Apple

The Apple MacBook Pro 13 is much more powerful and manages longer battery runtimes thanks to the new M1 processor. However, there are not many reasons why you should not just get the more affordable MacBook Air.

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.

Although older rumors placed its launch around 2023, unnamed executives from Taiwan claim that their companies are getting ready to ramp up the production of various components for the upcoming electric vehicle by Apple. It also seems that the Cupertino-based giant is already testing the cars in California.

Microsoft is working on its own in-house design for a server chip as it jumps on the Arm CPU bandwagon. The in-house design effort could also lead to custom Arm-based silicon for its own Surface line of computers, some of which already feature Arm designs co-developed with Qualcomm.

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.

War Thunder 2.3 "Hot Tracks" comes with multiple graphics enhancements, 3 Italian helicopters, 9 ground vehicles, 7 new ships, over a dozen new aircraft, as well as the usual minor tweaks, optimizations, and bug fixes. The new vehicle tracks and effects are not available yet and should become available after "some time," according to Gaijin.

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 has started distributing watchOS 7.2 to Apple Watch Series smartwatches. The latest version of watchOS introduces Apple's smartwatches to Fitness+, although this is not available globally. Thankfully, there is another exciting new feature as of watchOS 7.2 that is available everywhere.

A couple of Apple Watch-related patents could give an indication of the direction Apple is taking in regard to a potential Apple Watch Series 7 device. One of the patents details a Touch ID button for the smartwatch while the other reveals an under-display camera solution that would make an Apple Watch 7 ideal for quick FaceTime video calls.

Google's game streaming platform Stadia is now available on iOS. It is not on the App Store, however, having taken NVIDIA GeForce NOW's route as a web app onto iPhones. Therefore, users with these devices can now log into the sevice on its latest compatible hardware, should they want to.

Only Apple currently sells a compact flagship smartphone, but new research suggests that the iPhone 12 mini has not been a success so far. Based on the initial uptake of the iPhone 12 mini, it seems that spending US$100 more on an iPhone 12 is a more attractive proposition for people in the US.

Apple has now issued iOS and iPadOS updates to version 14.3. It contains some previously-promised features, which include ProRAW support in the Pro iPhone 12 variants, not to mention Apple Fitness+. It also reportedly fixes some issues, including one in which a user's new messages failed to appear in their Notifications.

Apple left the debut of the iPhone 12 series unusually late in the year in 2020, for arguably understandable reasons. However, the leading industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now predicts that this situation is not to become a regular thing going forward. Therefore, the next-gen flagships may appear by September 2020 as usual.

Jay Freeman, the developer of the Cydia app store, has filed suit against Apple for monopolistic practices that have shut alternative app distribution methods out of iOS. If Freeman wins this suit, it could force Apple to allow and support alternative app installation methods for iOS.

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.

A new report from China reveals multiple details about the next iPad, tentatively called the iPad 9. The budget iPad is apparently due for release in Spring 2021, a release date that has been spoken of for the next iPad Pro. The iPad 9 will supposedly feature a larger display and an A13 Bionic chipset, but there is at least one disappointment in store.

Apple has launched a new pair of over-the-ear headphones called the AirPods Max. It features active noise cancellation (ANC), 40nm Neodymium drivers, Apple's in-house H1 chip, and provides up to 20 hours of battery life. It is available for pre-order now and will start shipping on December 14 for US$549.

Based on Chromium 87, Vivaldi 3.5 features the ability to share URLs with QR codes via a small button in the address field, media fixes that enhance video/audio content consumption, more ways to manage tabs, single key shortcuts improvements, a new accept-language setting, and much more.

The "Apple TV 2020" is now set to be introduced on December 8, 2020. This event may be an under-the-radar affair, but is touted to unveil a new 4K device with 64 to 128GB storage options. It is now also thought to be powered by an A12Z Bionic SoC.

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.

In addition to the shortened battery life, the bug that seems to be affecting various handsets on iOS 14.2 also leads to longer charge times than usual. According to some users, their handsets (older ones in most cases, but also iPhone 12 models) lose over 50 percent in under 30 minutes. The 2018 iPad Pro also seems to be affected.

The latest limited edition version of the iPhone 12 Pro is certainly an odd one. Supposedly an 'accessory for private meetings and serious conversations', the iPhone 12 Pro Stealth does away with all of the cameras that typically grace the iPhone 12 Pro.

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.

A small percentage of iPhone 11 displays may stop responding to touch input, and the cause of this problem has been discovered to be the display module. Thankfully, Apple is providing repairs free of charge as part of the recently introduced "iPhone 11 Display Module Replacement Program for Touch Issues."

After three events over the past three months, Apple apparently has one more launch event in store for the last month of the year. However, all that is rumored concerns AppleCare-related changes planned to take place on Tuesday. These changes involve new product SKUs, product descriptions, as well as product pricing.

Wristcam has announced its eponymous band for the Apple Watch. True to its name, the Wristcam band adds not just one, but two cameras to the embedded in an Apple Watch-compatible band.

AMD may have an Apple M1 competitor in the works. Rumor is that there are two versions of this chip being developed, with and without integrated RAM. It is possible that AMD could be looking to revive its K12 Core design or improve on it with newer Cortex designs to exploit the highly lucrative ARM market.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max is a great smartphone with a new, fresh design. Its build quality remains superb yet fragile despite Ceramic Shield, and repairs are more expensive as well.

Several iPhone 12-series device owners have taken to the Apple Support Community to complain that their new flagships are losing connectivity while using 5G networks. Many of them report that they are in the United States and are on the Verizon or AT&T networks, although one claims to be in Australia.

The Italian market-competition watchdog has reportedly fined Apple to the tune of €10 million, or nearly US$12 million. This action has resulted from what the body apparently views as “aggressive and misleading” advertising relating to iPhones and their water-resistant properties. This content may have been insufficient in its clarity in a way that may pose a risk to customer warranties.

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.

There is a possibility of Apple enabling eGPU support via Thunderbolt 3 in M1-powered Macs with a future update to macOS 11. At the moment, eGPUs seem to be recognized by macOS 11 Big Sur, but they don't seem to provide any hardware acceleration due to lack of driver support.

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 continues to lead the way with its excellent software support for older smartphones, unlike many Android OEMs. Ultimately, even Apple has a point where it drops iPhones from future iOS releases, and it seems like the iPhone 6s series will be on the chopping block as of iOS 15. The same will probably apply for the original iPhone SE, too.

Although it missed the October 27 global launch date, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands arrived less than a day ago, as rescheduled. This major update for Blizzard's iconic product includes new items and adventures, as well as technological advancements such as DirectX ray-traced shadows, ambient occlusion, and improved multi-threaded performance.

With the advent of Apple silicon for Macs most people had given up on the idea of Apple supporting Windows installations on its computers. The door to the prospect, somewhat surprisingly, has been opened by Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi in recent interview with Ars Technica.

Although the 6.7-inch display provides enough space for a generous battery, the L-shaped power pack inside the iPhone 12 Pro Max is slightly smaller than the one that Apple used in last year's iPhone 11 Pro Max. However, this year's flagship integrates a massive camera assembly with three sensors and one LiDAR unit.

"Green tint" is an issue in which OLED displays seem to glow where they should remain completely dark under certain conditions. It was present in some units of the iPhone 11 series last year, and has now reportedly raised its head again in the new 12s. It may affect any of the flagship line's 4 variants, and has yet to see an update that might fix it.

Apple has settled a second case related to the degradation of iPhone batteries and chipset throttling. The new settlement amounts to US$113 million and will be split across 34 US states.

The dimensions of the Mac mini have remained unchanged since 2010, despite multiple internal revisions. Apple has removed the 2.5-inch drive and the DVD drive, while a teardown video has even slimmed down the size of the motherboard for the new M1 model, raising the question of why it has kept its mini-PC the same size.