MacBook

Fantasian is a new JRPG headed for Apple Arcade. Written by Hironobu Sakaguchi and featuring a soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu, Fantasian throws players into a multi-dimensional world constructed from over 150 hand-made dioramas. Gameplay features a unique mechanic for monster management and traditional JRPG tropes.

Although Apple still has to confirm this, it looks like macOS 11.3 will come with a nasty surprise for some users. Depending on the region, this update might remove Rosetta, so the users of M1-powered machines in those countries will lose the ability to run x86 apps built for Intel-based Macs.

According to a new report, the next MacBook Pro 16 will feature an Apple M1 chip, not a more powerful next-generation model. Any design changes will be on the minor side too, resulting in the 2021 edition looking basically the same as its 2019 predecessor. Minor changes could include a switch to a flat design and the return of legacy ports though, along with slimmer display bezels for the new model.

Xiaomi has launched the 2021 variants of the RedmiBook Pro 14 and RedmiBook Pro 15. Shoppers in China can choose from among six SKUs, with Intel Core i5 and i7 Tiger Lake processors and the Nvidia GeForce MX450 dGPU as central component options. The RedmiBook Pro 14 is fitted with a 2.5K display while the RedmiBook Pro 15 gets a 3.2K screen.

The lifespan of the soldered SSD's in new M1 Macs may be severely limited, according to multiple reports. Current wear of some SSDs is so high that some drives may need replacing within two years.

A full MacBook Pro refresh is due later this year, with a switch to Apple's in-house processors reputedly planned. According to a new report, the 2021 MacBook Pro refresh will feature an HDMI port too, which dovetail with the return of the SD card for the series.

Xiaomi has been showing more of the upcoming RedmiBook Pro laptop series off in a couple of new teaser images. Unsurprisingly, the Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro has the look of an Apple MacBook Pro to it and also comes with a Thunderbolt 4/USB4 port. The updated notebooks will be launched on February 25.

Apple M1-native malware has been discovered by an independent macOS security researcher. The GoSearch22 Safari browser extension, which is linked to the infamous Pirrit adware family, can run on any M1 silicon-based device, such as the late 2020 models of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini.

The latest full-year analysis of the PC market show that devices that run ChromeOS gained more and more market share during 2020 compared to those running macOS. Windows remained the market leader, although its share did fall compared to 2019. These changes might be related to the overwhelming demand for home-learning and -working solutions that marked the year just gone.

The long-awaited dark theme for the Google Search webpage on Windows or macOS is reportedly now in A/B testing. This means some users may have already seen this update, which consists of an automatic color-scheme change in accordance with the system theme. This can help address preparing for the shock of that ever-present bright page that clashes with an otherwise eye-friendly UI.

Apple was a loyal customer of Intel for 15 years, but the former has now pivoted to using in-house processors. Now Intel has looked re-ignite the old Mac vs PC debate in its latest adverts, where it claims Windows laptops are superior to Apple MacBooks for gamers and content creators.

An updated Bluetooth SIG listing has sparked speculation in regard to a mysterious “B2002” entry, with guesses ranging from Apple TV to an M1 iMac. The B2002 item joins new registrations for the M1-based MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13, and Mac mini. The model number for the baffling potential product is simply “TBD”.

Apple will align the design of its MacBook Pro and iPhone series this year, according to a new report. The change will see 2021 MacBook Pros with a flatter design, albeit one with rounded corners. Apple is expected to release at least a new 16-inch MacBook Pro this year, which could also be the first ARM-based MacBook that supports MagSafe charging.

Slides from Intel have been published revealing numerous benchmark and usage comparisons between the ARM-based Apple M1 chip and Core i7 representatives of the Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake series. The choice of benchmarks and some subtle SKU changes suggest Intel is focusing on trash-talking the Apple M1 rather than improving its own production.

A tech tipster has claimed that Apple is preparing four new SoCs and has shared the alleged internal identifiers for the processors. Unsurprisingly, this has led to considerable speculation about their eventual product names, with Apple M1X, M2, A14X, A15, and A15 Bionic heading the suggestions. 2021’s 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models could feature a new SoC.

Razer has launched one of the first docks to support Intel’s new Thunderbolt 4 high-speed data transfer standard. As you might expect from the gaming-focused company, the new dock also includes support for its Chroma lighting effects system in addition to its wide array of connectivity options.

Microsoft is heavily promoting the Surface Pro 7 with recent price drops now accompanied by a new advert comparing the Surface Pro 7 to the MacBook Pro 13 M1. The advert is done in a presentation style and shows why Microsoft thinks you should choose its 2-in-1 device over Apple's laptop.

2021 is going to be a big year for fans of Apple’s Macs as the company sets down the path of reengineering many of its designs around its super efficient, yet powerful Apple silicon chips. Bloomberg reports that Apple is working on a new high-end MacBook Air while the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will see the return of a built-in SD card reader.

Carl Pei is well known as the co-founder of the successful smartphone brand OnePlus. However, he has since left this company with plans to start another. It will launch on January 27, 2021; in the meantime, Pei has tweeted that he is giving 10 MacBook Airs with the new M1 chipset away, presumably to drive hype for his own new products.

Apple's TV+ is its answer to other streaming platforms such as Netflix. One year's worth of free access to the service was bundled with compatible hardware bought at its September 2019 launch. That offer was then extended so as to end in February 2021 - however, the OEM has now prolonged it again until July.

An image taken from an alleged Geekbench run for a MacBook Pro18,1 system has supposedly revealed the multi-core power of the rumored Apple M1X chip. The score of 18,520 is over 140% higher than our results with an 8-core Apple M1. But it seems more likely shenanigans are to blame rather than an appearance by a 12-core Apple part or 20-core monster.

The owners of various Macs that use the Apple M1 processor are reporting a bug that involves a rather random activation of the screensaver that also locks out the user. The problem seems to occur on Big Sur macOS 11.x and it looks like disabling Fast User Switching prevents it from happening again.

Apple supply chain specialist Ming-chi Kuo has issued a new note to investors detailing some of the changes expected on the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. According to Kuo, the new models will drop in mid-2021 and will include minor design changes but will most notably drop the somewhat controversial OLED Touch Bar.

A tweet by tipster @L0vetodream strongly hints that an all-new iMac based on Apple’s new ARM-based platform could arrive as early as March, adding the all-in-one to an increasing list of ARM-powered Mac devices.

Apple may very well introduce the much anticipated AirTags and other AR accessories such as an AR headset and/or AR glasses this year, according to Ming-Chi Kuo's latest research note. Kuo also notes that Apple will launch new Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Pros with mini-LED displays. Another report from DigiTimes speculates that all iPhone 13 models this year will be equipped with a LiDAR sensor.

Tipster @LeaksApplePro recently claimed that Apple is set to release a new 12-core Apple Silicon Mac lineup this year, with an announcement as early as this March. While unconfirmed, this part could potentially propel Apple Silicon to multithreaded dominance over mobile Ryzen.

Tipster @LeaksApplePro hinted that Cupertino’s working on a massive 64-core ARM-based chip, possibly for future iterations of the Mac Pro. Details are thin on the ground, but the silicon could pose a threat to both Intel and AMD if it materialises.

Apple could eventually release a MacBook Pro laptop with a touch input surface replacing the regular keyboard deck and including a wireless charger for use with iPhones and iPads that support the charging technology. The futuristic next-gen MacBook Pro that was unearthed in a recently published patent also featured touch sensors for the palms.

Apple's top supplier of chips for multiple purposes, TSMC, will reserve no less than 80 percent of its 5 nm production capacity to the tech giant headquartered in Cupertino. In addition to the existing chips, TSMC is also going to make the upcoming A15 Bionic that will power the upcoming iPhone 13 series.

A Twitter-based leaker claims to have found new Geekbench listings that show Mac devices based on the new M1 silicon running Windows on ARM (WoA) via the Parallels desktop. Not only that, but this new combination apparently results in scores about double those achieved by the SQ2-powered Surface Pro X, which runs this kind of OS by default.

There are plenty of discounts for the Apple MacBook Air 2020 before Christmas. However, a closer look usually reveals that it is a discontinued model with an old Intel processor. We think you should avoid these SKUs, even though you can save some money.

Apple currently uses components from Qualcomm in order to keep iPhones capable of using mobile data. However, its senior vice president of hardware technologies has just announced that it intends to replace these modems with one of its own. This may be the next significant move in its in-house ambitions since the conception of the M1 chipset.

Apple's future plans for its M1 silicon include dumping Intel Macs entirely and pushing the hardware to the high-end Mac Pro, culminating in a 32-core M1 Mac Pro sometime in 2022.

A patent has revealed Apple's novel way of reproducing a matte black effect on aluminium, steel and titanium. The anodised coating could be used in multiple applications, including iPhones, MacBooks, iPads and Watches.

An intrepid developer has successfully virtualized Windows 10 on ARM on an Apple M1 device. Others have also replicated the project and posted Geekbench scores from the virtualized environment. These scores put Microsoft's Surface Pro X, the company's current flagship ARM device, to shame.

Apple is running a gift card giveaway Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Qualifying purchases will see the buyer rewarded with a card worth from US$25/£20/€25 up to US$150/£120/€150. The deal includes many major Apple products such as the iPhone 11 and iPhone SE, the iPad Pro, Beats headphones, and even the premium MacBook Pro 16.

Although Trump's reign is over, Apple has requested Foxconn to move at least some of its iPad and MacBook production facilities to Vietnam. This move comes as a part of Apple's efforts to diversify production, thus minimizing the potential impact of a new trade war between China and the US.

Apple is rumoured to be gearing to release a new 16-inch MacBook Pro 16, and the machine may have some special AMD hardware up its sleeve. Supposedly, the laptop will be the first to feature the Radeon RX 6700 and RX 6700 XT, albeit mobile versions of the rumoured desktop GPUs.

The Apple M1 SoC has just been launched and there are already rumors about another ARM-based chip coming out of the Cupertino company soon. The part has been tentatively called the M1X although the name is yet to be confirmed. The Apple M1X will apparently bring more CPU cores to the 2021 MacBook Pro 16 than the M1 chip could.

The ARM-based Apple M1 chip has made a star turn appearance on the AnTuTu benchmark as the key component in a MacBook Air. The M1 managed to rack up way over one million points, leaving the Apple silicon, including the A12Z Bionic in the iPad Pro 4 and the performance-friendly A14 in the iPad Air (2020), trailing far behind.

Apple's latest operating system, macOS Big Sur, uses a new API to constantly send users' data (including how, when, and where a Mac is used) to Apple. This data is transmitted to Apple without encryption, meaning anyone with access to the same network as the Mac can see the information.

Looks like ditching Intel for in-hose ARM-based chips was quite the power play from Apple. The new M1 processors appear to trade blows with AMD's / Intel's 15 W processors. According to the latest Cinebench R23 tests, the M1 can be slightly faster than the AMD Renoir-U APUs in single-core tests, and they can also beat the Intel Tiger Lake-U processors in multi-core tests by a decent margin.

A recent storage benchmark result that was published on the MacRumors Forums website by a new owner of the M1 MacBook Air reveals impressive results: almost 2,200 MB/s write and over 2,600 MB/s read speed. These results come alongside a set of excellent Geekbench 5 scores of 1,745 and 7,665 points (single-core and multi-core).

The Apple M1 has already been flexing its muscles in benchmarks, but it seems that the ARM-based chipset has enough grunt to emulate x86 programs. The MacBook Air still manages MacBook Pro 16-esque performance in Geekbench, even with 8 GB of RAM.