MacBook Pro - page 27

Not long ago we wrote about a person who fashioned an ergonomically healthy computer setup with little more than an M1 Pro MacBook. At the time, their fancy new display was still to-be-delivered, so they made-do without it. Now all the screens are in place and they make a magnificent workstation, with the MacBook running with one landscape-mode display and two portrait-mode monitors. It took some special connectivity tricks to make it happen.

Some 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro owners are being plagued by mysterious MagSafe charging problems.

A number of users say their machines fail to charge when they are powered off, with the LED light on the MagSafe charger flashing amber, indicating there is a charging problem. At least one has had their MacBook replaced.

Small businesses can now purchase new MacBooks for as little as $30 a month through Apple’s new Mac Notebook Upgrade Program.

The scheme, facilitated by Apple financing partner CIT, allows businesses partners to return or swap their machines after just three months if a new model is released. It’s a little like the iPhone Upgrade Program, but more flexible.

Ever wonder what to do if you damage your laptop’s screen? If you have no insurance or warranty coverage, is it simply time to lay that laptop to rest? No. Not necessarily. The rest of that laptop’s body can be reanimated like the creature from Frankenstein — only more productive, as you would expect from a Mac whose time has not yet come. Call it a “SlaBook” or maybe “MacStein.”

Black Friday is over for another year, but Cyber Monday has just begun, which means there’s still time to enjoy big discounts on Apple devices.

AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad and more are currently available at tasty discounts from third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. And to make shopping a little easier, we rounded up all the best deals on Apple’s hottest gear.

Bacioiu Constantin Ciprian, known online as “Zapa,” was born in Buzau, Romania, in 1991, not long after a revolution toppled communist rule there. He loved technology as a kid, but it was expensive and hard to get. And soon enough he realized how much he loved Apple products — especially those around in his youth.

Now a longtime resident of Bucharest, he designs and develops games to run on vintage equipment. And get a load of that retro setup!

Some M1 MacBook Air models pack exactly the same chipset as the 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro, but they don’t offer the same level of performance. Why? Because the MacBook Pro has a cooling fan and the MacBook Air doesn’t.

But with a quick and easy thermal mod, you can give the more affordable MacBook Air a rather significant speed boost that makes it very nearly as fast as its sibling. Check out the video below that explains it all.

Suppose the keyboard of your MacBook rose up slightly and pivoted toward you when you opened the lid. That’s the idea described by a patent Apple was just awarded.

The concept has ergonomic benefits but also adds moving parts.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Just how well does a new $3,500 M1 Max MacBook Pro perform against a $15,000 Mac Pro that’s only two years old? The results from the latest tests and benchmarks are simply insane.

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple plans to make a totally autonomous car — with no steering wheel or pedals! And it might show up by 2025.
• Leander’s Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition coffee table book is on sale for just $9.99.
• And our favorite TV shows in an all-new “What We’re Into” segment.

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 livestream, embedded below.

I wrote recently about the shameful squalor of my previous “setup” — basically a borrowed PC laptop perched on a pile of junk — and my effort to build something worthwhile around a gleaming new 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook. Well, like a lot of people in the throes of building a computer setup, I found that second-guessing haunted me into buying a whole lot of alternative gear.

You know, for testing purposes. Trial and error. Not because of my apparent shopping addiction. Or not much, anyway.

We see a lot of dual- and multi-display workstations here at Setups Central, but we can’t recall seeing a “dual-display laptop” or a “laptop monitor stack.” Those are terms we made up for a second portable display mounted under a laptop’s screen and on top of its keyboard, as in today’s featured setup.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Reports of MagSafe connectors being too strong on the new MacBook Pros leave us scratching our heads. Is MagSafe-gate for real? It’s always something when Apple releases a killer new product….

Also on The CultCast:

• Tech companies seem in a frenzy to get new MacBook Pros in their employees’ hands.
• Apple storms into the MDM game.
• And an all new Under Review!

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 livestream, embedded below.

The new MacBook Pro lineup is an exceptional upgrade over its predecessors, with new M1 Pro and M1 Max chipsets that offer more mobile computing power than ever before. And big companies are scrambling to reap the benefits.

The likes of Reddit, Twitter and others are rolling out 2021 MacBook Pro units to employees so that they can take advantage of the massive performance gains. “Engineering hours are much more expensive than laptops,” one said.

Apple brought back the MagSafe charger for its newest MacBook Pro models — much to the delight of long-time fans who have appreciated the proprietary charging port in the past. And although it might be faster now, Cupertino has spoiled one of the biggest things that made MagSafe charging so great.

2021 MacBook Pro adopters are taking to Reddit and other online forums to complain that MagSafe’s new magnets are too damn strong.

Coincidentally, our last Setups post concerned itself with proper ergonomics, and today’s sticks with the theme. On Friday we wrote about a person making a comfortable and productive workstation out of little more than a laptop. This time, someone has gone “ergo everything” on an M1 MacBook Pro rig with a big external monitor and a nice set of peripherals, furniture and accessories.

Saying the 2021 MacBook Pro’s screen notch is controversial is putting it mildly. But Apple could have made it easier to bear. Building in Face ID would have better justified the display cutout — and also made the newest macOS notebooks easier to use.

Apple execs recently revealed why the MacBook Pro utilizes Touch ID instead of Face ID. And the reason is not convincing. The facial-recognition system is a better fit for MacBook than it is for any other Apple product — including ones it’s already built into.

Some 2021 MacBook Pro owners are reporting that their new machines are susceptible to kernel crashes when playing HDR video on YouTube. The problem appears to be happening inside Safari and third-party web browsers.

It’s not yet clear what the root cause is — or if it will be fixed with the upcoming macOS 12.1 update, which is currently in beta testing ahead of its release.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Just how well does an M1 Max-powered MacBook Pro perform against a monster PC built out of top-tier components? The results might blow your mind. Again. And what does that say about the rumored iMac Pro we’ll see next year?

Also on The CultCast:

• Possible specs for next year’s iMac “Pro.”
• Crash detection coming for drivers with iPhones/Apple Watches?
• Our latest favorite TV shows and movies in an all-new What We’re Into!

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 livestream, embedded below.

Apple shipped a rather impressive 6.5 million notebooks last quarter, according to new data — thanks in large part to the success of the M1 MacBook Air. That figure makes Cupertino the fourth-largest laptop vendor in the world.

Although Lenovo, HP and Dell all shipped significantly more laptops than Apple during the three-month period, the MacBook-maker did see decent growth of 10% over the same quarter last year.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The first MacBook Pro benchmarks and reviews reveal just how beefy these astonishing beasts really are. Powered by Apple’s outrageous new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, these laptops blow away their predecessors — and basically blow our minds. Erfon is in awe!

Also on The CultCast:

• MacBook Pros look very good for gaming, too.
• Intel chief takes on an impossible mission.
• Leander gives third-gen AirPods a listen (and he likes what he hears).

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in Apple’s Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.

Got your fancy new MacBook Pro? Once you’re done admiring its all-new design and insanely fast chips, you’ll probably want to add some accessories that will help you make the most out of your new machine.

Here are seven essentials that will help you connect USB devices, backup your and transfer your data between difference devices, keep your MacBook Pro protected on the go, and more.

If you have a MacBook Pro of a certain age, you probably know what it’s like to run out of storage. These days, apps, macOS updates and big media files like videos require more space than ever before. But memory and storage provider OWC has your 2016-2017 13-inch MacBook Pro covered with its new Aura Pro NT NVMe solid state drive (SSD).

When the time comes to replace the battery inside your 2021 MacBook Pro, you can avoid the pricey repair shops. Apple has made this particular process significantly easier than it was on earlier MacBook models.

All six battery cells inside the new machines are easily accessible — with no need to remove the logic board first — and much easier to remove. The changes make for a fairly simply at-home repair for those who are brave enough.

Apple’s M1 Pro and M1 Max processors in the new MacBook Pro offer powerful graphic performance. That’s intended for artists rendering video and other professional tasks, but tests show that it translates to excellent gaming performance.

Of course, that doesn’t remedy the lack of high-end games for Mac.

Some of the criticism leveled at the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro should inspire Apple to make a MacBook Air with the same size display. It would be the largest Air ever, but there seems to be a market for a very big, yet very slim, Mac notebook.

And that’s not something Apple offers in its current product lineup.