This week, Apple will unveil a 24-inch iMac and two versions of a revamped Mac mini, as well as a new 16-inch MacBook Pro and both low- and high-end configurations of that laptop’s 14-inch model. The iMac will come with an entry-level M4, while the Mac mini will get versions with the base chip and the M4 Pro. The MacBook Pro, meanwhile, will sport higher-end M4 flavors.
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While the high-end processors in the MacBook Pro will be the highlight of the launch, the Mac mini will be getting a rare makeover. The model will be smaller — approaching the size of an Apple TV set-top box — and will include two ports on the front (like the Mac Studio) and, at least on some versions, another three on the back. People familiar with the product believe it’s the most impressive Mac yet to use Apple’s in-house silicon because of the combination of its size and power.
Access is a great companion app to Apple’s new Passwords app, allowing users to securely store sensitive information such as card numbers, gift cards, license keys, and anything else you’d like to keep secure that isn’t necessarily a password.
Keeping tabs on all the news and social media apps downloaded on your phone can be overwhelming. There's only so much time you can spend scrolling, swiping, and posting.
Downloading another app to combat this scourge may seem counterintuitive, but the updated Reeder mobile app offers a way to pull your various feeds into a single, unified timeline.
If you need a cloud plan for a family or small team, and you’re already leaning on Microsoft’s Office apps, then OneDrive is a great option.
I used to hate jigsaw puzzles. I thought they were frustrating, messy, and took way too long to solve. But my wife showed me how those parts of jigsaw puzzles can actually be fun: there’s something satisfying and meditative about working through those frustrations, sorting through the mess, and putting a picture together, one piece at a time, over the course of a few hours. (Or days.)
The makers of Wilmot Works It Out, a new puzzle game, understand this, and everything about the game is designed to make solving puzzles fun instead of annoying.
Over the weekend, I've bought a camera.
The camera is nice. It has three lenses, and can zoom from 0.5x to 10x… and even more if you are okay with blurry photos.
Oh, and the camera came bundled with a wide-screen iPod for all my audio entertainment, as well as an internet communicator for keeping in touch.
It also came bundled with this thing called a 'phone', but I have no idea what that is good for.
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Upgrading from an iPhone 12 mini to an iPhone 16 Pro means that I am still trying to get used to the size and weight. As well as three, four years of iPhone improvements accumulated for a ton of decisions to ponder. How to I make good use of Dynamic Island? What do I want the Action Button to do? Do I want an always-on display? And what photographic style should be my default?
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I chose to pick up my iPhone at Apple Marina Bay Sands -- you know, the one with the dome floating in water? There are three Apple stores in where I am; the one at Orchard Road is too crowded, and the one in the airport is too far, so this is now my default Apple Store.
Oh, and here's a suggestion for Apple. Maybe, as part of the ordering process, put a checkbox (just for me?) that says 'no small talk from Apple retail staff necessary while we wait for another Apple staff to bring out my order'? I am fine with both of us just standing there and looking at all the beautiful Apple devices on display.
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Thanks for reading.