Mac range updated at Apple's WWDC

Apple has revamped its lineup of desktop and laptop Macs using its own processor chips ahead of its expected announcement of its first mixed-reality headset.

It announced a 15-inch MacBook Air powered by an Apple-designed M2 processor chip, starting at $2,199 

A 13-inch MacBook Air is available now and will drop to A$1799.

Apple updated its Mac Studio desktop starting at A$3299, saying its new M2 Ultra chip can process artificial intelligence work that rival chips do not have enough memory to handle.

Apple also introduced a new version of the Mac Pro, its highest-performing desktop, with an M2 Ultra chip and a price tag starting at A$11,999.

The M2 Ultra chip is essentially two of Apple's largest M2 chips bonded together, a similar approach the company took to boosting the performance of its M1 chips.

Until this week, the Mac Pro was the last computer in Apple's lineup that still used an Intel chip.

"For PC users, there's never been a better time to switch to a Mac," said John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering.

The updates combine improvements to high-end machines aimed at the developer crowd at Monday's event with tweaks to messaging and a new Mac Air aimed at a much broader group of customers, including potential switchers to Apple.

Apple introduced small improvements to its iOS software, some aimed at small annoyances like a "NameDrop" feature to more easily share contact information and others focused on safety and security, like a check-in feature to tell contacts when a user has arrived safely at a destination.

Apple said that it was improving the auto-correct feature on iPhone keyboards.

"In those moments where you just want to type a ducking word, well, the keyboard will learn it, too," said Craig Federighi, Apple's software chief. Apple is famous for autocorrecting a common expletive to "ducking".

Apple did not make any major announcements about generative AI products similar to ChatGPT or Google's Bard search engine, but it quietly imbued several smaller features with AI, like live transcriptions of voice mails.