The biggest performance boosts of the M3 generation come on the M3 Max, and during my time with the 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro, I was frequently reminded that it was the fastest computer I’d ever used. Returning to my M1 Max Mac Studio, I started a CPU-intensive podcast transcription task and wondered why it was taking so long. I had already gotten used to the speed of the M3 Max for intense tasks like that.
You’ll pay for the privilege, sure. But while the M3 and M3 Pro offer nice improvements to performance, the M3 Max goes all-out. If power and portability matter to you, it’s time to upgrade.
All Apple Silicon Macs have been some kind of an upgrade compared to the Intel models they've replaced, but the M3 generation will be perfectly poised to catch a lot of people who own those last two or three Intel Mac generations, ones made between 2018 and 2020. For them, it will be an immense upgrade—everything that was good about the M1 and M2 releases, but with a bit of extra speed and a handful of minor hardware refinements.
If you want a bigger screen, the [15-inch] Air is the way to go. For most people, the Air is more than powerful enough for their workload. But if you want something a bit more versatile that can handle the odd power-intensive task — or just really really hate dongles — the Pro is the safer bet. You might as well get that extra 10 percent performance the M3 affords, at least until Apple updates the Air to the same chip. So long as you’re also getting 16GB of RAM.
Four and half years later, I continue to believe that Apple sees the iMac as more of a supporting player that needs to justify its existence by doing certain tasks better than an iPad, iPhone, or MacBook. Its biggest asset is its screen: A 24-inch screen will let you be productive in ways that smaller screens simply can’t. For many tasks—whether you’re editing photos or video or just watching a movie—bigger screens are just better.
By redesigning the iMac to have bright colors and making it thinner and lighter, Apple has repositioned the iMac as more fun, more mobile, and more likely to find itself a home. The days of the iMac being the default Mac for most users are long over, but today’s iMac does need to be flexible enough to slide into a kitchen (but not on the island!) or onto a makeshift workspace in the corner of a bedroom.
Apple PR representative Starlayne Meza confirmed the company’s plans to The Verge. The company encourages those who have been holding out hope for a larger iMac to consider the Studio Display and Mac Studio or Mac mini, which pair a 27-inch 5K screen with a separate computer, compared to the all-in-one design of the iMac.
For years, the iMac became more and more professional in its power, design and very nature. At the end of the Intel era, the computer could be ordered in such a wide range of specs that basically anyone shopping for an iMac could easily have their needs met, from the most basic of home users to folks pushing the bounds of what their computers could do.
That’s just not true anymore, and while it stings, I think the iMac is pretty squarely back in the consumer column … at least for the foreseeable future. Some of the more pedantic folks in the Apple community have read Apple’s statement as ruling out a 27-inch iMac but not a larger machine. After all, a huge iMac has been rumored for some time. Apple is fine going back on its word when it suits it or its products, but my gut says we aren’t going to see a larger iMac.
Apple today updated its professional music creation app Logic Pro for the Mac and iPad with new features and enhancements, including support for Split View and Stage Manager on the iPad. The updates are available now on the App Store.
Final Cut Pro on the Mac will be updated with organizational refinements like automatic timeline scrolling. Users will be able to keep their clips in view during playback, with the view able to be adjusted using keyboard shortcuts or the Zoom option.
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On the iPad, the updated version of Final Cut Pro will include voiceover capabilities that will let creators record narration and audio directly into the timeline with the iPad. In pro camera mode, stabilization will now improve shaky footage for smoother video, and there are new options for combining connected clips.
This unobtrusive black box, with its reassuringly solid aluminum remote, is elegant, slick, and packed with delightful features that genuinely add value.
The update introduces the Lens Blur feature to blur the background or foreground of an image using Adobe Sensei AI.
Moment is out a notable update for its Pro Camera app for iPhone today. The release debuts a new video engine, improved color space control, support for Apple’s Log recording, ProRes codecs, lower latency, and more.
Now, the new WhatsApp for Mac has finally been launched on the App Store as well. According to WhatsApp, the new app is available "globally."
Whether you’re a visual learner or prefer typing notes, these apps all have a unique way of taking notes.
Everything, of course, is relative. Other companies would kill for Apple’s “disappointing” revenue numbers, and there was some good news in the latest report: the Services division is thriving, which augurs well for life after the iPhone. What’s more, a lot of the company’s developmental malaise can be traced to the resources being funneled into Vision Pro, which should bring fireworks of sorts–albeit in very small numbers at first–when it lands next year. Apple is not doomed. But it would do well to remember that customer loyalty cannot be taken for granted. And that the horse looked irreplaceable until someone invented the car.
Is the iMac a one-size-fits-all device?
I agree that if you still want an iMac Pro, you are better served with a Mac mini paired with the Studio Display.
But, perhaps there is room for a smaller iMac?
Every time I see some store uses the iMac as a POS machine, I always felt that the machine is too big. Also, kitchen islands.
(Or is Apple planning a bigger iPad?)
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Thanks for reading.