Apple brought back the iconic 'And I'm a PC' character at its new product event

• Apple announced new products, including its M1 computer chip, a new MacBook Air, a new Mac Mini, and a new 13-inch MacBook Pro, on Tuesday.
• At the end of its product release event, the tech giant brought back a character from one of its early advertising campaigns: "PC," a doltish office-type.
• Apple's "Get a Mac" commercials, which featured Justin Long as "Mac" and John Hodgman as "PC," helped the company pitch Apple computers as young and cool.

It's been over a decade since the last "Get a Mac" commercial aired, but Apple brought back its iconic "and I'm a PC" character in its product event Tuesday. Comedian John Hodgman donned a suit and tie once again to provide some commentary on Apple's announcements, which included a new M1 chip, Macbook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini.

"Hi I'm a PC. Is there a time for questions? Because I have one," said Hodgman in the video clip shown during the event. "Why? Why? Why make all these advancements?"

During the event, Apple touted that the new 13-inch MacBook Pro has the longest battery life ever on a Mac, with 17 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 20 hours of video playback.

"Longer battery life? Plug it in. Where are you going? Just plug it in," Hodgman said.

Notably missing from the clip was PC's usual counterpart: Mac, played by actor Justin Long.

In the original commercials, Long played the young, hip "Mac," a representation of the Apple Macintosh, while Hodgman plays a fuddy-duddy "PC," a representation of the Microsoft personal computer. The ads helped Apple project a reputation for being cool and easy to use, with an emphasis on Mac's capabilities like creating home movies and working straight out of the box. Meanwhile, the commercials took swipes at other personal computers, claiming that they were glitchy and virus-prone.

The commercials even inspired a response from Microsoft, which ran an "I'm a PC" campaign in 2008 to refute Apple's negative marketing.

On Tuesday, Apple also said that the MacBook Pro would have quieter "active cooling systems," rather than fans, and that the Mac Mini has an "advance thermal design" to keep it "cool and quiet."

"Oh you're so quiet now," Hodgman said. "Look, I'm a machine. I'm proud of it."

And Apple announced that its new M1 chip, which can be found within the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook, and Mac Mini, is the "most powerful chip Apple has ever made," delivering specs like 3.5 faster CPU.

"Fast? I'm fast. I'm still fast. Check it out," Hodgman declared in response, rapidly waving his arms in a running motion, and quickly becoming out of breath. "My battery's drained. I gotta go plug in."

Take a look at the clip here: