YouTube and tinkerer Zac Builds has built an M4 iMac using an old iMac G3. Apple released the iMac G3 in 1998, and the device is often seen as one of the things that helped the company stave off bankruptcy in the ‘90s. Aside from that, it had a unique design and was one of its first devices to feature the “i” prefix, making it one of the most iconic Apple products. We can see in the YouTube video that Zac Builds started with an iMac G3 (although not the Bondi Blue version), which he then disassembled. After taking everything apart, he then replaced all the components with modern parts to turn it into an Apple computer you can comfortably use today.

He started by removing all the screws and covers, gingerly dismantling the old computer so he could reuse its frame and outer shell. Unfortunately, time has taken its toll on some of the iMac G3’s parts — its speakers are completely gone, and the CRT screen’s bezel crumbled as soon as Zac touched it. Once he completed deconstructing the all-in-one, all that was left was the main motherboard frame and the white translucent case, which serve as the base of the build.

From here, Zac first started by 3D printing the parts needed to reinforce the shell of the old iMac, as many of the components that he took out earlier supplied some of the structural integrity of the computer. With that in place, he vigorously shook the computer to see if it would come apart, and it seems that his additions ensured that none of its parts were going anywhere. He then reused the G3’s power supply, carefully desoldering it from the original motherboard and then mounting it on a spacer to deliver power to the Mac mini that will serve as the brains of this build. This was a relatively simple operation; the original power supply simply worked like a power strip, delivering 120 volts to the internal components of the iMac.

The next step was to install the Mac mini inside the shell of the old G3. Instead of disassembling the modern mini PC, he just mounted it directly inside, trimmed its power supply to fit neatly inside the AIO, and then created a modular power system that will power all the components within the M4 iMac G3 through the original power cable. Since Apple charges an arm and a leg for extra storage, Zac added a dock with a built-in SSD slot to expand the computer’s capacity without paying hundreds of dollars for it.

With the brains of the build in place, he then added a pair of new speakers mounted on 3D printed enclosures to replace the old broken ones. They were then connected to a 200-watt digital amplifier, as the Mac mini’s 3.5 mm audio output is not powerful enough to drive them natively. He then installed it in such a way that the adjustment knobs are still easily accessible through the old RAM access door of the G3.

Of course, Zac had to 3D-print brand-new ports as he could not reach the Mac mini inside the case without removing the screen. He added a Thunderbolt port, a USB-C port, a couple of USB-A ports, and an Ethernet port, ensuring that he still had some of the functionality of the original computer despite being placed in the case. There’s no 3.5mm jack, though, as it’s already in use by the built-in speakers he added to the iMac. So, if he wants personal audio, he’ll have to stick with one of the best wireless gaming headsets.

With everything in place, the YouTuber installed a 14-inch 4K portable monitor with a custom 3D printed interposer that fills in the gap between the rounded front face and the flat display. And with that, we now have a fully working M4 iMac G3. This computer gives anyone who’s ever used the G3 back in the late ‘90s and early 2000s a hit of nostalgia, while remaining usable in modern computing. You can also catch a glimpse of the Mac mini powering the entire thing at the back, along with the clutter of wires that connect it all together. It probably would’ve been nicer if Zac cable-managed the internal spaghetti, but that’s just a minor detail in this certainly interesting build.

The 1990s' most iconic blob, besides the Volkswagen Beetle, may soon be resurrected in brick-built form. A LEGO model of the Apple iMac G3 is up for consideration and fan voting on the LEGO Ideas website, where it is competing for a chance to become an officially licensed and commercially released LEGO model.

The Lego iMac is a 700-piece scale model of the original iMac G3, released in 1998. Complete with custom-designed stickers to replicate the Mac OS splash screen and iMac logo, the model is finished in the original computer's iconic Bondi Blue color. The inside of the transparent shell houses a cathode ray tube and a circuit board, complete with heatsinks and wires, designed digitally using only real Lego elements.

The model is complete with a brick-built keyboard and mouse. Even within the blocky constraints of the Lego medium, the model manages to comfortably approximate the shape and vibe of the original blobby desktop. A space fleet's worth of transparent blue windshield elements is used to create the iMac's bright plastic backside, gorgeously recreating Steve Jobs' first major product launch after his return to Apple.

A retro tech enthusiast has revitalized a classic Apple iMac G4 ‘lampshade’ computer with a state-of-the-art M4 injection. Shoehorning one of the new Mac Mini M4 computers into this classic pedestal 20-inch all-in-one PC design delivers more than just a performance update. It transforms an obsolete retro curiosity from 2002 into a device that is fighting fit for 2024—and a few years beyond.

The YouTube channel Action Retro loves to mix old technologies with new ones interestingly. And it isn’t surprising to see the channel indulge in this melding of computing eras, as this identical iMac G4 was updated with the guts of an Apple M2 Mac Mini not long ago. That was already a massive step into modernity, remembering that the iMac G4 was launched during the Mac OS 9 and X crossover era.

The Dock Light Modboard (20-inch) from Juicy Crumb Systems was already in place from the Mini M2 mod. This board sits at the bottom of the pedestal, delivering various modern interfaces. Importantly, its round PCB positions modern ports for the 20-inch iMac G4 pedestal chassis in all the right places. Action Retro pointed out that the system sports separate LCD power and system power buttons towards the rear of the circular base.

With the iMac G4 already modified and gutted, as outlined above, you may assume that physically fitting in the Mac Mini M4 won’t be the most challenging project. Action Retro began this retrofitting work by suggesting that all that needs to be done is to remove the plastic bottom on the Mini and be careful with the oddly positioned power button and wiring. These two power wires were quickly desoldered from the Mac Mini power button so they could be fixed to the iMac base power button.

While inside the pedestal chassis, Action Retro also wisely replaced a noisy old Apple fan with a Noctua model of matching size (92mm).

Now, it was time to fit the Mac Mini inside. However, after double-checking the physical clearance available, Action Retro decided to de-case the Mac Mini M4. It might have fit as it was, but the enthusiast felt safer removing the metallic shell. This meant it would be less of a squeeze to cleanly seal up the modded iMac G4 computer, with less chance of chassis, PCB, and component clashing.

Before closing up the system, all the inner cable connecting and routing were taken care of. After a test boot, the system was sealed up, and from the front, it would look physically identical to the old 2002-produced Apple iMac.

Summing up, Action Retro seemed very happy with his work revitalizing the rather ancient iMac G4, which still looks kind of futuristic today. He also thought the separate monitor power and system power buttons were suitable. However, to finesse his handiwork, Action Retro decided to wire up the new Noctua system fan to take power from the Mac Mini M4, not its LCD/chassis host.

The Apple M1 iMac, originally released in May 2021, may have a design flaw that is only now becoming apparent. A flood of users have noted that their Apple Silicon desktop All-in-Ones are suffering from a series of display failures causing dark horizontal lines to persist on their screens. A thread on the Apple Community site discussing this specific issue in detail began in October 2023 and has since garnered 17 pages of responses from disgruntled users. However, Apple has yet to recognize it as a manufacturing defect or flaw, with no official announcements from the company regarding a fix for this issue.

Many affected users assert that Apple’s service centers describe this screen issue as an irreparable malfunction, and that the only viable solution is to replace it. However, since the problem only typically appears after two years, most devices are already out of warranty, meaning those affected have to pay around $600 to $700 for a screen replacement. At that price, you could buy a brand-new base-model M2 Mac Mini, for example

According to an investigation by one of the affected users, the Apple iMac screen uses a flex cable that must sustain a voltage of around 50 volts when the screen is set to high or maximum brightness. This causes the connector to burn out over time,  it was theorized, resulting in short circuits that cause the black lines to appear on the screen. Thus, you could spend the money on a screen replacement, only for the issue to return in a year or two.

The user theorized that there are three possible reasons why this is happening: a design flaw, a manufacturing defect, or a supplier delivering parts that didn’t meet Apple’s standards. 

We were interested to see another user reporting that their M3 iMac, which they bought in May 2024, was suffering from a similar problem. If Apple did not change the flex cable design from the previous generation iMac, then it is conceivable the defect could occur again in newer generation iMacs. However, we must remember that even tens or a few hundred users complaining about this issue account for a very small percentage of iMacs sold.

Unless you have an active AppleCare+ plan, repairing this issue would be prohibitively expensive, unless Apple decides to do a recall. At the moment, if you don’t want to spend money on the screen repair and are hoping that Apple will someday repair it for free, your only choice is to attach an external monitor and use the system that way.

One user did get a free repair authorized by a senior Apple representative, but this seems to be an exception rather than the norm. And if Apple still uses the same flex cable design that is purportedly causing the issue, with the same thirst for power, then the same screen issues may proliferate across generations.

Apple launched its first M3 Macs on Monday. A week has yet to pass, but we see that many of these machines are already on sale at Adorama. Are these truly Black Friday bargains for Adorama VIPs*, as they are billed, or is this a sign of a tepid reaction to Apple’s high MSRPs?

On Monday, Apple held its Scary Fast event, during which it took the wraps of its latest M3 processors and a handful of laptops and desktops featuring these slices of 3nm silicon. Despite this being a Halloween event for Apple, the most frightening thing was the pricing, particularly for those who don’t want to settle for base specs (8 GB RAM in 2023, anyone?).

The following offers are live today for people who have signed up for Adorama’s free VIP loyalty membership:

• 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro M3 512 GB was $1599, VIPs get it for $1399
• 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro M3 Pro 512 GB was $1999, VIPs get it for $1799
• 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro M3 Max 1 TB was $3199, VIPs get it for $2999
• 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro M3 Pro 512 GB was $2499, VIPs get it for $2299
• 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro M3 Max 512 GB was $3499, VIPs get it for $3299
• 24-inch Apple iMac M3 (8 core GPU) 256 GB was $1299, VIPs get it for $1199
• 24-inch Apple iMac M3 (10 core GPU) 512 GB was $1699, VIPs get it for $1599

*Adorama’s special prices, delivering up to $200 off the new M3 Macs, are only unlocked and viewable by VIP-tier customers. Becoming a VIP doesn’t cost anything, though; it is just a simple registration for discount prices like these, plus a way to earn and spend points – a very ordinary loyalty scheme. Sign in to get the VIP prices listed above.

It will be interesting to see if any other large US retailers follow in Adorama’s footsteps by discounting their factory-fresh new M3 Macs. Earlier today, we reported that Mac sales had been hit hard. Sales of Apple’s Mac computers were down a hefty 34% YoY, according to the FY23 earnings call.

One good way to shift more numbers is through keener pricing. However, Apple also has to step back from trotting out entry-level models with low RAM and storage configurations and prohibitive higher-spec prices. Even the most myopic Apple-focused fans will grow aware that similarly priced Windows laptops and desktops now come with at least double the RAM and SSD storage as the shiny new M3 Macs.

According to Apple's FY23 earnings call, sales of Apple's desktop and laptop computers were down 34% year-over-year in Q4 FY2023. Q4 of FY2022 was the most successful quarter for Macs ever, but this represents the fourth consecutive quarter of YoY declines for Macs. Apple remains optimistic about the future of its PCs as its M3-based lineup looks more competitive (and generally more expensive) than the previous-generation M2-powered family.

Sales of Macs and iPhones Disappoint

Sales of Macs totaled $7.614 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and $29.357 billion for the whole, year, down nearly 34% and 27% year-over-year, respectively. While the declines look dramatic, fiscal 2022 was a record year for Macs in general as the company sold huge amounts of its high-performance M1 Pro and M1 Max-based MacBook Pro notebooks and Mac Studio desktops. Meanwhile, the company faced major shipments constraints in Q3 FY2022, which is why Q4 FY2022 was the record quarter for Macs ever.  

"In Mac, revenue came in at $7.6 billion, down 34% year-over-year from the prior year's record quarter," said Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, at the earnings call with financial analysts and investors (via SeekingAlpha). "This was due to challenging market conditions, as well as difficult compares against the supply disruptions and subsequent demand recapture we experienced a year ago." 

While comparison with Q4 FY2022 may be a bit off, there is another reason why sales of Macs decline: owners of Apple's PCs who wanted to get an Apple Silicon-based machine have already got one. Given that their M1-based desktops and notebooks are three years old at most, Q3 of calendar 2023 was not their time for an upgrade given mediocre performance difference between M1 and M2-series processors. Apple admits that only half of the Macs last quarter were bought by Mac owners, the rest of sales came from people who were new Apple customers.

"We have great confidence in our Mac line-up and are excited about the recently announced iMac and MacBook Pro powered by our M3 chips," said Cook. "Our installed base is at an all-time high and half of Mac buyers during the quarter were new to the product, driven by MacBook Air." 

Apple's iPad brought in $6.4 billion in revenue in Q4 FY2023, marking a 10% decrease compared to the same period last year. This downturn mirrors the situation seen with Mac sales in Q4 FY2022. Just like Macs, iPads were significantly impacted by supply chain disruptions in the June quarter, which led to an unusual spike in demand in the following September quarter as the pent-up demand was met.

But iPhones and Services Prosper

Apple's iPhone revenue saw an increase in Q4 FY2023, reaching $43.8 billion, a rise from the previous year's $42.6 billion. However, looking at the annual figures, iPhone revenue experienced a decline, falling to $200.6 billion from $205.5 billion the year before. 

While Apple's hardware business was a mixed bag both for Q4 FY2023 and for the whole year, the company's Services business thrived as the company's install base increased to two billion active devices. Revenue from services hit an record high, reaching $22.3 billion in Q4 FY2023 (up a 16% from Q2 FY2022) and 85.2 billion in FY2023 (up 9% from FY2022).

As Apple Increases R&D Spending to $30 Billion

Being the world's largest supplier of consumer electronics by revenue and the world's most valuable public company is a hard job. You not only need to meet customer's expectations, but also exceed those of investors. While Apple generally produces competitive and user-friendly products, it cannot force its customers to upgrade if subsequent models are moderately better than those on the market, especially amid economic downturn. Which is why some may consider Apple's results disappointing.  

But Apple still makes tons of money. The company earned $89.5 billion in Q4 FY2023 and $383.285 billion for the whole year. Despite lower sales, the company upped its research and development spending form $26.251 billion in FY2022 to $29.915 billion in FY2023, which makes the company one of the largest R&D spenders in the world.

Apple just held its "Scary Fast" October event, which was meant to invoke Halloween and introduce new products. The timing of the event, however, is uncharacteristic for Apple, with an 8pm start time instead of the usual 1pm for its keynotes. So, without further ado, let's see what spooky hardware Apple has in store as we come approach the closing months of 2023.

14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3-based SoCs

The big news is the 3-nanometer M3 family of chips for the MacBook Pro: M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. They feature an all-new GPU architecture with hardware-accelerated mesh shading, hardware-accelerated ray tracing (as seen on the A17 Pro), and Dynamic Caching. Dynamic Memory, as its name implies, allows local memory to be dynamically allocated by hardware in real time depending on what an application needs. Apple claims up to a 2.5x uplift in performance compared to the GPU in the M2 family.

The performance cores are up to 30 percent faster, while the efficiency cores are up to 50 percent faster than the M2 Pro and M2 Pro Max. The neural engine is up to 60 percent faster than the one found in the M1 family. Here's the new CPU lineup for the MacBook Pros:

• M3 8-core CPU (4 performance, 3 efficiency), 10-core GPU, up to 24GB unified memory
• M3 Pro 12-core CPU (6 performance, 6 efficiency), 18-core GPU, up to 36 GB unified memory
• M3 Max 16-core CPU (12 performance, 4 efficiency), 40-core GPU, up to 128GB unified memory

Base 14-inch MacBook Pros come with the M3 processor, whereas previous entry-level 14-inch models started with the M1 Pro or M2 Pro. It will also be available with the M3 Pro and M3 Max. The 16-inch MacBook Pro will only be available in M3 Pro and M3 Max configurations.

Apple claims up to 22 hours of battery life with the new MacBook Pros. There’s also an upgraded Liquid Retina XDR Display with a maximum HDR brightness of 1600 nits. 

In addition, Apple introduced a new color for the M3 Pro and M3 Max: Space Black. The dark aluminum finish is a nice break from the usual Silver and Space Grey that have been the standard two options for years on MacBook Pros. Apple claims it features a “breakthrough” anodization method that resists fingerprints.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1,599 with the M3 processor (it previously started at $1,999 with the M2 Pro), while the 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at $2,499. All the systems are available to order today, but MacBook Pros with the M3 Max won't ship until November.

On a side note, the new lower price of the M3-based MacBook Pro will seemingly replace the "old" 13-inch MacBook Pro.

New 24-inch iMac with M3

It's been over two years since Apple last updated the iMac. At the time, the all-in-one computer launched with the M1 processor. When Apple debuted the M2 processor for the Mac mini and MacBook Air, the iMac was left out of the loop. 

Now, finally, a new iMac is boasting increased performance with the M3 processor. The new 24-inch iMac Pro is now up to 2x faster than its predecessor with an M1 processor (Apple also says that the machine is 2.5x faster when compared to 27-inch Intel-based all-in-one machines). It will be available in seven colors and will still start at $1,299.

Apple says that the new 24-inch iMac is available to order today and will ship next week.

Apple's M3-series system-on-chips is expected to get a major performance upgrade compared to predecessors since they are projected to be made on TSMC's N3 (3 nm-class) fabrication processor and use all-new CPU and GPU microarchitectures. Indeed, the highest-end M3 Ultra will feature 32 CPU cores and an 80-cluster GPU, but the entry-level M3 will retain eight cores, a Bloomberg report suggests.

M3: Up to Eight Cores

Apple's vanilla M1 and M2 SoCs are used for Mac Mini, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13, and iMac systems, which are quite popular. The company's upcoming M3 ix expected to retain eight general-purpose cores (four high-performance and four energy-efficient cores) and an integrated GPU with up to 10 clusters. The first systems on their base are expected to hit the market earlier this year. 

Apple's M3 will reportedly be the first SoCs from the company's third-generation PC processors and will also be the developers N3 chip designed for desktops and laptops. Apparently, the company decided not to increase core count in this SoC compared to M2, perhaps because it wanted to ensure the lowest possible power consumption or was sure that architectural advantages coupled with higher clocks will ensure a noticeable performance boost, or just wanted to maximize yields and keep costs down.

M3 Pro: Up to 14 Cores

The situation will get substantially better with M3 Pro that is projected to get 14 general-purpose cores (eight performance cores, six efficiency cores) in its top-end configuration, but its range-topping GPU will get 20 clusters, up from 19 clusters in M2 Pro. The M3 Pro in its maximum configuration will be more powerful than M2 Max in general-purpose workloads, but the latter will still have an edge in graphics applications.

Apple's M3 Pro and M3 Max-based machine will likely hit the market sometimes in 2024.

M3 Max: Up to 16 cores

When it comes to M3 Max SoC, it is rumored to get 16 general purpose cores (12 performance cores and four energy-efficient cores) as well as up to 40 GPU clusters. Getting four additional high-performance cores is a big deal and will certainly bring substantial benefits to demanding software that M3 Max is architected to run. These will likely end up in high end MacBook Pros, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro.

M3 Ultra Up to 32 Cores

Meanwhile, the M3 Ultra system-in-package consisting of two M3 Max chips will therefore get 32 CPU cores and up to 80 GPU clusters. While 32 cores sounds quite massive when we talk about desktops, workstation-grade processors from AMD and Intel already have 56 – 64 cores and it remains to be seen what they are going to offer when Apple's M3 Ultra-based Mac Studio or Mac Pro systems are available in the second half of 2024. 

While Bloomberg's Mark Gurman tends to be accurate with his reports about future Apple's products, he is still an unofficial source and information from him should be taken with a grain of salt.

Apple's first personal computers based on its next-generation M3 system-on-chip may be unveiled as early as this October, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who tends to have accurate information from Apple's supply chain. If Apple follows its traditional launch patterns, it makes sense to expect the company to reveal inexpensive M3-based laptops and desktops first. Yet, this is speculation at this point. 

Apple has scheduled a launch event in October, and based on past history, the company is set to introduce new Macs there, Bloomberg asserts. Given that Apple has just released numerous new Macs based on M2 Ultra and M2 Max system-on-chips, it is unlikely that the company will refresh its Mac Studio or even MacBook Pro with any new SoCs. Therefore, the company may well introduce new MacBook Air 13, Mac Mini, MacBook Pro 13, or even iMac (which has not yet gotten an M2 treatment) powered by shiny new M3 SoCs. 

Of course, the assumption about the M3 arrival this October could be entirely wrong. Instead, Apple could release an all-new iMac lineup based on M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Ultra SoCs. Yet, being a notebook-centric company, Apple could be more inclined to update its 13-inch laptops with a new SoC. 

An avid reader would probably ask what to expect from Apple's M3, which is rumored to be made on TSMC's N3 (3nm-class) fabrication technology that promises higher performance efficiency and higher transistor density compared to TSMC's N5P production node used for M2. At this point, it is hard to guess the exact improvements, but the company has a number of options, including increased general-purpose core count, enhanced GPU, and additional accelerators, just to name a few.

Keep in mind that the information comes from an unofficial source, and plans tend to change, so while it is logical to expect the arrival of Apple's first M3 machines about 1.5 years after the first M2-based products, it remains to be seen what Apple has to show in October.

Apple announced the new Mac Pro powered by its M2 Ultra processor at WWDC23. It launched in stores this week, and there's already a bug in the wild. In a support document, Apple disclosed a software bug with the Mac Pro where internal SATA drives would be disconnected when the computer goes to sleep. Apple has a fix on the way, but it won't arrive until the next macOS update.

The 2023 Mac Pro starts with 1TB of solid-state storage on the $6,999 base model. However, they can spec the machine for up to 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB for an added premium when purchasing the Mac Pro from Apple's website, or they can purchase upgrade kits directly from Apple. They don't come cheap, though. The 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB kits retail for $1,000, $1,600, and $2,800, respectively. These are not off-the-shelf SSDs (they actually work more like NAND and connect to the controller on the M2 Ultra) and can be pricey. Luckily, the device provides two standard SATA III ports, opening the doors for mainstream secondary storage options. The Promise Pegasus J2i 8TB Internal Storage Enclosure, which sells for $400, allows consumers to use conventional SATA hard drives or SSDs that are more budget-friendly. That's precisely where Apple found the nasty bug.

When owners wake their Mac Pro from sleep, they may be greeted by a "disk not ejected properly" window as if the SATA drive is ejected like a flash drive. The reason for the prompt is that some hard drive models would automatically disconnect from the device when the Mac Pro goes to sleep. However, Apple didn't provide a list of the affected drive models, only listing that it happens to "certain models of internal SATA drives". The issue can occur whether the Mac Pro enters sleep mode automatically or when consumers manually put the device to sleep.

Apple's current stopgap solution is for users to restart their systems when the problem occurs. It is also recommending that Mac Pro owners disable sleep mode. The option is called "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off," and is located in the advanced section of the Displays options under System Settings. In other words, you're better off never going to sleep, or shutting your Mac down entirely, to prevent the issue.

Fortunately, it's not a hardware issue. The problem resides on a software level, which Apple can mitigate through a macOS update. Apple will include the fix in the next macOS update for Ventura (probably macOS 13.4.1) but didn't provide a specific ETA. Until then, Mac Pro owners may want to avoid sleep mode if they have incorporated hard drives into the system.

This issue is particularly interesting because the new Mac Pro is the first time Apple is allowing user-added storage inside a system since Apple silicon released for Mac. (It's not available in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini, or Mac Studio). 

In 2020, as Apple introduced the M1 system on a chip, the company said it would switch away from Intel over two years. Here in 2023, it took a bit longer than Apple forecasted, but with the new Mac Pro with M2 Ultra, Apple has every single one of its computers on its own SoCs. I'm not sure I've ever seen the company this confident about the Mac.

The Mac Pro is an odd duck. Of Apple's computers, it's far from the most popular among consumers, but it's extremely important to creatives who need lots of power and are willing to spend the money for it. As the most powerful, flexible system in Apple's stack, it sets a tone for the rest of the line. Without Intel, it feels as if Apple can now act without restraint.

At WWDC in Cupertino, Apple has the Mac Pro out in its hands-on area with no cooler. That's right — Apple had a chip shot ready for anyone with a camera. M2 Ultra, its most powerful chip ever, was getting a bit of a flex. (Let us not forget, the more attainable Mac Studio also has M2 Ultra. There are two shapes in which to get Apple's most powerful processor).

The lineup is now as follows:

M1 Macs

• 13-inch MacBook Air (entry level)
• iMac (24-inch)

M2 Macs

• Mac Mini (M2, M2 Pro)
• 13-inch MacBook Air
• 15-inch MacBook Air
• 13-inch MacBook Pro
• 14-inch MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, M2 Max)
• 16-inch MacBook Pro (M2 Max)
• Mac Pro (M2 Max, M2 Ultra)

Intel Macs

• Nothing to see here!

When will Apple upgrade the M1 models? Whenever it damn well pleases. That's kind of the point. Apple now controls not just the system, but the chip. Apple may sell systems, but it builds chips to power them. The two are intertwined, whether it's a laptop or a desktop.

And that's before considering the other places the M-series chips have popped up, including the iPad Air with M1 and iPad Pro with M2. Apple's Vision Pro will be powered by an M2 chip in combination with its new R1.

But we're on the Mac. Apple could update any of these systems whenever it wants. It can also hold one on an older process node as long as it needs, whether because that's what it thinks its customers want, or because that's what the supply chain allows. It makes that decision for itself.

Everyone I spoke to at Apple seemed thrilled to be over the hump. But now, it has to truly beat Intel, AMD, Qualcomm and others at the game. And if those companies outdo Apple, it has no one else to point the finger at.

Apple is trying its best here. The company can claim that you can game on its machines. I've tried it. Resident Evil Village runs great. Stray and No Man's Sky are here. Hideo Kojima showed up in the WWDC livestream to announce that Death Stranding: Director's Cut is coming to Mac. Apple is doing some heavy lifting to get games on its platform.

And Apple is also interweaving the Mac with the iPhone and iPad more than ever before with macOS Sonoma. Sure, I had widgets when I had a Mac running Mac OS X Leopard, but sharing between these devices is an acknowledgment that the Mac is an integral part of workflows that also include iPhones. And that's a level of interoperability other ecosystems can't match, though I appreciate Intel and Microsoft trying to get iPhone support in, they can't match Apple on making your phone and PC workspaces that are tied together.

Heck, using the Mac is a showcase feature of the Vision Pro. Want the most power? Use your Mac on an AR/VR headset. Who said the traditional computer is going away?

And with the Mac Pro, we see Apple can still be flexible, allowing for PCIe Gen 4 cards for I/O, storage, audio and more, even if graphics are no longer supported.

WWDC, as a developer conference, pushed hard on the Macs for Pros, like the Studio and the Pro, the company's two most expensive and most powerful machines. But the 15-inch MacBook Air is a version of Apple's best-selling notebooks. In fact, it's an addition to the MacBook line, which has way more sizes and models than Apple has offered in recent memory.

Some Apple fans may be upset to see that the 24-inch iMac is still on M1, or that a 27-inch model never came back. I feel that. But that's also the type of decision that Apple has more power to make now, more than ever. Short of fabbing its own chips, Apple has all of the power of what goes into a system, and when. And that means it can design a system around any chip in its arsenal.

For many years, I wondered if the Mac was a second thought, sitting in line behind the iPhone and the iPad. From WWDC, it's extensively clear that's not the case. With Apple using its own silicon across platforms, with interoperability on the hardware and software level, the Mac feels like a key player at Apple again.

Apple's transition to its own-designed M-series silicon caused shockwaves throughout the industry that are still reverberating. As it prepares to debut its latest crop of Macs with M2 chips, a highly reputable insider has shared some of the key specs of the first Apple M3 chip, which is claimed to be already in testing. 

Based on his insider sources, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg outlines the upcoming Apple M3 Pro SoC as offering: 12 CPU cores, 18 graphics cores, and 36GB of onboard RAM. The M3 SoC is also claimed to be the first Apple Silicon M-series chip built at 3nm.

According to the report, the first tantalizing glimpses of the Apple M3 Pro have emerged because developers are testing systems based upon this new silicon for third-party app compatibility. This is one of the most common and reliable ways we get a bead on Apple's pre-release processors.

An Apple App Store developer shared their insider info with Gurman regarding what is thought to be the "the base-level version of what will be the M3 Pro coming next year." Remember, that Apple will be likely creating several variants of the M3, just like it did with the prior series, so later we will cover speculation about what an M3 Max and Ultra SoCs could deliver.

Focusing first upon the Apple M3 Pro, Bloomberg's sources indicate that of the 12 CPU cores there will be six high-performance cores (P-cores), accompanied by six power-efficient cores (E-cores). The CPU cores will be accompanied by 18 GPU cores, and 36GB of RAM. 

These numbers represent improvements across the board, but we don't know about any architectural improvements which will undoubtedly be present in the M3 chips. Additionally, the new TSMC N3 process should provide some clock / efficiency benefits, in addition to allowing Apple to pump up the silicon density / core counts in the same chip sizes.

* = pre-launch data from Bloomberg sources

Gurman reckons that the first Apple Macs with M3 chips will arrive around late 2023 / early 2024. His sources say that among the first machines getting this 3nm silicon upgrade will be "M3-based iMacs, high-end and low-end MacBook Pros, and MacBook Air."

We've covered the leaks, and are now moving onto unashamed speculation, so please get your salt shaker ready. Extrapolating the M3 Pro to the 'usual' Max and Ultra SKUs might mean that an M3 Max will sport up to 14 CPU cores and 40 GPU cores, and the M3 Ultra coming with up to 28 CPU cores and over 80 GPU cores.

Of course, Apple hopes the arrival of M3 silicon and new Macs will reanimate lack luster sales. The Apple M2 hasn't been inspirational, and Bloomberg highlights the recent 31% slide in Mac sales as testament to this. However, Apple had done comparatively well in the face of the general macroeconomic malaise until recently. Upgraders skipping a gen look like they will get a lot more cores for the money, more capacious base memory, as well as what could be some tasty architectural tweaks delivered with the M3 generation.

To get a measure of the newest current cream of the crop Apple Macs, please check out our review of the Apple MacBook Pro (2023) with M2 Pro and M2 Max processor options.

There’s a good reason artists, musicians, video editors and other digital creatives love Apple devices - but if you want to expand the capabilities of your Mac, iPhone or iPad, then ZikeTech’s range of peripherals should be at the top of your shopping list.

Apple’s pursuit of slimline and minimalistic designs for its products means that while they certainly look good, they can sometimes lack the ports and features that digital creatives require.

ZikeTech’s products can solve this issue by adding extra ports and features to your devices, while fitting in with Apple’s stylish aesthetic.

Take ZikeTech’s range of USB-C hubs. These can connect to your MacBook or iMac and adds additional ports, such as extra USB ports and a full-size HDMI port.

There are also hubs that add SD card readers - ideal for photographers. ZikeTech’s hubs for the iPad Pro further expand the functionality of Apple’s powerful tablet, turning it into a fully-fledged laptop.

Fully charged and protected 

ZikeTech also produces stylish charging products to keep the batteries of your devices topped up with it's 2-in-1 MagSafe wireless charging (with MFM certification). It can charge your Iphone, while also minimising clutter on your desk.

Meanwhile, the 100W GaN USB-C wall charger can quickly charge up a number of devices at once, making it ideal for travellers and people working on the road with multiple gadgets.

ZikeTech also supplies sleeves and cases that will help protect your laptop while travelling.

Not just for Apple products

While ZikeTech’s products are designed with Apple products in mind, they are universally compatible with pretty much any device with a USB-C port. 

This means they’re great with devices such as Microsoft’s Surface Pro lineup as well.

Transfer your photos in minutes

One of ZikeTech’s most exciting products is the World’s first and fastest USB4 SSD enclosure - ZikeDrive. Offering record-breaking speeds of up to 3.8GB/s (read) and 3.1GB/s (write), you can transfer around 1TB (1024GB) of video, music or photos in just five minutes.

Creatives who need to move around or back up huge amounts of files will no longer have to wait around while their files are transferred, and with its compact size (it’s smaller than an iPhone) and stowaway cable, it’s easy and convenient to carry around.

It will work with any USB-C device (though USB4/Thunderbolt 4 is recommended to get the maximum speeds) and you can easily install any NVMe SSD and the latest PCIe Gen 4x4 SSD using the tooless design.

Moreover, ZikeDrive can maintain high speed transfers without danger of overheating. Aerospace aluminium and corrugated design on the surface further improves the heat dissipation performance, ensuring the safety of files and computers, and means you don't have to worry when you're storing irreplaceable documents.

ZikeTech will launch this USB4 SSD enclosure on Indiegogo, and the campaign will start on January 23, 2023 at 8AM PST and ends on February 22, 2023. Early bird backers will get the ZikeDrive at 50% off the suggested retail price. Super-early bird backers will get an even bigger discount on the ZikeDrive, starting at $99.

After crowdfunding successfully, it is expected to start shipping in May 2023.

So, if you’re a digital creative that demands more from your devices, let ZikeTech help you expand your horizon.

Benchmarks for Apple’s unannounced but almost certainly real M2 Max have appeared in Geekbench results, which shows a 12-core processor running at 3.54GHz and backed by 96GB of RAM. The rumored chip, which would be used in forthcoming MacBook Pro and Mac Studio models, offers a slight increase in performance over the existing M1 Max if the Geekbench run is accurate.

The Geekbench 5 results are for a 'Mac14,6' computer running on unreleased macOS 13.2 software. It manages a single-core score of 1,853 and a multi-core score of 13,855. If accurate, this is a little disappointing, as an eight-core M2 MacBook Pro hits 1,899 in the same single-core benchmark. However, the greater number of cores in the M2 Max machine sees it pull ahead in the multi-core ranking, with the M1 scoring 8,737 (5,000 points behind). However, all the M-class Macs trounce an Intel iMac from 2020, with that machine's Core i7-10700K at 3.8GHz scoring 1,250 in the single-core test and 8,157 in the multi-core.

A report from Taiwan's DigiTimes claims Apple will move from the M2's current 5nm TMSC process to a 3nm node for the M2 Pro. Of course, Apple hasn't announced this development, but manufacturing capacity at TSMC was reportedly booked by Apple back in the summer. 

The previous generation M1 chips were eventually available in four guises: vanilla, Pro, Max and Ultra, with the upper-level chips having more cores and beefier GPUs. While the Mac mini, iMac, MacBook Air, a few MacBook Pros and the iPad Pro got basic chips, most MacBook Pros come with a choice of M1 Pro or M1 Max, with the new Mac Studio able to be specced with an M1 Ultra, which is two M1 Pro chips stuck together. While the M1 has eight or 10 CPU cores, the differences between the chips are mainly expressed in the number of GPU cores and the amount of RAM in the package.

It's not unreasonable to expect M2 to go the same route, and while so far we've only seen M2 in the 2022 MacBook Air and a single MacBook Pro model (as well as an iPad Pro), we expect the processor to make its way through the entire Mac computer range, even perhaps infiltrating the Mac Pro, which is still an Intel-only zone.

Sometimes you just need a bit more storage space. One of the easiest ways to do that on your Mac is to uninstall apps that you don't use anymore.

But on a Mac (including a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini or Mac Pro), there are several different ways to uninstall apps, depending on where you installed them from (the web or the Mac App Store).

We'll go through the different methods here so you can clean apps you no longer use from your Mac to free up some space and get you better organized.

Here's how to uninstall apps on a Mac.

How to Uninstall Mac Apps Downloaded From the Mac App Store

1.  Open Launchpad. You can get to it from your dock, if you keep it there, or in Finder > Applications.

2. Click on the app until it wiggles, similar to the effect on iPhones and iPads. You can also hold down the Option (⌥) key.

3. Click on the delete button (a small X) in the top left corner of the App Store app you want to delete.  

4. Click "Delete" when you're asked to confirm.

How to Uninstall Mac Apps Downloaded From the Web

1. Open the Finder and go to the Applications folder. It's in the left sidebar. (If you have installed an app somewhere outside of this folder, you'll need to find it there. Consider using Spotlight to find it.)

2. Drag the app to the Trash in the dock. Alternatively, you can right-click the app to uninstall and click "Move to Trash."

3. Empty the Trash. You can right click on the trash icon and pick "empty Trash." Alternatively, go to Finder > Empty Trash.

Deleting apps through the Finder largely works. You won't be able to see them and you will have to reinstall them to use them. But it can also leave some residual data in the hidden "Library" folder. Most people won't notice, but if you're like me, you like knowing that everything is really, really gone. Here's my method for ensuring that gets erased, too.

How to Uninstall Mac Apps and Residual Data with AppCleaner

To uninstall apps as well as data that may be left behind, I like the free third-party software AppCleaner (though the developer accepts donations if you're feeling charitable). Here's how to use it.

1. Open AppCleaner.

2. the app you want to uninstall to AppCleaner.

3. Click "Remove." Everything listed will move to the trash.

4. Empty the Trash

If you're inclined, you could go through the Library yourself and not use third-party software, but I've been using this method for years without issue (and less risk of breaking things).

About Uninstallers

Some Mac applications downloaded from the web come with a secondary app, called an uninstaller. Those are few and far between these days, but for those that do, running the app should remove both the software and any leftover data for you.

Whether you're looking to sell a MacBook, pass it off to a friend or family member or even recycle it, you'll want to reset your Mac. Doing so will remove any files, log you out of any accounts, clear out your apps and ensure that wherever your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, iMac or other macOS device doesn't have traces of your information.

The instructions below are primarily for macOS Ventura and later, but we'll list a few tweaks to how to do this on macOS Montere and some older Macs as well.

Just like if you're going to factory reset a Windows PC, back up your data first, whether it's through iCloud, Time Machine or non-Apple service. You don't want to lose anything when you reset your MacBook.

It may also be a good idea to sign out of iMessage, iCloud and other services, though you'll have the opportunity to do this soon. You may even want to unpair Bluetooth devices.

Here's how to reset your MacBook (or other macOS device):

Erase All Content and Settings

This is a step you can take on Macs running on Apple Silicon chips or Intel processors with Apple's T2 chip.It may be enough if you're handing the laptop down to family.

1. On macOS Ventura or later, go to the Apple menu (it's a small Apple logo) in the top-left corner of the screen and click "System Settings."

If you have System Settings in your dock, you can also get there that way.

2. Click "General" and choose "Transfer or Reset."

3. Click "Erase All Content and Settings."

On macOS Monterey, you can go to the Apple menu > System Preferences and then "Erase All Content and Settings" to get to the same place. On macOS versions older than Monterey, you'll have to go straight to reinstalling macOS (see below), but you may want to delete what you can by hand.

4. Enter your password and click "Unlock" in the erase assistant window. Depending on whether you've used Time Machine or not, you may be prompted to back up your Mac now.

5. Click "Continue" to sign out of your Apple ID, remove fingerprints from TouchID, unpair accessories, turn off location sharing and to remove your settings and data.

6. If prompted, enter your Apple ID password to sign out of iCloud and other Apple services.

7. Click "Erase All Content & Settings" to start the erasure process. This is irreversible, so be sure you're ready.

Your Mac will restart, and you'll see the Apple logo with a progress bar. It may restart  including making the startup chime. Your Mac will boot up in the recovery assistant.

8. Connect to a Wi-Fi network using the Wi-Fi icon in the top right corner of the screen, then click "Next." If you have an Ethernet adapter, you can also connect to the internet that way.

When this is done, your Mac will activate and restart.

At this point, you'll be able to set up your MacBook like new, as if you were turning it on for the first time. If you're ready to hand it down, sell it, or trade it in, you can just turn it off.

For most people, this will be enough. But if your Mac doesn't have the Erase All Content and Settings Option (particularly if it's not on macOS Monterey or newer, or is an older Intel Mac), you may have to resort to the nuclear option.

Erase Your MacBook, Reinstall macOS

To reset a MacBook without the "Erase All Content and Settings" option, you'll have to take more drastic steps. Since most Apple Silicon Macs can upgrade to Ventura or later, this is primarily for older Intel Macs without either Apple's processors or T2 security chips.

To erase your MacBook this way, you'll need to go into macOS Recovery and proceed from there. Here's how:

1. Turn on your Mac, and hold Command ⌘ and R until the Apple logo pops up. You may see a progress bar. If you do, it should pass quickly. (If you happen to be doing this on an Apple Silicon machine, instead hold the power button and choose "options" from the menu screen.)

2. Choose "Disk Utility" and click "Continue."

3. In the sidebar, select "Macintosh HD" (unless you've previously changed its name, in which case it will reflect that name).

4. Click "Erase" on the top of the window.

5. Name the volume "Macintosh HD" and choose the format "APFS" or "mac OS Extended (Journaled) — whichever the Disk Utility suggests.

6. Click "Erase Volume Group" (or "Erase" if that is not shown).  When the process is done, click "Done."

7. Enter your Apple ID if prompted to do so.

8. Quit Disk Utility, either through the top menu or by hitting Command ⌘ + Q.

Your MacBook is now erased. If you have other drives in your Mac that may need wiping, you can repeat this process.

You'll be back in macOS Recovery. Now, you need to reinstall macOS on your MacBook: 

9.  Click "Reinstall macOS" and then "Continue." Our image shows macOS Big Sur, but you may be using a different version.

The installer for the version of macOS you were already using will pop up.

10. Click "Continue." You'll have to follow the prompts like you would for any installation, including accepting the terms of service and selecting the drive to install the OS to (most MacBooks will only have the one.)

The installation may take awhile and include at least one reboot, if not more. The first boot up may take a bit longer than expected.

Your Mac will reboot, leaving you with a pristine MacBook (or desktop) with just the OS on it, ready to be set up as if it were the first time. Now it's suitable for a fresh start or a new owner. You can hold down the power button to shut it off, and you're ready to go.

The latest, but probably not the last, tale of old software running in mission-critical operations comes to us via the Twitter feed of guitar-playing Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe, currently in orbit around the Red Planet and doing just fine, recently had a major software update to increase its chances of discovering water there. 

Launched in 2003, the Mars Express, and its MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) water probe, naturally had software developed using one of the major operating systems of the time — Windows 98.

And that is how we discovered that there's a computer that's probably capable of running Doom in orbit over Mars, notable not so much for its abundance of alien life as it is for being the setting for id Software’s demon-blasting first-person shooter. Thanks, Colonel Hadfield!

ESA’s blog on the subject doesn’t go into a great deal of detail, particularly regarding the framerates we could expect from Doom on the Mars Express, or how large of a screen it has. “Not least because the MARSIS software was originally designed over 20 years ago, using a development environment based on Microsoft Windows 98!" the blog reads.

We do know, however, that one of the favorite processors used by NASA is based on the Apple Mac G3 - it’s a single-core PowerPC 750 233MHz chip from the Bondi Blue iMac, and there are at least two trundling around on Mars in the form of the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. Technically it’s called a RAD750 because it’s radiation-hardened, and it’s also found in the Kepler and Fermi space telescopes. G3s weren’t noted for their ability to run Windows 98, however, so for the X86 kit we have to look to the Hubble Space Telescope, which received a 25MHz 80486 CPU during a 1999 servicing mission, replacing an 80386.

Therefore we could be looking at there being at least a Pentium 90 on the Mars Express, which opens up the possibility of playing Wing Commander Prophecy or maybe even Ultima 7 on the scientific orbiter, alongside Doom and its first sequel. 

Back to the software update, and it seems the new code for the probe “includes a series of upgrades that improve signal reception and on-board data processing to increase the amount and quality of science data sent to Earth”. 

“There are many regions near the south pole on Mars in which we may have already seen signals indicating liquid water in lower-resolution data,” said ESA Mars Express scientist Colin Wilson. “The new software will help us more quickly and extensively study these regions in high resolution and confirm whether they are home to new sources of water on Mars. It really is like having a brand new instrument on board Mars Express almost 20 years after launch.”

So it sounds like the Europeans will be the first to know if water, or a rampaging demon army, is discovered on that gleaming red dot in the night sky.

Update 6/23/2024: Clarified OS particulars. 

Apple's transition to its own custom Arm-based system-on-chips enabled the company to increase its systems' sales and made it a dominant supplier of PC-grade Arm SoCs. As for Arm, its instruction set architecture now commands nearly 9% of the global PC market. 

"Apple established itself as a distant market leader in Arm-based notebook PC processors with almost 90% revenue share [in 2021]*," wrote Sravan Kundojjala, Director of Handset Component Technologies service at Strategy Analytics.  

Companies like Acer, Dell, and HP have been shipping Chromebooks and Windows-on-Snapdragon always-connected PCs (ACPC) based on various Arm-powered SoCs for years. However, these PCs have never been truly popular due to mediocre performance and/or uncompetitive pricing. With its M1-based iMacs, MacBooks, and Mac Minis introduced in 2020 and throughout 2021, Apple not only managed to offer competitive performance and appealing design, but it also priced those systems very competitively (e.g., below previous-generation systems featuring Intel's CPUs). So, it attracted sales both from its loyal customers and from new clients. 

Apple outmaneuvered Arm-based Chromebooks and ACPCs in terms of sales and in revenue since its systems are still premium machines priced well above average Chromebooks.  

Since Qualcomm's Nuvia-based SoCs will not launch until late 2023, Apple will continue to offer the fastest Arm-powered SoCs for PCs and will likely lead the market in Arm desktops and laptops for quite a while. 

"Apple's M-series family of processors set the benchmark and gave Apple a 2–3-year lead over the rest of the Arm-based PC processor vendors. Qualcomm captured just 3% revenue share in the Arm-based notebook PC processor market in 2021 and lags Apple in CPU performance," wrote Kundojjala. "Despite its low share, Qualcomm continues to invest in notebook PC processors with its Nuvia CPU cores. We believe that Arm-based notebook PC processor offers an attractive opportunity to Qualcomm, given the company's growing collection of high-performance processor assets including CPU, GPU, AI, audio, imaging, connectivity, gaming and security." 

The industry shipped around 348.8 million PCs in 2021 and 80.5 million systems in Q1 2022, according to IDC. Sales of Chromebooks totaled 37 million units in 2021 as well as 5.1 million systems in Q1 2022. In the first quarter, Apple shipped 7.2 million Macs and had a market share of 8.9%.  

Since the vast majority of Apple's PCs solid in Q1 this year were powered by its own Arm-enabled SoC, it is clear that Arm commands a sizeable share of the PC market due to Apple's M-series SoCs alone. Meanwhile, there are also several popular Chromebooks based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon as well as MediaTek SoCs. While those systems are not as popular as Apple's MacBook Air or MacBook Pro laptops, it is safe to say that Arm's share in PCs is at least 10%, a significant achievement for the British CPU designer. 

It should be noted that for now, Arm-based SoCs power mainstream and even entry-level workstation machines, but they still cannot compete against high-end x86-powered desktop PCs, especially in the field of gaming. Therefore, Arm, Apple, and Qualcomm still have a lot of work to do in a bid to successfully compete against AMD and Intel across all fields.  

*Note: Since Strategy Analytics does not disclose how it estimates revenue that Apple gets for its notebook processors, our story is focused on volume sales of Apple Macintosh systems in 2021 (27.775 million) and in Q1 2022 (7.2 million) compared to shipments of Chromebooks in 2021 (37 million) and in Q1 2022 (5.1 million). We also note that the vast majority of Chrome OS-powered machines use x86 processors from AMD or Intel.

Apple has begun testing new notebooks and desktops running its next-generation M2 system-on-chips (SoCs), according to developer logs. The company began testing some of these systems quite some time ago, but it is still unclear whether Apple plans to announce them at its upcoming WWDC conference in June and when exactly they are set to be launched. 

Apple is testing at least nine new Macs based on M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra SoCs, according to a Bloomberg report. Previous leaks indicated that the M2 family is largely based on Apple's A15 Bionic architectures, so the new report largely confirms this information and sheds some additional light on the specifications of the new processors. 

As it turns out, the new M2 will not get any increase in terms of core count, but will get a GPU with more clusters. The M2 Pro will gain two more energy-efficient cores, whereas the M2 Max will get more energy-efficient cores and a better GPU (see the table below for details). 

Comparison of Apple's SoCs (official and unofficial information)

Since the new SoCs will be made using TSMC's N5P fabrication technology, Apple could not tangibly increase CPU core and GPU cluster counts, so expect moderate performance uplifts from architectural improvements, some performance surges from the increased core/cluster counts, and some additional oomph from higher clocks. 

The list of M2-based systems that Apple is testing includes its new MacBook Air, entry-level MacBook Pro, 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and an all-new Mac Pro. Surprisingly, the list does not include any iMacs. Meanwhile, all these systems have their own launch schedules and windows and therefore will not likely be introduced at the same time.

Apple's rumored M2-based systems

For example, a revamped MacBook Air and probably Mac Mini are expected at WWDC in early June. The MacBook Air is expected to feature an all-new design, so showing it off at the upcoming conference will certainly attract a lot of attention to the event given how popular that model is. Meanwhile, the next-generation Mac Mini has already been listed in Apple Studio Display's firmware as MacMini 10.1 (the current is 9.1), which is a clear indicator that a new model is incoming, reports 9to5Mac. 

Since it takes some time for Apple to adopt its latest microarchitectures to Pro and Max SoCs, do not expect an M2 Pro or M2 Max-based MacBook Pro or Mac Mini to emerge for a while. A reasonable guess would be by the end of the year, but that's pure speculation. Assuming that M2 Max SoC is months off, the M2 Ultra will probably arrive at even later date, so do not expect the new Mac Pro to arrive any time soon.

Like most other companies, Apple does not comment on unreleased products, so we cannot verify whether the unofficial information is correct. But, WWDC is looming and this might be the conference where the company will share the first details about its M2-based PCs.

When is an Apple iMac not an iMac? When Samsung launched the 32-inch Smart Monitor M8, it seemingly borrowed heavily from the iMac's design and color palette. Samsung first announced the M8 in January at CES 2022, but it is now available to preorder starting at $699.99 (more on that later).

Looking at the design of the M8, it's easy to see why some would think that the iMac was the inspiration for Samsung, especially when you look at the similarly-designed L-shaped stand. Even Samsung's choice of colors seems to pay homage to Apple's selection: you can choose from Warm White, Sunset Pink, Spring Green, or Daylight Blue. However, Samsung improves the M8's design with thinner bezels along the top and sides and a much smaller "chin" at the bottom. 

The Apple comparisons don't stop with the iMac. Although the M8 "only" features a 4K resolution compared to 5K for the newly launched Apple 5K Studio Display, it trumps just about every other spec comparison. Samsung boasts a 60Hz refresh rate, 4ms gray to gray response time, 400 nits brightness, and a 3,000:1 contrast ratio. Samsung also claims that the M8 covers 99 percent of the sRGB color space and supports HDR10+ content. It can even double as a Smart TV (powered by Tizen) with support for popular streaming services like Netflix, Apple TV and Disney+.

Samsung doesn't disappoint on the connectivity front either, with two USB-C ports (one up, one down) and 65-watt passthrough charging support. Interestingly, a micro-HDMI port is included rather than a full-size HDMI port, which is a bit odd for a desktop monitor, and dual 5-watt speakers are included. Regarding wireless connectivity, Samsung equipped the M8 with Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi 5 radios. And unlike the Studio Display, tilt and height adjustment comes standard.

But Samsung didn't stop there. A SmartThings Hub is integrated (allowing you to control ZigBee and Z-Wave smart home and IoT devices) along with a far-field microphone that supports Amazon Alexa and Bixby voice assistants. Rounding out the laundry list of features is support for Samsung DeX, Apple AirPlay 2 and Microsoft 365. Finally, a 1080p SlimFit Cam connects magnetically to the top of the M8, so you don't have to worry about seeing wires dangling from the back of the webcam to plug into a free USB-C port. In addition, according to Samsung, the SlimFit cam supports Auto Zoom and Face Tracking technologies.

The Samsung Smart Monitor M8 is available to reserve today starting at $699.99 for the Warm White version. The other three colors add an extra $30 to the price. The reservation only seems to take your information to let you know when the M8 will be available to purchase and doesn't serve as an actual preorder (Samsung requests no shipping or credit card information). That seems like a relative bargain compared to the $1,599 asking price of the Apple Studio Display and more in line with the $889.99 Dell UltraSharp 32 4K USB-C Monitor (U3219Q).

A keen Apple modder has successfully converted an ageing Apple iMac G4 into a far more modern All-in-One featuring an M1 processor at its heart. The machine that was hollowed-out to receive the modern innards was an Apple iMac G4. On the other side of the hardware equation, modder Connor55 used the most obvious donor candidate for a compact motherboard featuring an Apple M1 chip, the 2021 Mac Mini. The concise build process was found via the MacRumors forum.

The aim of Connor55's conversion was to inject some life into an outdated. creaking, but iconic Apple iMac design. He challenged himself to turn this slow no Wi-Fi computer into a modern M1 powered marvel, while retaining all the outward appeal of the 2002 vintage machine. With the project done and dusted, the result was a snappy modern Mac, which looked unchanged from the twenty year old design.

Some acclaim must go to Connor55, who took special effort to make sure the following original features continued to function; the power button, the optical drive, plus the display with working backlight.

At this point it is worth mentioning that this isn't the first G4 to M1 hack. There was another in late 2021 and in March 2021 we saw a YouTuber gut a 2018 iMac and replace the innards with an M1 Mac Mini. However, this new feat is particularly useful for would-be modders, as it includes a quite comprehensive step through guide to how an Apple M1-powered iMac G4 lampshade model was converted from start to finish including, photos, videos, and textual information.

The Process

If you check out the linked post you will see the old iMac being disemboweled, and it is interesting to see the Apple custom parts that were designed and manufactured with curved edges for the dome-shaped chassis.

After hollowing out the old chassis the next tasks were to look at power supply plans, and work out a monitor signaling and backlight converter for the new motherboard. Then followed some planning of where the new modern ports would be positioned.

Starting the teardown of the Apple Silicon donor, the Mac Mini, Connor55 noted how empty the smallest product Mac's chassis is. That reminds us of another recent mod - creating a palm-sized Mac Mini. The modder subsequently commented that the Mac Mini's fully removed innards were "smaller than just the stock G4 HDD," which would help make the conversion less problematic.

Much More Modern Macs

For much more recent Apple Mac news, check out our coverage from yesterday's Peek Performance Event. Apple surprised pundits by launching the new Apple Mac Studio - like a tall Mac Mini with a very powerful new processor inside, the 20-core Apple M1 Ultra. We also reported on the first independent benchmarks of the M1 Ultra being posted and the eyebrow raising stats showing it nearly matches a 64-core AMD Threadripper 3990X.

Apple has announced its first Mac with its M1 Ultra, the Mac Studio. It's a small desktop that has design cues from the Mac Mini, but is taller and with more power. The M1 Max version will start at $1,999, while the M1 Ultra version will start at $3,999. Both will launch on March 18.

It has a 7.7-inch base and is 3.7 inches tall, allowing the new Mac to fit on your desk. The cooler has a double-sided blower and intakes air through a perforated aluminum base, over the parts and out of a rear exhaust.

"The sound is so minimal" that you'll "barely even hear it," an Apple spokesperson said during the announcement event.

On the rear, there are four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10GB Ethernet jack, a pair of USB Type-A ports, an HDMI output, and a pro audio jack for high impedance headphones. The front has an SD card reader and two more ports: USB Type-C ports when configured with an M1 Max, or more Thunderbolt 4 ports with M1 Ultra.

With M1 Max, you'll get up to 64GB of unified memory, while M1 Ultra configurations will get up to 128GB of memory, which Apple says should supercharge graphics performance. You get up to 8TB of SSD storage, though that will cost you.

Apple claims the M1 Studio can play 18 streams 8K ProRes 422 video, and the company says it's the only computer that can do so.

The Mac Studio can support up four of Apple's Pro Display XDR and a 4K TV, amounting to nearly 90 million pixels.

Apple claims that the Mac Studio with M1 Ultra is 90% faster than a Mac Pro with a 16-core Intel Xeon processor and 60% faster than with a 28-core Xeon. With an M1 Max, Apple suggests it is 50% faster than the 16-core Xeon and 2.5 times faster than a iMac with an Intel Core i9, but notably didn't compare to the more powerful Mac Pro.

On the graphics side, Apple suggests the Mac Studio with M1 Ultra is 4.5 times faster than a 27-inch iMac with an AMD Radeon RX 5700XT and 80% faster than a Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W6900X. The M1 Max version, the company says, is 3.5 times fater than the Radeon RX5700XT.

These performance numbers, while impressive, do need to be taken with a grain of salt, as the new desktops are being compared to very specific Apple products and not to the greater market.

Despite rumors of a new Mac Mini and a new Mac Laptop, neither were announced today, leaving this new desktop to soak all of the glory. It was announced alongside a new 27-inch, 5K Studio Display.

Apple has announced its first hardware event of the year, which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8. The event comes with a provocative name - "Peek Performance." 

Apple's invite is, as usual, vague about what to expect. We think the best clue comes from the name; Apple has been gaining an enviable reputation in the field of personal computers of late, particularly with the performance of its M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max Apple Silicon SoCs. An M2 chip has been rumored, and may be possible at the event.

One other clue from the announcement imagery is the use of the range of colorful logos, which might signify the arrival of a colorful range of iPhones, iPads or iMacs.

Additionally, Greg Joswiak, Apple's SVP of Marketing, shared an animated version of the invite, which kind of looks like the back of a large curved screen with Apple's logo in those same colors.

There have been many rumors about upcoming products in a potential Apple announcement. In a recent article regarding and EEC listing of three Mac computers, we noted that Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reckoned there would be at least one new Mac on March 8, probably a new version of the Mac Mini. Apart from that, Gurman didn't go into what other Macs to expect but he did tip the appearance of a new iPhone SE and iPad Air.

There have, however, been other Mac clues. MacRumors has claimed that Apple will release an M2 chip in a 13-inch MacBook Pro with the existing chassis.  However, some previous industry news we have seen points indicated March is a few months too early for such an unveiling.   

We think one of the other likely Macs due to be updated is the larger 27-inch iMac, which is still listed with Intel inside, so it is very much due an update. The 24-inch models got an M1 under the hood and a colorful range of purchase options nearly a year ago, so this could be rinse and repeat for the bigger brother. Since it is a bigger computer, and it is so much later, the 27-inch iMac would be a good candidate to debut the highly anticipated M2 chip, though it could also potentially see the M1 Pro or M1 Max.

The only way to know for sure?  To tune in on March 8, when Tom's Hardware will be covering any computer news out of the event.

Intel posted a new Linux driver yesterday that surfaced an interesting new feature coming to Sapphire Rapids server processors. The feature takes silicon integrity and reliability checks to the next level and is dubbed In-Field Scan. Phoronix spotted the new Linux driver and highlighted the importance of defect discovery in server processors prior to deployment or before working on critical tasks.

Servers already boast parity or ECC checks as standard features for RAM, and there are similar checks on data going to and from storage, across networks, and more. However, the new In-Field Scan feature specifically targets the processor. To get the new In-Field Scan system to work, Intel Sapphire Rapids Xeon CPUs will have integrated checking features, and the In-Field Scan kernel driver will provide a user interface for the checks.

After delving deeper into the software, the source publication says that the Intel In-Field Scan driver can instigate full CPU tests. There is also a more granular level of control available, allowing testing for each separate CPU core. These scan results are then saved in log files.

When In-Field Scan becomes available, system builders or administrators might run it before commissioning a server, before specific critical tasks are run on the server, or simply on a given schedule. The Linux driver is out now, but the CPU-specific test files that reveal more about the checks and CPU characteristics aren't currently available.

Why Do We Need In-Field Scan Now?

With the growth of massive data centers thanks to the internet economy, streaming video/gaming and cloud computing, manageability is increasingly important to the smooth running of servers. For example, if specific CPUs or cores can self-report errors, they can be easily found and swapped.

Another movement in technology that might make In-Field Scan an important tool is the race to the Angstrom era. As chip features get smaller in the search for higher density, performance and efficiency, they become more susceptible to known errors and unexplained errors – sometimes called soft errors.

Soft errors might occur more often in our most state-of-the-art chips due to pushing physics and the physical size of transistors to their extremes.

Some think that the errors may not emanate from the new smaller chip processes but simply the susceptibility of these tiny structures to the nature of the universe (i.e., cosmic rays).

A year ago, news hit the wires that the cutting-edge NASA space exploration vehicle,  Mars Perseverance, was running the same single-core Power PC CPU that powered the Bondi Blue iMac back in 1998. In brief, the reason for this apparent tech mismatch was that the RAD 750 (based on the PowerPC 750) was hardened to withstand up to 1,000,000 Rads and extreme temperatures. Moreover, its larger process logic gates were far less susceptible to cosmic ray interference than modern CPUs. Of course, our atmosphere reduces cosmic radiation on earth, but it is still there.

Interestingly, Intel interpolates the error susceptibility of its chips and ICs concerning cosmic ray interference using a particle accelerator at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center.  

Apple appears to have registered three new Mac computers with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), which it typically does ahead of the launch/release of products. The newly listed A2681 device is described as a portable computer. Meanwhile, there are two (non-portable) computers codenamed the A2615 and A2686 on the way. All three devices come packing Mac OS Monterey, says the EEC listing. Please remember, EEC listings are not always followed by corresponding product launches, so keep you salt shakers in hand as you read below the fold.

Last week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman highlighted the distinct possibility of a special digital-only event hosted by Apple being scheduled for Tuesday, March 8. This will be the platform for the launch of updated versions of the iPhone SE and iPad Air, said the Apple tech news specialist, who went on to tip the appearance of at least one new Mac, probably a new version of the Mac Mini.

Melding the EEC and Bloomberg news, requires an extra few grains of salt, but would mean that the special event would be more focused upon Apple's computers than usual. This re-balancing from mobile devices to computers is justified by Apple's recently published positive financials showing that the introduction of M1 Macs has precipitated record growth in Apple computer sales.

Apple's Newest Laptop Probably Won't Feature an M2 Chip

A completely redesigned Apple Mac Book Air is thought to be in the works, but it isn't expected until the summer. Some Apple-centric news sites reckon something much more interesting to tech enthusiasts will be unveiled in March – the first Apple Mac with an M2 processor. This could be a new MacBook Pro, says France's ConsoMac. On balance, we think it is too soon for a MacBook Pro powered by an M2 processor, given recent industry insider reports pointing at the Fall of 2022 for the debut of this highly anticipated chip.

What About the Desktops?

The attractively compact Mac Mini could be given a meaningful boost with the move from one of the first M1 chips to M1 Pro or M1 Max options. At the same time, there is the chance of a redesign here, from its almost featureless white metal pedestal-like form to something more interesting, orientated differently, perhaps. Apple has previously updated its 24 inch iMac range to sport a cacophony of colors.

The other Mac desktop heavily tipped for update is the 27 inch iMac. At the time of writing this machine is only available with Intel processors, so is ripe for the Apple Silicon switch over. We will have to see what transpires, but it is reasonable to expect M1 Pro and M1 Max options to become available to buyers of this home/office AiO computer if it is revamped in March. As mentioned previously, it is still a few months too early to seriously hope for products packing the Apple M2 processor.

Apple recently updated its iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro devices, which could trigger loads of people to upgrade. It seems, however, that Apple is finally facing the component shortage, with many orders being delayed into November and December, Bloomberg reports.

Apple has managed to navigate throughout large scale shortages of computer components quite well until now, and it was possible to obtain a new M1-based Mac or an A14-based iPhone or iPad fairly quickly until now. Bloomberg also reported that Apple reduced its iPhone 13 production targets for 2021 by 10 million units as Broadcom and Texas Instruments were struggling to deliver enough parts. 

But long deliver times are not limited to Apple's smartphones and tablets. Apple's latest M1 Pro or M1 Max-based MacBook Pro notebooks are slipping to four to five weeks delivery times, while beefer iMac 24-inch configurations also take more than a month. Even the latest 7th generation Apple Watch will only be delivered by mid-December if ordered today. By contrast, M1-based MacBook Air ships within days.

The latest MacBook Pro is Apple's biggest update to the lineup since 2016. It adds an  HDMI output, an SD card reader, and a MagSafe charging port, as well as a mini LED display with ProMotion. Demand for the latest MacBook Pro laptops could indeed set records. The main question is whether Apple can meet demand. Meanwhile, Apple's 7th generation Watch is also facing long lead times, and its biggest change is a larger screen.

"In a year when Apple should be enjoying one of its biggest product-upgrade cycles ever, navigating the supply crunch is the “elephant in the room,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, in a conversation with Bloomberg. 

But while there are supply constraints in the U.S., Apple is set to add more shops inside Target stores before holidays, reports SeekingAlpha, which suggests that Apple expects to have products to fill the shelves.

Apple has not provided its official sales guidance for several quarters now, so we have no idea what the company expects. Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts expected Apple to generate about $120 billion in calendar Q4 2021, up 7% from the same period a year before.

One other notable product is backlogged. Those who manage to get a shiny new iPhone or MacBook Pro may have to wait for a $19 Apple polishing cloth that is reportedly sold out until December. 

Apple is hosting an event this Monday, October 18, following months of rumors regarding updates to its Mac computers.

Apple senior vice president of marketing Greg Joswiak said that the event, called "Unleashed," will cause the next six days to "speed by," suggesting we may see some new, faster processors.

Rumors have persisted regarding 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros, possibly with a new "M1X" chip, succeeding Apple's existing M1. The scuttlebutt surrounding the new systems also includes a new industrial design that matches the more blocky iPhone 13, the elimination of the touch bar, and more ports, including HDMI and an SD card slot. MagSafe has made a comeback on the iPhone, and many expect it to return to the MacBook as well. There have been reports that Apple may be considering mini LED displays, though supply chain issues may have nixed that.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro, which uses Intel processors, hasn't been updated since its launch two years ago. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman points out that its hard to track down and is unavailable at many Apple stores.

The same chip is expected to show up in a refreshed Mac Mini. Both the MacBook Pro and Mac Mini still use Intel for high-end models, so this would be  way for Apple to further its progress in eliminating Intel's processors from its computers altogether. 

There have, however, been a handful of other Apple rumors circulating lately. The biggest are third-gen AirPods, which were mysteriously absent from Apple's September iPhone and iPad event.

Apple still has a handful of other Intel-based devices, including its Mac Pro desktops and the 27-inch iMac, but the hearsay regarding them has been thin of late. We'll see what happens at 10 a.m. PT on October 18.

According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the Mac Mini could be getting a major upgrade this year, with rumors floating around that Apple's new M1X chip will be headed to a high end version of the Mac Mini later this year. Giving the Mac Mini some much needed firepower for more demanding applications beyond video streaming and browsing the web.

A upgraded Mac Mini will be a welcome sight for many users, since the current M1 Mini uses the same chip in the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, but with better cooling. This new unit is believed to have double the amount of Thunderbolt ports from the current M1 mini (from two to four), and have significantly more RAM capacity, possibly up to 64GB.

Apple still sells an Intel-based Mac Mini with a six-core Intel Core i5 or Core i7, up to 64GB of RAM, up to 2TB SSD storage, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, Ethernet, HDMI 2.0 and two USB-A ports. It is likely that the M1X processor would allow Apple to remove this Intel product from its lineup. Apple previously announced it would remove Intel processors from its product within two years.

Gurman reports that this new Mac Mini will be powered off of the highly rumored M1X processor. We don't know much about this new chip, but it is believed to have a 10-core configuration with eight high performance cores and two efficiency cores. If true, this would be a much higher performing configuration compared to the current M1's 4+4 configuration.

However, the biggest improvements seems to be on the graphics side of things, with a 16-core and 32-core configuration rumored to be in the works. This would double and triple the current M1's graphics horsepower.

These upgrades will give the Mac mini a serious performance and connectivity enhancement, and according to Gurman, allow the upgraded M1 Mac Mini to fully replace Intel-equipped versions of the device.

Apple is preparing several new product launches later this fall, including the iPhone 13 and the newly re-designed MacBook Pro. Presumably, we should see Apple announce the new M1X Mac Mini around this time. 

The M1X, if announced, would be Apple's second piece of custom silicon for its desktops and laptops. The M1 can currently be found in the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, 24-inch iMac and iPad Pro. (Previously, Apple had used A-series chips in the iPad Pro.)

The only big Apple computers that haven't yet seen any refreshes with the company's own silicon are the Mac Pro tower, which is rumored to both use Intel's Xeon W-3300 and an alternative Apple chip, the 27-inch iMac and the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which is also rumored for replacement. Some 13-inch MacBook Pros still use Intel chips as well, which again may be waiting for a more powerful processor from Apple.

Both Microsoft and Apple's latest earnings calls took place last night, with one major theme in common: the ongoing component shortage. Despite issues in the supply chain, there still appears to be strong demand for new devices.

Microsoft, in its Q3 2021 call, saw mixed performance in its "more personal computing" segment, which includes Windows, search, gaming and Surface. Overall, revenue for the group increased 1.2 billion, or 9%.

However, Windows in OEM systems suffered slightly. "Windows OEM revenue decreased 3% with continued PC demand impacted by supply chain constraints, on a strong prior year comparable in OEM non-Pro," according to Microsoft. "Windows OEM Pro revenue decreased 2% and Windows OEM non-Pro revenue decreased 4%.

Surface revenue was down $348 million (20%), which Microsoft attributed to "supply chain constraints."

Microsoft saw $357 million (11%) thanks to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, though content and services decreased $128 million.

Apple, in its Q3 2021 results, claimed to succeed in spite of supply chain problems. Chief financial officer Luca Maestri said that the Mac set a quarter record of $8.2 billion, (up 16%) and that the iPad had revenue of $7.4 billion (up 12%) "in spite of significant supply constraints."

Apple recently launched a new iPad Pro and iMac, both powered by the company's M1 processor.

In a forward looking statement, Maestri claimed that "we expect supply constraints during the September quarter to be greater than what we experienced during the June quarter," specifically calling out the iPhone and iPad as likely being affected.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook said that most supply constraints are part of an "industry shortage," but also sometimes that demand has been beyond what the company had expected.

Throughout the pandemic, there has been massive demand for personal computers, gaming consoles and other devices for people to work and play at home. The shortages have also affected the automobile industry and home appliances.

These two earnings calls both suggest that the component shortage isn't over, and may not be over by the end of the year, and that to at least some degree, all of that demand is still ongoing.

One thing is for sure, we love the Raspberry Pi here at Tom's Hardware but we also have a soft spot for Apple. When these two come together, we can't help but get excited! Whether you're running a mac-based OS theme on the Pi, baking an Apple MacBook Pi or even just running RetroPie on an old iMac, expect us to be there to cover the cool crossover project!

Today we're excited to add another Apple Pi creation to our list of projects—PJ Evans, a writer for the official Raspberry Pi magazine MagPi, has created what he calls the PiMac. This rig features a Raspberry Pi inside of a2004 - 2006 era iMac G5 case.

Some of the best Raspberry Pi projects breathe life into old gadgets. What stands out most about this project is how much original hardware it uses. This system uses the iMac speakers, power button and even the built-in camera.

According to Evans, the video output is also handled using the original screen. It's built with a Samsung panel which accepts input thanks to the help of an HDMI to LCD driver board. To find out which driver board you need all you have to do is search eBay using the model number of your screen. 

If you want to see more, check out this project on the original Twitter thread and be sure to follow PJ Evans for more updates on this awesome Apple-flavored Pi project.

Apple’s new in-house M1 chip is officially on the market. The first reviews and benchmarks are starting to pop up, so we’re gathering everything we know about it into one handy place, which we’ll update as we learn more.

If you're looking for the M1 Pro and M1 Max, check out our separate explainer on those chips.
 

Apple M1 Cheat Sheet: Key details at a glance 

 Apple M1 Release Date 

The first computers with Apple's M1 chip are already up for purchase. To try it, you’re going to have to choose between one of the three new products that feature the chip: the new MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro or the Mac Mini. Each comes with two configurations using the M1. The MacBook Pro also still has two Intel configurations on offer, and the Mac Mini has one Intel processor offering.

Apple also announced on April 20th that it will be introducing a new M1 iMac and M1 iPad. Unlike previous M1 products, these will be built from the ground up with the M1 in mind, incorporating new, thinner chassis thanks to the M1's greater efficiency. Orders for these new M1 products will open up on April 30th, and will start shipping out to buyers in May.

Apple M1 Price 

The M1 is an in-house Apple chip, so you're going to have to get it built into one of Apple's machines rather than standalone.

The Mac Mini starts at $699 with 256GB of storage, making it the cheapest way to get an M1 processor. The price range stretches all the way to $2,099, which will net you the 13-inch MacBook Pro with 2TB of storage. 

Pricing is largely down to the specifics of your purchase. But so far, it doesn’t seem like M1 Macs will be significantly more expensive than Intel-based Intel counterparts. The M1 MacBook Air configuration that is most similar to the Intel MacBook Air we reviewed earlier this year is  $1,249, for instance, which is $50 cheaper than last year's version. The $999 starting price remains unchanged.  

Apple M1 Specs 

Here’s the M1’s bread-and-butter. What does Apple’s new Arm-based chip have that Intel’s x86 architecture doesn’t? Well, it uses a 5nm process, for one. By comparison, even Intel’s 7nm process isn’t expected to start hitting its products until at least 2022. Apple's CPU has 8 cores, which would typically require you to step up to Intel's H-series product stack to get on mobile chips.

Four of the M1’s cores are dedicated to high-power performance, while the other 4 are for low-power efficiency. That evens out to a 10W thermal envelope overall, with the low power cores supposedly taking up a tenth of the power needed for the high-power cores. The chip also has a total of 16 billion transistors.

The M1 is also a system on a chip (SOC) with integrated graphics and onboard memory. The included GPU has 8 cores as well, with 128 total compute units and 2.6 teraflops of throughput (there is one exception here: the entry level MacBook Air uses a version of the M1 with a 7-core GPU). The “unified memory” replaces the need for separate RAM, meaning that the chip comes with either 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR4X-4266 MHz SDRAM, depending on your device.

The M1 also has a separate 16-core neural engine for machine learning tasks. 

Apple M1 Teardown

If you're curious what the M1 chip actually looks like, Twitter user @technalye1 has done a teardown on their account.

Here's what the M1 actually looks like inside a product, once you take it's top off and remove the thermal paste. The Apple logo's a nice touch, even if it most users will never see it. For comparison, here's what Apple's mock-up of the chip on its own website looks like.

You'll notice it looks pretty different, but that's because this version of the chip is fully enclosed. @technayle1 also has pictures of the chip from the bottom, showing off its pin connectors, and they tend to line up more evenly with Apple's promo images.

Finally, @technayle1 also has photos of what the M1 actually looks like when situated into motherboards.

Apple M1 Native Performance 

The core drawback to the M1 chip right now is that, because it uses a different architecture and instruction set from Intel or AMD parts, it won’t be able to run x86 apps without emulating them. Developers are already on the case, with Microsoft having released a version of Microsoft Office that runs natively on M1 machines and Adobe saying that it’s working on an M1-native creative suite. The company's even already released an M1-native Photoshop, which it says runs 1.5x faster than the old version does on "similarly configured previous-gen systems." But early adopters might have to wait a bit to get the most performance they can out of their new chips.

When the M1 does get to run natively, though, it seems to pack some serious power. Engadget reports that the M1 MacBook Air had Geekbench 5 results of 1,619/6,292. That’s well above their results for the 2020 i7 MacBook Air, which were 1,130/3,053. Meanwhile, the Tiger Lake Dell XPS 13 9310 scored in 1,496/5,254 on our own Geekbench 5.0 benchmarks, while the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Extreme Gen 3 with an Intel Core i7-10850H chip scored 1,221/6,116.

The M1’s single-core score also beats the 27-inch 2020 Core i9 iMac’s single-core score, which only hit 1,246. It loses out to the iMac’s 9,046 multi-core score, but that officially gives the M1 higher single-core test results out of any Intel Macs, even desktops.

Outlets like The Verge also tested the M1, but under different conditions. Using a MacBook Pro and testing with Geekbench 5.3, The Verge found its review unit scored 1,730/7,510 points. 

We’re curious to see how the M1 stacks against a potential 8-core Tiger Lake chip down the line, as well as AMD’s new Ryzen 5000 processors, which are also looking to take Intel’s CPU crown. For now, though, the M1 is looking to be the fastest chip you can buy in mobile devices like laptops and tablets.

And, in certain single-threaded tasks, it might even be faster than Intel's new Rocket Lake desktop chips.

Apple M1 Emulated Performance 

Finally, we reach the biggest potential drawback for the M1: Since the Apple M1 uses a completely new architecture (at least new for Macs), it can’t natively run apps designed for x86 chips. Instead, it has to emulate them. Apple’s built a tool to let users easily do this, called Rosetta 2, but running apps through Rosetta 2 means they’re going to take a performance hit.

Official reviews are reporting on emulation more anecdotally rather than with official numbers, but user Geekbench results show that, even when emulating apps, the M1 chip is still faster than Intel counterparts. On November 14th, a user posted test results for an M1-equipped MacBook Air running the x86 version of Geekbench. The machine earned a single-core score of 1,313 and a multi-core score of 5,888. That’s about 79% as powerful as the native scores for the same machine, which were 1,687 on single-core and 7,433 on multi-core. Still, even the emulated scores are higher than any other Intel Mac on single-core, including the 2020 27-inch iMac with a Core i9 processor. As for the multi-core score, it’s still much higher than the 3,067 score of the Core i7 2020 MacBook Air. 

Keep in mind that performance varies from program to program, however. When The Verge tested the x86 version of Adobe Creative Cloud on its MacBook Pro review unit, the publication came across a bug that consistently halved its export bitrate. The publication said that export times stayed flat even when running multiple 4K exports in a row, suggesting strong performance, but it’s a good reminder that emulation still has drawbacks even if benchmark results look strong.

Again, this is a place where we're looking forward to seeing how the M1 fares against the newest Intel and AMD chips. Because the M1 isn’t going to be running at its best here, other chipmakers might be able to make up the current performance gap more easily in upcoming mobile chip releases.

Apple M1 Graphics Performance 

With Apple M1-equipped machines already starting to hit the public, preliminary benchmark results are starting to show up on the GFXBench browser. And while the 8-core, 128 CU, 2.6-teraflop chip’s obviously not going to compete with recent behemoths like the RTX 3000 series or even with older yet higher-end discrete GPUs like the GTX 1080, it does beat old standards like the Radeon RX 560 and the GTX 1050 Ti.

For instance, on high-level GFXBench tests like 1440p Manhattan 3.1.1, the Apple M1 hit 130.9 frames per second, while the 1050 Ti only hit 127.4 fps and the Radeon RX 560 was capped out at 101.4 fps. Meanwhile, on the more intensive Aztec Ruins High Tier test, the M1 hit 77.4 fps while the GTX 1050 Ti maxed out at 61.4 fps. The Radeon RX 560 did perform best in this test, with a score of 82.5 fps, but generally has lower frame rates across most tests. 

Meanwhile, Ars Technica found that the M1 scored 11,476 points in 3DMark’s Slingshot Extreme Unlimited GPU test, as compared to the iPad Pro 2020’s score of 9,978 and the iPhone 12 Pro’s score of 6,226.

While it’s tricky to try to judge overall chip performance off of a few online and mobile benchmarks, these tests are the best official benchmark results we have right now. Still, reviews are making strong anecdotal claims as well. Engadget said that The Pathless runs at a solid 60 fps on its review MacBook Air, as does Fortnite at 1,400 x 900. 

Which apps and games run natively?

If, after all those numbers, you're curious to see whether your favorite apps and games run natively on Apple M1, some intrepid Apples fans have built a few new databases to tell you exactly that.

isapplesiliconready.com is a website and Twitter feed from Abdullah Diaa that lists popular plug-ins and programs and whether they have native M1 support, need to be emulated through Rosetta 2, or are currently broken on the chip. You can view each category separately or see them all together, and the website also posts which versions of most listed programs support M1.

For instance, we were easily able to see through the database that Quicken natively supports M1 starting from version 6.0, but that DropBox still requires emulation. Meanwhile, Virtualbox doesn't work on M1 at all.

For gamers, @__tosh has also built a Google Drive spreadsheet and a dedicated website each with alphabetical lists of which games run on Apple M1 and how. It's a fairly exhaustive project, listing distribution methods, whether games run natively or are emulated, what resolutions they support, average fps scores, anecdotal notes and more. The website version of the list also lets you search for specific games so you can find their relevant information immediately, plus has background information about gaming on Mac as a whole.

Most games are still emulated right now, but the spreadsheet shows that World of Warcraft, Stardew Valley and Among Us already have native support, plus a few others. 

 Apple M1 Battery Life 

Despite packing more processing power overall, the M1 chip comes with 4 low-power cores that help it conserve battery life. Apple’s saying that this gives M1-equipped machines “the best battery life ever on a Mac,” which it tested by wirelessly browsing the web with brightness set to “8 clicks from the bottom” and by playing FHD videos under the same brightness settings. These tests are far from comprehensive, but reviews generally tend to place M1 Macs either around or above current Intel counterparts.

According to Engadget’s battery benchmarks, which “involved looping an HD video,” the M1 MacBook Air can stay powered on for up to 16 hours and 20 minutes, which is about 5 hours more than the publication’s numbers for the latest Intel MacBook Air. That's also about 7 hours more than we got on our own battery benchmark for the the latest Intel MacBook Air.

The Verge found that the M1 MacBook Pro’s numbers are a little less impressive, which is to be expected with more power. The publication claimed to “easily get 10 hours on a charge” and said it had to resort to running 4K YouTube videos on Chrome in the background to drop that down to 8 hours.

The Verge is less optimistic on MacBook Air, though, saying it’s getting “between 8 and 10 hours of real, sustained work.” 

macOS Big Sur, iPhone and iPad Apps 

One of the coolest new features of the M1 chip is that, because it uses the same processor architecture as the iPhone and iPad, it can now run apps designed for those devices natively. However, reviewers are skeptical of this feature’s current implementation.

First, you’ll have to download these programs through the Mac app store using a filter, since developers still aren’t allowed to directly distribute iOS apps even on more traditional systems. Second, you’ll find that many of your favorites won’t be available, like Gmail, Slack and Instagram. That’s because developers are allowed to opt out of making their apps available on Mac, which plenty seem to be opting for. Third, apps that require touch input direct you to a series of unintuitive “touch alternatives,” like pressing space to tap in the center of a window or using the arrow keys to swipe.

The Verge called using iOS apps on Mac a “messy, weird experience,” in part because the apps that are available are “from developers that haven’t been updated to be aware of newer devices.” While Overcast, a podcast app, worked great for The Verge, HBO Max was stuck to a small window that couldn’t be resized and couldn’t play fullscreen videos.

Playing iOS games also proved to be a chore for some reviewers, as TechCrunch noted. The publication tried the iOS version of Among Us on an M1 MacBook Air and found that, while it ran smoothly, using the trackpad to emulate a touchscreen was a chore. There’s also an option to operate a virtual touchscreen with your mouse, but as the reviewer also ran across a fixed window size with no full screen functionality, it’s clear that gaming on M1 still has a way to go.

The elephant in the room here across all experiences seems to be the lack of a touchscreen. We were hoping Apple would announce touchscreen Macs during its ‘One More Thing’ event earlier this month. But with no word on those yet, it’s hard for iOS apps on M1 to feel like more than an afterthought. There’s also the lack of support from big developers, who are probably waiting for these kinks, like no touchscreen support, to work themselves out. 

Running Windows

On April 14th, 2021, Parallels Desktop released a version of its Mac-based virtualization software that lets users run the Insider Preview of Windows 10 for Arm on M1-based Macs as native speeds. Unfortunately, most Windows for Arm programs themselves run via emulation, but Parallels says it's received enthusiastic feedback from testers about x86 app performance. This includes not just productivity software like Microsoft Office, but also games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Rocket League.

Wine also added support for M1 macs in its June 10th 6.0.1 patch. This lets you use the compatibility layer to run supported Windows-only apps, which you can check here.

As for official support for Windows on M1 from Microsoft, it's unlikely, but Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said to Ars Technica shortly after the chip released "We have core technologies for them to do that, to run their ARM version of Windows...But that's a decision Microsoft has to make." 

Competition From Intel

Early in February, Intel fired back at Apple's M1 claims with benchmarks of its own. These benchmarks apply to its 11th generation "Tiger Lake" processors, which have been available since October of last year. Regardless of the wide availability of existing testing data, the company still wants to prove that Windows 10 laptops equipped with Tiger Lake can beat Apple M1 machines, though as with all vendor provided benchmarks, take them with a grain of salt.

For productivity apps like Microsoft Office and Chrome, Intel is claiming based off WebXPRT3 and its own internal real-world usage guideline (or RUG) testing that it got 30% more performance off a testing whitebox with Intel Core i7-1186G7 and 16GB of RAM than it did against a competing system with M1 and 16GB of RAM. 

This goes against what we saw when we reviewed the MacBook Pro with M1. Additionally, we haven't seen many laptops opt for the i7-1185G7 over the i7-1165G7 yet, outside of the MSI Prestige Evo 14.

Internal RUG tests from Intel also show the i7-1185G7 beating the M1 on Adobe apps and AI tools from Topaz labs, as it supposedly completed tasks at six times the speed of the M1.

Gaming was more even, though Intel's benchmarks coyly tease Apple for a number of games that don't have Mac support by claiming the M1 runs them at "0 fps."

Intel also took aim at Apple for supposedly not performing as well on the specific tests that manufacturers must pass to get its "Intel Evo" certification. These are meant, according to Intel's studies, to provide a better notebook experience, and include tasks like "switching to Calendar" in Outlook and "starting a video conference in Zoom" as quickly as possible. 

Intel hasn't made it clear how these tests were run, though these are generally pretty simple tasks that run well on most modern systems, so we're talking miniscule gains here. 

It's also worth noting that Intel swapped to a MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM for testing here, as opposed to the 16GB it used when testing performance.

Battery life is also part of Evo certification, and when stacking the Acer Swift 5 against the MacBook Air in a test for which laptop could stay alive longer when running a Netflix stream alongside multiple browser tabs, Intel found the MacBook Air came ahead with 6 minutes more life.

Intel also included a number of disclaimers along with its tests, plus digs at the lack of touchscreen or diverse form factor options on MacBooks as well as the difficulty in using more than one external display with Apple M1 devices. The company also targeted the limitations of Apple M1's x86 emulation, which we discussed above. 

Intel's also gone hard on advertising against Apple, with a new "Go PC" ad campaign that's even gone far enough as hiring the old old "I'm a Mac" guy. 

Apple has extended an olive branch to Windows-using Mac owners. The company recently updated its Boot Camp utility to support the Windows Precision Touchpad feature on certain devices, as spotted this morning by Reddit user “ar25nan." 

Windows Precision touchpad drivers offer a variety of gestures you can use to switch between windows, access the action center and open Cortana, among other things. It also enables basic functionality, such as two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom. Most of those features have a macOS equivalent, many of which use the same gesture.

Yet, until now Mac owners running Windows 10 via the Boot Camp utility were unable to take advantage of Windows Precision Touchpad. That’s always been a notable omission, especially since Apple places such emphasis on touch-based interactions with its devices. Even the company’s basic mouse was designed with gestures in mind.

That situation has finally been rectified…for some people.

Macs That Support Windows Precision Gestures 

Apple said in a support document that Windows Precision gestures support is limited to Boot Camp users running macOS Big Sur on an Intel-based Mac that features its T2 Security Chip. Anyone using an older version of macOS or an M1-equipped Mac is out of luck.

The list of Macs that meet these criteria is pretty short:

• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
• iMac Pro
• Mac Pro (2019)
• Mac Pro (Rack, 2019)
• Mac mini (2018)
• MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)
• MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
• MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
• MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)

That might seem like a fair number of devices, but that’s only because of the way Apple is counting them. The actual list is just “Macs that were released between 2018 and early 2020.” Every other device—and versions of macOS released prior to Big Sur—will be stuck with the limited tracked options available before this update.

Here’s the good news: The limitation to Intel-based Macs almost certainly stems from the fact that Boot Camp doesn’t even support Apple’s custom silicon yet. Apple has said that it’s up to Microsoft to make sure Windows 10 on Arm runs on its new chips. Hopefully, support for Windows Precision touchpads will be there to greet it.

Either way, this should be a welcome change for the subset of Mac owners it affects, and it shows that Apple hasn’t completely abandoned its Intel-based Macs just yet.

Apple's WWDC event always feels like roulette when it comes to whether or not the company will announce any new devices or big software updates. For the past few weeks, rumors have been swirling that Apple might announce new MacBooks or the follow-up to its successful M1 chip today, but that didn't turn out to be the case. We did get news on the latest incarnation of MacOS, called Monterey, but the rest of today's stream was mostly spent on new iOS and iPadOS features (many of which are already present in Android).

Monterey, the latest version of MacOS, was today's biggest announcement outside of the mobile space, although it's not shaping up to be as major of an update as last year's Big Sur. It mostly focuses on bringing continuity across your MacBook and other Apple devices, including the ability to control an iMac, iPad and iPhone all with your MacBook's keyboard and touchpad (or vice versa, presumably). It'll also introduce new features that are coming to iOS and iPadOS to MacOS devices, but these are the most concrete details we know for now.

Apple did discuss that it's going to be moving away from Automator and towards interspersing manual task shortcuts throughout the OS. Sort of like Windows Tiles, these shortcuts will let you open different apps from panels, but they'll also take the form of buttons that show up in other programs and let you easily perform certain tasks. For instance, you might be able to make a gif straight from a photo editing program with a shortcut. It's unclear exactly how intrusive or useful these shortcuts will be, especially since Apple said Automator would still be supported.

Safari is also getting tab groups, similar to the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox, and will also add Chrome Sync-like features to allow you to browse more easily across your MacBook and your iPhone (which will also get a tab redesign).

Speaking of iPhones, iOS 15 is adding a bunch of new features to the device, mostly focused around sharing content. These include spatial audio that tries to cancel ambient noise around you on video calls, plus grid and portrait mode options for FaceTime. FaceTime is also getting links you can send to participants that they can click on to join future calls, much like Zoom or Google Meet.

What's more interesting are the new content-sharing features. Facetime will now let users watch content from a streaming app together, each having control of the play and pause functions for perfect, automatic syncing. This also applies to music, plus FaceTime will be adding screensharing support as well. While we don't normally cover phones, these functions are worth nothing as they will be coming to MacOS, too. 

Aside from these features, there was a lot of talk about privacy promises, more niche updates like changes to iCloud (iCloud+) and the health app, and sections covering Apple Watch and smart home devices. Plus, iOS will be introducing translation features and other quality-of-life changes that are similar to what's already on other platforms.

But if, like me, you were hoping for more substantial information on what's next for Apple Hardware, you're going to have to wait a little longer. Still, if you want to check out any of these OS changes, a limited developer beta starts today and a public beta starts next month.

If you charge a device via USB Type-C today, the maximum you’re getting is 100W. This is set out in the specification from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), but the 2.1 update, released today, punches that up to 240W. 

Known as Extended Power Range, or EPR, the new spec does not mean you’ll need to throw out all your chargers, as the Type-C plug itself is staying the same, along with USB 4’s data-transfer abilities, but it does mean that we’ll start to see larger laptops with USB-C as a charging option, as current 17-inch and most gaming laptops still use dedicated charging ports due to their greater thirst for power.

Monitors, too, should benefit, with the ability to send power and video signals down the same cable to larger screens. We might also see the standard adopted to power peripherals such as printers and scanners, though laser printers can currently outstrip even 240W of capacity. The new Apple M1 iMac, by contrast, comes with a 143W power supply that doubles as an Ethernet connection, making it a candidate for a USB-C wall connection the next time it gets a facelift.

The maximum voltage delivered over the diminutive oval plugs is rising too, as 48V is required to output 240W at 5A. This has led to a small change within the connector, as pins for power delivery and USB 2.0 support can no longer short to ground to prevent the possibility of arcing when a cable is unplugged. New EPR cables will carry an electronic mark, meaning devices can interrogate them to see how much current they’re safely capable of handling without potentially producing unwanted lightning.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is preparing its next generation of MacBook Pros with more powerful in-house chips and is eyeing a replacement for its most powerful tower, the Mac Pro.

The MacBook Pros will come in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes with MagSafe charging, more ports, and, as previously rumored, the return of HDMI and an SD card slot, the report claims. That's a serious step up from two Thunderbolt ports on the existing Pros.

The laptops will have two different processors, code-named Jade C-Chop and Jade-C Die, each 10-core processors (eight high-performance and two efficiency) but with two graphics options: 16 and 32-core. A Mac Mini revamp is expected to use the same chip. It's unclear what these will be called, though there have been rumors of an M2.

These new chips should allow for up to 64GB of RAM and utilize more Thunderbolt ports to connect to external devices, which is a limitation on the existing M1 machines.

The same Bloomberg report claims that there are two new Mac Pro chips on the way, codenamed Jade 2C-Die, with a 20-core chip (16 high-performance and four efficiency cores) and Jade 4C-Die with 40 cores (32 high-performance and eight high-efficiency cores). The graphics, the report claims, would use either 64 or 128-core options. These would replace both CPUs from Intel and graphics from AMD. The Mac Pro itself is likely to be a smaller version of the existing design.

Besides these professional-grade chips, Apple is planning an heir apparent to the M1 for a new version of the MacBook Air. The chip, codenamed Staten, will have the same number of compute cores but increase the number of graphics cores. The base 13-inch MacBook Pro may also see an update with that chip.

During the announcement of the M1 processor for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini, vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus said that the transition away from Intel would occur in the next "couple of years." If the timelines in this report stay true, Intel could be gone from Apple's product line as soon as next year.

Apple recently moved M1 to the iMac, a colorful lineup of desktop computers, and also added it to the iPad Pro. Apple's in-house chips have been reinvigorating its product line, so we're curious to see where things go from here.

If Tim Cook was more into retro computers, then the newly redesigned iMac might have looked like this. It doesn’t of course, but that doesn’t matter - we’ve got Pigenoaut’s Callisto II, as spotted by Hackaday.

Within that lovely late 1970s / early 1980s 3D printed shell sits a Raspberry Pi 4 running the show. The screen is a Pimoroni eight-inch LCD as used in their Picades, with an appropriately 20th-century 4:3 aspect ratio and 800 x 600 resolution. The mechanical keyboard is 60% of normal size and fits snugly into the custom designed space. Inside the unit is a USB hub, power supply, and a lot of good fresh air to keep the Raspberry Pi 4 cool. A hatch on the back of the case, which snaps together without glue, allows access to the innards, in case you want to fill the void with hard drives or swap out the computing board with another model.

Possibly the best thing about the project, though, is the accompanying website which strikes precisely the right note even if it isn’t period authentic. From the dithered images to the liberal use of GIFs, it’s filled with links to Pigeonaut’s other adventures in DIY computing, as well as the brilliant online OS, PigeonOS.

With its friendly design and range of pastel colors, the Callisto II would look great on any desk.

Apple executives said Wednesday that roughly 50% of the Mac and iPad sales in the second quarter of 2021 were to people who'd never owned those devices before. Much of that growth has been attributed to the M1 system-on-a-chip, the release of which led the Mac to enjoy the best financial quarter in its decades-long history.

Apple CFO Luca Maestri revealed the stat during an earnings call, 9to5Mac reported, and was followed by Apple CEO Tim Cook announcing that 66% of Mac and iPad sales in China were to new customers during that same time period. Both figures show that Apple's products have started to appeal to new customers.

It's not hard to guess why that would be the case for the Mac. Apple released new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models featuring its custom silicon in November 2020. Those models were all well-reviewed and—to some enthusiasts' surprise—actually flipped the price-to-performance ratio in Apple's favor.

The M1 chip outperforms much of its x86 competition in various benchmarks even though it's more power-efficient and, in the MacBook Air's case, might be throttled if it starts to get too hot. But in many types of workloads, that combination of performance and power efficiency is essentially unrivaled in notebooks equipped with x86 processors.

The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro also feature high-resolution displays and longer-than-expected battery life. They don't beat every notebook in every benchmark—especially when it comes to gaming—but we noted in our review of the MacBook Pro that it was "putting every other laptop on notice." And, well, people noticed.

Even more people might consider a Mac or iPad now that the M1 is available in the latest iMac and iPad Pro models. Apple's planning to bring the rest of the Mac line into the fold by the end of 2022 as well. Those devices are expected to offer better I/O, support for additional memory, and other power user features.

Here's the bad news: Maestri and Cook said the global chip shortage is likely to affect the supply of its Macs and iPads in the second half of 2021. Cook said that “We expect to be supply-gated, not demand-gated,” when it comes to sales of those products later this year. That's a testament to these products' newfound popularity.

Intel can have Justin Long. Apple has the satisfaction of watching its longest-running product line surge in popularity—even among people who've never purchased it before—practically the moment it switched from x86 processors to custom silicon. And that's all with the first chip it designed for something other than mobile devices.

When Apple introduced its all-new iMac 24-inch all-in-one desktop and iPad Pro tablet based on its M1 system-on-chip earlier this month, it said that the new products would be available in the second half of May, but never revealed when exactly they were set to hit the shelves. On Thursday Apple finally unwrapped details about availability of its new devices. 

Apple and its partners will start to take pre-orders on the latest 24-inch iMac, iPad Pro, and Apple TV 4K starting April 30, 2021. Meanwhile, the new AIO desktop, professional tablet, and set-top-box will be available starting May 21, 2020, reports MacRumors citing UK retailer John Lewis. Since the date comes from an unofficial source, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Meanwhile, Jon Prosser, a tech analyst and a leaker, also states that the 21st of May as the launch date for Apple's latest products. 

Apple's new M1-based iMac comes in seven colors and is equipped with a 23.5-inch display featuring a 4480 × 2520 resolution and a 500 nits brightness, a major upgrade for entry-level AIOs that previously featured a 21-inch LCD panel. The system can be equipped with up to 16GB of LPDDR4 memory and up to 2TB of solid-state storage. Pricing starts at $1,299. 

Apple's upcoming iPad Pro also represent a huge advancement when compared to predecessors as they are powered by PC-class M1 SoC and can be equipped with up to 16GB of memory. Meanwhile, the new iPad Pro 12.9-inch is the world's first tablet to use a Mini LED display. The new iPad Pros start at $799 for 11-inch SKU and $1,099 for a 12.9-incher.

Apple’s next chip, the as yet unnamed successor to the M1 has, according to Nikkei Asia already entered mass production, with 'M2' powered MacBooks appearing perhaps as soon as July. 

Nikkei Asia claims that TMSC is the fab behind the silicon, pumping them out on its 5nm+ (N5P) process. The outlet also expects the chip to appear in upcoming iPad Pro, just as the M1 did, as well as a range of Apple desktop and portable computers. As Apple and TMSC declined Nikkei Asia’s requests for comment, we don’t know anything more about the chip at the moment, but a clockspeed bump over the 3.2GHz of the M1 is likely. Other speculation and leaks have pointed to as many as 12 cores in the new chip.

The current model boasts four power cores, four efficiency cores, a GPU with up to eight cores, and a 16-core Neural Engine that accelerates machine learning tasks. The RAM is also included in the package, with up to 16GB available, and the thing overtakes Rocket Lake in single-threaded performance.

Rumors about new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros coming later this year are prevalent, along with a new 27-inch iMac to follow last week’s announcements. If those are indeed real, they could be equipped with these new chips.

Apple is currently the world’s fourth largest PC maker, after Lenovo, HP, and Dell, with a market share of 7.6% in Q4 2020. Its switch to the ARM-based M-series chips came in 2020 after 15 years of using Intel chips in its Macs. Before that, in 1994, Apple had switched to IBM’s PowerPC architecture, having used the Motorola 68000 since the Mac’s inception in 1984. The company expects to take two years to fully transition its range to the new SOCs.

The hacking group known as REvil has reportedly pulled all references to a ransomware attack against Apple supplier Quanta Computer from its home on the dark web, MacRumors reports.

Last week, the group had threatened Quanta with ransomware, demanding $50 million by April 27 in order to stop it from leaking product blueprints. It appears, per BleepingComputer, that after Quanta didn't budge, it turned to Apple for the money.

"Quanta Computer’s information security team has worked with external IT experts in response to cyber attacks on a small number of Quanta servers," a Quanta spokesperson told BleepingComputer last week.

The hacking attempt came as Apple announced new products at its "Spring Loaded" event, announcing M1 iMacs and an iPad Pro, Air Tags and updates to its Podcast app. By the end of the event last week, REvil has posted a number of schematics, published by some web sites, that appeared to have been of upcoming MacBook products.

What is unclear is why REvil would have pulled the threat, and whether a ransom was paid or if legal measures were taken. Apple did not reply to a request for comment in time for publication, but we will update if we hear anything. Apple has also not commented publicly on the situation.

Then again, in a video announcing the M1 iPad Pro, we learned that Apple CEO Tim Cook is a bit of a super spy, so maybe that answers some questions.

The iPad Pro now uses M1, Apple's homegrown processor that is also in the 21-inch iMac, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini. That's a lot of power, but don't expect the iPad to merge with the Mac line anytime soon.

In an interview with The Independent, Apple hardware lead John Ternus and marketing chief Greg ‘Joz’ Joswiak were steadfast that the two platforms are separate.

"There’s two conflicting stories people like to tell about the iPad and Mac," Joswiak told The Independent.  "On the one hand, people say that they are in conflict with each other. That somebody has to decide whether they want a Mac, or they want an iPad. Or people say that we’re merging them into one: that there’s really this grand conspiracy we have, to eliminate the two categories and make them one. And the reality is neither is true. We’re quite proud of the fact that we work really, really hard to create the best products in their respective category."

Indeed, the iPad Pro is far and away better than any other Android tablet. Between the M1 and, if you splurge on a keyboard cover, the iPad Pro can easily handle many workflows with aplomb.

“We don’t think about well, we’re going to limit what this device can do because we don’t want to step on the toes of this [other] one or anything like that,” Ternus said. “We’re pushing to make the best Mac we can make; we’re pushing to make the best iPad we can make. And people choose." He pointed out that some people have both, and that their workflow spans both devices.

But it also highlights what some consider the Mac's biggest weakness: its lack of a touchscreen. Apple has long suggested that the Mac and macOS weren't designed for touch, while critics have bragged about the flexibility some Windows PCs have gained from touch screen options. The iPad, however, is getting its most advanced touchscreen ever, with mini-LED technology with extreme dynamic range borrowed from the desktop Pro Display XDR.

The Mac, as of macOS Big Sur, can run some iOS and iPad OS apps. This doesn't yet go the opposite way, and Apple can't show the same pro apps running on both the iPad and the iMac in stage demos.

Yesterday, The Verge's Monica Chin wrote an op-ed entitled "Put macOS on the iPad, you cowards," suggesting perhaps the ultimate convergence. If you're not going to put touch on the Mac, let users run their Mac apps on the iPad. After all, they share the same processor.

But with rumors of iPadOS 15 getting a significant change, perhaps one differing it more from iOS on the iPhone, it doesn't seem like the Mac and the iPad will become one anytime soon. Or perhaps ever.

"[W]e’re just going to keep making them [the iMac and iPad Pro] better. And we’re not going to get all caught up in, you know, theories around merging or anything like that," Ternus said.

We might learn more about Apple's latest products sooner than expected. BleepingComputer has reported that a cybercrime group called REvil is threatening to leak "stolen product blueprints" unless it's paid a $50 million ransom by April 27.

The report was published mere hours after Apple revealed a completely redesigned iMac that has USB 4 support, the first iPad Pro models to feature its M1 chip, and other new products. That probably wasn't an accident—this way REvil can take advantage of all the hype.

BleepingComputer reported that REvil stole the product blueprints from Quanta Computer, the second-largest notebook original design manufacturer in the world, alongside what the cybercrime group described as "a lot of confidential data."

Right now, it seems like the information stolen from Quanta Computer was limited to the MacBook line, which likely includes the latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models (the current MacBook Pro made our list of best ultrabooks and premium laptops), but the company may have had blueprints for other Apple devices as well.

REvil has already published some schematics that they allegedly stole. 9to5Mac claims to have seen some of these documents, which allegedly include technical specs for upcoming MacBook Pros that have a few new features, including HDMI, an SD card reader and a MagSafe connector.

The group has given Quanta Computer—or, presumably, Apple—until April 27 to pay a $50 million ransom in exchange for the stolen data. That ransom will double after the deadline expires; it's not clear when the affected files might actually be leaked. 

Neither amount would be significant to Quanta Computer or Apple. The former reported $709 million in annual profit as of September 2020, according to Fortune, and Apple's market cap is well over $2.2 trillion. They can afford it.

The problem is that paying a ransom, or even negotiating with a group like REvil, can make a company a more appealing target in the future. It's kind of like the "we don't negotiate with terrorists" rule cited by politicians in every modern action movie. Except, you know, with product blueprints instead of some kind of deadly weapon.

Apple on Tuesday quietly added a 10GbE upgrade option to its M1-powered Mac Mini desktop computers originally introduced in November last year. Small form-factor systems featuring a 10Gb Ethernet port cost $100 more than PCs with a regular GbE connector.

When Apple introduced the Mac Mini powered by its own M1 system-on-chip last November, it only offered its customers upgrades for RAM and storage. The desktop came equipped with with Broadcom's BCM5701 GbE controller and Apple did not offer any upgrade options, which probably disappointed those owners of Intel-based Mac Mini PCs that use 10GbE networks.  

Along with the launch of its new iMac 24-inch (which does not have a 10GbE option) and iPad Pro on April 20, Apple quietly started to offer its Mac Mini with an unknown optional 10GbE controller that can be installed for $100. But at press time Apple did not list the upgrade option on its support page. 

What remains a mystery is how Apple connects the 10GbE controller to its M1 SoC that that is not supposed to have many spare PCIe lanes. 

Those who use Apple's latest Mac Mini at home or in an office equipped with fast 10GbE network will now be able to take advantage of fast connections with Apple's latest systems. 

Apple is continuing its move from Intel to Arm on the desktop, putting its M1 processor new line of iMacs and in the iPad Pro. Both were announced at Apple's "Spring Loaded" virtual event, and are the first time each of those product lines is using the new chip. Previously, the iPad Pro used Apple's custom A-series chips, while the iMac used Intel processors.

iMac

The new iMacs come in seven colors: blue, green, pink, silver, yellow, orange and purple, and are somewhat reminiscent of the iMac G3. They are built from the ground up for the new chips, unlike the 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini, which used existing chassis. The new iMac has a redesign with a much-smaller logic board with two tiny fans. Apple says these small fans will keep the computer under 10 decibels, which the human ear shouldn't be able to hear. It's just 11.5 millimeters thin. Apple says the iMac is 85% faster than the previous 21-inch model, which used Intel chips. It also says graphics are up to 2x faster than previous models. In Final Cut, Apple is claiming up to four streams of footage in 1080p, or one in 4K. The company took time to focus on iOS apps working on macOS, as well as the broad range of compatible apps that have come to M1 since it launched last year. The new display is 24-inches diagonally and has narrow bezels, with a 4480 x 2520 resolution and 500 nits of brightness. It also uses TrueTone, like the laptops, to change color temperature based on your surroundings.

The camera, microphones and speakers are also getting upgraded. The camera is a 1080p FaceTime sensor, higher than the 720p we see in the MacBook laptops. The microphones use beam forming to focus on your voice and avoid background noise. This should all help out in work-from-home situations.

The speakers have increased amounts of power, with increased bass response. The full system is six speakers, including tweeters and woofers. With Dolby Atmos, it supports surround sound.

The M1 iMac has 4 USB-C ports, including 2 Thunderbolt ports, with support for a 6K display. There's a new magnetic power connector, with a woven cable, that connects to the power adapter. If you want wired connectivity, Ethernet connects to the power adapter and is routed to the system.

The keyboard has new emoji, spotlight, and do not disturb keys. A separate model will have Touch ID on the desktop for the first time. The Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad will also have new color-matched aluminum.

The new iMac starts at $1,299 and will be available to order on April 30, shipping in May. At that price you get an 8-core CPU, 7-core GPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, as well as two Thunderbolt ports. At $1,499, that bumps up to an 8-core GPU and also adds two USB 3 Type-C ports.

iPad Pro

iPadOS will take advantage of M1 as well, being the first non-macOS device to use the new design. Apple said it will offer a 50% jump over the previous iPad Pro. The GPU will be a 40% increase over the last model.

This replaces the A-series chips that Apple previously used in the iPad Pro (and currently uses in the iPhone and other iPads).

Additionally, Apple is touting storage access that is twice as fast as its predecessor, as well as a new 2TB configuration. Notably, the new iPads will have the same 8GB and 16GB RAM options as other M1 devices.

The USB-C port has been upgraded to Thunderbolt with USB 4 support, with four times more bandwidth over the the USB-C port on the previous iPad Pro. It supports more displays and storage as well.

Apple has also added 5G to iPad Pro, making this the first M1 device to feature the technology, and it will support millimeter wave in the United States. There's a TrueDepth camera in the front, and the iPad Pro has a LiDAR camera on the back for AR applications. The TrueDepth shooter has a 12MP ultra wide camera, which can keep people in view from a distance on video calls, using machine learning to move the frame. Apple is changing up the display technology, too. It's moving the 12.9-inch iPad to the same tech as the Pro Display XDR. It's called Liquid Retina XDR, with 1,000 nits of brightness and 1,600 nits at its peak. It also has the same 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The 12.9 inch iPad Pro will use a mini-LED display, and the screen is comprised of 10,000 of them. This is Apple's first time using the technology, which is also rumored to move into MacBooks later in the year. It will also support HDR formats like Dolby Vision and HDR 10. The 11-inch iPad Pro is sticking with an LED "liquid retina" screen.   The 11-inch iPad Pro will start at $799. The 12.9-inch model with the XDR display starts at $1,099. Orders open April 30, with shipments starting in the second half of May.

Apple has officially sent out invitations to the company's next event called Spring Reloaded. The event will be held online on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Considering the plethora of rumors surrounding Apple's products due to be announced this year, it is close to impossible to guess what the company plans to unveil next week. 

The official invitation flyer has a wavy Apple logo along with Spring Loaded tagline, which gives little food for imagination. The official video has Apple Park inner yard with more squiggly lines that form Apple's logo, which also implies almost nothing (except, perhaps, a new Apple Pencil). 

Typically, Apple refreshes its tablet lineups in the spring, but since it introduced new iPads and iPad Airs last September, it's more likely that the company will release new iPad Pros along with a series of accessories. Speaking of accessories, rumor has it that Apple will finally introduce its AirTag devices at the event. (These are supposed to help in finding lost items.)

Meanwhile, Apple now has plethora of various non-compute devices, including Apple TV set-top-box and smart speakers. The current 5th Generation Apple TV (based on the ancient A10X Fusion) was released in 2017, so it's past time for it to be replaced by something new. 

Over the past few months, we reported on Apple's plans to introduce brand-new Mac Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air PCs running its own processors this year. All of these systems will likely be powered by successors of the Apple M1, so we'd suspect refreshed versions of MBP 13 and MBA to launch later this year. Meanwhile, Apple typically launches new MBP and iMac systems in June and MacBook Pro PCs in Q4, so, chances that next week the company will reveal revamped PCs are low. 

Apple is also rumored to be working on a Mini LED display. While Apple is evaluating the Mini LED technology, like any other display supplier, it is unclear whether the company is willing to replace its Pro Display XDR a little less two years after it was introduced and less than 1.5 years after it was launched. To that end, it is not likely that Apple will introduce a new ultra-high-end monitor next week.

It's said that money can't buy everything—and the world's most valuable company seems to be learning that lesson the hard way. Nikkei Asia Review today reported that even Apple's supply chain has been weakened by the global chip shortage.

Apple has devoted a lot of time, expertise, and cold hard cash to making sure it can keep pace with consumer demand. The company is TSMC's biggest customer by far; it's also said to be responsible for roughly 50% of Foxconn's revenue. That means it's often given special treatment, especially when it comes to order fulfilment.

But—surprise!—even Apple can't make components appear out of thin air. Nikkei Asia Review reported that "chip shortages have caused delays in a key step in MacBook production," namely "the mounting of components on printed circuit boards before final assembly," according to the outlet's anonymous sources.

The report also said that iPad production was delayed by a lack of displays and unidentified display components. That hardly comes as a surprise, given that display panel supplies have suffered in recent months, and that the hardware display drivers on which those panels rely are suffering their worst shortage in 20 years.

Nikkei Asia Review said that "Apple has pushed back a portion of component orders for the two devices from the first half of this year to the second half" because of these delays. So far it's able to keep pace with demand for its existing products, per the report, but it's not clear how these delays might affect its plans for new devices.

This might also explain the lack of announcements from Apple so far this year. With the exception of its annual developer conference, the company hasn't revealed anything new since announcing its custom silicon in November 2020. 

Yet there are signs that Apple is working on a redesigned iMac, redesigned MacBook Pro, and new iPad Pro models that are supposed to debut this year. It would be a surprise if the company lumped all those announcements in with the products on annual update cycles—namely the iPhone and Apple Watch—or some new devices.

The company might start to reveal some of these leaked devices in the months leading up to WWDC21, of course, and it could technically have a rapid-fire series of announcements in the end of the year. But for now it looks like even Apple's plans have been thrown off by the supply issues affecting so much of the tech industry.

Apple could release an iMac featuring its own chip sooner rather than later. MacRumors reported that several configurations of the all-in-one computer have been removed from the company’s website, which suggests that they have been discontinued.

MacRumors said the 512GB and 1TB SSD options have disappeared from the 21.5-inch iMac’s page on the Apple website. Those options were previously greyed out, so there was a fair chance they would return, but now they seem to be gone for good.

These aren’t the first iMac models to be discontinued—Apple said earlier this month that it would no longer offer the iMac Pro after it sold through its current inventory. Now it seems the company’s making its way through the rest of the iMac lineup.

Why? Probably because Apple said when it introduced the M1 chip in November 2020 that it expected to equip all of its Macs with custom silicon in about two years. So far it’s updated the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini product lines.

The iMac would be the logical next step. The all-in-ones already sit in between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro when it comes to cost and performance. It would make sense for Apple to put its own chips in the iMac before moving on to the Mac Pro.

The company also hasn’t given the iMac a meaningful update in years. They’ve had a few spec bumps, sure, but for the most part, it reserved the big new features for the iMac Pro. (And even that only received modest upgrades after its 2017 debut.)

Bloomberg reported in January that Apple plans to change that by announcing redesigned iMacs featuring its own silicon later this year. Discontinuing the iMac Pro and these two models of the 21.5-inch iMac could help the company make that shift.

That doesn’t mean the current iMac‘s already gone: Apple still lists several configurations of the 21.5- and 27-inch models on its website. Just don’t be surprised if more of them disappear in the weeks leading up to the company’s next event.

Apple is about to discontinue its iMac Pro all-in-one workstation. The system is currently only available in the default configuration while supplies last, and no replacement is planned, at least for now. 

Apple confirmed that it is discontinuing the iMac Pro in an interview with MacRumours. The company said that no replacement for the iMac Pro was planned because for the vast majority of iMac Pro users the latest iMac 27-inch in its high-end configuration is the preferred choice, whereas customers who need serious performance and expandability could opt for the Mac Pro.  

The main idea behind the iMac Pro was to put in an Intel Xeon W processor with up to 18 cores along with a discrete AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X graphics processor and up to 256GB of DDR4-2666 ECC memory into an all-in-one PC with a 27-inch 5K display. Apple launched the system in late 2017. Since Apple did not have a competitive desktop workstation in its fleet, it made a lot of sense for performance-demanding users who could plug in a larger monitor or two if they needed more screen real estate.

After Apple released its Mac Pro workstation in late 2019, the appeal of the iMac Pro somewhat dropped as the full-blown desktop offers more performance with its Xeon W CPU with up to 28 cores, up to 1.5TB of DDR4-2933 memory, and up to two AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo MPX modules (4 GPUs in total). The Mac Pro also provides more expandability, as it can be equipped with the Apple Afterburner ProRes and ProRes RAW accelerator card or any other add-in-board supported by Apple's MacOS. 

Then Apple launched its latest iMac in mid-2020. The high-end version of the current iMac comes with a 27-inch 5K display, Intel's Core i7 processor with eight cores, up to 128GB of DDR4-2666 memory, and an up to Radeon Pro 5700 XT graphics processor. This system immediately made Apple discontinue the eight-core version of the iMac Pro. Still, even the 10-core iMac Pro model does not look too attractive at $4999 compared to a similarly configured iMac that costs over $1000 less.  

Right now, Apple is working on its next-generation iMac based on its own Apple Silicon SoC that is expected to beat the current iMac in terms of performance. Whether or not Apple will return to a concept of an all-in-one workstation is something that remains to be seen. 

Apple said it expects to switch the entire Mac product line over to its own silicon by the end of 2022. YouTuber Luke Miani didn’t want to wait that long for the company to update the iMac, however, so he decided to build one with an M1 chip himself.

Miani started with an iMac that he “completely fried” in 2018 and a new Mac mini. From there all he needed was a bevy of tools from iFixIt—which sponsored the video—and a converter that allowed the iMac to be used as an external monitor.

The resulting DIY Mac had some limitations. It suffered from poor wireless connectivity, lacked any ports, and could only be turned on by removing the display. Some of those issues could be worked around with more extensive mods, however.

Should most people attempt mods like this? Probably not. It would be easier to simply use the iMac as an external monitor, and for anyone who doesn’t have an iMac just lying around, buying an actual monitor would be even better still.

But it’s not hard to see the appeal of an iMac featuring Apple silicon. The M1-equipped MacBook Pro offers better performance than the latest iMac in a variety of benchmarks despite being much smaller and using significantly less power.

Bloomberg reported in January that Apple plans to release a redesigned iMac later this year. These new models would reportedly feature “a design similar to Apple’s Pro Display XDR monitor” with ”a flat back” instead of the curved one used today.

The report said the new iMac would feature Apple silicon, too, but didn’t specifically name the M1 chip. Perhaps the company will use the extra space in the iMac’s case for a chip that supports additional ports and offers even greater performance.

Or maybe it will just cram more of the so-called Fusion Drives—hybrid drives that offer a small amount of SSD-based storage to complement larger HDDs—even though it’s 2021. Miani’s video showed there will be plenty of space for them.

Longhorm (@never_released) a well-known leaker with a fairly good track record has published what is claimed to be a list of Apple's upcoming system-on-chips. If the information is correct, then the company is working on at least four SoCs for various upcoming devices. Since the information comes from one unofficial source and cannot be verified, it should be taken with a grain of salt. 

Apple is working on two other families of its SoCs, including the T600x as well as the T811x, according to Longhorm. The T600x family reportedly includes the T6000 and T6001 chips, whereas the T811x comprises of the T8110 and T8112 SoCs.  

The source does not reveal what these processors are for. Meanwhile, Apple's smartphone and tablet SoCs in the recent years carried internal quad-digit 8000-series model numbers (and 7000-series before that), which might mean that the T8110 and 8112 SoCs are designed for future iPhones, iPads, and smaller Mac computers.  

Since nothing is known about Apple's T6000-series SoCs, it is possible that these chips will be used for the company's more advanced machines, such as higher-end iMacs, MacBook Pros, or the rumored Mac Pro Mini. Last December it was reported that Apple was working on variety of SoCs packing up to 20 general-purpose CPU cores for its higher-end iMacs as well as MacBook Pros, so it is possible that the T6000 family is indeed designed for these kind of applications.  

What is noteworthy is that Apple uses different model numbers for its future SoC lineups, which may mean nothing too special, or may indicate that these processor families will be considerably different. Perhaps, they may even use different microarchitectures, different iterations of the same microarchitecture, or certain completely different architectural features, such as a multi-level hybrid memory subsystem. 

Longhorn was reportedly the first to disclose Apple's internal names for the A14 Bionic (T8101) and the M1 (T8103, which was initially referred to as the A14X) in September 2019. Eventually, the model numbers were confirmed by other sources.