And now we get the MacBook Pro with all of those things: an M4, M4 Pro, or M4 Max chip, a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, a nano-texture glass option, and Thunderbolt 5 on the M4 Pro and M4 Max models.
It is the most matte display type that Apple makes, and Apple claims that it is useful for high-end, color-managed workflows or demanding ambient lighting environments.
Apple's tech specs page says all of the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models have a peak display brightness of 1,000 nits for standard content in bright outdoor lighting, such as on a sunny day. The previous-generation MacBook Pro models have a peak display brightness of 600 nits for standard content, in any lighting conditions.
Along with upgrades to the chip, display, and camera, Apple claims the new MacBook Pro has the best battery life ever in a Mac. Here’s what that means.
Apple has just announced that 16GB of RAM is now the minimum for the M2 and M3 MacBook Air, giving the laptops the same RAM bump as all of the company’s other new computers this week. The cheapest MacBook Air still starts at $999.
Based on our testing and research, outdoorsmen and women who are headed into the backcountry should not cancel their inReach or Zoleo subscriptions. If you get lost or injured beyond cell service, a satellite messenger on the Iridium network is what you want. It could save your life, or one of your buddy’s lives. However, Apple’s iPhone satellite messenger is better than nothing and it’s worth installing as a backup or for casual outings when you unexpectedly find yourself without cell service.
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That being said, as a non-lifesaving piece of gear, Krebs did appreciate having satellite messenger capabilities on her iPhone. “Overall, I was impressed with the iPhone sat messaging,” she told me. “It gave me a lot of feedback about how to use it and worked as expected most of the time.” (Krebs did note that, because she was also using her iPhone for onX tracking, topo maps, and photos, the battery depleted much more quickly than her inReach Mini 2, which stayed above 50 percent for the entire week.) If you have an iPhone 14 or a newer model, you should absolutely try this tech out.
Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1 on macOS Sequoia 15.1 adds Apple Writing Tools to apps in Windows virtual machines, allowing you to "improve your texts in Windows apps," such as Word, Notepad, and more. For those unfamiliar with the matter, Apple Writing Tools can summarize long articles, rewrite or proofread text, change tone, concise, and more.
The iPhone-only app is an exclusive perk for Nintendo Online members. Once you sign into your account, you’re greeted with a deep catalog of classic Nintendo music. You’ll find old favorites from the biggest titles, but there are also many, many more obscure songs.
If that fills you with dread, it’s understandable. Maybe you feel bad participating in the race to build a superintelligent AI nobody asked for. You may feel complicit for using AI models trained on copyrighted material without paying the creators. You probably feel just plain bad about the flood of AI slop that’s ruining the internet even if you did not personally create the slop.
Then there’s the climate consequences of it all. AI, in its many shapes and forms, requires a lot of energy and water to work. A lot. That might make you feel downright guilty about using AI.
This has been a good week for Mac.
I am not in a hurry to replace my Intel Mac mini yet, so I will wait for some real-world tests. I doubt it, but I sure hope Apple didn't paint themselves in another thermal corner. We'll find out soon enough.
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Thanks for reading.