STARTING THE YEAR ON A HIGH
There’s no denying that 2020 was a challenging
year for the world, and though 2021 did not
exactly begin with the best of starts, Apple
managed to pull through and introduce many
amazing new products early on. The firm’s
usual March event was postponed to April,
where Tim Cook and Co showed off a number
of new pieces of hardware, including the much
anticipated AirTags, Apple’s answer to Tile. There
is not a great deal of official data on the number
of AirTags sold worldwide, but anecdotal
evidence suggests that they’re proving to be
successful so far. Indeed, even Tile has come
out and said that Apple’s launch of AirTags has
changed the industry and helped them increase
third-party activations by as much as 200% in
2021 alone, as consumers cotton on to the idea
of electronically tracking everyday items such as
their phones, wallets, and keys.
During its April event, Apple also introduced
a new 4K Apple TV, refreshed the 11-inch and
12.9-inch iPad Pro, and launched an overhauled
iMac, which represents a new era for personal
computing. Apple ditched the 21.5-inch iMac in
favor of a new 24-inch chassis with a stunning
design in a spectrum of vibrant colors, the
breakthrough M1 chip, and a brilliant 4.5K
Retina display. As a result of the new iMac going
on sale, data suggested by July that Mac sales
had increased, and before Apple shipped the
new M1 MacBook Pro models later in the year,
shipments were already up 11%, which would
suggest that the new iMac contributed to a
significant increase in demand for the Mac.