| Cult of Mac

Slick new backpack includes Find My locator

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The straightforward backpack features Find My functionality and is made from recycled bottles.
The straightforward backpack features Find My functionality and is made from recycled bottles.
Photo: Targus

Known for laptop cases and other accessories, Targus recently unveiled its new Cypress Hero Backpack with Find My Locator.

So if it goes missing, you can find the eco-friendly pack and any gear in it using your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Today in Apple history: OS X Snow Leopard roars for the first time

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mac-osx-snow-leopard
Remember this character?
Photo: Apple

June 8: Today in Apple history: Apple introduces OS X Snow Leopard June 8, 2009: Apple introduces OS X Snow Leopard, a version of its Mac operating system that ranks among the company’s finest desktop updates.

Showcased at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Snow Leopard doesn’t seem as flashy as some other Mac operating system upgrades. In fact, Apple famously includes a slide in its WWDC presentation touting “0 new features.” However, OS X Snow Leopard more than delivers on Apple’s core values, paving a path to a bright future for the Mac.

13-inch vs. 15-inch MacBook Air: Which one should you buy?

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13-inch vs. 15-inch MacBook Air comparison
Which M2 MacBook Air model is right for you?
Image: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

Apple’s redesigned 13-inch MacBook Air from 2022 remains among the best portable laptops you can buy. The 15-inch MacBook Air packs the same benefits in a slightly bigger form factor.

So, which MacBook Air model is right for you — 13-inch or 15-inch? Read our comparison to find out.

Apple opens the floodgates for Mac gaming

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A lineup of Macs running The Medium
Porting PC games to the Mac just got “easier than ever before.”
Photo: Apple
WWDC23

A stealth announcement at WWDC23 is that Apple has significantly lowered the barrier of entry to port PC games to the Mac. A new Game Porting Toolkit “provides an emulation environment to run your existing, unmodified Windows game,” says Aiswariya Sreenivassan — a GPU, graphics and displays software engineer at Apple.

It’s a big gap to clear, which is why the Mac has been left behind in recent years. PC games are compiled for the Intel x86 architecture that the Mac just finished moving away from. The unified Apple silicon architecture bears little resemblance to the standard gaming PC with discrete graphics cards and memory. Apple’s Metal 3 library is very different from DirectX, Unity, Unreal and Vulkan — the usual suspects across the computing pond.

Apple’s new tools could open the floodgates for Mac ports of popular PC games. According to a game engine programmer I spoke with, the Game Porting Toolkit demo is “really impressive.” If the tools work as well in practice as in Apple’s demo, they “would be incredibly useful,” said the developer, who works for a major game developer and asked to remain anonymous.

Today in Apple history: Apple chooses Intel over PowerPC

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intel
The transition to Intel was a big achievement for Steve Jobs.
Photo: Thomas Hawk/Flickr CC

June 6: Today in Apple history: Apple switches Mac to Intel chips from PowerPC June 6, 2005: Steve Jobs reveals that Apple will switch the Mac from PowerPC processors to Intel.

Speaking at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Jobs’ revelation reminds the tech world that he is a leader who can get things done. Given Intel’s focus on mobile computing, the move also offers a hint at what Apple’s CEO has planned for the second half of his reign.

Mac Pro finally gets updated to Apple silicon, is 3X faster

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The new Mac Pro features Apple's powerful M2 Ultra chip with PCI expansion.
The new Mac Pro features Apple's powerful M2 Ultra chip with PCI expansion.
Photo: Apple
WWDC23

Apple’s transition to its own silicon is finally complete with the launch of a new Mac Pro, which combines Apple’s powerful M2 Ultra chip with PCIe expansion.

The new Mac Pro features the “most powerful chip ever created for a personal computer,” and is up to 3x faster than the previous-generation Intel-based model.

Mac Studio updated with ‘most powerful chip ever made for a personal computer’

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Screenshot of Apple introducing the new Mac Studio at WWDC23.
The Mac Studio has been updated with the powerful M2 Ultra chip.
Screenshot: Apple
WWDC23

The Mac Studio just got its first update, and it’s a screamer.

The desktop machine now comes with Apple’s new M2 Ultra chip — the “most powerful chip ever created for a personal computer,” according to Apple.

The new chip, based on Apple silicon, triples the performance of the previous M1 machine.

New super-size MacBook Air is ‘world’s thinnest 15-inch laptop’

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New super-size MacBook Air is 'world's thinnest 15-inch laptop'
A 15.3-inch version of the MacBook Air joins the 13.6-inch one.
Screenshot: Apple
WWDC23

The 15.3-inch MacBook Air that Apple just unveiled at WWDC23  is the largest consumer-oriented notebook Apple has ever offered. But it’s also very slim and lightweight.

The newest macOS notebook boasts a long battery life, comes with an Apple M2 processor, and the price is only $1,299.

“With its incredible performance and striking design, the new MacBook Air is the world’s best 15-inch laptop. And it’s only possible with Apple silicon,” said John Ternus, Apple’s SVP of hardware engineering, in a statement.

WWDC23: What to expect from Apple’s blockbuster keynote [Updated]

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WWDC23: What to expect
Apple has plenty of announcements lined up for WWDC23
Photo/Graphics: Apple/Rajesh
WWDC23

With Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference just a week hours away, anticipation is building for what looks like one of the company’s most momentous events in years. In addition to the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and macOS, Apple reportedly plans to use its WWDC23 keynote on June 5 to showcase some very interesting hardware.

Here’s a roundup of what to expect from the WWDC23 keynote, which streams live at 10 a.m. Pacific today.