MacBook

A new analysis of MacBook Pro keyboards suggests that since their introduction, there have been twice as many service requests for keyboard repairs. The study seems to align with reports that MacBook Pro users have had to deal with stuck keys or keys that are non-responsive.

It seems that the delay of the 10 nm Intel Cannon Lake processors and the current pricing of 32 GB memory modules compatible with Apple's requirements are both pushing the launch of the next-gen MacBook Pro to 2019. Two years ago, Apple was afraid that 32 GB of memory would require a different design with reduced battery space, but those fears are gone now.

There has been a growing wave of people in the community calling the Exklim eX Core a scam. Some feel that the eX Core fills a new niche, some think that it can't achieve the claimed performance, while others believe it doesn't exist at all. We haven't seen any working products and we don't endorse the eX Core, but we did feel it was important to give Edgar the chance to answer some of the communities questions.

Apple is taking flak for its current-gen MacBook Pro keyboards from its usually loyal community. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has labeled it “one of the biggest design screw ups in Apple history,” while others are calling it “defective” and suggesting it should be recalled.

TSMC has revealed that its new 7nm FinFet process will deliver mobile chips that are at least 20 percent faster and 40 percent more efficient. It has also revealed that it has developed two separate 7nm FinFet tracks, one optimized for mobile applications, the other for "high performance computing applications."

Apple has officially launched a battery replacement program for some of its recent non-Touch Bar 13-inch MacBook Pros. The affected devices were manufactured between October 2016 and October 2017.

In an event hosted for creative professionals earlier today, Apple executives clarified that the new Mac Pro desktop will indeed be released in 2019. In a somewhat surprising move, Apple will be working with professionals outside of the company to refine the product, which the company says will be designed from scratch.

Although using an external GPU on a MacBook was possible in the past by booting up Windows on it, macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 finally brings native support for external graphics processors to Apple's operating system. This update also contains multiple minor tweaks and fixes, including a fix for the graphics corruption issues encountered in certain apps on the iMac Pro.

Apple may finally be ditching its aging low resolution 13.3-inch 1440 x 900 pixel panels for a more up-to-date 2560 x 1600 variant manufactured by LG. The next generation 2018 MacBook Air is expected to be the first to carry these new Retina displays when it ships later this year.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has published a patent application made by Apple Inc. titled “ingress prevention for keyboards.” The wordy document features a number of technical drawings showing alternative examples of key assembly. The general idea of the patent is to “block contaminant ingress,” so could this mean future MacBooks will have crumb-resistant spill-proof keyboards?

Mac owners can now stream and play Xbox One games directly to their computers using the OneCast app — a feature only natively available for Windows 10 users. The app is available for a 14-day free trial after which it costs US$11.79 (till April 1) for a standalone license.

KGI Securities is expecting Apple to launch a new MacBook Air sometime in Q2 2018 with a lower price tag. The analyst firm does not offer any details as to how much of an upgrade will the new Air be but obvious internal upgrades inline with a 2018 notebook can be expected.

A recently published Apple patent describes a "Dual display equipment with enhanced visibility and suppressed reflections" and the device pictured in it looks like a MacBook with an OLED touchscreen area that replaces the traditional keyboard and trackpad combination. Lenovo tried this with the Yoga Book and it apparently failed, so it remains to see if an Apple MacBook with a touchscreen keyboard hits the market or not.

Apple has released a patch that will fix the so-called 'Telugu bug' on iOS, MacOS, tvOS and WatchOS. When users receive a message or notification that contains a certain Indian character, the app crashes and becomes unusable. In some cases, the bug even results in the device entering a bootloop.

A report created by research company TrendForce has revealed a total of 164.7 million notebooks were shipped in 2017. This compares to 161.2 million units shipped in 2016 and a forecast of 163.8 million units expected to be shipped in 2018.

Apple is looking to revamp its software development workflow to balance introduction of new features and ironing out existing bugs. The upcoming iOS 12 internally codenamed 'Peace' will be the first result of this strategy.

DigiTimes claims that component suppliers are getting increased orders from Apple and that new iOS and MacBook devices are slated for debut starting March 2018.

Although we heard rumors involving an ARM coprocessor for Macs already, this time they come from Bloomberg Technology. According to them, Apple might launch three new Mac models in 2018 that feature an ARM coprocessor for improved security.

Going by the huge orders placed by Apple for LCD modules for a new 13-inch MacBook, it appears that the Cupertino giant might soon retire the iconic MacBook Air as it does seem out of place with the new MacBook range.

NVIDIA's GeForce NOW enables cloud streaming of game content that can be played on virtually any PC with the company's datacenters offloading all the dirty processing work. The service is currently in public beta for Windows PCs and Macs in North America and Europe.

With the massive vulnerabilities recently discovered in Intel CPUs, the main question on everyone's minds are when affected devices will be updated to guard against possible exploits. Apple is ahead of the game; apparently, the latest versions of their various operating systems protect against Meltdown, and a fix for Spectre is coming to Safari in the next few days. The best part? These mitigations have no perceptible effect on performance.

Apple is looking for a way to 'converge a toaster and a refrigerator' by means of creating its own version of a unified app platform similar to what Microsoft currently has in Windows 10. The unified app platform will enable apps to seamlessly scale and work across iOS and macOS.

The i-Memory AI720 includes a Lightning connector at one end and a USB 3.1 connector at the other end. It comes in 32/64/128 GB capacities and can easily handle UHD 4K video playback thanks to the 90 MB/s transfer speeds. The OTG functionality allows users to save videos and pictures directly on the stick, in order to save up space on their devices.

Eve, the maker of the less expensive Surface Pro alternative Eve V, is offering the device in a flash sale open to the public today. Stock is limited, so head over to Eve's site if you want to secure a V of your own.

Aimed at users who want to ditch the desktop for a laptop, the Promise TD-300 9-in-1 dock extends the connectivity with five USB 3.0 ports for more peripherals like screens and gaming gear. Additionally, there is a GbE connector, an SD 3.0 card reader, an audio combo jack, an HDMI port and another Thunderbolt 3 header.

While it has been an iOS exclusive for quite some time now, Siri will be coming to macOS starting with the upcoming iMac Pros and MacBook Pro versions. The ARM A10 Fusion chip will enable an always-on functionality that allows Siri to work even when the devices are completely shut off.

Sonnet has released a compact eGPU designed to fit in your bag, ideal for travel, LAN parties, or MacOS High Sierra.

Revenues cap at US$52.6 billion and Apple managed to sell more iPhones, iPads and Macs compared to Q4 2016. The iPhone 8/X models are expected to increase revenues by as much as US$35 billion for Q1 2018.

LandingZone has released its new Docking Station for 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros with Touch Bar. Although not Thunderbolt-enabled, it brings with it 16 ports that will keep most users happy.

Since 2015, Apple has one by one changed the keyboards on its Mac-products to the new Butterfly-design, a precess accompanied with much interest but also criticism. The new design helped Apple in their pursuit for thinner and thinner products, but now it seems that the new design has a reliability problem: Some users experience problems with dust and dirt getting stuck beneath keys.

Microsoft's new Surface Book 2 13.5-inch ticks all the right boxes for a capable prosumer laptop while still retaining the platform's unique features. The new notebook is now available in completely fanless variants and features the latest 8th generation Intel CPUs and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics.

It doesn't look like Google will have much left to unveil at its October 4 launch event. In addition to all the Pixel 2 leaks, more details have spilled out about the new Pixelbook and the Google Home Mini intelligent speaker.

Apple has released the latest version of macOS to its users. Dubbed macOS High Sierra, the new version brings the most significant system changes in decades in some instances.

New unconfirmed entries point to an upcoming MacBook Pro sporting the latest quad-core Core i5-8250U CPU with 8 GB of RAM.

Apple has announced they are dropping Bing as the provider of search results for Spotlight and Siri searches in favor of Google. Bing will continue to provide the image search results on Siri.

The Mi Notebook Pro line is powered by the latest gen 8 CPUs from Intel and feature a 15.6-inch display. Options include up to 16 GB DDR4 RAM, up to 1 TB SSDs, and the MX150 GPU from Nvidia. Availability is limited to China for the moment, and prices range from US$859 for the Core i5 / 8GB RAM model to US$1075 for the Core i7 / 16GB RAM model.

Chinese researchers have been able to launch malicious voice command attacks on every major voice assistant including Siri and Alexa. Using ultrasonics, the researchers were able to hack devices with any victim completely unaware that their device had been compromised.

The dial detects tap, touch and turn gestures and offers compatibility for Adobe's creative software suites, as well as for Microsoft Office programs. Priced at US$199.99, the CRAFT keyboard is expected to be available this October.

Chuwi have teased a new product which imitates the MacBook Air but with a thin bezel design that allows a 14.1-inch screen. Chuwi claim that the LapBook Air gets as thin as 6 mm, while retaining at least two full sized USB ports and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Over the next few months, the TSA will introduce a new requirement for passengers to remove all electronic items larger than a smartphone from their bag as they go through airport security. This measure is intended to make it easier for TSA agents to examine items that could conceal dangerous substances.

A Mozilla developer has tested multiple versions of the browser and found that the current beta version improves startup times by over 90% and reduces memory usage by 75% when compared to the latest stable version. While these results are specific to the extreme test profile and operating system used, they show that we can expect a positive performance improvement from the next release of Firefox.

Intel has weighed in on the Qualcomm vs. Apple suit with a public statement in response to a request for comment by the ITC. In the statement, Intel alleges that Qualcomm is a bully, using the court system to crush competition. Intel claims that the move is orchestrated mainly to replace an Intel modem in the iPhone with a Qualcomm one. Intel has itself faced criticism and fines in the past for anti-competitive practices against AMD.

The new school year is still a ways off, but Apple's back-to-school sale is already here. iPads and MacBooks are discounted and most come with a free pair of premium headphones.