Apple Event 2021: Everything Apple Announced at Its 'Spring Loaded' Event in Just 6 Minutes

Apple today held its first event of 2021, and it was one of the most exciting events that we've seen in some time. Apple announced a whole slew of new products, including an M1 iMac, an ‌M1‌ iPad Pro, a refreshed 4K Apple TV, and the long-awaited AirTags.


It took Apple an hour to introduce all of the new devices during its virtual "Spring Loaded" event, but we've recapped all of the announcements in just six minutes for our readers who want a quick but thorough overview of what's new. We've also included all of our event coverage below for those who may have missed something.

iPad Pro

AirTag

iMac

iPhone

Apple TV

Podcasts

iOS 14.5

Other Announcements

Related Coverage

Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors this week, as we'll have in-depth coverage of all of Apple's announcements as new tidbits and features are discovered. We'll also have hands-on content and reviews in the weeks to come.

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. At the time,...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils First New Products of 2026

Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch. Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
apple unsold web store

Retail Accessories Apple Won't Sell You Now Available via New Site

Friday January 30, 2026 8:46 am PST by
A newly surfaced resale operation is seemingly offering Apple Store–exclusive display accessories to the public for the first time, potentially giving consumers access to Apple-designed hardware that the company has historically kept confined to its retail environments. Apple designs a range of premium MagSafe charging stands, display trays, and hardware systems exclusively for displays in ...

Top Rated Comments

Kylo83 Avatar
63 months ago
Here is my honest take; and you won’t agree but it’s my opinion; apple has lost everything that used to make it great, all the updates are minor, the airtags I don’t see the point, Apple TV has a way old chip and nothing really new still over priced, the new iMac is well in my opinion disgusting it looks like a Lenovo all in one, it now makes the old one look nicer, the new one just looks like a kids computer now. The iPad Pro is kinda cool but again all this power and hardware just to run iOS apps there is nothing my 2018 can’t run on it so what’s the point, am I missing something but where is the wow factor gone; as usual the hype before an event is always a lot better, about spend to much time talking about climate change in these events, I am upset because a company I love has gone so down hill; yeah they make a lot of money but speaking from a huge apple fan I just don’t get excited anymore; anyways respect my views
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ErikGrim Avatar
63 months ago
Great:
- Colour returns to iMacs!
- Matching accessories
- Touch ID desktop keyboards
- M1 in iPads
- MiniLED debuts

Good:
- Redesigned Siri remote with click wheel
- Thread support in Apple TV
- HDMI 2.1 in Apple TV
- Colour balance in Apple TV
- AirTags finally (water resistant, long lasting user replaceable battery, customisable is cute)
- Ted Lasso in July!
- Redesigned Podcast app
- I guess we are waiting for bigger iMacs until we have M1X/M2

Meh:
- Purple iPhone
- Podcast Subscriptions
- Apple Card still US only
- Nothing new on the HomeKit front
- I guess we are not getting a new pencil...?
- ...or AR finding in Find My?

WTF:
- ZERO gaming story for Apple TV. None. It's dead Jim
- No Spatial Audio in new Apple TV???
- No U1 in redesigned remote
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
63 months ago
The iMac is a big letdown
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
63 months ago
The biggest surprise for me was the iPad with up to 16GB of RAM. What are they working on for iPad OS in secret?? Hoping for a full version of macOS mode when using keyboard/mouse. Or maybe something hybrid? Though macOS keeps feeling more like iPad/iOS.

The second biggest surprise for me is how bold the iMac colors are. I was worried we’d get more pastel BS.

The third biggest surprise is the Apple TV color calibration with the iPhone stuff. Such a good idea and instantly makes everyone’s TV look better.

My biggest disappointment is the fact that the new Apple TV remote doesn’t work with Find My. Like, for real Apple?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jjack50 Avatar
63 months ago

Good huh? A horrible iMac redesign a minor old Apple TV update what was so good
You asked that your opinion be respected. Respect opinions that disagree with yours.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Spinn_ Avatar
63 months ago
Today’s event was way better than I expected. Lots of good stuff announced.

I’m particularly excited to try out AirTags and the joint Apple Card.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)