David Snow - page 4

The 11-inch Apple M1 iPad Air (5th generation) I used for the past few years was a great device — fast, light, capable and well-integrated into the Apple ecosystem. Yet after just a couple days with the 13-inch iPad Air powered by Apple’s M4 chip, I can say this trade-in for an upgrade isn’t just incremental. It’s the kind of shift that quietly changes the way I use a device.

When we reported last week that the $599 MacBook Neo set off alarm bells across the PC industry, the hand-wringing was mostly coming from pundits and outside observers. Now PC makers are saying it out loud — on earnings calls, no less.

ASUS co-CEO S.Y. Hsu didn’t mince words on the company’s most recent quarterly call. Apple’s move into budget-friendly territory is “a shock to the entire industry,” he said, adding that across the entire PC ecosystem, “there have been a lot of discussions about how to compete with this product.”

Apple once again delayed its long-awaited smart home hub with a display — casually known as the “HomePad” — until around September as the company continues struggling to get its revamped Siri voice assistant ready for prime time, according to a report Monday.

Last week Keychron trotted out an ultra-slim wireless keyboard that folds in half for easy portability. At $64.99, the Keychron B11 Pro Ultra-Slim Wireless Foldable Keyboard is aimed squarely at Mac users and mobile workers who want the comfort of a proper keyboard without lugging around a bag.

When folded, the B11 Pro measures just 196.3mm × 143 mm — roughly the size of a small paperback. That makes it small enough to slide into a jacket pocket.

Coach Lasso’s right-hand man Coach Beard returns in upcoming season four of fan-favorite soccer comedy Ted Lasso, and Apple TV dropped a quick clip Friday seemingly confirming a main plot line. They will coach a Richmond women’s soccer team this season. 

“Same Beard. New book,” said the short video’s caption. The book’s title? Soccer Women.

The bold, unconventional name of Apple’s new entry-level laptop — MacBook Neo — surprised just about everyone, including many folks who expected the simple moniker “MacBook.” And it turns out the reasoning behind “Neo” is just as vivid as the laptop’s color palette, according to a new report.

Since Apple introduced Mac Studio in spring 2022, the powerful and compact desktop machine has become a favorite centerpiece for ambitious computer workstations. It’s not hard to see why, considering its amazing design and computing chops. But it is pretty hard to choose the best Mac Studio Studio setups we’ve seen. Yet we’ve done so below, with the top 10 Mac Studio setups. 

Apple just did something that was, until very recently, almost unthinkable: It put a Mac laptop on sale for $599. And, no big surprise, the new MacBook Neo announced Wednesday already sparks concerns among PC mavens about hordes of users rushing to Apple. A new report from Windows land shows it.

“Windows OEMs are going to feel the heat, too,” the commentator wrote. “For years, OEMs have gotten away with shipping what can essentially be described as e-waste in this price bracket.”

This weekend Apple TV’s Formula 1 racing content gets into gear, as practice, qualifying and Sprint sessions for the season’s first major Grand Prix race get underway starting Saturday (March 7), Apple said Thursday. Multiview programming, with a handful of live feeds onscreen at the same time, looks like a notable feature for fans in the United States.

“This weekend marks the start of a new era for Formula 1 fans in the U.S.,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services. “We’re excited to bring every moment of the season to Apple TV, delivering an immersive experience designed entirely around fans.”

If you’re a Mac gamer — or curious about where gaming hardware is heading — Logitech G just launched something genuinely new. Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse, released in February and now getting positive reviews, replaces the traditional physical click with a sophisticated haptic system that could give serious players a measurable edge.

At $179.99, it’s a premium proposition — but the technology underneath is unlike anything currently on the market.

Apple unveiled the affordable MacBook Neo Wednesday — and on the same day Basic Apple Guy made a nifty set of wallpapers available for download. So if you’re not ready to buy the laptop or even wait a week or so for the wallpapers, you can still enjoy the related wallpapers — colorful and highly attainable — on your Mac and iPhone.

Apple’s iPhone 17e is the most capable budget iPhone ever made. It packs the A19 chip, a 48MP camera, a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display and, notably, MagSafe, into a $599 package. With MagSafe now onboard for the first time in the ‘e’ line, you’ll want a case that takes full advantage of those magnets while protecting your investment. Here are the best MagSafe-compatible iPhone 17e cases you can buy right now (with more surely on the way). 

As of Tuesday, Apple has refreshed its entire MacBook lineup with M5 silicon. And while the new machines bring meaningful upgrades across the board, buyers should brace for higher prices than last year.

Whether you’re eyeing the new MacBook Air or the pro-grade MacBook Pro, here’s a breakdown of what to expect at every price point.

Using Apple’s all-new Fusion Architecture with “super cores,” the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips that Apple unveiled Tuesday in new MacBook Pro models will bring more than enough power to handle Apple Intelligence and plenty of other complex computing tasks, the company said.

“M5 Pro and M5 Max are a monumental leap forward for Apple silicon, leveraging our new Fusion Architecture to scale the capabilities of Apple silicon while preserving its core tenets of performance, power efficiency and unified memory architecture,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, in a press release.

“Both chips underscore our relentless pace of innovation, integrating the world’s fastest CPU cores, a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators, a faster Neural Engine and high-bandwidth, high-capacity memory — resulting in an unparalleled combination of performance, efficiency, and incredible on-device AI capabilities for MacBook Pro,” he added.

Apple’s best-selling laptop got even better with Tuesday’s launch of the M5-powered MacBook Air. It features no major design changes, but it sports a faster processor than before, adds storage capacity and shifts to Apple’s N1 chip for improved connectivity.

“The new MacBook Air with M5 brings incredible performance and even more capability to the world’s most popular laptop,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With M5, MacBook Air powers through a wide range of tasks, from everyday productivity to creative workloads, and is even faster for AI.

“Now featuring double the starting storage, as well as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, in a sleek and durable design with long battery life, MacBook Air is the perfect laptop for anyone who values the unrivaled combination of performance and portability,” he added.

Soundcore unveiled its new Space 2 over-ear headphones at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday. Aimed squarely at travelers and commuters, Space 2 combines advanced noise cancellation, extended battery life and personalized sound tuning — all at a price point that undercuts many competitors — $129.99.

Ever wondered how closed-back and open-back headphones differ? Is one or the other better for your uses in your computer setup and elsewhere? What the heck is “impedance?”

I recently experimented with both open- and closed-back cans in my evolving setup. I’ve laid out all the considerations and key differences for you below. And you can find my gear in the links list at the bottom of this article.

The new Aliro 1.0 communication protocol and credential standard could fundamentally change how iPhone users interact with smart locks, the Connectivity Standards Alliance said Thursday upon release of the specification. And it will affect usage not just at home, but in places like offices, hotels, colleges and apartment buildings. 

Apple is in advanced talks with major banks and global card networks to bring Apple Pay to India, potentially by mid 2026 — a move that could significantly expand the iPhone maker’s footprint in the world’s most populous country.

Star City is an ambitious new Apple TV drama set in the Soviet space program. It expands the alternate-history universe established by the streamer’s acclaimed series For All Mankind. And the new show got the “first-look” treatment Thursday, when Apple sent out a new photo to get fans excited about the premiere of Star City season one.

 The eight-episode series debuts May 29 with two episodes, followed by one new episode each Friday through July 10.

Never shy about making keyboards that look as good as they perform, Keychron just pushed that idea into genuinely unexpected territory. Launched Tuesday, the K2 HE Special Edition comes in two versions — one with a body made entirely of concrete, and one cast in resin. Both cost $199.99.

“Mechanical keyboards have advanced significantly in switch engineering, but enclosure materials have remained largely unchanged,” said Keychron co-founder Paul Tan. “With K2 HE Special Edition, we applied magnetic switch performance to a material-driven redesign, expanding how a keyboard can look and feel.”

Earth almost seems to have a “make Earth great again” moment in the new For All Mankind season five trailer Apple TV released Tuesday. Happy Valley, the burgeoning Mars colony that the alternative-history drama depicts, needs so much funding and resources it’s starting to piss people off — on both planets. 

The new trailer, full of new characters and aging favorites, ratchets up the tension for the upcoming 10 episodes. Season 5 debuts on Friday, March 27 on Apple TV. 

Nearly every high-end chip powering Apple devices is manufactured in Taiwan, a small island democracy over which China claims ownership. U.S. officials have warned Apple and the rest of Silicon Valley for years that a Chinese blockade, invasion or prolonged military standoff — possibly coming by 2027, according to intelligence sources — could cut off the chip supply.

And with a too little, too late response by tech giants grinding forward, a chip shortage could crush the tech industry, hobble the U.S. economy and keep your next iPhone out of reach for a long time, according to a new report.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has a well-established habit of dropping subtle hints about where the company is headed. This time, the dropped breadcrumbs all point toward Visual Intelligence. And the impression they leave is of a company preparing to reshape how humans interact with the world around them.

For years, Mac users contentedly typed away on Apple’s sleek but simple keyboards. Then the mechanical keyboard revolution really took off, transforming computer setups everywhere.

These days, more and more Mac enthusiasts trade their Magic Keyboards for an astonishing variety of mechanical alternatives — some practical, some quirky, and some downright bizarre. I collected 16 fascinating examples below.