MacRumors

Following Apple's new full-size HomePod announcement, many owners of the original HomePod are wondering if it's possible to pair the new ‌HomePod‌ with the first-generation smart speaker of the same name. The short answer is no.

Creating a stereo pair with the new ‌HomePod‌ requires another second-generation ‌HomePod‌. In the footnotes from Apple's press release:

Creating a HomePod stereo pair requires two of the same model HomePod speakers, such as two HomePod mini, two HomePod (2nd generation), or two HomePod (1st generation).

That's not to say the two devices can't be used together at all. If you have a new ‌HomePod‌ and first-generation ‌‌HomePod‌ in the home, they can be used to play your music in different rooms, and features like Intercom will work across both devices.

In another notable development, a software update appears to be on the way for the HomePod mini that will add two key features currently exclusive to the new ‌HomePod‌ – temperature and humidity sensing in indoor environments.

The new ‌‌HomePod‌ ‌costs $299 and is available in both white and midnight color options. In-store availability and deliveries to customers will begin Friday, February 3 in select countries.

The reintroduced HomePod offers a temperature and humidity sensor, but Apple is also enabling the feature on the existing HomePod mini.

The ‌HomePod‌'s built-in temperature and humidity sensor can measure indoor environments, allowing users to create automations that close the blinds or turn on a fan or heater automatically when a certain temperature is reached in a room, for example. This information is exposed in the Home app like any other smart home accessory.

As highlighted in the comparison section of the HomePod webpage, the ‌HomePod mini‌ also now offers this functionality. It appears that rather than being a new version of the ‌HomePod mini‌, this is a retroactively activated feature, with the temperature and humidity sensor already existing inside all ‌HomePod mini‌ models since launch.

In 2021, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the ‌HomePod mini‌ includes a dormant temperature and humidity sensor – a finding also confirmed by iFixit. It seems that the component is now finally being activated, presumably via a future software update.

Apple notes that the ‌HomePod‌'s temperature and humidity sensing is optimized for indoor, domestic settings with ambient temperatures between 15ºC and 30ºC and relative humidity around 30 to 70 percent.

The sensor's accuracy may decrease in some situations where audio is playing for an extended period of time at high volume levels, likely due to generation of heat from the device itself. The ‌HomePod‌ also apparently requires some time to calibrate the sensors immediately after starting up before results are displayed.

Update: ‌HomePod‌ software version 16.3 enables the temperature and humidity sensor in the ‌HomePod mini‌, according to Apple's release notes.

Woot today has a pair of solid discounts on Apple's MagSafe Charger and Siri Remote, and both accessories are in new condition. They both come with a one year Apple limited warranty and Amazon Prime members can get free shipping from Woot.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Starting with the MagSafe Charger, it's on sale for $29.99, down from $39.00. This is about $2 higher than the previous all-time low price, so it's a great second-best deal on the popular Apple accessory.

Shoppers should note that the MagSafe Charger comes in Woot's bulk packaging, which means it will arrive in a polybag or generic brown box instead of Apple's own packaging. Despite this, the MagSafe Charger itself is guaranteed to still be brand new with a valid Apple warranty.

Additionally, the second-generation Siri Remote (with Lightning) is on sale for $49.99, down from $59.00 today on Woot. We typically track prices on this accessory down to around $55, so Woot's sale today is one of the lowest we've ever seen for the Siri Remote.

The Siri Remote is in new condition and does not come in bulk packaging. Woot estimates a late January delivery for both devices if ordered soon.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Apple announced today that iOS 16.3 will be available for iPhone customers next week, bringing just a few new features and enhancements to ‌iPhone‌ customers around the world.

In a press release today announcing new Apple Watch bands, Apple said iOS 16.3 will be available next week as a requirement for a new iOS 16 wallpaper. Alongside iOS 16.3, we also expect iPadOS 16.3, watchOS 9.3, and presumably tvOS 16.3 and macOS 13.2 to also be released.

The Unity 2023 watch face will be available next week, and requires Apple Watch Series 4 or later running watchOS 9.3, and iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (2nd generation) or later running iOS 16.3.

The new Unity iPhone wallpaper for the Lock Screen will be also be available next week and requires iPhone 8 or later running iOS 16.3.

Compared to iOS 16.2, iOS 16.3 has few new features and instead focuses mainly on bug fixes. We've highlighted a few of iOS 16.3's new features below.

• Support for security keys for Apple IDs
• A redesigned HomePod Handoff prompt following the release of a new second-generation ‌HomePod‌
• Tweaked wording for Emergency SOS in Settings

iOS 16 was released four months ago, and some users continue to experience bugs and system UI glitches on their iPhones. iOS 16.3 is likely to address some of these issues next week. For a full rundown of what's new, see our past coverage.

Apple today announced a second-generation full-size HomePod, available to order starting today for $299 in white and midnight color options. In-store availability and deliveries to customers will begin Friday, February 3 in select countries.

The second-generation HomePod features a virtually identical design as the full-size HomePod that was discontinued in March 2021, with a backlit touch surface and mesh fabric exterior. It features a four-inch high-excursion woofer, five tweeters, four microphones, an S7 chip for computational audio, a U1 chip for Ultra Wideband features like handing off music from an iPhone, and support for Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos. The speaker also has Siri integration and Matter support for HomeKit and other smart home accessories.

The new HomePod is 6.6-inches tall and weighs 5.1 pounds, compared to 6.8-inches and 5.5 pounds for the first-generation model, while both models are 5.6 inches wide. The new HomePod also has two fewer tweeters and microphones compared to the original model. The original HomePod was equipped with the A8 chip from the iPhone 6, while the new model has the S7 chip from the Apple Watch Series 7.

A new sensor in the HomePod can measure temperature and humidity in indoor environments, and this feature is also being enabled on the existing HomePod mini.

Apple will be expanding its Sound Recognition feature to the new HomePod with a software update this spring, allowing the speaker to listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and send a notification directly to a user's iPhone if a sound is identified.

Two second-generation HomePods can be paired for stereo sound, but one second-generation HomePod and one first-generation HomePod cannot.

At launch, the new HomePod will be available in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and 11 other countries, according to Apple. It is compatible with the iPhone 8 and later, any iPad Pro, the fifth-generation iPad and later, the third-generation iPad Air and later, and the fifth-generation iPad mini and later running iOS 16.3 or iPadOS 16.3 or later.

"Leveraging our audio expertise and innovations, the new HomePod delivers rich, deep bass, natural mid-range, and clear, detailed highs," said Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak. "With the popularity of HomePod mini, we've seen growing interest in even more powerful acoustics achievable in a larger HomePod. We're thrilled to bring the next generation of HomePod to customers around the world."

Apple continues to sell the HomePod mini for $99.

Apple today released a new, special-edition Black Unity Sport Loop Apple Watch band in celebration of Black History Month.

The band comes as part of Apple's wider commemoration of Black History Month, where the company plans to highlight curated content celebrating Black culture and community.

The Black Unity Sport Loop features the word "Unity" woven abstractly into the band using red, green, and black yarns that pay homage to the Pan-African flag, while a unique layering of yarns lends a sense of three-dimensionality to the letters. Additionally, the Unity Mosaic watch face incorporates geometric shapes in green, black, red, and yellow, and as the minutes change, each number uses pieces of other numbers to morph into new forms. iPhone users can also show their support with the new Unity wallpaper for their Lock Screen.

The Black Unity Sport Loop is now available to order on apple.com and in the Apple Store app for $49, and will be available in select ‌Apple Store‌ locations beginning January 24. The band is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes.

The Unity 2023 watch face and Unity iPhone wallpaper will be available next week as part of watchOS 9.3 and iOS 16.3.

In the coming weeks, Apple will roll out new content in the App Store, Apple TV app, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple News, Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, and Apple Maps to spotlight black creativity, contributions, and experiences.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple this week expanded its lineup of Apple silicon chips with the new M2 Pro and M2 Max processors, building on the M2 chip announced in June. The new lineup of ‌M2‌ chips represents the second generation of Apple silicon that can now now be found in the latest Macs.

The ‌M2‌ Pro and ‌M2‌ Max are noteworthy upgrades over the M1 Pro and M1 Max, bringing more performance, battery life, and capabilities to professional users. Below, we've listed five of the most important details you need to know about Apple's latest Mac chips.

• A Lot of Memory Bandwidth: The new ‌M2‌ Pro and ‌M2‌ Max chips feature the same memory bandwidth as their respective predecessor, which is some of the highest in the industry. Like the ‌M1 Pro‌, the ‌M2‌ Pro chip supports up to 200GB/s of memory bandwidth, while the ‌M2‌ Max supports 400GB/s of memory bandwidth like the ‌M1 Max‌.
• Even Longer Battery Life: The ‌‌M1 Pro‌‌ and ‌‌M1 Max‌‌ have two high-efficiency cores, whereas the ‌‌M2‌‌ Pro and ‌‌M2‌‌ Max both feature four efficiency cores, allowing the new Macs to tackle heavy workloads using less energy, thereby conserving battery life.
• Tons More Transistors: Thanks to the use of second-generation 5nm process technology, the ‌M2‌ Pro has 40 billion transistors, which is 20% more than the ‌M1 Pro‌. With ‌‌M2‌‌ Max, the jump is even bigger – its 67 billion transistors is 10 billion more than the number used in the ‌‌M1 Max‌‌.
• Highest Unified Memory Yet in a MacBook Pro: 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros configured with the high-end ‌‌M2‌‌ Max processor now support up to 96GB of unified memory. The 96GB of memory option is an additional $800, on top of the $200 extra for the higher-end variant of the ‌M2‌ Max chip.
• Connect Even More Displays: 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and Mac mini models configured with ‌M2‌ Pro support up to two external displays. ‌M2‌ Pro supports two 6K displays over Thunderbolt, or one 6K display at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one 4K display at 144Hz over HDMI. MacBook Pro models with ‌M2‌ Max support up to four displays: three displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one more 4K display at 144Hz over HDMI. ‌M2‌ Max also supports two 6K displays at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one 8K display at 60Hz or one 4K display at 240Hz over HDMI.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ can be configured with both ‌M2‌ Pro and ‌M2‌ Max, while the updated ‌Mac mini‌ can be configured with either ‌M2‌ or ‌M2‌ Pro. Both the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ and ‌Mac mini‌ are available for pre-order on Apple's website and will begin arriving to customers on Tuesday, January 24.

Google is officially shutting down its Stadia cloud gaming service today, Wednesday, January 18, after having failed to gain the traction that the company was expecting. Google servers that host the service are due to shut down at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Launched in November 2019, the service was designed to allow for cloud-based gaming across a range of devices, including PCs, Chromebooks, Macs, iPhones, and iPads.

Reports began emerging in early 2021 of Stadia's underwhelming uptake among gamers, shortly after Google's decision to kill its only in-house Stadia game development studio, Stadia Games and Entertainment (SG&E), only two years into its life.

Since the service's shutdown was announced in September 2022, Google has been making good on its promise to refund anyone who made Stadia purchases over the course of its operation, including games, downloadable content, and controllers offered by the service. The company began processing refunds in November and previously said it expected to process the "majority" of refunds by the end of play today.

Stadia controllers are designed to connect directly to Stadia servers over Wi-Fi, instead of connecting to a console or PC, but each one contains an unused Bluetooth chip. Google is therefore offering owners a tool to make Stadia controllers capable of using Bluetooth, which will allow them to be used with local machines after Stadia's closure.

Google marked the closure by last week releasing one final Stadia game, Worm Game, which the developers used to test the service before it went live.

For months leading up to the closure, the Stadia store has been shuttered and all commerce ended on the Stadia platform, including in-game transactions. More information on refunds for Stadia users can be found on Google's website.

Apple is facing criticism online for offering poor Mac trade-in values following this week's launch of new MacBook Pro and Mac mini models.

Yesterday, MKBHD researcher David Imel tweeted that Apple offers just $970 in trade-in credit for a Mac Pro configuration that it still sells for $52,199. The viral tweet caused an uproar among Twitter users towards Apple's trade-in program: "That's a slap in the face," said one user. "Apple trade-ins have always been boo boo. I'm surprised you thought you would get even 1/5 of the price," another one said.

On Reddit, users also piled on, sharing their past experiences with Apple's trade-in program and the "low value" returned for their Macs. "My base model M1 Pro trades in at $725. 63.7% drop in value in a single generation. Not great," one Reddit user said. Another user, on the flip side, shared how Apple gave them $700 last year for an Intel-based 2016 MacBook.

I got $700 for my 2016 i7 last year using Apple trade in. Blew my mind I was able to get anything for it. Used it to buy a M1 Pro. Only deprecating 60% in 6 years for a machine that's basically at the end of its life, was pretty good. Looks like Apple doesn't really need used Apple Silicon, so the price is a lot lower.

On the MacRumors forums, users are also sharing their thoughts about Apple's trade-in program regarding Macs after the launch of new models. One user said Apple quoted them the same $970 value for a 14-inch M1 ‌MacBook Pro‌, while a third-party offered almost $1,100.

The credit Apple will give you for trading in an old Mac depends on several factors, including its specific configuration and condition. On its website, Apple offers a list of estimated trade-in values for its Mac lineup, quoting up to $670 for the ‌MacBook Pro‌ and up to $1,250 for the ‌Mac Pro‌.

Information embedded within Apple's website suggests that this week's new Mac announcements, including the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, were initially set to be unveiled in October or November of last year.

As reported by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, the file name for a short mini keynote-styled video that Apple released following the announcement of the updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini includes the year 2022, suggesting the video may have been initially set to premiere last year. The video, over 18 minutes long, looks like the digital Apple events the company has been holding for the previous few years.

Some have speculated the 18-minute video was a segment cut out from a larger event the company was planning to hold in October or November 2022 that included more than the announcements of new M2 Pro and M2 Max Macs. Also spotted on Twitter, the AR files for the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models were compiled in October 2022, three months before the new Macs were announced.

Typically, every fall, Apple holds an event in September to announce its latest iPhones and Apple Watch models. In the run-up to the fall of 2022, rumors were increasingly suggesting that Apple was planning to hold two events between September and December: one for the iPhone and Apple Watch and another for the Mac and iPad.

The latter event was to be focused entirely on updated Apple silicon Macs and iPads, including updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and the next-generation iPad Pro, according to rumors circulating at the time. In September, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple had canceled plans to hold a second digital event in the fall and would instead release the remaining products for 2022 through press releases on its website.

In October, Apple announced an updated iPad Pro with M2 and the redesigned 10th-generation entry-level iPad via press releases. In mid-Decemeber, Gurman reported that the new Macs were now slated for a launch in "early" 2023.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros have options for either the M2 Pro or M2 Max chip, building on the performance of the M1 Pro and M1 Max. The new chips allow for even faster performance and a higher 96GB capacity of unified memory with the M2 Max. The new Macs also now support 8K external displays thanks to a more advanced HDMI port, and the 16-inch model has the longest battery life of any Mac.

Apple this week also announced a new Mac mini, featuring the same design as the previous-generation model but now with M2 or M2 Pro. The new Mac mini and MacBook Pros are available for pre-order on Apple's website and will begin arriving to customers on Tuesday, January 24.

Apple has paused development on the augmented reality Apple Glasses that it planned to introduce after its mixed reality headset, reports Bloomberg. Work on the product has been postponed because of technical difficulties.

Rumors suggested that Apple wanted to develop a pair of lightweight augmented reality glasses that would be similar to the Google Glass smart glasses. The glasses would provide digital information overlaid on the real world rather than offering immersive virtual experiences like the AR/VR headset, but Apple has not been able to develop the necessary hardware to produce a lightweight wearable that has the power of an iPhone and enough battery life to run it.

Apple initially wanted to release the Apple Glasses in 2023 before delaying the project to 2025, but now the product's launch has been postponed "indefinitely." Apple has also scaled back work on the device, so Apple Glasses will not be launching in the foreseeable future, but Bloomberg says that Apple considers AR glasses to be a product that could one day replace the ‌iPhone‌.

According to Bloomberg, some Apple employees do not believe that Apple will ever ship AR glasses. Most of Apple's AR/VR group is working on the mixed reality headsets that Apple is planning to produce, but there are still some that are exploring technology for future AR glasses.

Rather than developing augmented reality glasses, Apple is now focused on creating a more affordable mixed reality headset that will appeal to a wider range of consumers. The first AR/VR headset that is set to launch this year will cost somewhere around $3,000, so Apple wants to provide similar capabilities at a cheaper price point in the future.

Details on all of the features included in the first mixed reality headset can be found in our AR/VR roundup.

Multiple rumors have indicated that Apple's first AR/VR headset coming later this year will be priced somewhere around $3,000, but a future version will be more affordable, according to reports from The Information and Bloomberg. Apple is already developing a more "budget-friendly" AR/VR headset that could be priced similarly to the iPhone.

The current ‌iPhone‌ 14 models are priced starting at $799 and go up to $1599 for the highest-end model with 1TB storage, but there is no word on where in that range the cheaper headset might fall. The headset will reportedly compete with Meta's mixed reality headset, which is priced at $1,500.

Apple engineers plan to use more affordable components to bring the price down, but the lower-priced headset will have the same general AR/VR "mixed reality" functionality of the headset launching in 2023. The chips in the device will be on par with the ‌iPhone‌, rather than the Mac-level chips used in the first AR/VR headset, and Apple may also use lower resolution internal displays and cheaper materials.

As of right now, development on the more affordable headset is in the early stages and Apple has not created a working prototype. The Information says that "significant" work on the device started last year, and at the time, the goal was to launch the cheap headset in 2024. Apple could introduce a budget mixed reality headset in either 2024 or 2025, according to Bloomberg.

For almost all product categories, Apple has both premium and more affordable versions of devices, so it is no surprise that the company has plans for a more consumer friendly mixed reality headset to join the high-end ~$3,000 version coming later in the year.

With the focus now on a more affordable AR/VR headset, Bloomberg says that Apple is delaying the augmented reality Apple Glasses that it had been working on. The rollout of the Apple Glasses has been postponed indefinitely, and work on the device has been pared back.

Apple's first AR/VR headset could be introduced as soon as this spring, but the device has seen multiple delays during its development. The $3,000 price point is due to the high-end components that Apple is using, including dual 4K displays from Sony, over a dozen cameras, an external battery pack, and more. Details on the AR/VR headset can be found in our roundup.

Third-party Twitter apps like Tweetbot and Twitterrific have been intentionally blocked from using Twitter APIs, Twitter confirmed today. Without access to the underlying code for the social network, Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Birdie, Echofon, and other popular Twitter clients are non-functional and cannot be used.

Twitter's Dev account today said in a tweet that Twitter is "enforcing its long-standing API rules," a change that could cause some apps not to work. There has been no word on which API rules the blocked Twitter clients have violated, and this is the first time that Twitter has provided insight into what's going on with third-party Twitter apps since they stopped working last Thursday.

When some third-party Twitter apps became unusable last week, it was initially believed that there could be some kind of bug causing the outage. Only the most popular Twitter clients were affected and blocked from Twitter's APIs, perhaps indicating an internal error. As Twitter declined to comment on the situation for days, however, it became clearer that it was an intentional decision. Over the weekend, The Information said that in an internal Slack channel, a senior software engineer at Twitter clarified that the suspensions were done on purpose, suggesting many Twitter employees were not even aware of what was going on.

It is not known why Twitter has provided so little information on what is happening to highly popular third-party Twitter apps that have existed for years, nor if these apps will again be provided with access to the API if changes are made. Developers like Iconfactory and Tapbots (responsible for Twitterrific and Tweetbot, respectively), received no warning about the shutdown and were not provided with information on why their apps stopped working.

Apps like Tweetbot have been around for more than a decade at this point, with loyal users, full teams of developers, and a major investment in the social network. Developers have expressed their frustration at Twitter's decision and lack of communication, as have longtime Twitter users.

MacStories, for example, called Twitter's actions "disgraceful" and "unprofessional," with Twitter demonstrating a "total lack of respect" for the role that third-party apps have played in the success of the social network.

Jason Snell called Twitter's actions "clueless, classless, and cowardly," and John Gruber said this is likely the end of his regular usage of Twitter as Twitter's own client is "terrible."

At this point, it isn't clear when or if we're going to get more information about third-party Twitter clients from Twitter, nor if the apps that have had their API access revoked will be back in some capacity. Tapbots is now speeding up development on Ivory, its app for the Mastodon social network, and Twitterrific's Craig Hockenberry said that he will be exploring the concept of a truly universal timeline that leverages how open standards can be used in "new and different ways."

Apple is planning new Apple Watch activity challenges in honor of Lunar New Year, Black History Month, and Heart Month, all of which take place in January and February.

For Lunar New Year, Apple Watch owners can earn an award after doing any workout for at least 20 minutes. The challenge will need to be completed between between January 22 and February 5, and it will be available worldwide even though Lunar New Year is primarily celebrated in select countries. The 2023 Lunar New Year begins on Sunday, January 22 and lasts for 15 days.

For Heart Month, Apple Watch owners will need to complete a 30 minute workout to fill their Exercise ring on Tuesday, February 14, which is Valentine's Day.

Apple's "Unity" challenge in honor of Black History Month requires users to close the Move ring for seven days in a row in February.

As with all of Apple's Activity Challenges, the two challenges will be accompanied by three awards that can be viewed in the Fitness app as well as a series of animated stickers that can be used in the Messages app.

Dropbox today announced that it is expanding support for macOS 12.5 and later, with all users set to receive the update by May 2023.

Dropbox users that have not already got the update with support for macOS 12.5 can expect to receive it between now and the end of May. Anyone interested in early access to the version of Dropbox with support for macOS 12.5 can join the beta now.

Basic, Plus, Professional, and Family plan customers simply need to turn on early releases and keep watch for a notification to opt-in to get the beta, while Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, and Education customers need to contact the Account Team or Customer Support.

Dropbox added that it is also working directly with a small subset of customers with complex configurations to ensure their migration to the new system is as smooth as possible.

With the release of macOS Monterey 12.3 in March 2022, Apple deprecated kernel extensions used by cloud storage services like Dropbox and OneDrive, resulting in users being unable to open online-only files stored on Dropbox or OneDrive in third-party apps after updating.

Dropbox previously said it would begin rolling out an updated version of its Mac app to beta testers in March 2022, followed by an announcement in August that said the public beta was coming in the early fourth quarter of 2022. Development has evidently taken much longer than expected, leading to complaints from some users.

Apple's next-generation Mac mini set to come out in 2024 will not feature an updated design, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a tweet today, Kuo said that the "next new ‌Mac mini‌" will have the same "form factor design."

The M2 and ‌M2‌ Pro versions of the ‌Mac mini‌ that Apple introduced today have the same design as the prior-generation M1 and Intel models, with no major external updates. Instead, the changes are all internal, featuring faster M-series chips.

There were 2021/2022 rumors that suggested the ‌Mac mini‌ could see a refreshed look with a plexiglass top and other new features, but that did not come to pass with this update.

Apple sells the ‌Mac mini‌ alongside the Mac Studio, which was introduced in spring 2022. The ‌Mac Studio‌ is using Apple's M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips, and it is due for an ‌M2‌ refresh at some point.

Apple today launched its annual Back to University promotion in Australia and New Zealand, offering students, teachers, and other eligible educational employees free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad for a limited time.

Between January 18 and March 13, students can get free second-generation AirPods with the purchase of any new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, 24-inch iMac, iPad Pro, or iPad Air — this includes the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. Students can also upgrade to third-generation AirPods for $60 to $70 extra depending on the type of charging case or to second-generation AirPods Pro for $180 extra.

The promotion is available on Apple's online store, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple's retail stores in Australia. As usual, refurbished Macs and iPads are not eligible for free AirPods, and other models like the Mac Studio, Mac mini, and iPad mini are also exempt. Apple has outlined full terms and conditions for the promotion on its website.

Apple's Back to University promotion is usually the same as the Back to School promotion that launches in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and other regions around June, so students living in those locations can likely expect free AirPods to be the offer there too.

Though Apple just refreshed the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models this morning, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is already sharing details about next-generation models. Kuo believes 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros coming in 2024 will feature M3 Pro and M3 Max chips that are built on TSMC's 3-nanometer process.

‌MacBook Pro‌ models with the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips will go into mass production in the first half of 2024, according to Kuo.

Apple chip maker TSMC began mass production on next-generation 3-nanometer chips in late December. The 3nm technology will offer improved performance and better power efficiency compared to the current chips manufactured on a 5-nanometer process, including the M2 Pro and ‌M2‌ Max that were introduced today.

With mass production kicking off on the next-generation ‌MacBook Pro‌ models in the first half of 2024, we could see an announcement sometime between spring and WWDC of next year, though there's still plenty of time for Apple to tweak its future release plans.