One of the things I’ve enjoyed about the rollout of Apple silicon Macs is that the old rules don’t apply, and the new ones are still being written. The cadence of releases is still settling in, and today, in the face of speculation that Apple was struggling to release M3 Macs, Apple made it clear that not one, but three 3 nanometer process-based chips are ready to ship. Along with the M3 iMac, the company refreshed its entire lineup of MacBook Pros, computers that gained the M2 chip less than a year ago.
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Apple Introduces the New MacBook Pro in Three M3 Chip Configurations
Apple Reveals New M3 iMac
Just over two years ago, I spent the summer with a 24” M1 iMac on my desk and loved it. The elegant simplicity of an all-in-one Mac with just a couple of cables trailing off the back side of the computer is wonderful. The all-in-one design of the M1 iMac wasn’t new, but it was a stunning departure from its predecessor, with a slim, flat design that wasn’t possible in the Intel era. Plus, it came in a variety of vibrant, fun colors, which is all too rare in Apple’s product lineup.
Today, Apple announced the successor to that iMac that features an all-new M3 chip that, by Apple’s account, is ‘scary fast.’ Just how fast the new iMac is compared to other models will require hands-on testing, but from the specs alone, the new iMac is impressive.
Let’s take a look.
Apple Announces Pricing and Availability Dates for New MacBook Pros and iMac with M3 Chips
At this evening’s ‘Scary Fast’ Apple event, the company announced the new generation of M3 chips – M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max – that will power three new models of MacBook Pro and the updated iMac, which is getting a refresh for the first time since its redesign featuring the M1 chip was introduced in 2021.
We’ll have more detailed overviews of the new computers up on MacStories soon, but in the meantime, here’s a breakdown of when you can expect to be able to get your hands on these new machines:
Apple’s October 2023 Scary Fast Event: Replay Today’s Keynote
If you didn’t follow the livestream of today’s ‘Scary Fast’ Apple event, you can replay it on Apple’s Events site or YouTube.
The keynote video can be streamed here and on the Apple TV using the TV app. A high-quality version will also be available through Apple Podcasts as a video and audio podcast. An American Sign Language version of the event keynote is available on the Apple Events page too.
You can watch the videos for the new MacBook Pros and ‘You Think That’s Hard Work?’ opening sequence after the break.
MacStories Unwind: Don’t Bend the Fiber
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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and I discuss the Ecobee HomeKit doorbell, an obscure USB-C adapter Federico discovered, and BBQ. Plus, with my Internet out for part of the week, we learn that my Internet service Plan B is rather ordinary compared to Federico’s, which involves a picnic table and getaway car.
Links and Show Notes
Gadgets
Food
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Shazam Introduces Dedicated In-App Concerts Section
Today, Shazam introduced a dedicated Concerts section in its music discovery app that lets you explore upcoming shows that are recommended based on your Shazam history. Users can look at all recommended shows or narrow recommendations to those that are scheduled nearby. There’s also an option to display popular shows irrespective of your listening history.
When you find an artist’s show that you want to learn more about, tapping on the event listing offers additional options to:
- Buy tickets via Ticketmaster or BandsInTown
- Save the show for later, which moves it to the top of the Concerts section
- Add the show to your calendar
- View a map of the venue in Apple Maps
- Access playlists, albums, singles, and music videos in Apple Music
- View additional tour dates on a dedicated Concert Guide screen
Apple says other perks will be available too:
Shazam now also gives users the ability to save and revisit events, set reminders about upcoming shows, view tickets and unlock concert exclusives from select artists, which include brand new Watch faces and wallpapers available for download, behind the scenes video, tour photos, show set lists and more.
For example, USHER’s Super Bowl concert in Las Vegas next February includes bonus content that links to information about his appearance, which is sponsored by Apple Music.
Events can be shared via the share sheet and accessed via Spotlight Search, too.
Some of the functionality found in Shazam’s Concerts section was previously added to the app. However, it’s great to see concerts get a dedicated space in the app. The update will make it easier for fans to discover upcoming shows and learn more about newly-discovered artists.
The Shazam update is available now for iOS and iPadOS users and will be released in the Android version of the app soon.
Apple Announces October 30th Event
Apple has announced an event will be held on Monday, October 30th, at 5:00 pm Pacific time. There’s no indication of what might be announced, but the announcement does include the obtuse teaser ‘Scary Fast’ in the email invitation that was sent to the media. Also, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has suggested that a refreshed iMac and MacBook Pros may be in the works.
The event is also being held at an unusual time compared to every Apple event in recent history. Whether or not that’s significant or not remains to be seen.
Automattic Acquires Interoperable Messaging Service Texts
Today, Automattic acquired Texts, a startup that’s been building a one-stop destination for managing your many chat and messaging apps in one place.
Automattic, which runs blogging platform WordPress.com and Tumblr, has been acquiring a growing list of companies in recent years, including the makers of apps like Day One and Pocket Casts. The company’s latest purchase marks its first foray into messaging.
Texts is a paid service that allows users to send and receive messages on several platforms, including iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Slack, and Discord DMs, from a single app. There are other companies, like Beeper, attempting something similar using the open-source protocol Matrix, but Texts is a little different. It has developed its own technology stack for handling messages from multiple services that the company says doesn’t require it to send them across its servers and is end-to-end encrypted. Instead, Texts sends messages directly from one of its supported messaging platforms to another. Currently, Texts is available on the Mac, Windows, and Linux, with an iOS app under development and Android on the company’s roadmap too.
I had a chance to speak with Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg about the acquisition, and it was clear from our conversation that he views it as a natural next step in the company’s support of open web platforms. It’s also a great fit with WordPress.org and Tumblr’s embrace of the ActivityPub protocol, which powers Mastodon and other federated social networks.
With the list of companies that offer some sort of siloed messaging that doesn’t interoperate with any others continuing to grow, I imagine the demand for a service like Texts’ is only going to grow over time. Backed by Automattic, Texts should have the resources to bring interoperability to more messaging services and grow its support for additional OSes more quickly, making it more competitive in what I expect will become an increasingly competitive market as lawmakers and regulators continue to put pressure on tech companies to make their messaging platforms more open.
MacStories Unwind: A Nintendo Boy at Heart
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This week on MacStories Unwind, creative people we’d love to interview, desert island game systems, a brainy puzzle game and a TV show about an equally brainy chemist.
Sponsored By:
- Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps. It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!
Links and Show Notes
Unplugged
- If you could interview one creative person, who would it be?
- If you could play games from just one console maker, which would it be?
- Also mentioned:
Media Picks
- Federico’s Pick:
- John’s Pick:
- Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+
MacStories Unwind+
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