Posts tagged with "mac"

Apple Discontinues the Mac Pro→

In a move that should suprise no one, Apple discontinued the Mac Pro today.

From Chance Miller at 9to5 Mac:

It’s the end of an era: Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that the Mac Pro is being discontinued. It has been removed from Apple’s website as of Thursday afternoon. The “buy” page on Apple’s website for the Mac Pro now redirects to the Mac’s homepage, where all references have been removed.

Apple has also confirmed to 9to5Mac that it has no plans to offer future Mac Pro hardware.

This change has felt inevitable ever since the introduction of the Mac Studio. Although the Mac Studio lacks the Mac Pro’s expansion slots, it packs a lot of performance into a much smaller package, meeting a wide variety of professional needs, which undoubtedly cut into the Mac Pro’s sales.

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MotionVFX Team Joins Apple→

Source: MotionVFX.

Source: MotionVFX.

Earlier today, MacRumors reported that MotionVFX was acquired by Apple. Based in Poland, MotionVFX has been a go-to resource for YouTubers and other creators for years with its highly-regarded plugins, templates, and tools for Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and other apps.

According to MotionVFX’s note:

For over 15 years, we’ve been on a mission to create world-class, visually inspiring content and effects for video editors. From the very beginning, we’ve been all about quality, ease of use, and great design. These are also the values that we admire most in Apple’s products, and we’re thrilled to be able to embrace them together.

This is exciting news for anyone who uses Final Cut Pro. My hope is that the acquisition will result in MotionVFX’s plugins making their way into Creator Studio and being extended to the iPad. For the Mac, that would add a lot of value to Creator Studio. For the iPad, it would add plugin support for the first time, a feature I expected Apple to have shipped by now.

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MacBook Neo Review Roundup

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

The MacBook Neo reviews are in and by all accounts, Apple’s new budget Mac is impressive, packing a lot of bang for the buck. The laptop, which comes in a 256GB configuration with no Touch ID and a 512GB version with Touch ID, is Apple’s most affordable laptop ever as well as one of its most fun, thanks to several color options.

I think the review that caught my eye first was Tyler Stalman’s. Tyler is the sort of person the MacBook Pro was built for because he works with video and high-resolution RAW photos for a living. It’s a fun video because it demonstrates just how capable the laptop is, even after Tyler had opened every app, scrolled around in his photo library, and launched a 4K project in Final Cut Pro, while every other app was still running. Amazingly, the Neo handled it all well.

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M5 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Review Roundup

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

The reviews are in, and it looks like my initial impressions from last week’s press releases hold up pretty well.

The M5 MacBook Pro

What was clear to me from what Apple said is that the M5 MacBook Pro is an especially nice upgrade, even from the M4 models. As Jason Snell put it on Six Colors:

The pace of Apple silicon progress is breathtaking, not just at the base level that powers the MacBook Air and iPad Pro, but up here at the level of bespoke chips designed for Apple’s most powerful systems.

Jason reviewed a MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro (18-core CPU, 20-core GPU) chip, which he reported is overall 23% faster than his personal M4 Max laptop. Even with its 32 GPU cores, Jason’s M4 Max was only 14% faster than his M5 Pro MacBook Pro review unit, which has just 20 GPU cores. I’ve noticed similar GPU improvements between my M1 Max Mac Studio and the M4 Pro Mac mini. I’m working on a story about my recent tests, which show that even the last-generation M4 Pro can run circles around the M1 Max’s GPUs. It’s astonishing.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

What I find remarkable about this is that it has allowed Apple to embrace both ends of the computing spectrum at once. The longevity and capabilities of prior generations of Apple silicon chipsets allow for laptops like the MacBook Neo, which by all accounts is a champ at tackling day-to-day workloads. At the same time, the M5 Max exists, which is the sort of chipset that AI workflows and other pro use cases demand. The spread of capabilities has never been wider, which is great for users who can dial in exactly what they need better than ever.

Cameron Faulkner at The Verge was a little less enthusiastic:

People who bought the last-gen MacBook Pros aren’t missing out on a ton, save for the incredibly fast read/write SSD speeds. But if you bought the M2 Max three years ago and you’re already pushing it to its limits, the M5 Max looks like a significant upgrade.

I can’t disagree that if you have an M4-series MacBook Pro, you already have a powerful laptop that most people don’t need to upgrade, but buying decisions aside, I don’t think you can downplay 2× faster SSDs and significantly faster CPUs and GPUs. Given the right workload, those factors matter.

The M5 MacBook Air

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

In many ways, I find the M5 MacBook Air just as exciting. It’s not as powerful as the M5 MacBook Pros, but I’m intrigued by the 15” model. I’ve been using a 14” MacBook Pro for quite a while, and it has convinced me that I’m not interested in going back to a 13” laptop.

What interests me most about the 15” MacBook Air is using it as a companion to my desktop Mac Studio. The reality is that when I’m away from my desk, I rarely need the power of a MacBook Pro or Mac Studio. Instead, most of what I do on a laptop can be accomplished with the Air, connecting via Screen Sharing to my desktop Mac as needed for heavier workloads.

As Dan Moren put it at Six Colors:

The Neo may vie for the title of Apple’s bestselling Mac, but it’s got its work cut out for it: the crown remains the MacBook Air’s to lose and if you come at the king, you better not miss.

For Dan, the SSD performance was a highlight coming in at a 125% improvement over the M4 Air for read speeds and 219% of the M4 Air for write speeds, using Blackmagic’s disk testing tool. That’s better than what Apple claimed in its press releases and the sort of difference that will have practical impacts when working with large files.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

I also found Lance Ulanoff’s perspective on the Air interesting:

The M5 brings the level of performance we’ve previously seen in the MacBook Pro — I had trouble finding anything the laptop couldn’t do.

Consistent with what Jason Snell said of the M5 MacBook Pro, it’s the pace of progress that’s so astonishing. What the MacBook Pro could do yesterday, the M5 Air can do today.

Based on these reviews, I expect the Air will continue to be the best overall laptop in Apple’s lineup for most people. I’m intrigued by the Neo and love what the Pro can accomplish, but the Air sits in a sweet spot that makes it a great value even though it’s no longer the lowest-priced laptop Apple makes.

With these new laptops arriving on customers’ doorsteps and in stores today, I’m sure we’ll hear more firsthand accounts of their capabilities soon. From where things stand today, though, Apple’s laptop lineup has never looked better.

Apple Takes the Wraps Off the MacBook Neo

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Apple today revealed a brand-new Mac called the MacBook Neo. The new computer has a 13” screen and an A18 Pro chipset, and it starts at $599. Let’s dig into the details.

The fanless Neo comes in silver, indigo, blush, and citrus colors, which extend to the keyboard in lighter shades. The screen is a 2408 × 1506 Liquid Retina display with a modest 500 nits of brightness and an anti-reflective coating. The A18 Pro chip that powers the Neo has six CPU cores, five GPU cores, and a 16-core Neural Engine. As for memory, the only option is 8GB.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Other features include:

  • a 1080p FaceTime camera
  • dual beamforming microphones
  • side-firing speakers
  • Touch ID in the 512GB model
  • two USB-C ports (one USB-C 3 10Gbps port and the other USB-C 2 (480Mbps)
  • Wi-Fi 6e
  • Bluetooth 6
  • a headphone jack

According to Apple, the Neo can deliver up to 16 hours of battery life, but it does not include MagSafe charging. Apple claims superior performance to Intel Core Ultra 5 PCs but offers no comparisons to any other device in its own product lineup, so further testing will be needed to see how the Neo stacks up to iPads and other Macs.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

In terms of configurations, there are just two options. The first is a MacBook Neo with 256GB of SSD storage and no Touch ID for $599. The other configuration has 512GB of storage and Touch ID and costs $699. Education customers can purchase the Neo for $100 less. The new MacBook Neo can be preordered today. Deliveries and in-store availability begin March 11.

Apple Introduces Two New Studio Displays

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple introduced a revision of its Studio Display and the new Studio Display XDR, which replaces the Pro Display XDR in its product lineup. Let’s take a look at the specs.

Both displays are 27 inches diagonally with 5K resolutions. The new Studio Display features P3 wide color, 600 nits of brightness, and 14 million pixels. There’s a 12MP Center Stage camera, a six-speaker surround sound system built in, and an array of three microphones. According to Apple, the speakers’ bass is 30% deeper than before.

The base model Studio Display also includes two Thunderbolt 5 ports and two additional USB-C ports for peripherals and charging at 96W when using a Thunderbolt 5 cable. And if money is no object, you can daisy chain up to four Studio Displays. As in the past, the display is available in both a glossy and a matte, nano-textured finish, and a VESA mount adapter is available.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

The Studio Display XDR, which replaces the Pro Display XDR, has significantly better specs. Like the Studio Display, it’s a 5K 27” display, but it uses mini-LED for backlighting with over 2,300 local dimming areas, and it can output 1000 nits in SDR and 2000 of peak HDR brightness, which is considerably more than ever before.

The XDR model refreshes adaptively from 47Hz to 120Hz and features P3 wide color, Adobe RGB, and more than 80% Rec. 2020 coverage, and it has a special DICOM medical imaging preset and Medical Imaging Calibrator that is pending FDA clearance. The display can charge a connected device via Thunderbolt 5 at 140W, too, and comes with either a tilt- and height-adjustable stand or a VESA mount. Other specs mirror the base model Studio Display.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

I love the new Studio Display XDR’s specs. However, I wish it were both larger and cheaper. Still, for the price, you are getting a much brighter, more capable, and color-accurate display, so I’m not surprised. This is not a gaming monitor, but the sort of display that video and image professionals need, as is clear from its medical calibration capabilities.

The new displays are available for preorder starting March 4 with delivery and in-store availability beginning March 11. The Studio Display is $1,599, with the XDR model coming in at $3,299 and educational customers paying $100 less on both models.

Dot: The Menu Bar Calendar That’s Become My Main Calendar

Over time, I’ve gravitated towards a two-calendar system on my Mac because I’ve never found an app where both the desktop app and the menu bar version meet all my needs. That’s probably because my calendar use is a little backwards. I don’t have a lot of meetings each week; instead, my calendar is a mix of reminders, package deliveries, and a handful of work and family events. With just two or three entries each day, I’ve found myself managing events more and more often from a simple menu bar app, reserving my full calendar app for more involved event entry and planning.

On the desktop side, I’ve used Apple Calendar the most, but I’ve also used Fantastical and BusyCal for extended periods, ultimately landing on Notion Calendar. It isn’t perfect, but its Notion integration can be handy at times. On the menu bar side of the equation, I used Dato for many years. It’s an excellent app, but even it is a little more than I need, which is why I was excited to recently discover Dot.

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Creator Studio Review: Redefining Pro for the Modern Era

Starting today, Apple is offering a subscription bundle of its creative apps called Creator Studio. Some of what’s included is exclusive to the subscription package, while other parts of it remain available à la carte. It’s a lot to absorb, and I’ll get to all the details in due course.

However, what’s most exciting to me is the fact that Apple is clearly repositioning these apps to appeal to a broader cross-section of creatives. Apps like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are no longer just for Hollywood and music studios. By filling out the iPad lineup and adding Pixelmator Pro along with enhanced versions of their productivity apps, Apple has taken the first steps toward realigning its apps with what it means to be a creative professional in 2026.

This transition isn’t the sort of thing that happens overnight, which is why it’s easy to spot the gaps in Creator Studio’s offerings. I ran into a couple of bugs along the way, too. However, by and large, I think the bundle of apps hits the right notes and is heading in the right direction. Let’s take a closer look.

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Why is ChatGPT for Mac So Good?→

Great post by Allen Pike on the importance of a great app experience for modern LLMs, which I recently wrote about. He opens with this line, which is a new axiom I’m going to reuse extensively:

A model is only as useful as its applications.

And on ChatGPT for Mac specifically:

The app does a good job of following the platform conventions on Mac. That means buttons, text fields, and menus behave as they do in other Mac apps. While ChatGPT is imperfect on both Mac and web, both platforms have the finish you would expect from a daily-use tool.

[…]

It’s easier to get a polished app with native APIs, but at a certain scale separate apps make it hard to rapidly iterate a complex enterprise product while keeping it in sync on each platform, while also meeting your service and customer obligations. So for a consumer-facing app like ChatGPT or the no-modifier Copilot, it’s easier to go native. For companies that are, at their core, selling to enterprises, you get Electron apps.

I don’t hate Electron as much as others in our community, but I can’t deny that ChatGPT is one of the nicest AI apps for Mac I’ve used. The other is the recently updated BoltAI. And they’re both native Mac apps.

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