What’s in a name? All of Apple’s product lines have some mix of Air, mini, Pro, Max, Studio, and now Ultra with each bringing different capabilities to the table depending on what you’re buying. We’ll help you sort it all out and tell one Pro from the next Max.
Mini
For the most part, mini seems smaller in Apple’s terminology, both literally and performance-wise. Apple has three mini products.
iPhone 13 mini
It costs: $599
What does it mean? Features and performance in the mid-range, small display
The iPhone 13 miniThis is a smaller version iPhone 13It has the same processor, camera, specs and specifications (aside from its battery). It has a 5.4 inch display, compared with 6.1 inches for the iPhone 13, and a slightly smaller lithium battery. But, mini here is what you’d expect: smaller.
iPad mini
It costs: $499-$799
What does it mean?Display size is small, but features and performance are mid-range.
The most recent iPad mini is essentially a smaller version of the iPad Air with one exception: It’s powered by iPhone 13’a A15 processor while the iPad Air has the same beefy M1 processor as the Mac and iPad Pro. The iPad mini has an 8.3-inch screen (compared to the Air’s 10.9-inch), but all other features are the same: 12MP cameras and USB-C port.
Mac mini
It costs: $699-$2,099
What does it mean? Small, low-cost entry-level to midrange performance
The Mac mini is Apple’s smallest desktop Mac, about a third of the height of the Mac Studio. It comes with an M1 processor, which is a far cry from the M1 Max or M1 Ultra. The price is also about the same. The highest-end Mac mini (which we wouldn’t recommend buying until it gets an Apple silicon update) is nearly the same price as the entry-level Studio, so they match up nearly perfectly.
You don’t have to look too hard to see where the Mac mini, left, gets its name.
Air
Apple’s use of the Air name is a little more confusing. The MacBook Air is definitely entry-level, but the iPad Air clearly falls in the middle of the range. And while the MacBook Air is the lightest Mac laptop you can buy, the iPad Air isn’t all that lighter than the iPad and 11-inch iPad Pro.
iPad Air
It costs: $599-$899
What does it mean?Performance in the upper range and features in the mid-range
The iPad Air starts at $329, but costs $599 more than the budget-friendly iPad Air. But you’re getting a lot more for your money: a Liquid Retina display, M1 processor, Apple Pencil 2 support, sub-6GHz 5G, USB-C, and an array of colors: space gray, pink, purple, starlight, and blue.
MacBook Air
It costs: $999-$2,049
What does it mean? Entry-level performance
The Air has been a mainstay in Apple’s laptop lineup since its dramatic introduction in January 2008, but Apple hasn’t made any major improvements to the MacBook Air since 2018, when it got a redesign and a retina display. Although it was initially a more expensive model, the current MacBook Air is an excellent value at $999. It has an M1 processor and 256GB storage. The Magic Keyboard is included, as well as great battery life.
The iPad Air is thin and light like the MacBook Air, but it’s more powerful than its name implies.
IDG
Pro
Pro is the most confusing name in Apple’s parlance. Pro clearly refers to better and sometimes the best. However, not all Pro devices are made equal. Although the iPhone Pro and AirPods Pro cost less than their non-pro peers, the 12.9 inch iPad Pro is very expensive. The Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR, however, are more affordable. The 13-inch MacBook Pro, on the other hand, is an Air in comparison to the 14-inch or 16-inch models.
M1 Pro
It costs: $1,999-$5,299
What does it mean?Performance mid-range
Apple began the transition to its own processors in December 2020 with the M1 chip. The exponentially faster M1 chip arrived just one year later. M1 ProIt was announced for the MacBook Pros 14-inch (16-inch) and 16.-inch MacBook Pros, which offer nearly twice the speed of the M1. As it stands, it’s only available in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, but we expect it to come to the Mac mini as well.
AirPods Pro
It costs: $249
What does it mean?Design and features of the highest quality
AirPods Pro is one of three types of AirPods Apple makes, but they are unique. The AirPods Pro, unlike the regular AirPods, offers active noise cancellation with transparency mode. It also has a snugger fit than regular AirPods because of the silicon tips.
iPhone 14 Pro
It costs: $999-$1,499
It means:High-end features
Apple introduced its iPhone Pro line with the iPhone 11 and each model has had the same distinctions: a better camera, better screen, stainless steel finish, and larger 6.7-inch “Max” option. The latest iPhone 14 Pro brings a similar design and display as the iPhone 13 Pro, but adds a new 64MP camera, always-on display, A16 chip, and the exciting Dynamic Island, all features you won’t find on the non-Pro iPhones.
Foundry
iPad Pro
It costs: $799-$1,999
It means:Features and performance at the upper end
While there are two sizes of iPad Pro, the 12.9-inch model is the more “Pro” of the two. The 11-inch model has a similar Liquid Retina display to the iPad Air (but with the addition of ProMotion), but the 12.9-inch model ups the ante with a Liquid Retina XDR display that uses mini-LED backlighting to deliver better brightness and superior color accuracy. Other than that, the iPad Pro looks very similar to its predecessor, the iPad Air. The iPad Pro has a M2 processor, mmWave5G storage, greater RAM and storage options and a Thunderbolt 3 connection.
MacBook Pro
It costs: $1,299-$6,099
What does it mean?Performance in the middle- to upper end
The MacBook Pro family has a variety of pricing options, performance and features. At the low end, there’s the MacBook Pro 13″ with M2 processorStarting at $1,299 MacBook Pro 14-inchThe 16-inch MacBook Pro is in the middle. It starts at $2,499 for a Liquid Retina XDR screen and M1 Pro CPU. This is nearly twice the price. The difference between the 13-inch and the 16-inch MacBook Pro is so great that it’s hard to understand how they both share the same surname.
Mac Pro
It costs: $4,999-$52,199
What does it mean?Performance at the highest level
Apple’s workstation hasn’t had a meaningful update since 2019 and still starts at $5,999. The Mac Pro is a powerful machine with a 28-core Intel Xeon W CPU, 1.5TB DDR4 ECC memory in 12 DIMM slot, and high-end graphics options. It’s also Apple’s only modular Mac, with eight accessible PCIe slots. It’s slower than some of the Apple silicon-based Macs but also much more expandable and attractive to demanding pro users. We expect it will get a lot more. Upgrade to 2023This could change the position of the line-up in a big way.
Pro Display XDR
It costs: $4,999-$6,998
What does it mean?Performance at the highest level
Pro is actually the display’s first name rather than its last, but it’s no less premium than the Mac Pro. The Pro Display XDR is a 32-inch Retina 6K (resolution of 6016×3384, 1,000 sustained nits of brightness, and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio) that starts at the very high end of available 32-inch monitors, and that’s even before you add pricey options such as nano-texture glass for $1,000, a Pro stand for $999 or a VESA mount for $199.
IDG
Max
For the most part, Max means bigger—more cores, better sound, bigger screen.
M1 Max
It costs: $1,999-$6,099
What does it mean?Performance in the upper-end
The M1 Max, which was announced simultaneously with the M1 Pro in October, has a GPU that’s four times faster than the M1’s GPU. It supports 64 GB of unified storage and has six times the memory bandwidth than the M1 Pro, up to 400GB/s. Find out more about our projections regarding the future of Apple’s chips for an idea of what’s coming down the pipeline over the next few years.
AirPods Max
It costs: $549
It means:Design and features of the highest quality
Apple’s high-end over-the-ear wireless headphones bring active noise cancellation and a premium design but come at a hefty price. They’re also heavy at 384 grams, as compared to the drastically lighter four-gram AirPods and AirPods Pro. Plus the AirPods Max lacks a 3.5mm jack input, so you’ll have to pony up for a Lightning to 3.5mm cable if you want to enjoy them without the Bluetooth latency.
iPhone 14 Pro Max
It costs: $1,099-$1,599
What does it mean?High-end performance, large display
The rare product that has two surnames is the iPhone 14 Pro MaxIt is the exact opposite of its name: The iPhone 14 Pro Max. The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a larger display than the 6.1-inch version. It is designed for those who desire a bigger display and better camera. While Apple has added extra features to the Max in previous years, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is just bigger—though the iPhone 15 could change that.
Studio
Studio is a revival of an old display name from 2000, and it means high-end performance without breaking the bank.
Mac Studio
It costs: $1,999-$7,999
It means:High-end performance
The compact Mac Studio was announced in two standard configurations during Apple’s March “Peek Performance” event: a $1,999 model with M1 Max (10-core CPU), 24-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD; and a $3,999 version with M1 Ultra (20-core CPU), 48-core GPU, 32-core Neural Engine, 64GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. It’s substantially cheaper than the Mac Pro, but thanks to Apple silicon, is just as fast as those multi-core Xeon W processors at a fraction of the price. Apple is working on a new Mac Pro using Apple silicon. Studio, however, is the new Pro for desktop Macs.
Studio Display
It costs: $1,599-$2,299
It means: Performance in the mid-range
The 27-inch Apple Studio Display is a more affordable version of the Pro Display XDR, but like the Mac Studio, still isn’t cheap. It is powered by an A13 Bionic processor, and it runs iOS. Six speakers are built in and support Spatial Audio. This is when Dolby Atmos is used.
Willis Lai/Foundry
Ultra
Apple continues to expand its Ultra product line with the introduction of M1 Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra in 2020.
M1 Ultra
It costs: $3,999-$7,999
What does it mean?Performance at the highest level
Apple introduced M1Ultra, which is a combination of two Max chips that have a combined 2.5TBps in bandwidth in the highest configuration Mac Studio. We don’t know if the Ultra name will be used in other Mac products—a Mac Ultra perhaps—but if it is, you can expect it to be the ultimate flagship computer.
Apple Watch Ultra
It costs: $799
What does it mean?Highest performance, largest display
The Apple Watch Ultra is Apple’s first Ultra device and it sets a very high bar. The screen was 49mm larger than the Apple Watch Series 8’s largest (45mm), and it had a better battery life (36 vs 18), better water resistance (100m instead of 50m), new design, and high-end feature. It’s decidedly a niche product, but it opens the door for an iPhone, iPad, and AirPods Ultra that deliver the absolute highest end performance and features.
