Apple sweetened the deal offered to developers for the early return of the Mac mini that they used to test macOS Big Sur running on Apple Silicon. Friday, the company responded to complaints that it wasn’t offering enough for the Developer Transition Kits by more than doubling the amount of money previously offering for the units.
It’s now possible to run Ubuntu Linux on an M1 Mac, thanks to an early build made available by Corellium. The operating system is booted from a USB stick, leaving macOS completely unchanged.
All the files you need can be downloaded now from GitHub, and Corellium says an installation tutorial is on the way.
In spite of a devastating pandemic, a moribund economy, widespread unemployment, factory and store closures, and a workforce toiling from home, Apple in 2020 had one of its best years ever.
The company released a raft of new products, saw its stock soar, enjoyed a record valuation, made record amounts of money, experimented with virtual product launches and events, released great advertising, and mostly skated through government antitrust hearings.
The company even killed off a hated product feature, to widespread plaudits from fans.
Apple could be preparing to dramatically improve the performance of its iPads. The company reportedly will start building its tablets with the same M-series chips that go into the company’s laptops and desktops.
These will be produced by Apple’s chip maker TSMC, which is moving ahead with developing 3nm processors. Its first production units will reportedly be M-series chips for Macs. And these processors will also allegedly be used in future iPad models.
The first M1 Macs just hit desks and laps around the world, but Cupertino’s already hard at work on next-gen Apple Silicon processors, Bloomberg reported Monday.
According to the report, Apple is working on “several successors” to the surprisingly powerful M1 chip. These could “significantly outpace” the performance of the top computers currently running Intel chips — including the first 32-core processor high-end Macs.
New tests show relatively speedy performance for a Mac mini with an ARM-based Apple M1 processor running the ARM version of Windows 10. Even though the OS is running as a virtual machine, benchmarks show the device can handle X86 applications far faster than the Microsoft Surface Pro X, which also uses an ARM chip.
New M1 Macs let users run iPhone and iPad apps natively for the first time, but gamers should think twice about loading up Call of Duty: Mobile. Playing Activision’s popular shooter on one of the super-fast new computers could get them banned.
Hector Martin (aka marcan) wants to port a full, useful version of the Linux operating system to the new Macs running Apple Silicon, but he needs help.
He’s got the skills for it — he put Linux on a PlayStation 4, for example. But the developer wants assistance from the public bringing the operating system to Macs running the new M1 processor. Not technical help, but financial contributions.
Just how good is that new MacBook Air? Leander Kahney, our tab-hoarding editor in chief, calls it an “instant classic.” Read his full MacBook Air review to get some interesting insights into the incredible performance of this M1-powered laptop.
However, buyer beware: If you’re considering snapping up one of these new Macs with Apple Silicon inside, there are several things that could be deal-breakers, depending on your own particular needs. Be sure to check out our quick checklist of “6 reasons an M1 Mac might not be right for you.”
Read all that and more in this week’s free edition of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now for a slick reading experience on your iOS device.
Also: Don’t miss out on the great deals in the Cult of Mac Store’s biggest-ever event. Our massive Black Friday sale runs all weekend long.
Life hasn’t been as sweet as it should be for some M1 Mac mini owners. A number of users are being plagued by Bluetooth connectivity issues, which can cause wireless peripherals to frequently disconnect.
The number of complaints is growing online, and it seems the only real fix is to use a third-party Bluetooth adapter.
Apple will introduce a redesigned Apple Watch and MacBook lineup in late 2021, according to one reliable analyst.
Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities expects Apple’s next-generation wearable to bring “innovative health management functions.” He also told investors iPhone 12 is off to a strong start.
A new website could become the go-to guide to which applications are compatible with Macs running on Apple Silicon chips.
IsAppleSiliconReady.com lists apps that have been ported to run on Apple’s new M1 processor. It also tells if apps are compatible with Rosetta 2, the macOS Big Sur feature that allows the M1 Macs to run software compiled for Intel chips.
A newly discovered M1 Mac trick lets you use up to six external displays simultaneously. It is simple to set up, and a YouTube video by an M1 Mac owner suggests performance is decent.
I just opened more than 650 tabs in Safari on a new M1 MacBook Air. I would have opened more, but I got bored.
Meanwhile, in the background, the machine is downloading Photoshop and the Microsoft 360 suite, and I can see in Activity Monitor that it’s processing thousands of iCloud photos while also indexing the hard drive.
Despite this, the machine is as fleet as a greyhound. I started working on a Photoshop project while checking email, keeping an eye on TweetDeck and, of course, clicking around all those open Safari tabs. The MacBook Air is just humming. I’ve never seen anything like it.
The first Macs running the M1 processor are crazy fast, making lots of MacBook and Mac mini users consider dumping their Intel-based Macs. Before you do, here’s everything you give up when buying a computer powered by Apple Silicon.
Apple has confirmed that some M1 Mac owners may run into an error message when attempting to reinstall macOS on their new machine. If you’re one of them, there are some things you can do to avoid it.
These include using a bootable installer, rather than macOS Recovery, or initiating a reinstall from Terminal. We’ll show you how.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, says Macs with the new M1 processor could run the version of Windows Microsoft created to run on similar chips. Apple did nothing to make that impossible. So whether Apple Silicon Macs ever run Windows depends on Microsoft.
This week on The CultCast: Apple’s new M1 Macs are breaking all the benchmarks, and are now officially the fastest Macs ever made. The MacBook Air is outperforming the iMac — these M1 Macs are insane.
Plus: iPhone 12 Pro Max versus mini — we’ve got them both! Which one is the keeper? We discuss. And stay tuned for our HomePod mini review, and our favorite new gadgets in an all-new Under Review!
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
It’s not possible to run Windows in Boot Camp on an M1 Mac, but that doesn’t mean you can’t run Windows apps. CrossOver allows Apple’s newest machines to run x86 software built for Microsoft’s platform.
And despite all the translation that’s required, it runs surprisingly well. So much so that you can use it to play action-packed online games on a MacBook Air that doesn’t even have a fan.
An early teardown of the new Mac mini offers our first glimpse at Apple’s new M1 chip and redesigned logic board. The desktop’s internals are much smaller than before, despite the increase in power.
Pixelmator Pro 2.0 for macOS is out with an all-new design and support for Apple Silicon. The newest release also features a simplified Effects Browser, a new Workspaces feature, and more.
Google Chrome is today being updated to run natively on Apple Silicon. The newest version of the browser will be optimized for the M1 chip inside the new Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro.
Still on the fence over Apple’s new M1 Mac mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro despite their stellar benchmarks? Find out what tech experts think of them in new reviews and hands-on videos.
Spoiler alert: They’re all fantastic!
Adobe’s newest Photoshop beta adds support for new Apple Silicon chips for the first time. The update comes on the day Apple’s first M1 machines make their official debuts, with in-store pickup now available.
The first crop of Apple Silicon machines is now available for in-store pickup across Asia, Australia, and Europe. Preorders for the new M1 Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro are also arriving today.