The new M2 Pro chip features a 10-core or 12-core CPU and offers up to 20% faster performance than the M1 Pro chip, according to Apple. The chip also has up to a 19-core GPU that delivers up to 30% more graphics performance, while the Neural Engine is 40% faster.
The higher-end M2 Max chip has an improved 12-core CPU with up to eight high-performance and four high-efficiency cores and delivers up to 20% faster performance than the M1 Max chip, and it has up to a 38-core GPU, according to Apple. With the M2 Max chip, the new MacBook Pro is now up to 6x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro.
But the more advanced HDMI port on the new MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips means they now provide support for 8K displays up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz.
There are a bunch of notable changes with the new MacBook Pro models, including the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips that power them. There’s also one small design tweak we still can’t believe didn’t ship last year – color-matched MagSafe chargers.
The updated Mac mini comes with M2 and M2 Pro chips, which according to Apple, offer significantly faster performance than the previous generation.
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The new Mac mini features the same design as before, with no changes despite rumors suggesting a complete redesign. For Mac mini models with M2 Pro, users have access to four Thunderbolt 4 ports compared to only two on models with M2.
That makes the Mac mini a true budget Mac again, and one that isn’t just a discounted older model. The Mac mini is once again a switcher machine and a fantastic addition to Apple’s desktop lineup.
Countering the chief criticism of the original M1 Mac mini, the new M2 Pro model has improved connectivity with four Thunderbolt ports, at least on parity with the 2018 Intel model.
The Mac Pro is now the only Intel-powered machine that Apple sells, as the company continues with its transition to Apple silicon.
One purely cosmetic surprise to me: the Mac Mini is still only available in silver, no space gray.
Some experts now believe that the expertise China has developed is so difficult to replace that Apple has no real choice but to keep the bulk of its manufacturing in place and suffer the economic and political costs.
But those are not set in stone. In the medium term, the abrupt reopening of China’s economy is likely to ease pressures on global supply chains. Even if US-China relations remain strained for now, there are differing views on the prospect of the two economies “decoupling” completely and setting off on rival, parallel paths.
More than a dozen of Apple Inc.’s Chinese suppliers are receiving initial clearance by India to expand in the country, helping the tech giant’s efforts to diversify its assembly network beyond China.
AirPods and iPhone assembler Luxshare Precision Industry Co. and a unit of lensmaker Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. are among the companies gaining approval, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the permits aren’t public. The clearances from key Indian ministries are a step toward full approval for expansion in India, and the companies will still likely to be required to find local Indian joint venture partners, the people said.
Apple has scheduled three new Apple Watch Activity Challenges that will begin next week and run through the end of February. These challenges require you meet certain fitness goals using your Apple Watch. This time, Apple is celebrating Heart Month, Lunar New Year, and Black HIstory Month.
Where you’ll notice the biggest change, though, is on the iPad, where the tab bar has been replaced with a sidebar that opens up more vertical space for your tracked data and makes better use of the device’s bigger screen overall. The same is true on the Mac, where the app has been built with Apple’s Catalyst technology and closely resembles the iPad version. The overall effect is a refreshed, modern look that does a better job emphasizing and communicating progress toward your nutritional goals than ever before.
There are no more quirky homepages.
There are no more amateur research librarians.
All thanks to a quirky bit of software produced to alleviate the pain of a tiny subset of a very small audience.
That’s not cool at all.
As spotted on Twitter, 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. [...] 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.
Something is definitely coming from Apple from this team this year, and I get the sense the company thinks it’s going to something special. If true, that means it will likely also not be what most people outside the company are expecting. Outsiders inevitably base expectations on the current state of the art. But the iPhone was not an iPod phone. If Apple is still Apple, this first headset should be much more than a slightly nicer version of VR headsets as we know them.
The assessment will focus on whether Apple is complying with its official human rights policy as it relates to “workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights in the United States,” the company said in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The audit comes amid complaints by federal regulators and employees that the company has repeatedly violated workers’ labor rights as they have sought to unionize over the past year. Apple has denied the accusations.
These seems like solid updates, in no small part to the wonderful and capable Apple silicon, that makes any purchases of these machines, if one needs them, a no-brainer.
I am still using my Intel-based Mac mini, and I do want the new Mac mini, but I haven't reach the point where I need a new Mac mini.
Maybe if I wait a bit longer, there will be a purple Mac mini? That will be really cool.
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Thanks for reading.