Up next in 10
New MacBooks, Studio Displays, iPad Air and iPhone 17e announced! (Cult of Mac Podcast #10)
Mar 5, 2026
Our reactions to Apple’s mad week of announcements — the good and bad from the iPhone 17e, the iPad Air, the incredible M5 MacBooks, the shocking new Studio Displays, and the all-new MacBook Neo. Plus, we’ll grade our predictions from last week!
Produced by Extra Ordinary for Cult of Mac
Music composed by Will Davenport, arranged by D. Griffin Jones
0:00 - Intro
1:12 - MacBook Neo
14:37 - Cult of Mac Newsletters
15:52 - MacBook Neo (a little more)
18:21 - M5 Pro & Max MacBook Pros
30:49 - New Studio Displays
37:53 - iPhone 17e
44:19 - M5 MacBook Air
47:03 - M4 iPad Air
52:48 - Prediction game results
Follow us!
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@cultofmac
Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@cultofmac
Instagram: https://instagram.com/cultofmac/
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Coming up, our reactions to Apple's mad
0:03
week of announcements. The good and the
0:05
bad from the iPhone 17e, the iPad Air,
0:07
the incredible M5 MacBooks, the striking
0:10
new studio displays, and the all new
0:12
MacBook Neo. Plus, we'll grade our
0:14
predictions from last week.
0:18
Welcome to the Cult podcast. I'm your
0:20
host, Leander Kaney. Joining me today,
0:22
D. Griffin Jones. Hey, Griffin.
0:23
>> Good evening. Uh, I hope we can
0:25
appreciate this last hour as joint
0:27
leaders of the prediction game before
0:29
the the new scores are settled at the
0:30
end of this show.
0:32
>> Oh, a big shakeup, huh?
0:34
>> Oh dear. Maybe, maybe not, though.
0:36
>> Very exciting. I can't wait to hear
0:38
about that. We have Lewis Wallace. Hey,
0:40
Lewis.
0:41
>> Hey, I got to admit when you mentioned
0:43
the predictions game, I a part of me
0:45
died. I forgot. I completely forgot. I
0:47
didn't go look at the results. I'm
0:49
terrified to see what happened.
0:50
>> Yes, I know. Yeah. Well, I presume Casey
0:52
won. Oo, you Griffin.
0:56
>> Casey winning would be very funny. Yeah.
0:58
>> Casey who?
1:00
>> Casey Le last week.
1:02
>> Was he on the podcast last week?
1:04
>> He was, wasn't he?
1:05
>> Should people go seek that out and
1:06
listen to it?
1:07
>> Yeah,
1:08
>> they should. It was a very good episode.
1:13
>> Okay. All right. Well, let's let's get
1:14
into it because there's a ton of things
1:15
to talk about. Uh, let's start with a,
1:18
you know, I guess the most exciting
1:19
thing. Maybe not the most exciting
1:20
thing, but the most substantial thing,
1:23
the most impactful thing, which is the
1:24
new MacBook Neo,
1:27
uh, which is, you know, Apple's netbook.
1:29
They released it finally, and it doesn't
1:31
suck. Why don't you tell us all about
1:33
it, Griffin?
1:35
>> The new MacBook Neo fills the gap, uh,
1:37
for a low-end laptop in Apple's lineup.
1:40
The entry-le model costs the same as a
1:42
Mac Mini or iPhone 17e, which is kind of
1:47
insane to think about. It comes with 256
1:49
GB of storage. The one and only upgrade
1:53
option bumps the storage to 512 GB and
1:55
adds a Touch ID sensor to the keyboard
1:57
for an extra 100 bucks. And I think that
2:00
makes sure that there's like no big
2:02
overlap between the MacBook Neo and the
2:04
MacBook Air. Like if you remember 10
2:07
years ago with the 2016 MacBook, like if
2:10
you had $1,600 to spend on a computer,
2:13
you could get either the MacBook Air or
2:14
the MacBook or the MacBook Pro and it
2:17
was kind of a mess. like what are they
2:18
doing? But, you know, these are very
2:20
clearly delineated. Like the the MacBook
2:22
Neo is only cheaper than the MacBook
2:24
Air. There's no way to configure it up
2:26
to there. If you have more than $700 to
2:29
spend, then you buy a MacBook Air.
2:31
>> It's pretty simple.
2:32
>> Yeah,
2:32
>> it has an A18 Pro inside, but of course,
2:36
Apple went to great lengths to make sure
2:37
that we all know that it's not slow. Uh,
2:40
according to Apple's press release, it's
2:42
up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than
2:44
the bestselling PC with the latest
2:46
shipping Intel Core Ultra 5, which it
2:50
was news to me that that's how Intel is
2:52
marketing their chips now. But, um, yep.
2:54
Faster than 50% faster than the
2:56
bestselling PC laptop. Um, the the chip
2:59
is faster than the in single core than
3:01
the M1, M2, and M3 I saw on like
3:05
Geekbench scores. Um, in multi-core it's
3:07
a little slower, but you know.
3:09
>> Well, it's interesting because it's
3:10
actually basically an M4, isn't it? Or
3:12
it's based on the same sort of die as
3:15
the M4. Um, except the M4 has more
3:18
cores. So, it does increase it in
3:21
multi-core performance, but in single
3:23
core performance, it's basically
3:25
uh very
3:26
>> it's the same technology as the M4. It's
3:28
built on the same process. I wouldn't
3:29
say it's not quite the same die because
3:31
they, you know, any M series chip has a
3:33
lot more stuff than an A series chip
3:35
does. like it doesn't have the the media
3:36
engineers as much. Yeah. Weird weird
3:40
little stuff on the side or you know
3:41
Thunderbolt controllers which uh is a
3:43
thing we'll get to later. Um
3:46
>> 16 hour battery life. You know Apple
3:48
didn't compromise on that just like any
3:49
other MacBook. Um if there's any limit
3:53
to the MacBook Neo, it's the small
3:55
amount of RAM. It only comes with 8 GB
3:57
of unified memory whereas all other Macs
4:00
now come with 16 GB of standard. And
4:03
this can't be upgraded. Um, this is a
4:06
limitation of the A series chip like the
4:08
A18 Pro. You know, just like the iPhone
4:10
16 Pro which has 8 gigabytes of memory,
4:12
this has 8 gigabytes of memory. Um, if
4:14
they make a MacBook Neo2 next year based
4:18
on the A19 Pro, the good news there is
4:20
that then it would have 12 GB of memory.
4:22
You know, this being tied to the A
4:24
series chip is where
4:24
>> that's the only thing that gives me
4:25
pause. Like I would I would get one of
4:27
these Neos um and and even consider, you
4:30
know, as a as a daily driver because my
4:31
workload is all sort of textbased. I'm
4:33
not doing anything heavy lifting and but
4:36
that that limit the 8 gigabytes, you
4:38
know, I can't have 200 Chrome tabs open
4:40
as is my habit. So that that's the
4:44
>> they explicitly called that out when
4:45
they were announcing the MacBook Air.
4:47
Like look how many things you can have
4:48
simultaneously,
4:50
>> right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
4:51
>> Which is kind of funny.
4:52
>> But this is crazy. I mean like what took
4:53
Apple so long uh you know to get to
4:56
bring it down to the lowcost market. Uh
4:58
you know that that seemed to me the most
5:00
shocking thing to me is why why didn't
5:02
they do this before? cuz they've been
5:03
doing budget products for several years,
5:05
but not the Mac.
5:06
>> I think it took long enough for them to
5:08
make a budget MacBook that was that they
5:10
considered good enough. And now the the
5:12
A the A18 Pro was was there. I mean,
5:15
they probably could have done it a
5:16
little earlier, but
5:17
>> that's what John Turnis um you know, the
5:19
leading candidate for the next CEO of
5:20
Apple, uh who said to ABC, I think uh
5:23
this morning or yesterday, he said, you
5:25
know, this is the first time they were
5:26
able to make a a Mac that they were
5:28
proud of. Uh, in terms of colors, it
5:30
comes in silver, blush, indigo, and
5:33
citrus. So, in other words, light gray,
5:36
pink, dark blue, and greenish yellow.
5:39
Uh, the keyboards even come in matching
5:41
colors, so that's nice. Uh, I don't
5:44
think it'll I don't presume it'll come
5:46
with a color matched cable like the
5:48
MacBook Air does. Probably as like a
5:50
cost saving measure. I bet they just use
5:51
the same like white USBC cable that they
5:53
ship with the iPhones probably. But, uh,
5:56
you know, color matched keyboard. So,
5:57
that's nice. uh you know the the most
5:59
vibrant computer that Apple has made
6:01
since the G3 iBook which I've got right
6:04
here.
6:06
>> Beast.
6:08
>> Oh yeah.
6:09
>> It's a little thick.
6:11
>> Yep.
6:12
>> Really looks like a deluxe toilet seat.
6:14
>> It does. Yeah.
6:18
>> Um in terms of design, it's 2.7 lbs.
6:21
Same as the MacBook Air, actually.
6:22
Virtually the same dimensions. I think a
6:25
few different, you know, theories before
6:27
this thing announced was that it would
6:29
either be really thin and really light
6:32
like the affforementioned 2016 Mac 12-in
6:35
MacBook or my other theory was, oh,
6:38
it'll probably just reuse the same case
6:40
from the M1 MacBook Air. Uh, but no,
6:43
this is a brand new like industrial
6:44
design bespoke just made for it that's
6:47
about the same as the MacBook Air.
6:49
>> It's It's nice looking. I like the
6:51
industrial design a lot. I think it's
6:52
absolutely fabulous. no mag safe. Uh,
6:55
which is sad. I guess they just had to,
6:56
you know, keep the cost down. Uh, the
6:59
ports the are a little weird. It has two
7:02
USBC shaped ports, but they're not
7:05
Thunderbolt. The the rear one is USB 3
7:08
and it supports charging display port
7:11
and 10 GB of data transfers. The the
7:14
port closer to the front is only USB 2,
7:18
which means it only supports 480
7:20
megabytes of data transfers. a no
7:23
display output.
7:24
>> Can you can you charge from both ports?
7:27
>> You can charge from both ports.
7:28
>> There was a pretty funny tweet, wasn't
7:30
there, yesterday, saying that app, you
7:32
know, like uh Apple's bringing back the
7:36
inability to plug in USB properly. You
7:39
know, like every time you try to plug in
7:41
USB, you get it the wrong way round. So,
7:43
Apple thought up the USBC version of
7:45
that, which is like having two identical
7:47
ports with no markings on them.
7:50
Uh, I read that if you plug I think
7:52
somebody who was in the hands-on area
7:53
said that or got a media briefing said
7:55
that if you plug a display into the
7:58
other port in the front then you'll get
8:00
a little warning on the Mac that says
8:02
plug it into the other port.
8:03
>> Okay. I've seen that actually. That's
8:04
very useful cuz I get that on mine.
8:06
Although what uh uh my iMac I've got an
8:08
M1 iMac here and that pops up every now
8:10
and again but it's actually I think I
8:12
don't have another display popped into
8:13
it. It it it thinks it's seeing a
8:14
display. It's something else. I think
8:15
it's something that's plugged into one
8:17
of my um I got one of these dot these
8:19
hubs
8:21
>> these multiport hubs. So I've got
8:22
something plugged in here somewhere that
8:23
that the uh iMac thinks is a display.
8:26
But yeah, it's very useful. You get a
8:27
very clear notification in the top right
8:29
hand corner telling you that you know
8:31
you've chosen the wrong port. So very
8:32
handy.
8:33
>> Um people went to the media briefing
8:35
also said that yeah it only has two USB
8:38
ports then they aren't very good. But
8:39
Apple apparently had to go to, you know,
8:41
think about no iOS device has ever had
8:44
two ports. Apple actually had to go to
8:46
great lengths to add a second port to
8:49
this computer to begin with. So you
8:52
should be thankful that you have two
8:53
ports at all was the message. Um, you
8:56
know, maybe now they know that, you
8:57
know, they're making this computer,
8:58
maybe they can start designing the A
9:00
series chips with better support for
9:02
this going forward. Maybe the A19 Pro
9:05
has secret support for
9:07
>> that would make a lot
9:08
>> to USB 3. Um, other miscellaneous
9:11
details, it has two speakers coming out
9:14
the side rather than underneath the
9:17
keyboard as they typically are, which is
9:18
unusual. Uh, no backlit keyboard, you
9:21
know, had to cut costs. Just a basic
9:24
1080p camera, not a center stage camera
9:27
without, you know, doesn't have desk
9:28
view. Um, I don't think that's a great
9:32
loss, honestly. Uh, the display is
9:35
slightly rounded on the top and left and
9:37
top right, but it doesn't have a notch,
9:40
which I see as a plus. Um,
9:44
and again, cost $599 with 256 GB of
9:47
storage or $6.99 for 512 GB and
9:50
integrated Touch ID. And both of those
9:52
are $100 cheaper on the education store.
9:55
So they how how many dozen million of
9:58
these things are they going to sell is
9:59
the question.
10:01
>> I think a lot I was looking at the on
10:02
Reddit and and on the socials about
10:04
Chromebooks, you know, and and uh they
10:06
had these teachers saying that the kids
10:08
hate the Chromebooks. They absolutely
10:09
hate them. They're so slow.
10:11
>> Um you know, they were predicting that
10:13
their school, you know, like their
10:16
school district was going to buy um you
10:18
know, millions of these for every
10:19
incoming student, which which you know,
10:21
they've been doing with Chromebooks. I
10:22
mean, Chrome has completely captured
10:25
that education market which used to
10:26
belong to Apple um and now they're
10:28
fighting back and uh you know I think
10:32
even if if um you know that that's a
10:34
definitely a big market that that the uh
10:36
school district's buying them but I
10:37
think you know every kid is going to
10:39
want one of these who's going to want a
10:41
stinky horrible Dell PC when there's a
10:45
MacBook Neo sitting there in nice bright
10:47
colors and of course it works with their
10:48
iPhone. I mean there's incredible
10:50
surveys. 90% of kids, teenagers are are
10:53
use iPhones. 90%.
10:56
>> And you know, thanks to Apple's
10:58
ecosystem, all that, you know, lovely
10:59
continuity stuff and the handoff things,
11:01
all those those features, um, you know,
11:04
which you which you don't get with a
11:06
Windows PC, uh, airdrop, that kind of
11:09
stuff, you know, you know, they they're
11:10
going to get with a Neo. I mean, this is
11:11
going to bring in, I think, a ton of
11:12
people. I think that it's going to sell
11:14
like hot cakes. Apple's moving down
11:16
market down into a market they've never
11:18
been in before. It's easier for us to
11:20
say, "Oh, they had to cut all of these
11:22
features that we consider the things
11:24
that make a Mac a Mac." But school issue
11:26
Chromebooks don't have backlit keyboards
11:28
or center stage cameras or Mag Safe.
11:31
>> Well, do you give a hoot about any of
11:32
those any of those missing features?
11:35
Whether is there any of them that makes
11:36
any difference? I think the RAM is the
11:37
one thing the only thing that keeps me
11:40
concerned. The other stuff I couldn't
11:41
give a hoot about. Nothing. None of it.
11:43
>> I love a backlit keyboard. The backsafe
11:45
is kind of sad because, you know, if you
11:47
only have two ports, it's nice to have
11:49
like, oh, this one is just for charging.
11:50
I don't have to worry. I can plug in two
11:52
peripherals and charge simultaneously.
11:55
That's But I I can understand they had
11:57
to cut cost on this. Like again, it's
11:58
much cheaper than any of us were
12:00
expecting. I was thinking, you know, 750
12:03
regular price and then 700 education
12:06
price, but no, $500. a brand new laptop,
12:10
you know, screen, keyboard, battery, a
12:13
good amount of storage, 256 GB of
12:16
storage for only $500.
12:19
>> Mhm. It's killer. Yeah, it's a great
12:21
great
12:21
>> But you, Louis, I mean, you were
12:23
thinking about upgrading your M1 uh
12:25
MacBook, right, for one of these, but
12:27
but what hell
12:28
>> it crossed my mind. I mean, uh, it it
12:31
just it's I mean, it sounded awesome.
12:33
You know, 500 600 bucks for a laptop
12:36
that's performs better than the one I'm
12:37
currently using, but then, you know, I
12:39
read all the, uh, sort of things about,
12:41
uh, you know, the things it doesn't
12:43
have. And and like you're saying, the
12:45
RAM thing is a big deal. And I I mean, I
12:48
I think I need to get a Pro rather than
12:50
a a lesser air.
12:52
>> You got to go the other direction, huh?
12:54
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you
12:56
know, cuz lately, you know, all this
12:57
stuff we're doing, multimedia stuff, it
12:59
requires different ports and things. So,
13:01
uh, yeah. I I But I'll tell you what,
13:04
though. I I Did you guys watch the video
13:06
for the MacBook Neo that Apple put
13:07
together?
13:08
>> Yeah, it was a great ad, wasn't it?
13:09
Really good.
13:10
>> It was awesome. It was an awesome video.
13:13
I I mean, it made me want one. It was It
13:15
was so well done. But it also the thing
13:17
that it did that was amazing that I I
13:19
think was how it it it mentioned all
13:22
these little things that you know we all
13:24
know uh you can do like you know copy
13:26
and paste on your iPhone copy on your
13:29
iPhone paste on your Mac and if you are
13:32
a Windows person I don't know if there's
13:33
an equivalent technology like that I
13:35
don't think there is I've never heard of
13:36
it for sure it won't work with your
13:38
iPhone to a a Windows machine and I I
13:41
mean they just did a brilliant job of
13:43
explaining why this is a a fun, easy to
13:47
use computer that's going to work great
13:48
with your iPhone. I mean, some of their
13:51
ads I don't like sometimes, but I
13:53
thought that one was just absolutely
13:54
awesome.
13:55
>> Did you also say that Apple made uh
13:57
their own unboxing video that they
13:59
posted on TikTok before anybody else
14:01
could?
14:03
>> Really? I didn't see that.
14:04
>> Yeah.
14:07
>> Well, they're definitely getting into
14:08
that kind of they they were doing all
14:09
that kind of things, too. What were they
14:11
doing last time at the um one of the
14:13
keynotes? They did uh you know the
14:14
keynote in 90 seconds thing too now.
14:16
>> Oh, right.
14:17
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Funny. They're
14:19
definitely a tune with the um the
14:21
influencer community. And that seemed to
14:23
be most of the people they invited to
14:24
the media event, wasn't it? It wasn't
14:25
sort of traditional media. It was um
14:27
influencers.
14:28
>> I didn't get a real strict headcount of
14:30
who exactly was there.
14:32
>> You weren't there.
14:33
>> I I did not fly to New York for that.
14:35
No.
14:37
>> Uh all right. Let's let's thank our
14:39
sponsor this week. Thanks very much for
14:41
the Cult of Mac uh for sponsoring the
14:42
Cult of Mac podcast. Um I want to plug
14:44
our newsletter. Uh I'm probably sick of
14:46
hearing about this because uh we talk
14:48
about it every week, but uh we got some
14:50
more feedback. Yeah. Some more reviews.
14:52
Unsubscribe. Stop. Take me off your
14:55
list.
14:57
>> It uh
15:00
uh I was actually looking for some
15:02
reason when I was definitely searching
15:03
my email for some uh recent positive
15:06
news, but we haven't got anything in the
15:08
past week or so. But nonetheless, it's
15:09
still a great newsletter. I encourage
15:11
you to sign up. 80% open rate, which is
15:13
mad for a free newsletter, and we cover
15:15
all the news um for the week each day.
15:18
It goes out about noon Pacific. Um it's
15:22
a it's a good way to keep on top of the
15:24
um you know, with the Apple news uh in
15:26
in your inbox. Super easy to read, quick
15:28
scam. We have all sorts of fun stuff
15:29
like polls every day, which people love.
15:31
Uh we have Steve Jobs uh quotes, which
15:34
uh is actually one of the most popular
15:36
features of the newsletter. Um, and uh,
15:40
what was the other thing we were having
15:41
as every day? I can't even remember now.
15:43
>> The daily wallpapers, which you pick
15:45
out.
15:45
>> Oh, yeah. The daily new wallpaper every
15:47
day.
15:47
>> That's right. That's right. Yeah. Yeah.
15:48
And I I put a lot of time into that, a
15:50
lot of thought. So, um, yeah. Sign up
15:53
15:55
Newsletters.cultterm.com.
15:56
Uh, it's free. Um, and you're going to
15:59
love it.
15:59
>> Wow. Even cheaper than a MacBook Neo.
16:02
Awesome.
16:03
>> It is. Well,
16:05
a perfect compliment to the MacBook Neo.
16:06
In fact, maybe we should set it out in
16:07
different in colors, you know, to match
16:09
your MacBook.
16:11
>> Wow, I wonder if we could do that.
16:13
>> Yeah, I wonder
16:13
>> the uh
16:15
one thing I don't like about the MacBook
16:18
Neo is uh typing the new MacBook Neo
16:21
just seems redundant. Drives me crazy. I
16:24
can't wait. You know, a week out we
16:25
won't be saying the new MacBook Neo.
16:27
We'll just be saying the MacBook Neo and
16:28
then it be fine. But right now, I don't
16:30
know. We're in a weird linguistic time
16:32
where it seems redundant. I guess we How
16:35
do we feel about the name?
16:37
>> I think it's an awesome name. Great.
16:40
>> Yeah,
16:40
>> it taps into that Matrix vibe. I mean,
16:42
it's it's really I honestly like I
16:46
thought they were just going to call it
16:47
a MacBook. So, I'm you know, kudos to
16:50
them for actually coming up with a
16:51
different name that wasn't, you know,
16:53
they didn't call it a MacBook Mini or
16:56
something, you know, some they didn't
16:58
reuse one of their stupid names. They
16:59
came up with something new.
17:01
>> And it's it's fun. It's catchy. It's uh
17:06
like I said, you know, it makes you
17:07
think of the Matrix or it probably makes
17:09
a lot of people think of it.
17:10
>> Well, it means you, doesn't it? And
17:11
usually it's a prefix like, you know,
17:14
neo-Nazi, neoight.
17:17
>> Oh jeez.
17:18
>> I think
17:21
uh so they're using it as a suffix is is
17:24
unusual. I I I initially I had that kind
17:26
of like you know the iPad moment when
17:28
they named when they revealed the name
17:29
of the iPad because you think about you
17:31
know uh feminine products. Uh do you
17:35
remember there was a lot of controversy
17:36
about that when it came out? There was a
17:37
huge controversy about the iPad name
17:39
when it first came out.
17:39
>> I remember that but but you you felt
17:41
that way when you first heard MacBook
17:43
Neo.
17:44
>> Well my first reaction was like oh
17:45
that's a bit weird. You know like that
17:47
the Matrix that's all I could think of
17:48
was Matrix. You know Neo um take the red
17:51
pill.
17:51
>> It's just not a word that Apple has ever
17:53
used before. They, you know, they have a
17:55
wide selection of names that they that
17:56
they choose from, you know, but then
17:58
again, you know,
17:58
>> Max Ultra Pro
17:59
>> three years ago, Studio wasn't something
18:01
we had heard before. So,
18:03
>> Studio is not
18:04
>> MacBook semi-pro.
18:06
>> Yeah. Well, uh, but it's a great name,
18:09
isn't it? It doesn't It doesn't imply
18:10
budget at all. It doesn't imply, you
18:11
know, cut corners. It's It's new. It's
18:13
fun. It's exciting. The colors are
18:15
great. Um, yeah, there's nothing there's
18:18
it uh Yeah, I like the name. Yeah, very
18:21
excited about it. But I'm actually more
18:23
excited about these ones than the new
18:24
MacBook Pros with the M5 Pro and the M5
18:26
Max chips. Now this is weird because
18:29
nobody was excited about these machines
18:31
were they until they released them and
18:34
now all of a sudden these everyone's
18:36
like over the moon about them. Why don't
18:38
you, you know, tell us about it, Lewis?
18:40
>> It's it's because people like
18:41
performance. So uh these build on last
18:45
year's M5 chip. Big big big jump in
18:48
performance. Uh Apple renamed something.
18:51
They use Apple's new fusion architecture
18:53
and feature CPU with up to 18 cores.
18:55
This includes what they now are calling
18:57
super cores, six of those. And uh Apple
19:01
says those are the world's fastest CPU
19:03
cores. Uh and then it comes with 12
19:05
performance cores, which I think Chris,
19:07
you're saying that's what they used to
19:08
call efficiency cores.
19:10
>> So this a lot of people are confused
19:13
about this. what they used to have, you
19:15
know, before this week, uh, efficiency
19:18
cores and performance cores. Performance
19:21
cores have been given a new name. So,
19:24
what was the the the high, you know,
19:25
power core used to be called performance
19:27
core, now it's called a super core. And,
19:29
you know, they just changed the name of
19:30
that and, you know, retroactively
19:32
applied it to the other M to the other
19:35
earlier M5 products. Now, what used to
19:38
be efficiency cores um on the base M5
19:42
are different from what are the the the
19:43
low-level cores on this on the M5 Pro
19:46
and M5 Max. They they made a third kind
19:49
of core. They said that they started
19:51
from the design of the super core and
19:54
engineered down rather than, you know,
19:56
continue to upgrade what used to be the
19:58
efficiency core. So the M5 Pro and M5
20:01
Max have um a greater number of uh
20:05
middle core and confusingly uh the the
20:08
the the the new middle designation of
20:11
core they gave the same name as the old
20:13
one. So now it's performance core. So
20:14
now we have efficiency, performance and
20:16
super. Super is the same thing as what
20:19
performance used to be but now the new
20:21
performance is uh basically like a a
20:24
more efficient version of the super
20:26
core. So that's what we have.
20:29
>> So I'm still confused. So what kind of
20:30
cores does the um the N5 Pro and the MS
20:34
have? Yeah, they just
20:35
>> they have up to 12 performance cores,
20:38
the middle class thing. And and six
20:40
super cores. That's a high power one.
20:42
>> Uh
20:43
>> and if you go back to the entry level
20:44
M5, those have efficiency cores and
20:47
super cores.
20:48
>> Okay. Yeah. But this is what make it
20:50
confusing. Let's just talk about the new
20:51
ones. The new ones don't have efficiency
20:53
cores anymore. They've only got
20:54
performance cores and super cores.
20:57
Mhm.
20:57
>> And performance cores aren't efficiency
21:00
cores.
21:01
>> They're a new kind of core. They're new,
21:03
>> which are kind of efficient, but they're
21:04
not efficiency ones.
21:06
>> Apple said that they a problem that they
21:08
saw was that um people assumed, oh,
21:12
they're efficiency cores. They must not
21:13
be very good. And so their their new
21:16
>> their new kind of like base level core,
21:19
they they called performance to sort of,
21:21
you know,
21:22
>> make it not feel like it's a lesser kind
21:24
because they they are very important.
21:25
and they have a very important job and
21:26
they are very fast. So,
21:28
>> right,
21:28
>> Apple says 30% CPU speed boost, 50% GPU
21:33
speed boost in these new machines, which
21:36
people like the performance. Like I
21:37
said, that's pretty good. That those are
21:40
substantial. I mean, holy crap.
21:42
>> Why don't we talk quickly about the
21:43
architecture of these cores because that
21:44
that I mean, sorry, the chips because
21:46
this is super interesting, isn't it?
21:47
They've actually they're now two chips,
21:49
aren't they? There's a basic CPU chip
21:51
which includes the cores and the media
21:53
engine uh and like things like the
21:55
Thunderbolt controllers and it's married
21:57
to another chip which is basically all
22:00
GPUs
22:02
and the difference is the ProGPU has 20
22:07
cores and the Max uh GPU has 40 cores.
22:13
>> Yeah. kind of like how um in previous
22:15
generations they they they fused two Max
22:17
chips together to make an ultra chip. Uh
22:20
they can now do that fusing on a much
22:22
smaller level within within a single
22:24
chip. So now they can piece together
22:26
more GPUs. The M5 Pro and M5 Max chips
22:30
have the same number of CPU cores. Like
22:32
you don't when you get to a max chip,
22:34
you're not paying for a bunch of extra
22:35
CPU cores you don't need. The the Max
22:37
chip is basically the Prochip but with a
22:40
second set of GPUs. And it makes both of
22:42
those chips better for that reason
22:44
because now now you don't need to get a
22:46
max chip as well to get the most number
22:47
of CPU cores if you don't care about
22:48
GPU, right? And so um this is apparently
22:52
how AMD has been building chips. Um and
22:55
I think some of the AI chip the server
22:56
AI chips are sort of built in the same
22:58
way. It's a modular approach much more
23:01
very very flexible. Um will allow them
23:04
to upgrade um more easily upgrade these
23:07
chips that go in the future. A good
23:09
question is what they what are they
23:09
going to do with the ultras? So, if
23:10
these chips are already a fusion of two
23:12
different chips, is the Ultra going to
23:14
be four chips?
23:16
>> I mean, it it could be they're much more
23:18
modular. I think that'll be very
23:19
interesting to see where, you know, they
23:21
can they can piece together, you know,
23:22
they can make a gigantic a configuration
23:24
of the Ultra chip that's like gigantic
23:25
and has, you know, eight times what the
23:28
what the ProChip has in GPU power if
23:30
they wanted to,
23:31
>> right? Which would be a crazy number, of
23:33
course. And then I saw some interesting
23:34
comparisons. They're saying, you know,
23:35
like this thing can run uh they can
23:38
pretty easily run a uh 70 billion
23:41
parameter LLM, which you know, a year
23:45
ago required uh I think it was 4A100s,
23:50
which is Nvidia's data center chips. So
23:53
this is crazy, you know, like this this
23:55
is a they as I wrote in the newsletter a
23:57
couple of days ago, you know, that
23:58
people are comparing the performance the
24:00
AI performance of these new chips to,
24:02
you know, the stuff that you needed a
24:04
data center to do a year ago, which is
24:07
just in madness to me. And of course,
24:09
these are built for AI, aren't they?
24:11
This these are AI chips out and out.
24:13
>> Yeah. And with the the unified memory
24:15
architecture, I think another benefit is
24:17
that now the prochip um has the same
24:20
amount of maximum memory as the max
24:22
chip. So you don't need to upgrade to
24:24
the max chip. If you want 64 GB of
24:26
memory, you can stay on the prochip and
24:28
and get that much memory. Uh the memory
24:30
bandwidth has gone up as well. Um much
24:33
faster. So
24:34
>> that's super important for AI processing
24:35
too, the bandwidth. That's one of the
24:37
key factors, the memory bandwidth,
24:39
>> which which is super high. Oh, I'm
24:41
sorry. Yeah. Yeah. So the 70 billion
24:42
thing you have to have 128 GB of RAM,
24:44
don't you? Not 64.
24:47
Uh the maximum is 128 gigabytes. And I
24:50
read that the the comp the the
24:52
benchmarks that Apple was citing, they
24:54
had, you know, it was a M5
24:58
Max with 128 GB of RAM. And if you
25:02
configure that machine, this is what the
25:04
Apple was using for its benchmark. So
25:05
that that was the machine that they said
25:06
was like four times faster than the
25:08
previous M4 and that kind of thing. But
25:09
then if you price that machine out, I
25:11
think it's like $7 and a half thousand
25:14
which which is and that's a maximum you
25:16
can spend on this um
25:19
>> with I think it's like a 4 terbte
25:21
storage drive SSD drive and that kind of
25:24
stuff the nano texture glass
25:25
>> but again this is only on the MacBook
25:27
Pro. So you know you're getting a whole
25:28
laptop with a display and keyboard and
25:29
battery and all that presumably when
25:31
they come out with a Mac Studio version
25:32
of this or a Mac Mini with approach it
25:34
then you know that might be a a more
25:36
reasonable purchase
25:38
>> affordable.
25:40
still nonetheless. Incredible.
25:41
Incredible um stuff they're doing with
25:42
the silicone again as usual. What about
25:44
the rest of
25:45
>> Yes. Yes, it is unusual. More details.
25:49
Okay. Uh Apple also uses faster NAND. Is
25:52
that how you pronounce it? NAND. You
25:54
don't say it. N D. NAND storage on its
25:57
new MacBook Pros. Speeds reaching up to
25:59
14.5
26:01
gigabytes per second. Uh bump the base
26:05
storage across the board. The Pro, God,
26:09
I I I really hate the way they use Pro
26:10
twice in this. The M5 Pro MacBook Pro
26:14
ships with one tabby storage as
26:15
standard, while the M5 Max MacBook Pro,
26:20
oh my god, what a tongue twister, comes
26:21
with two terabytes of storage. Uh they
26:24
also put their new N1 chip in there uh
26:26
to handle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. That now
26:29
that means they can do Wi-Fi 7, which is
26:32
important, I guess, if you have a Wi-Fi
26:33
7 network in your house. and Bluetooth
26:36
6, latest connectivity standards. Let's
26:38
see. Uh, they look the same. Battery
26:40
life and colors all the same. Uh, guess
26:43
what? They raised the price. $200 price
26:45
jump across the board.
26:48
>> But you're getting more storage, aren't
26:49
you? So,
26:51
>> sure. That's what they love to do these
26:53
days. Increase the base and the price.
26:58
>> I think this is a part of a strategy of
27:01
how they're avoiding the whole RAM and
27:04
storage problem. uh RAM prices going
27:06
through the roof. You know, Apple has
27:09
Apple builds in so much margin in how
27:11
they how they price the RAM anyway, so
27:12
they have a little bit of wicker room,
27:14
but to make sure they're like well in
27:15
the clear, they're giving you a little
27:17
more storage something they also make a
27:19
huge fat profit margin on. And you know,
27:22
bumping this bumping the price a little
27:23
bit, but not too much, not nothing
27:25
outrageous. you know, as a counter
27:27
example, you know, you know, Valve, the
27:29
the gaming company, has, you know, a
27:31
number of uh cons like video game like
27:34
new hardware products they are going to
27:35
come out with later this year that they
27:37
entirely had to cancel because they're
27:38
like, we need to completely rethink how
27:41
we're going to price these things and we
27:42
don't know when we can come out with
27:43
them. So, they're just indefinitely
27:45
delayed.
27:46
>> Was they talking about the PlayStation 2
27:47
is now delayed as well. The play not
27:50
two, the new PlayStation
27:52
>> PlayStation
27:54
is bumped back.
27:56
Don't you think was was it kind of like
27:58
a bit of a head snap that no one was
27:59
like everybody was saying before these
28:01
machines came out, oh, skip this one. Um
28:04
these the MacBook Pros because there's
28:06
going to be a redesign in the fall with
28:08
the um touchscreen and maybe the M6
28:11
chip. Uh although they're probably going
28:14
to do the same thing, right? They're
28:15
probably going to do you think they'll
28:16
release the lower end the new MacBook
28:19
when the new MacBook Pro does come out
28:20
in the fall. Do you think they'll just
28:22
they'll release a lower-end one with a
28:23
base M6 Max, M6 chip, and then save the
28:26
M6 Max and M6 Pro for the spring like
28:29
they did this year? I absolutely think
28:31
that's a possibility. Um, also, whenever
28:33
there's a redesign on the MacBook Pro,
28:35
they tend to not bring that redesign to
28:37
the entry-le model at all. Like, um, I'm
28:40
writing up a piece about this um, going
28:42
through the history of this. like uh in
28:44
201 in 2016 when they came out with the
28:47
the new MacBook Pros with the touch bar
28:48
and all that. The entry-le model didn't
28:51
have the touch bar. It took a few years
28:52
for it to arrive there. And they
28:54
actually kept selling the 2015 MacBook
28:56
Pro for like another 2 years. Um then
28:59
when they started to move away from the
29:01
touch bar, the entry- level model kept
29:03
it because it kept the old design for
29:04
longer and it took a while. I think it
29:07
until the, you know, the M3 MacBook Pro
29:09
for them all to be unified again. And
29:11
also anytime they come out with a
29:12
redesign on the MacBook Pro, especially,
29:14
you know, a big physical redesign,
29:16
that's when they take the pri the
29:17
opportunity to like really raise the
29:19
base level price. The MacBook Pro went
29:21
from, I think, I want to say $2,000 to
29:25
$2,400 and then to $2,500 and now it's
29:29
going up even further, you know, on the
29:31
on the 15 and 16inch ones. really if you
29:34
just want the performance and you know
29:36
these do have a lot of good performance
29:37
but you don't want to pay more money for
29:39
it and you don't want to you know wait
29:42
and you and you don't really care much
29:44
about getting a touch screen I I would
29:45
get the M5 MacBook Pro.
29:46
>> Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of people are
29:47
making that you know like I all the
29:48
comments I've seen is like you know that
29:50
no one's going to wait for these things.
29:51
They want this you know they want to be
29:52
running these massive frontier AI models
29:54
on you know on on their own machines. It
29:56
has all those benefits. It's faster.
29:58
It's cheaper. It's more private. like
30:00
every AI entrepreneur, every AI, you
30:03
know, like
30:05
employee, anybody working in this space
30:06
is going to think a jump on these
30:08
machines because it it is crazy. It's
30:10
data center for performance on a laptop.
30:12
It's madness. Mad mad mad.
30:15
I I did not see the starting prices on
30:17
these. Uh the M5 Pro starts at maybe
30:21
that includes some other things, but uh
30:23
20 two 21.84 84 and the Max M5 Max
30:29
starts at 3434.
30:32
Although that might be including the
30:34
$135 upgrade for the nanoexture display.
30:38
>> It's a lot of money either way.
30:40
>> That is a lot of money. Yes.
30:43
>> A lot of computer though, right?
30:44
>> Oh, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
30:49
All right. Cool. Uh so let's talk about
30:50
the thing that only Griffin is excited
30:52
about, which is the new XDR displays.
30:54
I was like, "Maybe we should maybe we
30:56
should we should drop this a little
30:57
bit."
30:58
>> Uh, yeah. So, Apple revised their
31:00
displays. The new Studio Display XDR is
31:04
Apple's new top-of-the-line desktop
31:06
monitor, replacing the uh Pro Display
31:09
XDR. Um, like the former Studio Display
31:12
XDR, it's a mini LED panel with over
31:16
2,000 backlights. I think up from the
31:18
the the Pro Display XDR was in like 500
31:20
or so individual back lights, but now
31:22
this has over 2,000. Um, so it's
31:25
incredibly bright because it has all
31:27
that all those lights behind it. Up to
31:29
1,000 nits of standard brightness and
31:31
2,000 nits of HDR brightness with P3 and
31:34
Adobe RGB color.
31:35
>> Is this thing going to blind you then if
31:37
it's when you set it on?
31:39
>> Yeah. Yeah.
31:40
>> Mhm. Especially if you keep your Mac in
31:42
in light mode, which is the the correct
31:44
mode. Um, so it it has the display
31:46
quality of the Pro Display XDR. Um, and
31:49
sort of like the uh 2021 and onward
31:52
MacBook Pros, it has an adaptive refresh
31:55
rate of up to uh 120 Hz, just like uh
31:58
you know, people are asking, it's no
31:59
longer stuck at 60 Hz as their displays
32:02
have been forever. Uh, and like the
32:04
Studio Display, um, although this is a
32:07
bit of a downgrade, it's a 27in panel
32:09
with 5K resolution. the the former Pro
32:12
Display XDR was 6K uh in a 32-inch
32:15
panel, which is sad for fans of gigantic
32:18
displays. Um the I'm sure the 12 people
32:21
who have Proisplay XDRs are sad that
32:24
they don't have a real uh a real
32:27
replacement for that. It's over twice as
32:30
much as the Studio Display in terms of
32:33
price. So now the Studio Display XDR is
32:36
$32.99,
32:38
which is a lot cheaper than the uh
32:40
$6,000 Pro Display XDR.
32:43
>> 33.
32:44
>> Yeah, this is kind of a weird
32:45
comparison. I mean, should shouldn't we
32:46
be comparing it to the price of the the
32:48
previous XDR display? So, it's kind of
32:50
half the price of the previous display,
32:52
but you know, even though it's twice the
32:53
price of the lower display,
32:55
>> but
32:56
>> yeah,
32:57
>> that sounds pretty good. It uh comes
32:58
with a tilt and height adjustable stand
33:00
built in. Uh which is normally a $300
33:03
option on the Studio Display. Uh and as
33:06
you know, formerly a $1,000 option on
33:08
the Proisplay XDR. So
33:10
>> yeah, that's this seems like a pretty
33:12
good deal. So you're getting you uh you
33:14
know, it's half the price of the old
33:15
one. It now includes that that really
33:17
pricey built-in uh stand. It has it's
33:20
super bright. It has, you know, four
33:22
times as many uh back lights as the
33:24
previous one. And and you know, it's
33:26
just a bit smaller. a really good deal
33:28
relative to their insanely overpriced
33:30
display that they have and ignoring the
33:31
rest of the display industry.
33:34
So many there are many other displays
33:36
that are already run at 120 Hz. That's
33:39
not really special to Apple. Apple is
33:40
very late to the 120 Hz thing. Um, of
33:43
course, Apple is the only company that
33:45
like really wants everything to be at a,
33:48
you know, retina resolution. So, yeah,
33:49
this is the only 5K HDR display at 120
33:54
Hz, but you're paying so much more money
33:57
for that. And, uh, I think the, uh,
33:59
bigger disappointment is that you have
34:02
to get this model if you want 120 Hz.
34:04
doesn't. They revised the regular studio
34:06
display as well. Uh the cheaper $1,600
34:10
studio display, but it's still $1,600,
34:14
still only 60 Hz, just like the, you
34:17
know, $800 Vonic display that I'm
34:19
sitting in front of right now. And um
34:22
the only changes to it are that it has a
34:24
center stage camera with desk view
34:29
>> and that's pretty much it has
34:30
Thunderbolt 5, Thunderbolt 5 instead of
34:32
Thunderbolt 3. So, you know, higher
34:34
speed peripherals when you plug them in,
34:36
you can daisy chain a few of them.
34:38
>> Well, that daisy chain ports pretty
34:40
cool, right? They haven't done that
34:41
since the cinema display like I don't
34:43
know 10 years ago or something.
34:44
>> Yeah. Yeah, that's that's nice. Um, but
34:47
it's still it's only 60 Hz, only single
34:49
backlight LED, still only 600 nits. Kind
34:52
of exactly like the iMac 5K from 10
34:55
years ago. Uh, and again, it's still
34:58
twice as much as the competition for
34:59
basically the same specs. Is that one 27
35:02
in as well?
35:03
>> Yep. 27 in and 5K. That's sort of been
35:06
Apple's uh default in terms of desktop
35:08
display size. You know, even when they
35:10
commissioned LG to make the LG 5K
35:12
display, that was also 27 in in the same
35:14
resolution.
35:15
>> Would there be any reason to get the
35:16
standard studio display over, you know,
35:18
a third party one? Cuz like you've
35:19
tested a bunch of them, haven't you? And
35:21
and they're almost all as good.
35:23
>> Yeah, I I think there's no reason for
35:26
the studio display to exist with the
35:28
specs that it does. Uh, I have the the
35:31
again the V Sonic 5K display in front of
35:33
me right now with basically the same
35:34
panel and it's excellent. It's not very,
35:36
you know, it's not as attractive. It's
35:38
not made of aluminum and it doesn't have
35:40
like the, you know, I can't hit the
35:42
brightness key on my Mac keyboard and
35:44
adjust the brightness, but you know
35:45
what? Is it worth paying an extra $600
35:48
for that? No, it isn't. Uh, I understand
35:52
like the Studio Display XDR costs as
35:54
much as it does because it's an HDR
35:56
display. It's miniLEDD. Miniledd is more
35:58
expensive than regular LED combined with
36:00
this resolution. But I think a better
36:02
compromise would have been, you know,
36:04
why can't they at least bring 120 Hz to
36:06
the regular studio display? You know,
36:09
when the studio display first came out,
36:11
it was like, oh, finally there's a good
36:12
desktop display for a kind of reasonable
36:14
price, but now everybody else has
36:15
undercut them and Apple hasn't responded
36:17
in a very good way.
36:19
>> Yeah. Yeah. I I I I wonder whether this
36:21
has something to do with the chips cuz
36:22
these things run A19 chips, don't they?
36:24
Uh, they have iPhone chips in them, too.
36:28
>> The Studio Display has an A19. The
36:29
Studio Display XDR inexplicably has an
36:32
A19 Pro. I don't know why, but it does.
36:36
Maybe that's maybe that's how it runs
36:37
120 Hz. And maybe that's why the regular
36:39
Studio Display can't. But I'm looking
36:42
forward to reviewing the Studio Display
36:43
XDR. Uh, I I've got an order for that.
36:47
That one I think makes a little more
36:48
sense as a product, but you know it's
36:50
it's kind of in a halfway where people
36:53
are simultaneously disappointed that the
36:55
Studio Display 2 isn't giving them more.
36:57
And the the the few fan I mean there are
36:59
genuine fans of the Pro Display XDR, the
37:02
former ridiculous $6,000 monitor. Like I
37:05
it's pretty popular among like the film
37:06
industry or you know a few other niche
37:08
industries. Uh, but I don't know if the
37:10
e the the new studio display XDR is
37:13
going to be sufficient for them because
37:15
it's not as big, you know, even though
37:17
it does, you know, still have HDR and
37:20
the same color reference modes. I don't
37:22
know.
37:22
>> I wonder why they shrunk it.
37:24
>> Shrinking it from 32 in and 6K down to
37:27
27 in and 5K would bring the price down
37:30
by an enormous amount. And so they
37:32
figured that was a reasonable compromise
37:33
to make would be my guess.
37:37
I I'm waiting for the when they come out
37:38
with a budget monitor, you know, when
37:40
they're going to have the the pro the,
37:42
you know, the the studio display e a
37:44
neo.
37:46
>> That's what I'm looking forward to.
37:48
>> Studio display neo. That's basically the
37:50
iMac.
37:53
>> Let's talk about the iPhone 17. Um,
37:56
which, you know, again, this looks like
37:58
a this is a killer entry level product.
38:00
it really with with with with you know
38:02
fewer compromises or there the main
38:05
compromise from the 16e is now gone
38:08
right
38:09
>> it finally gets Mag safe which is what
38:11
everybody was wanting um in recent
38:14
months a surge in AI focused data
38:16
centers has caused a memory shortage
38:18
pushing up prices but nevertheless the
38:20
iPhone 17e includes 256 GB of storage
38:23
double the base amount as uh the 16e and
38:26
yet Apple didn't increase the sticker
38:28
price at all so that's Nice. It has the
38:31
A19 processor, the same chip in the um
38:35
iPhone 17 that launched last fall. And
38:38
yeah, it supports MagSafe, which is
38:40
nice. Um so it's fully compatible with
38:43
all of the MagSafe accessories, the
38:44
wallet, the MagSafe chargers, the
38:46
stands, the battery packs, things like
38:49
that. It's not quite full speed Mags
38:51
Safe. Apple Apple new newer Mag Safe is
38:54
up to like I think 30 25 or 30 watts,
38:57
but this is just a basic 15 watts.
39:00
>> Yeah. Doesn't that doesn't make a huge
39:02
difference in real life, I don't think.
39:04
>> Yeah. Usually when I'm using Mag Safe,
39:06
it's because I'm I'm putting it on a
39:07
stand, in which case speed isn't too
39:09
important to me, so I'm not too worried
39:11
about that. Um,
39:13
it has a new color, soft pink. Uh, I
39:16
looks pretty good in my opinion. um
39:18
ceramic shield 2 with three times better
39:21
scratch resistance. Uh no dynamic
39:23
island, unfortunately. That's uh the one
39:25
thing that they didn't bring that I
39:26
think was uh the speculation would have
39:28
the dynamic island. It does not. Um and
39:32
again, same $599 starting price. So,
39:34
this is a this is a pretty good pretty
39:36
good device.
39:38
>> Really good device. I mean, you loved
39:39
the 16, didn't you? And but the only
39:40
thing that you know was missing was the
39:42
Mag Safe.
39:43
>> Yeah. Yeah. And um yeah, I loved the 16E
39:46
because it was so like so small and
39:47
light. It felt great in the hand. I was
39:49
worried I you know,
39:50
>> as they add more stuff to it, is it
39:52
going to get heavy again? No, it's
39:54
basically the same weight. I think it's
39:55
like 2 g heavier. Not not that much
39:59
different. So that's good.
40:00
>> Yeah. For the Mag Safe Ring, I I like
40:02
it. I think the the design is is
40:04
fantastic, isn't it? You know, that it
40:06
looks really good.
40:07
>> Yeah. Yeah. Uh I think it's one of the
40:09
most gorgeous phones Apple has ever
40:10
made. So I I'm looking forward to it. I
40:12
think I think previously the 16e had
40:15
that compromise for it where like you
40:16
couldn't just recommend everybody buy a
40:18
16e, but now I think you can with the
40:19
17e. Louis, you have any you have any
40:21
thoughts? 17e.
40:23
>> I mean, seems like a great phone just
40:24
like the last one. Seemed like a pretty
40:25
good phone. I mean, uh I like the big
40:28
cameras. That's This thing has the same
40:31
sort of,
40:33
you know, much less capable camera,
40:35
right, than
40:36
>> Yeah. An interesting thing about that,
40:38
uh, this has what they call the, um, a
40:40
lot of people are speculating this is
40:41
probably like the exact same camera
40:43
that's in the iPhone Air. Uh, which
40:45
makes the differences kind of
40:46
interesting because this has the next
40:48
generation portraits where you can take
40:50
a picture and convert it to a portrait
40:52
mode photo after the fact. You know,
40:54
change the focus point, change how
40:56
blurry it is like the newer phones. But
40:58
it doesn't have the next generation
41:01
photographic styles where you can, you
41:04
know, change the style, like make it
41:06
change the tint or the the coloring of
41:08
it after the fact. This still only has
41:10
the original photographic styles, which
41:12
are sort of like a fixed thing that you
41:14
set up in settings and then it you you
41:16
can't change it anymore, which is weird.
41:18
I don't know why it doesn't have that.
41:20
Um, I don't use photographic styles too
41:22
often, but every time I do, I'm glad
41:23
that it's there.
41:25
>> Some people are huge fans of the
41:26
photographic styles, aren't they? I've
41:27
seen people raving about it. I don't use
41:29
it so much either. That is weird, isn't
41:30
it? Cuz I mean, it has a decent
41:31
processor. The A19 processor, you know,
41:34
there's no sort of processing com, you
41:36
know, processing re processor reason why
41:38
it should be downgraded.
41:40
Runs the same software, has the same
41:42
camera. Why would it be different?
41:44
>> It doesn't have the um the the new
41:46
front-facing camera with it, you know,
41:48
that's like a square sensor so that you
41:50
can rotate it between portrait and
41:52
landscape without actually turning the
41:54
phone. But I don't know if people are
41:56
like actually expecting that. But but
41:57
you know, that's another difference that
41:58
the uh it's a pretty great feature that
42:00
the other iPhones 17 have that this
42:03
phone doesn't.
42:04
>> Yeah, I I like that. I'm going to go
42:06
check one out of the Apple store.
42:07
>> Have you ever seen one of these in real
42:09
life?
42:09
>> I've seen a number of people with them,
42:11
actually.
42:12
>> H Leander, have you?
42:14
>> Uh no.
42:15
>> 16E in the wild?
42:17
>> No, I haven't.
42:18
>> I guess I think I would notice it
42:20
because it's so different.
42:22
>> Distinctive. Yeah. Well, I don't know.
42:23
You know, I only noticed the orange ones
42:25
in the wild, to be honest. You know,
42:26
that that otherwise they were kind of
42:28
like I couldn't recognize it from a
42:30
distance unless someone, you know, put
42:31
it in my hand. I wouldn't be able to
42:33
tell most models, I don't think. You
42:35
know that obviously I could tell the new
42:38
ones from the new camera bump because
42:39
they're distinctive. But the, you know,
42:42
the 15, the 14, the 15, the 16 with the
42:45
similar camera bumps, I couldn't tell
42:46
you which one was which.
42:49
Uh I I mean I I have my old iPhone mini
42:52
which I love. Um and I think this is
42:55
this is sort of the modern equivalent of
42:57
that, isn't it? So I like that. I I like
43:00
I I really like the lightweight, the
43:01
simplicity. That camera looks great. I
43:03
mean, if you look at the some of the
43:04
output from the camera that the the
43:06
pictures it takes. I mean, it's not
43:07
obviously as capable as the the the
43:09
three camera system, but it still takes
43:11
great pictures. I think they look
43:12
lovely. They they're really nice
43:14
pictures you can get out of this thing
43:16
for most everyday situations. I I I
43:19
think there was a big upgrade in how the
43:20
image signal processor like just handles
43:23
the processing of photos between the 16
43:25
and 17 generation. Like the 17 pictures,
43:28
they look gorgeous and it, you know,
43:30
they didn't actually make that many
43:32
changes to the sensor, so it's all I
43:34
guess how they how they're processing
43:35
the photos, but it's a it's a noticeable
43:37
difference. Like when I had the iPhone
43:39
Air, I was amazed at the pictures that
43:42
it took. So I I think this will probably
43:45
be the same
43:45
>> that the computational photography a lot
43:47
of you know the um the algorithms are
43:49
very similar to AI algorithms and and a
43:51
lot of the processing benefits from the
43:53
same uh things that the that the AI
43:56
processing does i.e. the the design of
43:57
the chip. So they're they're designed
43:59
for both
44:02
um computational photography and AI
44:04
processing. they, you know, that they're
44:06
so similar the kind of processing that
44:07
they both benefit from these new chips
44:10
that have been optimized for for uh for
44:13
AI workflows.
44:15
That was really nicely put.
44:18
We're proud of that. All right, let's
44:19
let's talk about the last two products
44:21
real quick. Um, which, uh, Apple
44:24
released, which is the new M5 MacBook
44:26
Air, which ramps up the speed and the
44:28
storage and the connectivity. uh and the
44:31
M4 iPad Air which um is is a little
44:34
beast. Um again, so the the MacBook Air
44:37
gets an M5 chip which a 10 core CPU and
44:40
a 10 core GPU and Apple claims this
44:43
delivers up to four times uh faster AI
44:45
task performance compared to the M4
44:47
MacBook Air and up to 10 9.5 or 10 times
44:51
faster than the M1. 10 times faster than
44:53
the M1. Crazy. Uh again they've
44:55
increased memory bandwidth and uh the
44:58
base storage the biggest difference
45:00
there is the base storage has jumped
45:01
from 256 GB to 512. Uh and like the pros
45:05
it's got the new N1 chip which brings
45:07
the modern you know Wi-Fi 7 and
45:09
Bluetooth 6 uh connectivity. It's the
45:12
same kind you know the same barely there
45:14
colors. Uh, and again, Apple's re uh
45:17
raised the price um a little bit
45:19
slightly. So, it's the the the entry-
45:21
level model is now starts at $1,99 and
45:25
the 15-inch one is now $1,299.
45:28
Beautiful machine. MacBook Air, don't
45:30
you think? You know, like, isn't this a
45:32
fabulous computer? Mid mid-range
45:33
computer, just like, you know, great for
45:34
most people. Um, very few compromises.
45:37
All these sound like really really
45:38
worthy upgrades. Nothing to ding it
45:40
really.
45:41
>> Yeah. And I I think a lot of people are
45:42
I think the MacBook Neo has sort of has
45:45
sort of taken the air out of the room
45:46
for the MacBook Air. But uh you know the
45:48
MacBook Air is still an excellent
45:49
computer. There's a lot of reasons to
45:50
get a MacBook Air over MacBook Neo. You
45:52
know it has Thunderbolt 4 connectivity.
45:54
You can do multiple external displays.
45:57
It has you know you can configure it
45:58
with pretty high specs these days up to
46:00
32 GB of memory. You know which is
46:02
perfectly fine for MacBook Air. Um it
46:05
it's an excellent computer.
46:07
>> Yeah, definitely. Definitely. And I like
46:08
the mid-range stuff too as well, you
46:10
know, like
46:11
I I've got a MacBook Air. I got the
46:13
older one um M2 which I got kind of
46:15
really cheap on uh on a sale on Best
46:17
Buy. 750 I think it was. Um and I but
46:21
it's a 30-inch screen. I always wanted
46:22
the 15-inch one. I wanted that bigger
46:24
screen. Um I'm very tempted by these.
46:26
You know, it looks like a really really
46:28
good great computer for me, especially
46:29
that RAM. I got to crank that RAM up to
46:31
get those Chrome tabs open.
46:34
I'm looking at the article right now
46:36
with like the uh the the the
46:38
advertisement that Apple put out for the
46:39
new MacBook Air with M5. If you zoom in
46:42
on the screen, like you know, they're
46:43
explicitly showing it with, you know,
46:45
just hundreds of windows open and and
46:47
tabs and applications and things. So,
46:49
that's a big part of how they're
46:51
marketing that computer. And I think
46:52
that's funny specifically for you.
46:54
>> Right. Well, I think they know that
46:56
that's probably the main use case uh for
46:58
for a lot of users,
47:00
running lots of apps at the same time.
47:02
All
47:03
right, let's talk quickly about the iMad
47:05
Air. This is um 30% faster than the M3.
47:08
Um it's about the the the actual
47:12
benchmarks are looks like it's about a
47:14
207 20% input improvement in
47:16
performance. Um the M4 enables AI
47:19
processing that's twice as fast and with
47:20
greater memory bandwidth. Uh it includes
47:23
12 GB of unified memory, a RAM, and
47:26
that's 50% more than its process
47:28
processor. So that's that's that's a
47:29
pretty good bump right there. more RAM
47:31
for the iPad Air. Again, it gets the M1
47:34
wireless chip. Um, and the Celia models
47:37
have Apple's C1X modem, which Apple says
47:41
is 50% faster, offers 50% faster data
47:44
performance. Um, and both the 11 and
47:47
13in models have the same starting price
47:49
and 128 GB of storage. Very nice,
47:53
beautiful iPad. Again, like a great iPad
47:55
for most people. Um, you know, I don't
47:58
know how excited I am about these
48:00
upgrades. Very worthy, but you know,
48:02
nothing I'm going to be shouting to the
48:04
rooftops about. How do you like it?
48:06
>> I think the uh disappointing part about
48:08
the new iPad Airs is that they didn't
48:10
bump the storage on the iPad Air. Like,
48:12
yeah, it has more RAM and that's nice,
48:13
but you know, the iPhone 17e now has 256
48:17
GB of storage, but, you know, the $800
48:21
13-in iPad Air doesn't. It only has 128.
48:24
And you know, 128 is enough to like get
48:26
by. But you know, Apple markets the iPad
48:28
Air as being a productivity device, like
48:31
you know, if you want to get work done
48:32
on an iPad, but you don't want to spend
48:35
thousands of dollars on an iPad Pro, you
48:37
should get the iPad Air. You know, they
48:38
they they sell the keyboard case for it.
48:40
And um but it only has 128 gigs of
48:42
storage to start. That's uh
48:45
>> I I think that's the weak point of this
48:46
product,
48:47
>> right?
48:47
>> It also doesn't have Face ID still, but
48:49
I don't know if I'm expecting that yet.
48:51
I think the rumor is that another year
48:53
from now the iPad Air will get an OLED
48:54
display. And I bet that's when that's
48:58
when I would expect them to add Face ID
49:00
if they're going to. But um for for for
49:02
this uh you know spec bump at least uh
49:05
kind of disappointing that it's still
49:06
only 128.
49:07
>> Yeah, that's a good point. Face ID,
49:08
that's a huge feature for me. I I hate
49:10
Touch ID. Um can't I can't bear an
49:13
iPhone a mobile device without it.
49:15
>> Uh Lewis, do you have any do you have
49:16
any iPad iPad thoughts?
49:19
Uh, you know, I've never really
49:21
understood the iPad Air. I don't really
49:22
understand why.
49:25
Like, to me, it's such an odd thing.
49:26
It's so much more expensive than the
49:27
basic one. And I I suspect most people
49:30
use an iPad for, you know, watching
49:33
videos on Tik Tok and reading books and
49:37
maybe checking their email, none of
49:39
which requires, you know, an $800
49:41
tablet. I always thought that the entry-
49:43
level one made the most sense for most
49:45
people. And now that this is like even
49:47
more expensive, it's like, well,
49:49
actually, did they didn't raise the
49:50
price, did they? It's the same same
49:52
price as before. It's
49:54
I I don't understand it. I I don't see
49:56
who needs that much performance in a
49:59
tablet
50:01
that wouldn't just go ahead and get a a
50:02
Pro.
50:03
>> I've heard the uh 13-in iPad Air is
50:06
really popular with musicians just
50:08
because it has a big screen and it's
50:09
easier to read a full page of sheet
50:11
music at one time.
50:13
>> Yeah. Yeah, that you know, actually,
50:14
that's a great point. Um, I've used them
50:16
for for that. Uh, but it was a a pro
50:18
with a big screen like that. And and
50:20
that's for sure that's for sure a
50:21
selling point. So maybe that they don't
50:23
offer the the entry level one in that
50:25
13-inch size, right? So that might be a
50:28
good reason that might that's that's
50:30
actually a very good point.
50:32
>> You can imagine I not just musicians,
50:33
but like anybody who like does document
50:35
viewing or editing on an iPad might
50:37
might prefer the bigger screen one.
50:39
>> Yeah. I I never even really thought
50:40
about that. I I keep forgetting in fact
50:42
that they make that that larger air, you
50:44
I just always think of the the honking
50:46
big uh iPad Pro that originally came
50:49
out, you know, the giant one. It was
50:50
like, "Oh my god, I've never seen such a
50:52
gigantic thing." And and they are they
50:55
are absolutely awesome for uh for
50:58
reading sheet music. It's so much better
51:00
than like fumbling around with like,
51:03
you know, horrible handwritten
51:06
tabs and stuff. It's just really
51:07
awesome.
51:08
>> What are the uh the personal iPads in
51:10
your house? Are you still on like the
51:11
ancient what is it? iPad 4. I have an
51:14
iPad 4 that I use for uh darts only.
51:19
>> And uh I have a the 10.5 inch iPad Pro
51:23
that I almost never pick up. Almost
51:26
never. And uh I I always get tempted by
51:30
a new iPad because I like iPads, but I
51:33
don't know. I mean, I guess I just don't
51:35
get around to using them. I've never
51:36
ever used them for anything creative.
51:38
I've only ever used them for reading
51:41
stuff, checking email, scoring darts,
51:44
all these things. So, to me, it's like
51:47
I've got an iPhone. It's always with me.
51:49
I use it for everything. And I and then
51:52
when I have to work, I've got the
51:53
MacBook Air. So, I'm not a I'm not like
51:57
a big iPad fanatic like some people on
52:00
our staff.
52:01
>> Yeah. I I think you're the use case of,
52:03
you know, you definitely don't need an
52:04
iPad Air, but didn't doesn't the entry I
52:07
think the entry level iPad has like a
52:09
just a few compromises to it where like,
52:11
oh, I would probably get the iPad Air
52:13
instead if I was interested in an iPad.
52:15
The the accessories for it aren't as
52:17
good as the iPad Air's accessories
52:19
because it it doesn't have the regular
52:21
Magic Keyboard and thing. It has like
52:22
the keyboard folio, which has a
52:24
kickstand on the back. Um, which only
52:27
really works if you have really long
52:28
legs, you know? It's
52:30
>> right. Uh yeah, and um no Apple
52:34
intelligence. Don't forget that.
52:35
>> Oh yeah.
52:36
>> Oh my god. Crushing crushing blow.
52:40
>> And speaking of which, we didn't get a
52:41
new uh entry-le iPad this week as as I
52:44
think a lot of people were expecting.
52:46
>> Yeah, I'm kind of surprised by that
52:48
>> in terms of predictions.
52:49
>> Can't remember what I predicted when it
52:51
was brought up.
52:54
>> Let's uh let's let's jump over to that
52:56
if we shall. Uh so last week we laid
53:00
down our predictions for what we thought
53:01
was going to happen this week uh you
53:04
know with the help of uh Casey Liss and
53:06
we now have the results which I have
53:08
scored.
53:09
>> Oh green is good.
53:11
Unfortunately I see a lot of not green
53:15
>> in the iPhone and iPad section.
53:18
iPhone 17e with Mag Safe dynamic island
53:21
and the same two colors. I think we none
53:24
of us were expecting uh new colors on
53:26
it, but uh Casey voted for that, so he
53:28
gets a point. Um
53:30
>> no one expects uh what is it? Subtle
53:33
pink. What do they call it? Soft pink.
53:34
>> Soft pink. Yeah.
53:37
Entry level iPad with A18 and Apple
53:39
intelligence support. For some reason, I
53:42
didn't vote for that and I accidentally
53:43
got a point. Same with Lewis. I don't
53:45
remember what our reasoning was and I
53:46
think at the time I said I'm probably
53:48
going to regret this, but uh hey, it got
53:51
us each point there.
53:53
iPad Air with M4 and virtually no other
53:55
changes. Um, I think that it's a little
53:58
debatable, but you know, 50% more RAM. I
54:01
I think that would count. Would you not?
54:06
>> I always think of it as like
54:09
uh you know, like physical changes. I
54:10
mean, I guess that is technically a
54:12
physical change, but
54:14
>> more more RAM. Uh the N1 chip, C1 chip.
54:18
Moving on to the Mac section. MacBook
54:21
comes with A18 chip and at least three
54:23
undeniably bright vibrant colors. That's
54:25
point for Lewis and I. We finally voted
54:27
with our hearts and we were finally
54:29
rewarded thusly. MacBook Air and
54:31
high-end MacBook Pros with M5 chips and
54:34
virtually no other changes. Double the
54:37
storage. That's that's a notable change.
54:39
So, I think that's a that's a point for
54:42
Leander.
54:43
>> My first point,
54:44
>> all of us said, yeah, probably nothing
54:45
else new for it, but as a Leander gets a
54:48
point there. uh Studio Display 2 with
54:51
Thunderbolt 5 and 90 Hz refresh rate.
54:53
They did update the Studio Display. Uh
54:55
but it doesn't have those features, so
54:57
we all get a point there except for
55:00
Louis.
55:01
>> And um any other products announced? I
55:04
wrote this pick assuming oh, you know,
55:06
it'll be Apple TV or maybe a HomePod or
55:08
something. But uh no, that that is
55:10
apparently where the other studio
55:12
display lives. That is a new product
55:14
that was announced. So uh that's point
55:16
for Leander Griffin and Casey. Uh,
55:19
finally, the miscellaneous section.
55:22
This is um not looking good for me. All
55:25
new products available starting Friday,
55:27
March 6th. Uh, the three of us voted
55:29
against that. We get a point. Shoehorned
55:31
in promotion for Formula 1 on Apple TV.
55:34
I was genuinely believing this is going
55:36
to happen. Uh, surprisingly, no
55:39
reference for it. I I searched through
55:41
all of the all of the press releases and
55:45
all of the marketing images, not just on
55:48
the, you know, the press releases, but
55:49
also like all of the screenshots and
55:51
product pages.
55:52
>> You were that desperate?
55:53
>> No, nothing. There's there is, in fact,
55:55
>> he spent three three hours trying to get
55:57
an extra point in the game,
55:58
>> right?
55:59
>> There is even a uh promotional image for
56:01
the MacBook Air that shows uh two women
56:06
laying on a bed staring at a MacBook
56:08
Air. just staring at a promotional image
56:10
for shrinking. I don't know what they're
56:13
doing, but uh I guess they're fans of
56:15
the the show shrinking, but that's not
56:17
what the pick was about. So, yeah, we
56:20
don't I I don't get a point there. Uh
56:21
it's point point for Lewis and nobody
56:23
else. And finally, John Turnis hosts
56:27
three short accompanying product videos.
56:29
Uh this is what they've they've done in
56:31
the past. Uh you know, they they sort of
56:33
make faux mini keynotes, but not this
56:36
time. They didn't even do that much.
56:38
They had John Turnis on stage in in one
56:41
select location, but uh no no short
56:44
product videos. So that's a point for
56:45
everybody else except for me. So this is
56:48
a very close game. A very close game.
56:52
The points are Leander with five, Lewis
56:54
with five, me with six, and Casey with
56:58
four. So very tight. Um we all did a
57:02
good job, but I did a better job than
57:04
everybody else.
57:07
>> And Congratulations to the uh two
57:09
listeners
57:10
>> who scored seven points uh beat us all
57:13
by one um
57:14
>> every time.
57:16
>> And now four time winner Michael Dennis
57:18
who got who got uh seven points as well.
57:20
>> You got to sign this guy up.
57:22
>> Yeah, I think he's won like Yeah.
57:25
>> every every game since the beginning of
57:28
last year. Uh Michael Dennis. So
57:30
>> wow.
57:31
>> Damian says shout out to all the
57:33
international listeners. And uh Michael
57:35
Dennis says, "I win again. Thanks for
57:38
keeping the contest going." I'm sure
57:39
Michael Dennis is very glad. Uh I'm sure
57:43
he's very happy about that. A lot lot of
57:45
lot of lovely people wrote in uh
57:47
wonderful messages, but uh only two of
57:50
them won. So that's it. If you'd like to
57:53
send in a comment for us to read on the
57:55
show, you can you can text us uh at
57:58
cultmacpodcast.icloud.com.
58:01
But there you go.
58:02
>> Yeah. Very nice. Congratulations.
58:04
Hooray.
58:05
>> Congratulations to you.
58:06
>> I was going to quibble with the uh
58:08
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro one, but uh
58:11
even if we got that overruled, I I'd
58:15
still finish behind you.
58:17
>> It was a tight game. Yeah,
58:19
>> I do enjoy it even if I lose.
58:21
>> I think that's a wrap. Let's um let's
58:23
wrap it up.
58:26
>> Thanks so much for listening everybody.
58:27
Please give us a fivestar rating. No
58:29
less than five stars. uh and uh you know
58:31
complimentary review in Apple podcast
58:33
and share this with anybody you think
58:35
might uh wanted to give us a listen. You
58:38
can text us or send us a video question
58:40
on iMessage at cult
58:41
58:44
That's cult of [email protected]
58:47
and send in questions for the show. We'd
58:48
love to um butcher them. You can find
58:51
Lewis on Twitter at Lewis Wallace.
58:53
Griffin's on Mastadon at DG Griffin
58:55
Jones and I write the Cultmack Today
58:57
newsletter every at
58:58
newsletters.cultmack.com. So, thanks
58:59
everybody for listening. Thanks for
59:01
watching and we'll see you next time.
59:02
Have a great weekend everybody.
59:04
>> Goodbye.
59:05
>> See you.
59:06
>> We could have another 40minute after
59:08
show talking about cars.
59:11
No.
#Online Media
#Consumer Electronics
#Technology News