delay.

Sources: EveryMac.com, Wikipedia.com

Mac mini (Late 2014)

The Mac mini Late 2014 included a Core i5 “Haswell” 2.6 GHz Intel processor (with two independent cores on a single chip), 8 GB of SDRAM, and a 1 TB hard drive. Ports included two Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 4.0, and an SDXC card slot.

This and all Mac mini systems ship without a display, keyboard, or mouse. This model’s case is primarily aluminum with a black plastic back and base.

All Mac mini systems I have owned have served as my iTunes server allowing access to iTunes music/Apple Music, streaming video content, saved digital movies, and other media. This was the first Mac mini I owned with a direct HDMI connection to my primary home TV (others used VGA and DVI connections).

Source: EveryMac.com

iPad (original, Wi-Fi, 32 GB, 2010)

The original iPad announcement was outlined in a January 27, 2010, press release issued by Apple. The iPad was described as, “a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more.” Steve Jobs said it was, “a magical and revolutionary device…[that] defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

The original iPad used a 9.7-inch multitouch display (1024×768 at 132 ppi). It ran the same operating system as iPhone, which at the time was referred to as iPhone OS 3.2 (the name “iOS” would not be used until June 2010).

Internally, the original iPad had a 1 GHz Apple A4 processor; 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage; 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; an accelerometer; an ambient light sensor; a digital compass; GPS; two mono speakers; and a built-in microphone. The iPad was 0.5 inches thick and weighed 1.6 pounds.

Sources: EveryMac.com, Apple.com, Wikipedia.com

iPad mini (original, Wi-Fi, 16 GB, space gray, 2012)

The original iPad mini featured a 7.9-inch screen at 1024×768 (163 ppi). Internally, it had a dual core 1 GHz Apple A5 processor; 512 MB of RAM; and 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage. It had two cameras: a rear-mounted 5 megapixel iSight camera (1080p) and a front-mounted 1.2 megapixel FaceTime HD camera (720p). The original iPad mini used a Lightning port.

I found the iPad mini perfect for travel due to its small size, reduced weight, high-quality display, and 10-hour battery.

Source: EveryMac.com

iPad (original, 3G, 16 GB, 2010) and iPad Keyboard Dock

In a January 27, 2010 press release issued by Apple, the company announced the iPad and described it as, “a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more.” It was described by Steve Jobs as, “a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price” that “defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

At the time of its release, the iPad could run the 140,000 apps on the App Store and iTunes content including 11 million songs, 50,000 TV episodes, and over 8,000 films. Apple had also recently announced the iBookstore (now called Apple Books) and a new version of iWork for iPad (including Pages, Keynote, and Numbers).

The original iPad used a 9.7-inch multitouch display (1024×768 at 132 ppi) and ran the same operating system as iPhone, which at the time was referred to as iPhone OS 3.2.

Internally, the original iPad had a 1 GHz Apple A4 processor; 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage; 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; an accelerometer; an ambient light sensor; a digital compass; GPS; two mono speakers; and a built-in microphone. The iPad was 0.5 inches thick and weighed 1.6 pounds.

This iPad model also had 3G wireless data support. The Wi-Fi version of the iPad was released in March 2010, and this 3G wireless data version was released a month later in April 2010.

The keyboard on the iPad Keyboard Dock measures 11 inches wide, 4.5 inches deep, and stands 0.65 inch tall toward the back, sloping to 0.25 inch at the spacebar. A white plastic dock is fused to the back of the keyboard making the device a total depth of 7.25 inches and 2 inches tall. The dock weighs 1.4 pounds.

Although the keyboard resembles the Mac keyboards of the time, the escape and function buttons found at the top of a Mac keyboard were replaced with 13 keys that control iPad-specific features, including: home screen, search, brightness, picture frame, onscreen keyboard toggle, music track control, volume, and screen lock. Each function is represented by an icon.

Sources: EveryMac.com, Apple.com, Cnet.com

iPhone 7 Plus (128 GB, jet black, 2016)

This particular iPhone 7 Plus model was used with an AT&T network in the United States. All iPhone 7 Plus models used a 5.5-inch widescreen multitouch Retina HD display at 1920×1080 (401 ppi). It used a taptic-engine that provided a clickless Home button. The iPhone 7 Plus used three cameras: two rear 12-megapixel cameras (one with a wide-angle and one with a 2x telephoto lens) and a front FaceTime HD camera (7 megapixels and 1080p).

The iPhone 7 Plus was originally available in five color options: silver (white glass front and a silver back), gold (white glass front and a gold back), rose gold (white glass front and a pink-tinted gold back), black (black glass front and a matte black back), and jet black (black glass front and a high-gloss anodized and polished black aluminum back). On March 21, 2017, Apple added a (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition with a white glass front and a red aluminum back.

The iPhone 7 Plus was splash, water, and dust-resistant (but not waterproof). It had a Lightning port, but lacked a headphone jack.

Internally, the iPhone 7 Plus used a 64-bit Apple A10 Fusion processor with four cores; 3 GB of RAM; and 32, 128, or 256 GB of storage. It supported 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE (4G), and NFC for Apple Pay.

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

iPad (Generation 3, Wi-Fi, 16 GB, black, 2012, unopened)

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.

In my experience as a school Technology Director, the iPad Generation 3 began a shift in thinking that the iPad was not just a content-consumption device, but also a content-creation device. The iPad Generation 3 built upon the iWork apps introduced with he original iPad and camera introduced with the iPad Generation 2 by adding a considerably faster processor and better screen. Soon after the release of the iPad Generation 3, many schools began implementing multiple iPad devices eventually leading to 1:1 initiatives where each student is issued an iPad for learning.

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.”

Source: EveryMac.com, Cult of Mac

iPad mini (Generation 2, 16 GB, black, 2013, unopened)

The iPad mini 2 was originally referred to as “iPad mini with Retina Display.” It featured a 7.9-inch 2048×1536 (326 ppi) display; a dual core 1.3 GHz Apple A7 processor; 1 GB of RAM; and 16, 32, 64, or 128 GB of storage. The iPad mini 2 was available in white (with a silver back) or black (with a medium gray gunmetal back).

The iPad mini 2 included two cameras: a rear-mounted 5 megapixel iSight camera (1080p) and a front-mounted 1.2 megapixel FaceTime HD camera (720p), dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, two microphones, and two speakers. This iPad used a Lightning port and included a headphone jack.

Source: EveryMac.com