MacBook Pro has long been the centerpiece of ambitious, eye-catching workstations. Whether it’s a sleek M4 Pro model driving a pair of 5K touchscreen displays or a still-going-strong M1 Max powering an audiophile-grade sound system, Apple’s flagship laptop has the chops to anchor setups that would make any pro proud. Here are the Top 15 MacBook Pro setups from Cult of Mac’s archive.
The MacBook Neo is possibly Apple’s most repairable MacBook ever. A teardown shows the affordable laptop packs modular components, making repair easy.
Unlike its existing MacBooks, Apple appears to have opted for a simpler internal architecture that makes accessing and replacing the internals easier.
Google is giving Google Maps navigation its biggest upgrade in a decade. Thanks to deep Gemini integration, the way you use Google Maps will forever change with this update.
At the center of the update is a new Immersive Navigation view, which replaces the traditional map with a vivid, interactive 3D experience.
★★★★☆
When my iPhone battery needs a quick boost, the Twelve South PowerCapsule is ready to keep it going for the rest of the day. It conveniently clings to the handset magnetically so no cable is needed.
As a bonus, the accessory looks great. It closely matches the look of my iPhone 17. And it fits easily in a pocket.
I tested the PowerCapsule in my home and on the go. Here’s how it stands up in real-world use.
March 12, 2010: Apple passes Walmart and investment firm Berkshire Hathaway in value to take third place in market capitalization among publicly listed U.S. companies. The Apple market cap soars past $200 billion, fueled by intense excitement over the first-generation iPad.
Things look good for the company as it guns for powerhouses ExxonMobil and Microsoft.
Apple marks a remarkable milestone this April 1 — 50 years since Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded the company in a California garage on that date in 1976. To commemorate it, Apple said Thursday it will plan a series of global celebrations. And CEO Tim Cook published a personal letter on apple.com. It looks back on five decades of innovation while expressing gratitude to the billions of people who have made Apple what it is today.
“Thinking different has always been at the heart of Apple,” Cook said. “It’s what has driven us to create products that empower people to express themselves, to connect and to create something wonderful.”
★★★★☆
The 11-inch Apple M1 iPad Air (5th generation) I used for the past few years was a great device — fast, light, capable and well-integrated into the Apple ecosystem. Yet after just a couple days with the 13-inch iPad Air powered by Apple’s M4 chip, I can say this trade-in for an upgrade isn’t just incremental. It’s the kind of shift that quietly changes the way I use a device.
Despite the severe DRAM and NAND shortages, Apple will supposedly keep the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro’s price unchanged. The company wants to use current chaos to its advantage and increase its market share.
The memory shortages have already forced several smartphone and PC makers to raise prices.
The folding iPhone will require iOS 27 to be enhanced with support for running two applications side-by-side on its large, foldable display, according to a reliable source.
Split-screen multitasking is a feature borrowed from iPadOS, but Apple’s upcoming premium handset will be an iPhone and therefore run iOS — just a modified version.
When we reported last week that the $599 MacBook Neo set off alarm bells across the PC industry, the hand-wringing was mostly coming from pundits and outside observers. Now PC makers are saying it out loud — on earnings calls, no less.
ASUS co-CEO S.Y. Hsu didn’t mince words on the company’s most recent quarterly call. Apple’s move into budget-friendly territory is “a shock to the entire industry,” he said, adding that across the entire PC ecosystem, “there have been a lot of discussions about how to compete with this product.”
March 11, 2011: How do you follow up your biggest product debut ever? That’s the question Apple needs to answer as the iPad 2 launch date arrives.
Apple’s second-generation tablet boasts a faster dual-core A5 processor inside a lighter build. It’s also the first iPad to feature VGA front-facing and 720p rear-facing cameras.
Apple already can’t keep up with MacBook Neo demand, and the low-cost notebook just launched on Wednesday. Sales momentum will keep growing throughout the year, according to an industry analyst.
The laptop’s success will likely be buoyed by reviews that prove the MacBook Neo offers speedy performance, despite its entry-level specifications.
Email signature generator EmailSignatures lets you create polished, professional email signatures in minutes. More than simply bolding your name, you can add your company’s logo, your social links — whatever it takes to make your email shine.
Think of it as custom stationery for your outbox. And a lifetime subscription currently costs just $39 (MSRP $579).
Apple’s affordable MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e, M5 Pro/Max-equipped MacBook Pros and the M4 iPad Air went on sale Wednesday. The M5-powered MacBook Air and new Studio Displays also hit retail stores today.
Apple began accepting preorders for these devices last week, shortly after unveiling them.
The Satechi OntheGo Foldable Stand Hub helps your iPad become the heart of a compact workstation. It holds up the tablet while simultaneously expanding its connectivity with five additional ports.
The multifunction stand also folds down so it’s ready to travel.
Studies show that a haptic keyboard improves touchscreen typing speed and input accuracy, but very few people know you can enable it on your iPhone.
Android phones years ago had haptic keyboards, but without a precision vibration motor, the feedback was too slow to make the illusion really work. With the Taptic Engine — hardware in every iPhone since the iPhone 6s that can simulate all kinds of vibrating textures — Apple created a perfectly convincing effect to enable the haptic keyboard.
Read on to see where to enable it — or watch our quick video.
★★★★☆
The Espresso Lite 15 portable monitor includes a gorgeous LCD for work or entertainment when you’re away from your usual desk. It’s a more affordable option from a company previously known for premium screens, but it keeps up the quality.
It comes in a range of vibrant case color options, which really helps it stand out from its rivals. Plus, there’s Stand+, a brilliant ergonomic stand that can hold the 15.6-inch, 1080P LCD above your laptop.
I tested the Espresso Lite 15 in my home office and on the road, and came away quite pleased. Here’s why.
Apple is currently putting the finishing touches on a major step forward for the MacBook Pro line, with advanced features no current MacBook can boast of. And the M6 processor is just the icing on the cake. Here’s why you should wait for it.
Yes, the MacBook Pro just got updated with M5 Pro or M5 Max processors making it the fastest Mac ever. But you should think seriously about skipping it. You’ll kick yourself if you have a relatively new model when something far better comes along in a few months.
March 10, 2004: Apple sends out a survey to select Apple customers, claiming that it is considering relaunching the Newton MessagePad.
“We need to determine why the Apple Newton was not a commercial success and whether there is an interest in re-launching a new version of the Newton,” Apple’s survey says. “Your comments will help understand why the Newton failed and if there is interest in re-launching a new, improved Newton.”
In hindsight, it seems pretty clear that Apple’s apparent interest in launching another personal data assistant served as cover for stealth market research for the still-in-development iPhone.
PowerPresent uses AI to turn your ideas, notes or documents into complete presentations in mere seconds — and a lifetime subscription to this AI presentation maker costs just $79.99 (MSRP $240) for a limited time.
Apple revealed its versions of eight upcoming new emoji in iOS 26.4 beta 4, which it pushed to developers Monday. Standouts include Distorted Face — sure to become a hit when it arrives to the general public — and Hairy Creature, which looks an awful lot like Bigfoot.
See Apple’s versions of all the new emoji, and all the other changes in the beta, below.
Apple once again delayed its long-awaited smart home hub with a display — casually known as the “HomePad” — until around September as the company continues struggling to get its revamped Siri voice assistant ready for prime time, according to a report Monday.
Last week Keychron trotted out an ultra-slim wireless keyboard that folds in half for easy portability. At $64.99, the Keychron B11 Pro Ultra-Slim Wireless Foldable Keyboard is aimed squarely at Mac users and mobile workers who want the comfort of a proper keyboard without lugging around a bag.
When folded, the B11 Pro measures just 196.3mm × 143 mm — roughly the size of a small paperback. That makes it small enough to slide into a jacket pocket.
March 9, 1996: Apple confirms that it will shut down its eWorld online service at the end of the month.
Part messaging service, part news aggregator — and all with Apple’s customary premium prices — the short-lived eWorld proved ahead of its time. Apple tells disappointed eWorld subscribers they can switch to America Online instead.
CAD drawings supposedly revealing the design of the first folding iPhone indicate the device will sport a very different shape than rival foldable smartphones.
The early Monday leak comes from a reliable source, and the design shown matches earlier reports about the so-called iPhone Fold. So this may well be what the new premium iOS device looks like when it debuts in the fall.