Mac users can now install macOS Sonoma 14.3 and start using collaborative music playlists along with a few other tweaks.
Apple also introduced iOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3, watchOS 10.3 and tvOS 17.3 on Monday.
January 22, 1984: Apple’s stunning “1984” commercial for the Macintosh 128K airs on CBS during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII.
Probably the most famous TV ad for a computer in history, the commercial is directed by Alien and Blade Runner helmer Ridley Scott. It very nearly didn’t air, though.
The sleek MacBook Air will get upgraded with the recently released M3 processor this spring, according to a trusted source of insider info.
The Apple M3 is also supposedly coming to the iPad Pro, probably at the same event.
January 19, 1989: Apple introduces the Macintosh SE/30, arguably the greatest of the classic compact Macs with black-and-white screens.
When you picture the ideal 1980s Macintosh, this is likely the machine that comes to mind. And for good reason!
January 16, 1986: Apple introduces the Macintosh Plus, its third Mac model and the first to be released after Steve Jobs was forced out of the company the previous year.
The Mac Plus boasts an expandable 1MB of RAM and a double-sided 800KB floppy drive. And it’s the first Macintosh to include a SCSI port, which serves as the main way of attaching a Mac to other devices (at least until Apple abandons the tech on the iMac G3 upon Jobs’ return).
January 15, 2008: Steve Jobs shows off the first MacBook Air at the Macworld conference in San Francisco, calling the revolutionary computer the “world’s thinnest notebook.”
The 13.3-inch laptop measures only 0.76 inches at its thickest point and 0.16 inches at its tapered thinnest. It also boasts a unibody aluminum design, thanks to an Apple engineering breakthrough that allows the crafting of a complicated computer case from a single block of finely machined metal.
In a brilliant piece of showmanship during the MacBook Air launch, Jobs pulls the super-slim laptop out of a standard interoffice envelope. (You can watch his keynote introducing the MacBook Air below).
Shipments of Macs plunged 22.4% in 2023, according to a market research firm. While every PC maker also had a weak year, Apple did a bit worse than its rivals.
The drop in macOS demand probably explains why Apple launched the M3 family of processors in the fall, less than a year after the release of their predecessors.
January 10, 2006: Steve Jobs unveils the original 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple’s thinnest, fastest and lightest laptop yet.
Building on the previous PowerBook G4 laptop, the new laptop adds dual-core Intel processors for the first time. The MacBook Pro immediately makes waves in the tech community. And did we mention its awesome MagSafe connector?
You can nab a 15-inch M2 MacBook Air for $1,049.99 on Amazon right now — $249 off the regular price of $1,299. That’s only about a buck behind the all-time low price the behemoth retailer has offered for the machine.
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January 5, 1999: Apple introduces its revised Power Mac G3 minitower, nicknamed the “Blue and White G3” or “Smurf Tower” to separate it from the earlier beige model.
The first new Power Mac since the colorful plastic iMac G3 shipped, the pro-level machine borrows the same transparent color scheme. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hang around too long.
2024 is going to be a big year for Apple products. The iPhone is due for a second year in a row of big changes. And the entire iPad lineup is getting refreshed. The rest of the Macs are being updated to M3 chips. The Apple Watch Series X may receive a radical design. And fourth-gen AirPods will bring pro noise cancellation features to the cheaper buds.
We have a new video that summarizes everything we know about Apple’s top products coming next year.
The Apple A3 series processors make the latest Macs into powerful gaming machines. And macOS Sonoma includes tools to make porting PC games to Mac much easier. As a gamer myself, these are very welcome moves.
But right now, Apple is taking a “build it and they will come” attitude. History shows there’s an important step needed to turn Mac into a serious competition for PC and gaming consoles: CEO Tim Cook and Co. need to put their money where their mouths are and financially encourage top game developers to bring their products to macOS.
That might even include buying one or more game developers.
It’s a great season to get a new Mac. Every Mac today is a great buy. If you’re one of the lucky people to get one this year, here’s how to set it up like a pro.
So rip open that box, tear off that plastic and get to the good stuff.
If this is your first Mac with Apple’s powerful new chips inside, you’re in for a real treat. It’s pretty easy to set up whether you have an old Mac to transfer data from or you’re starting from scratch. There are a few choices to make along the way, though, and some essential tricks and apps you’ll want to consider, so we’re here to take you through the process.
Here is Cult of Mac’s guide to setting up your new Mac the right way.
December 21, 1994: Mac gamers get their hands on Marathon, a sci-fi first-person shooter designed as an answer to the massive success of PC title Doom.
Created by Bungie, the team that would later make the Halo games, Marathon introduces important features to the FPS genre. Just as importantly, it isn’t available on PC. Marathon quickly becomes a favorite among Mac gamers.
iPhone users can now install iOS 17.2.1. And macOS Sonoma 14.2.1 is out as well. These are minor bug fix updates, though. The changes are so small Apple didn’t bother to describe them.
These are the only updates introduced Tuesday. There’s no iPadOS version, nor one for Apple Watch. And no new betas, either.
With gift-giving season at full-tilt, Best Buy offers its Apple Sales Event on a full range of fabulous products you can check out here. We’d thought we’d focus below on 10 great Mac and iPad deals you won’t want to miss. Click on the prices below to go straight to the products.
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December 14, 2017: The much-anticipated iMac Pro finally reaches customers many months after it was announced. With a built-in 27-inch, 5K display and an Intel Xeon processor, the high-end desktop combines the features of an iMac and a Mac Pro.
It is beautiful and far more powerful than earlier iMacs, but is destined to stay in Apple’s product lineup only a relatively short time.
When you buy a new Mac, you will spend a decent stack of cash. So, whether you’re shopping for yourself or someone else, ensuring you choose the best Mac is key. While every modern Mac can handle casual computing with ease, some are a much better fit for certain use cases.
In our Mac buying guide, we’ll look at all of the models offered by Apple today, as well as some of the best Mac accessories you can get to go with them.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest Apple rumors point to a jumbo iPad Air and even-better (and pricier) iPad Pros landing in early 2024. Plus, Apple’s powerful M3 chip reportedly will come to more Macs.
We run down what it all means. Brace yourself for performance!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Tests performed on the M3 MacBook Pros reveal the performance-crushing effects of thermal throttling and skimpy RAM. Erfon is not impressed!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple’s M3 Pro MacBook Pros are available with up to $200 off in Amazon’s pre-Black Friday deal. This drops Apple’s latest laptops down to their lowest price within days of launch.
With Amazon’s offer, you can currently get the 14-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro for $1,849. The 16-inch variant is available with a bigger discount of $200, bringing its price down to $2,299.
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November 17, 1995: Apple releases the first beta version of its new Mac OS Copland operating system to approximately 50 developers. Not so much a Mac OS update as a totally new operating system, it offers next-gen features designed to help Apple take on the then-mighty Windows 95.
Sadly, it will never reach the public.
November 16, 1982: Intent on calling Apple’s upcoming personal computer the “Macintosh,” Steve Jobs pens an impassioned plea to audio company McIntosh Laboratory asking permission to use the name.
You can probably guess how the resulting discussions turned out!
Professionals looking for a more powerful MacBook will get really significantly more performance by upgrading to an M3 Max processor instead of the M3 Pro.
It’s no surprise that the Max version of one of Apple’s new chips is faster than the Pro, but many people might not be aware how very much faster it is.
I occasionally run across someone criticizing Apple because the MacBook Pro supports only a single external display. But that’s not a limitation of most MBP models — only the budget versions.
It was a drawback of the first professional-grade MacBook with Apple silicon, which is probably why people are still confused today. However, today there are multiple options for those who want two or more external screens.
