Apple released the final version of macOS Big Sur on Thursday. The new operating system offers the biggest design overhaul to the Mac user interface in nearly two decades. Plus, it brings big improvements to Apple’s bundled applications like Messages, Maps and Safari.
The first HomePod mini reviews almost universally praise the tiny smart speaker for outstanding audio quality. A wave of superlatives like “impressively powerful,” and even “startling” make HomePod mini sound like a total champ.
Across the board, the reviewers say Apple’s new $99 smart speaker offers stiff competition to other devices in that price range. And beyond audio, they deliver surprisingly positive assessments of the HomePod mini’s design and features. Even Siri earns accolades!
Apple TV is now available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The new app gives users the ability to watch Apple TV+, third-party channels like Showtime and Starz, and content purchased from iTunes.
Its launch coincides with the PlayStation 5’s big debut in many key markets, including the United States.
An archer and her eagle are the centers of The Pathless, an open-world adventure that debuted Thursday for iPad, Mac, iPhone and other platforms. Players take on the role of the Hunter, who travels a mystical island with her feathered companion and dispel a curse of darkness. There are monsters to slay and puzzles to solve.
Apple Arcade subscribers can play this new title at a considerable savings over other platforms.
Early benchmark results for the new M1 MacBook Air have begun surfacing online, and boy are they impressive. Not only does Apple’s newest ultraportable blow away its predecessors, but its M1 chip outperforms every other mobile CPU on the market.
That’s even more astounding when you remember the new MacBook Air has a completely fan-less design that stays silent no matter how hard you push it.
Former President Barack Obama will appear next Tuesday on an episode of The Oprah Conversation. The topic will be his new book, A Promised Land, which hits shelves that day.
While the interview by Oprah Winfrey will appear on Apple’s subscription streaming service, it will also be available free for two weeks.
The Intel-based MacBook Air is quickly disappearing. Apple introduced the the first version of this svelte laptop with an M1 processor on Tuesday, and pulled the previous version off the Apple online store.
It isn’t unusual for a new Mac to replace on older one. But the MacBook Air just made a quantum leap to a new type of processor, and some people are likely still interested in one with an Intel processor. The supply is dwindling, though.
The Mac App Store is about to balloon in size. The Apple M1 processor allows the latest Macs to run iOS and iPadOS software as easily as macOS apps. So the entire contents of the iPhone App Store will soon be listed in the Mac software store.
Winter is coming. And based on what we know about 2020 so far, it’s likely to be a nasty one. Get set for the wet and miserable months by bagging a rugged, waterproof Nyloon band for Apple Watch.
Their NATO-style design makes them super-strong and ready for anything, and they’re available in a range of colorful styles. They’re also nicely priced from just $24.99.
The second wave of MacBooks with the just-announced Apple M1 processor will have an “all-new form factor,” according to a trusted analyst. And there’ll supposedly be a new size option.
That’s likely to please anyone who was disappointed that the first M1-based MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are nearly indistinguishable from their predecessors.
Roku has begun rolling out AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support for smart TVs and streaming devices.
The update, Roku OS 9.4, gives users the ability to control their Roku using the Home app on iPhone and iPad, and to send content from Mac and iOS devices to their TV via the Roku platform.
Apple’s two theft claims against Epic Games were on Tuesday dismissed by a federal judge in California.
Epic filed the counterclaims filed in September, just weeks after the game-maker sued Apple for alleged anti-competitive actions. Cupertino removed Fortnite, the hugely popular battle royale game, from the App Store after Epic gave players on iOS devices the ability to purchase in-game currency outside of Apple’s ecosystem.
If you’re planning to buy a HomePod mini and there’s any chance you might break it, you might want to pick up AppleCare+ coverage, too. Getting your speaker repaired without warranty coverage is almost as expensive as buying a brand-new HomePod mini.
iPhone SE fans hoping for an annual refresh could face disappointment in early 2021. One reliable analyst today reports that Apple has no plans to refresh its budget device during the first half of next year.
Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities indicates that plans for an upgraded iPhone SE have been pushed back while Apple suppliers battle it out to secure orders for next fall’s iPhone 13 instead.
Apple improved its processors’ performance by a massive 3x in the past five years, according to analysis carried out by AnandTech. Meanwhile, Intel’s best single-thread performance only improved 28% during that same time frame.
The stats help cement why the risky jump from Intel to Apple Silicon in Macs makes a whole lot of sense.
Apple took a huge step in switching Macs from Intel processors to Apple Silicon on Tuesday. The M1 processor will bring big performance boosts to a trio of new Macs.
Here’s a rundown of not only what Apple CEO Tim Cook and Co. said during the “One More Thing” event, but what the announcements mean for the future of the Mac — and the company.
Apple Silicon was widely expected to be fast, but perhaps the biggest surprise of the new M1 chip is the insane battery life it enables.
During Tuesday’s “One More Thing” keynote, Apple touted some truly eye-popping battery life numbers. While we expected improved battery life from the new MacBooks, the numbers Apple released surpassed expectations.
The Apple M1 processor dramatically increases the capabilities of the just-launched 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple says the CPU runs up 2.8 times faster. And the laptop’s battery life stretches to 20 hours.
The newly announced Macs running Apple’s M1 processor can run some Intel applications faster than Intel-based Macs can, Apple says. This is the result of technology in macOS Big Sur called Rosetta 2.
That’s good news for anyone considering an upcoming MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or a Mac mini with Apple Silicon who are concerned about the performance of current software.
Apple just unveiled a new M1 Mac that no one was expecting (but should have) — the Mac mini.
Featuring the Apple M1 chip, the new Mac mini boasts 3x faster CPU performance and up to 6x faster graphics, compared to the previous generation mini, Apple said during Tuesday’s “One More Thing” keynote.
Apple’s hugely popular MacBook Air is now faster than 98% of all laptops, thanks to a brand-new M1 chip. The newest model, unveiled today during Apple’s “One More Thing” keynote, also features two times faster storage and vastly improved battery life.
What’s more, it’s the first MacBook Air that requires no fan, and it’s just as affordable as before. Order yours today!
Apple’s new macOS operating system Big Sur is the first Mac operating system to be built with the new Apple Silicon M1 chip in mind. Big Sur brings with it a dramatic redesign and a host of big improvements to key apps like Messages, Maps and Safari.
The M1 chip optimization will also mean some massive speed improvements for top apps — including the ability for your Mac to immediately turn on when you wake it up, similar to the way an iPhone does when you pick it up.
And you don’t have long to wait.
Apple on Tuesday delivered on its promise to unveil the first Apple Silicon chip before the end of 2020. Its brand-new M1 system-on-chip (SoC) promises industry-leading performance and power efficiency for the fastest, most impressive Macs to date.
The M1 chip is the first 5-nanometer computer chip, packing a whopping 16 billion transistors and the world’s fastest CPU cores. It also features an 8-core GPU that’s “in a class of its own,” Apple says.
Although the shows that debuted on Apple TV+ in 2019 didn’t didn’t become hits, the ones the streaming service introduced in 2020 are generally grabbing more attention, according to a market-research firm.
Apple seeded a final version of macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 to developers on Thursday, Nov. 5. This is the last step before introducing it to the general public.
The wait probably won‘t be much longer — it’s widely expected that Big Sur will finally reach customer’s Macs after Apple’s “One More Thing” event.
Update: Apple seeded a second macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate to developers on November 10. And it announced the public launch will be Thursday, November 12.