Apple’s New Devices Target Markets Led by Smaller Rivals

The company also said it planned to release iPhone software next week with a privacy feature that worries many digital-advertising companies.

Apple unveiled a series of new products on Tuesday that showed how it continues to center its marketing pitch on consumer privacy, at the potential expense of other companies, while muscling into markets pioneered by much smaller competitors. In an hourlong infomercial that was streamed from its Silicon Valley headquarters, Apple showed off a new high-end iPad and an iMac desktop computer based on new computer processors that Apple now makes itself. The company also said it was redesigning its podcast app, which competes with companies like Spotify, to enable creators to charge for their shows. And it revealed the AirTag, a $29 disc that attaches to key rings or wallets so they can be found if lost. But after its product show, Apple made other news that could have far more significant, industrywide implications. The company said in a news release that it planned to release highly anticipated iPhone software next week with a privacy feature that worries digital-advertising companies, most notably Facebook.