It has taken us nearly a month and a half to get this quick piece interview from Angellina Kyazike. She surfaced on our timelines when she officially unveiled the Apple iPad Air 5 at an Apple Event on March 8th, 2022 which happened to be International Women’s Day. She was called onto the podium by Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook —and there she was — in her blue jeans, blacktop, and a brown leather jacket with a smile that shows how happy she was to be given this opportunity of unveiling a product from one of the world’s most reputable and biggest tech company, Apple Inc.
Watched by many around the world, one Twitter user Dr. Ian Cutress said she had a lot more energy than Tim Cook when she made her presentation and that she should have been the main presenter. “I didn’t catch her name, but she has a lot more energy than Tim in this presentation. She should have been the main presenter — a great voice for this sort of stuff,” Cutress wrote in a tweet.
I didn’t catch her name, but she has a lot more energy than Tim in this presentation. She should have been the main presenter – a great voice for this sort of stuff pic.twitter.com/uF32f3DfEm
— 𝐷𝑟. 𝐼𝑎𝑛 𝐶𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 (@IanCutress) March 8, 2022
She gained more spotlight in Uganda than anywhere else because — Angellina Kyazike is a Ugandan and an Alumna of Gayaza High School. Many of us were surprised and at the same time to see a fellow Ugandan at an Apple Event unveiling a product. Africans in general were happy to see one of their own on the Apple podium. Kyazike told The Observer, “I was not expecting the reaction that I got from Africans in general. I was surprised and grateful for all the people that reached out to congratulate me and tell me I was an inspiration.” Well, among the people that reached out to congratulate was PC Tech Magazine. We asked for an interview with her which she accepted but couldn’t answer some of the questions because she is not allowed to speak as a representative of the company.
Well, these are our 5 quick questions with Angellina Kyazike, System Engineering Program Manager for iPad at Apple Inc.
- How did you come to work for Apple Inc. as a System Engineering Program Manager for iPad?
I decided to change jobs after 8 years at Whirlpool Corporation because I wanted to learn about new industries and gain experience in a field that was completely different from home appliances. I wanted to work for specific companies so I applied at specific companies which are; FAANG (Meta formerly Facebook), Apple Inc., Amazon, Netflix, and Google). I had been taught by my mother to always aim for the best so I was determined to get into one of these companies.
What I want people to understand was that I did not give up despite the rejections and lack of response. I applied for different jobs at Apple Inc. for 6 months before I got a callback for an interview. After that, I had to prove myself and show them that I was worth hiring. After I passed my interview, I started working at Apple in December 2020 as an Engineering Program Manager for new products.
- How does it feel working with the most reputable and biggest tech company in the world?
First of all, I was grateful that I was able to achieve my goal. It’s gratifying when you are able to see tangible results after working so hard. Seeing the products I’d worked on being used out in the world was an amazing feeling.
- You are the first African-origin speaker (that’s if I’m right) to unveil a product for Apple. How do you feel about that?
I cannot speak to whether I was the first African-origin speaker but it was definitely an amazing feeling. I knew it was a big deal for me to do it, but I was even more amazed by the reaction from Africans in general. I had so many reaches out to me letting me know that they were proud of me.
- Your advice for women in tech?
I grew up in the era where there were adverts about helping and empowering the girl-child in addition to advice from my mother that I was going to achieve success because I was female. My advice is that as women we need to empower young girls and fellow women to let them know that being female is a good thing and an advantage since it makes us resilient.
- A word or two as a Gayaza Alumna?
Part of who I am today as a woman was from what I learned at Gayaza High School. My advice remains the same as that I gave to women, continue to empower young girls and of course, Never Give Up.
The fifth-generation iPad Air may look near-identical to its predecessor, but there are key upgrades within that make it more of an iPad Pro competitor than ever before, sporting key upgrades including Apple’s desktop-focused M1 chipset, 5G connectivity and Apple’s Center Stage camera tech.
The fifth-gen iPad Air starts at the same USD$599 that’ll get you the 64GB storage variant, with the price increasing with larger storage capacities and 5G connectivity. Here’s how much the entire range costs:
- iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi): $599.
- iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi): $749.
- iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi & Cellular): $749.
- iPad Air (256GB, Wi-Fi & Cellular): $899.
It’s available in five color options, Space Grey, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue which is a totally new color exclusive to the iPad Air.
According to some critics, the iPad Air (2022) continues to be the sweet spot in Apple’s tablet collection, offering more similarities to the premium iPad Pro 11 than ever without a dramatic price increase. It does practically everything you’ll need from an iPad, and the M1 chip will continue to deliver high performance for some time to come.
