MacRumors

Apple's transition away from Intel processors in Macs is officially underway with this week's introduction of new 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini models with Apple's custom-designed M1 chip, and these three systems are just the beginning.

Following its virtual event on Tuesday, Apple reiterated that the transition to Apple Silicon will take about two years to be completed. Apple did not reveal which Macs will be getting M-series chips next, but here's what has been rumored so far:

• 14-inch MacBook Pro: In July, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecasted that new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple Silicon and an all-new design will launch in the late second quarter or third quarter of 2021. Kuo has previously suggested that these notebooks may feature Mini-LED displays.
• 16-inch MacBook Pro: Earlier this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Debby Wu reported that a new 16-inch MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon is in development, but the report did not provide a release timeframe. As mentioned above, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects a new 16-inch MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon and an all-new design to launch in the late second quarter or third quarter of 2021.
• 24-inch iMac: In June, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecasted that Apple would launch a 24-inch iMac with an all-new design in the late fourth quarter of 2020 or early first quarter of 2021 at the earliest.
• A smaller Mac Pro: Earlier this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Debby Wu reported that Apple is developing a new Mac Pro that looks like the current design at about half the size. The report said it's unclear if that Mac will replace the current Mac Pro or be released as an additional model.

With an 8-core CPU, up to an 8-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine, unified memory architecture, and more, Apple says the M1 chip delivers up to 3.5x faster system performance, up to 6x faster graphics performance, and up to 15x faster machine learning, while enabling battery life up to 2x longer than previous-generation Macs.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini are available to order on Apple.com and through the Apple Store app, with the first deliveries to customers and in-store availability set to begin November 17. Pricing starts at $1,299 for the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, $999 for the new MacBook Air, and $699 for the new Mac mini.

Roku today announced that AirPlay 2 and HomeKit are now rolling out to select streaming players, including the Roku Ultra, Roku Streambar, Roku Smart Soundbar, Roku Streaming Stick+, and Roku Premiere, as part of a free Roku OS 9.4 update. The software update is also in the process of rolling out to select Roku-based 4K TVs from brands like TCL.

AirPlay 2 enables users to stream videos, music, podcasts, and more directly from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to a Roku-connected TV, with no Apple TV box necessary. And with HomeKit support, users can control the TV's power and and more using the Home app and Siri on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or HomePod.

The software update began rolling out earlier this month for some users and should be available on all supported Roku devices within the coming days.

Yesterday Apple announced the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini, all of which are now available to order on Apple.com and at retailers including Amazon and Best Buy. Additionally, Expercom has introduced a slate of the first markdowns on these Mac devices.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Expercom. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You'll find discounts reaching up to $77 off the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, up to $63 off the new MacBook Air, and up to $46 off the new Mac mini. We've listed all of the base configurations below, but you can also customize each model on Expercom to add more storage, memory, or AppleCare+.

The caveat to Expercom's sale is that you'll see delayed shipping estimates for many of the Macs. As of writing, all of the MacBook Air models won't ship for another 2-3 weeks, although some MacBook Pro models do have shorter estimates, depending on how you configure each device.

13-Inch MacBook Pro

• 256GB - $1,232.65, down from $1,299.00 ($66 off)
• 512GB - $1,422.45, down from $1,499.00 ($77 off)

MacBook Air

• 256GB - $947.96, down from $999.00 ($51 off)
• 512GB - $1,185.71, down from $1,249.00 ($63 off)

Mac mini

• 256GB - $663.27, down from $699.00 ($36 off)
• 512GB - $853.07, down from $899.00 ($46 off)

You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.

Apple today shared a press release highlighting its various Veterans Day initiatives, including a new Activity Challenge on the Apple Watch and an extended four-month Apple Music trial for veterans in the United States.

Today, Apple Watch users in the United States can earn a limited edition Activity award and animated iMessage stickers in honor of Veterans Day. To participate, users must record any workout of 11 minutes or more.

Veterans who sign up for Apple Music for the first time throughout the month of November will receive an extended four-month free trial in the United States. Apple Music typically offers a three-month free trial for new subscribers.

Apple is also highlighting veterans-related content in the App Store, Apple TV app, and Apple Books app, and made a donation to Team Rubicon.

A California federal judge on Tuesday dismissed some of Apple's counterclaims against Epic Games in its ongoing antitrust battle over Apple's App Store fees (via Bloomberg).

Apple and Epic have been in a legal fight since August, when Apple removed Fortnite from the ‌App Store‌ after ‌Epic Games‌ introduced a direct payment option in the app, defying the ‌App Store‌ rules. ‌Epic Games‌ promptly filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of anti-competitive actions.

In September, Apple filed a counter suit to stop the game maker from using its own payment system for Fortnite. Apple also accused Epic of theft and sought extra monetary damages beyond breach of contract.

In October, Epic filed a motion ahead of Tuesday's hearing seeking the dismissal of Apple's counterclaims of intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and conversion, along with its punitive damages bid.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted ‌Epic Games‌' motion for judgement, throwing out Apple's two claims for lost ‌App Store‌ fees and other monetary damages.

"This is a high-stakes breach of contract case and an antitrust case and that's all in my view," Gonzalez told Apple's lawyers, according to Bloomberg. "You can't just say it's independently wrongful. You actually have to have facts," the judge said, adding that the rest of the breach-of-contract case moves forward.

Apple told Bloomberg that it disagreed with the judge's decision, adding that it was clear that Epic breached its contract with the company. Epic in October had a preliminary injunction dismissed by the same judge, meaning Fortnite will remain unavailable on the ‌App Store‌ for the duration of the lawsuit, assuming that the app remains in violation of the ‌App Store‌ Review Guidelines. The case continues.

Apple has begun selling the Apple Watch models with cellular connectivity in Belgium for the first time, reports iCulture.

Only the aluminum and stainless steel versions are available in cellular variants on Apple's regional online store – the titanium model currently remains unavailable.

Belgian provider Telenet will be the first provider to support 4G connectivity on Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE models. Pre-orders for the models from Telenet opened on November 10 and the cellular service launches on November 13. Prices start at 349 euros.

The network operator made the announcement in a press release, which revealed that it will also allow customers to share the same number between their iPhone SIM and the Apple Watch eSIM, under its Telenet One Number package.

Ahead of the HomePod mini launching next week, Apple has revealed that it will charge a fee of $79 to service the speaker for customers without AppleCare+ coverage. This is only $20 cheaper than buying an entirely new HomePod mini for $99.

By comparison, AppleCare+ for the HomePod mini involves a $15 upfront cost and an additional $15 per-incident fee for up to two incidents of accidental damage protection every 12 months. Ultimately, if you damage your HomePod mini and need it serviced, it will cost you $30 with AppleCare+ or $79 without in the United States.

While many customers may find AppleCare+ unnecessary for the HomePod mini, those with pets or young children may want to consider purchasing coverage.

HomePod mini pre-orders began November 6, and the speaker launches Monday, November 16.

Apple on Tuesday unveiled a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini, making up the first wave of Macs powered by Apple Silicon, and AnandTech has since published a deep dive into Apple's brand new M1 custom chip at the heart of the new machines.

The article begins by picking through the admittedly scant details that Apple's event offered about the ‌M1‌ chip's design, yet manages to extrapolate some interesting tidbits regarding the processor's packaging and architecture.

Beginning with the ‌M1‌'s unified memory architecture, AnandTech notes that the packaging style keeps the embedded memory off to the side of the compute die rather on top of it, ensuring the chips can be efficiently cooled, which suggests Apple is using a 128-bit DRAM bus similar to that found in previous A-X chips.

Apple says the ‌M1‌ features four high-performance "Firestorm" CPU cores and four efficiency "Icestorm" cores. Examining an actual die shot shown in Apple's ‌M1‌ unveiling, Anandtech explains that the chip appears to have a 12MB cache – up from the 8MB of L2 cache featured in the A14 – which makes sense given that it's now being used by four high-performance cores instead of two.

The article later goes on to compare the ‌M1‌ performance to existing Intel and AMD processors and takes the A14 as a benchmark guide, while noting that with its additional cache, "we expect the Firestorm cores used in the ‌M1‌ to be even faster," suggesting "Apple's claim of having the fastest CPU core in the world seems extremely plausible."

Running the A14 through a series of benchmarks against a Rizen 9 5950X and an Intel i7-1185G7, AnandTech calls the results "mind-boggling," noting that "the fact the A14 currently competes with the very best top-performance designs that the x86 vendors have on the market today is just an astonishing feat." Taking into account a graph of single-thread performance gains over the last five years, AnandTech suggests that Intel has increased its chips' performance by about 28%, while Apple has managed closer to 198% in the same period.

Apple's performance trajectory and unquestioned execution over these years is what has made Apple Silicon a reality today. Anybody looking at the absurdness of that graph will realize that there simply was no other choice but for Apple to ditch Intel and x86 in favor of their own in-house microarchitecture – staying par for the course would have meant stagnation and worse consumer products.

The performance analyses conclude by noting Apple's enormous power efficiency advantage, which is why the new ‌M1‌ chip will be able to offer either vastly increased battery life, and/or vastly increased performance compared to the current Intel MacBook line-up. Apple has said it will take at least two years to transition its entire Mac lineup to ‌Apple Silicon‌. Going on its current performance trajectory, Apple's forthcoming desktop-class chip designs are likely to look "extremely impressive," AnandTech concludes.

The five-page deep dive contains far more details than we've summarized above, and is well worth a read. You can check out the complete article here.

Apple today added new Solo Loop and Sport Apple Watch bands to its online store, expanding the number of colors available for the two band options.

Both the Solo Loop and the Sport Band now come in an orange shade called Kumquat, a lighter blue that Apple is calling Northern Blue, and a deeper purple red called Plum. Plum and Kumquat match iPhone 12 Silicone cases available in the same shades.

Apple last introduced new band colors in September with the launch of the Apple Watch Series 6 and the Apple Watch SE, which is also when the new Solo Loop bands were debuted.

The Solo Loop has a clasp-free design and comes in nine different sizes, which can make finding the right fit difficult. For those interested in purchasing a Solo Loop, we have a fit guide available.

(Thanks, Leonard!)

Nanoleaf, the company that makes wall-mounted modular light panels in various shapes, today announced the launch of a line of "Essentials," which includes a new light bulb and lightstrip.

The Smart Color Changing LED Bulb and LED Lightstrip are simpler, everyday lighting options that are meant to be used alongside the light panels. Compatible with HomeKit, both the bulb and the lightstrip have support for ‌HomeKit‌ Adaptive Lighting, which allows them to shift color temperatures during the day.

Cooler lighting temperatures that better match daylight are used during the day, and at night, the lights will cut down on blue lighting to allow for better sleep. The Essentials Bulb, which has a unique shape, supports color temperatures from 2,700 to 6,500K and feature an average brightness of 806 lumens with a max brightness of 1,100 lumens.

The Lightstrip has four white LEDs per LED set, two warm and two cool, and there are 21 LED sets per meter. The Lightstrip measures in at 80 inches and can be augmented with 40 inch expansion strips. Lightstrips can be cut as needed and can reach a maximum of 10 meters with brightness between 2,000 and 2,200 lumens.

According to Nanoleaf, the Essentials are the first smart lighting product to work with Thread, which is a low latency and low power mesh network. With Thread support, users can count on improved connectivity, a wider control range, and an option for setting custom schedules.

Nanoleaf plans to add smart features and integrations in future updates such as Color Scenes, Screen Mirror, and Rhythm Music Sync, which will be made available through the Thread support. No hub is required for Nanoleaf's products, which will connect to ‌HomeKit‌ over Bluetooth.

Nanoleaf's Essentials are launching exclusively in Apple retail stores and the Apple online store. The Nanoleaf Essentials A19 Bulb is priced at $20 and the Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip is priced at $50.

Apple's new Mac mini and 13-inch MacBook Pro models with the custom-designed M1 chip are compatible with up to a 6K display, including Apple's Pro Display XDR. By comparison, the previous-generation Intel-based Mac mini and Intel-based entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with two Thunderbolt 3 ports support up to a 5K display.

The new MacBook Air with the M1 chip can also drive a 6K display, but so can the previous Intel-based MacBook Air released earlier this year.

6K display support is becoming widespread across the Mac lineup, with other capable models including the 2018 and newer 15-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro, 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt ports, 2019 or newer iMac models, and 2019 Mac Pro. Apple's Pro Display XDR is also compatible with any Mac model with Thunderbolt 3 ports that is capable of being paired with a Blackmagic eGPU.

The new Mac mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air mark the beginning of Apple's transition away from Intel processors in Macs. In June, Apple revealed its plans to begin using its own custom chips in Macs, promising industry-leading performance per watt. At the time, Apple said that the transition would take about two years to be completed.

Apple says the M1 chip delivers up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, up to 6x faster GPU performance, and up to 15x faster machine learning, while enabling battery life up to 2x longer than previous-generation Macs.

Apple today updated its Returns Policy for the holiday period, extending the time in which holiday gifts and purchases can be returned in the United States.

Items purchased from the Apple Online Store that are received between November 10 and December 25, 2020 can be returned to Apple until January 8, 2021, offering holiday shoppers more than two weeks to make returns.

These dates are applicable for the U.S. store, but Apple also extends return periods in other countries as well. The time available for a return can vary by country, so before making an Apple purchase as a gift, it's worth checking the return policy where you are located.

Items purchased at the Apple Online Store that are received between 10 November and 25 December 2020 may be returned up to 8 January 2021. Please note that all other terms and conditions provided in the Apple Online Store Sales and Refunds Policy are still applicable with respect to such items purchased. All purchases made after 25 December 2020 are subject to the Standard Returns Policy.

Some items are excluded from the return policy, such as Apple and App Store gift cards, but iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and accessory purchases can be returned. Purchased devices can be opened and used prior to being returned, but they must be in their original packaging.

Purchases received prior to November 10, 2020 or after December 25, 2020 will be subject to Apple's standard 14 day return policy.

Along with announcing the new holiday return period, Apple today also shared its annual gift guide. The gift guide features holiday-themed Apple product graphics and suggestions for gifts like iPhones, AirPods, Apple gift cards, Apple Watch, HomePod mini, and more.

The M1 MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini are the first of Apple's Macs to support WiFi 6, or 802.11ax. WiFi 6 support started rolling out in Apple devices with the March 2020 launch of the iPad Pro, but Apple did not include the feature in Macs refreshed earlier in the year.

WiFi 6 brings faster speeds, expanded network capacity, lower latency, and improved power efficiency, plus it is ideal for homes where there are many WiFi-connected smart home products in use. With more and more routers starting to offer WiFi 6 performance, the update is a welcome change to the Mac lineup.

None of the Macs refreshed today got major design changes, but the ‌MacBook Air‌ features an updated row of function keys that gains Spotlight search instead of Launchpad, and a dictation key and a Do Not Disturb key in place of the function keys that used to be available for adjusting keyboard brightness.

The Fn key at the bottom of the keyboard has also been updated to serve as an emoji key for bringing up emoji on the ‌MacBook Air‌.

Aside from these function key updates, the ‌M1‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ uses the same scissor switch keyboard that Apple added to the 2020 ‌MacBook Air‌ earlier this year. The scissor switch keyboard is more reliable than the prior-generation Butterfly Keyboard and not prone to failure due to exposure to crumbs and other small particulates.

The new ‌M1‌ Macs are available for purchase as of today from Apple's online store, and the first orders are set to arrive to customers on November 17.

Apple's new M1-equipped MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini do not appear to be compatible with eGPUs, including the Blackmagic eGPU that Apple has promoted alongside other Macs and that is available through the online store.

As noted on Twitter, under the lists of accessories compatible with the new Macs, the Blackmagic eGPU is not listed. In the image above, the eGPU is listed as compatible with the Intel ‌MacBook Pro‌ models still available, but not compatible with the M1 models.

The same is true for the ‌Mac mini‌, which also comes in both ‌M1‌ and Intel varieties. ‌MacBook Air‌ models have all been replaced with ‌M1‌ chips, and none of those machines support eGPUs.

With no eGPU options available at the current time, the new Macs will have to reply on their own ‌M1‌ chips with built-in GPUs. All ‌M1‌ chips feature an 8-core GPU with the exception of the ‌M1‌ chip used in the entry-level ‌MacBook Air‌, which has a 7-core GPU.

Update: Apple has confirmed to TechCrunch that the ‌M1‌ Macs do not support eGPUs.

Apple today held a third fall event, this time focused on Macs. Apple announced new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models, all of which are equipped with the first Apple Silicon chip, the M1.

It took Apple a little bit under an hour to introduce all of the new devices during the "One More Thing" event, but we've recapped all of the announcements in just six minutes for our readers who want quick but thorough overview of the announcements.

Apple Silicon Announcements

• Apple Announces M1 Chip for the Mac
• New MacBook Air Announced as First Apple Silicon Mac With M1 Chip and Fanless Design
• Apple Unveils New Mac Mini Powered By M1 Chip, Pricing Now Starts at $699
• Apple Announces New 13-inch MacBook Pro With M1 Chip, Starting at $1,299
• New MacBook Air, 13-Inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini With M1 Chip Available to Order, Launch November 17

New Mac Details

• M1 MacBook Pro Replaces Low-End Model, Higher-End Intel Options Still Available
• MacBook Air and MacBook Pro M1 Chips Have Same 8-Core CPUs, No Upgrades Available
• New MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Still Have 720p Camera, But Apple Promises Better Quality From M1
• New M1 Mac Models Feature Thunderbolt 3 Ports, Not Newer Thunderbolt 4
• Apple's M1 Chip Brings Massive Battery Life Improvements for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

Big Sur

• Apple Releasing macOS Big Sur on November 12
• Apple Seeds Second macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate to Developers

Other Tidbits

• Apple Ends Today's Mac Event With Return of Totally Jealous PC Guy

Apple Videos

Apple shared a Mac video during its keynote event highlighting new products. We've embedded it below for those who missed seeing the event live.

Full Event Livestream

The full Apple event livestream can be rewatched on YouTube or on the Apple Events website.

The new ‌Mac mini‌, 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, and 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ are available to order today from Apple's website. The machines will begin arriving to customers on November 17.

Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro and 13-inch MacBook Air models are equipped with the M1, which is the first Apple Silicon chip. In addition to bringing impressive performance improvements, the ‌M1‌ chip also significantly increases battery life.

The battery in the ‌MacBook Air‌ (49.9WHr) lasts for up to 15 hours with wireless web browsing and up to 18 hours when watching movies using the Apple TV app. The prior-generation model lasted for up to 11 hours when browsing the web, or up to 12 hours when watching movies.

Battery life is even better in the new ‌MacBook Pro‌, which has a 58.2 WHr battery. The battery lasts for up to 17 hours when browsing the web and up to 20 hours when watching a movie using the ‌Apple TV‌ app. The prior-generation ‌MacBook Pro‌ lasted for up to 10 hours when browsing the web and up to 10 hours when watching movies.

Long battery life is enabled through the four high-efficiency cores that are included in the ‌M1‌. Apple says that alone, the four cores offer similar performance as the dual-core ‌MacBook Air‌ but at much lower power, providing an efficient way to run simple tasks like checking email or browsing the web.

When needed, the new machines also engage the four high-performance cores of the ‌M1‌ chip for more demanding tasks and better CPU performance. Apple promises that the ‌M1‌ chip brings up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, 6x faster GPU performance, and up to 15x faster machine learning.

Apple today hosted a virtual event to introduce its first three Macs with its custom-designed M1 chip, promising up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, up to 6x faster graphics, up to 15x faster machine learning capabilities, and up to 2x as long battery life.

Humorously, the event ended with a brief appearance from John Hodgman, known as the PC guy in Apple's iconic "Get a Mac" ads from 2006-2009. Matching his persona from those ads, Hodgman attempted to justify his louder operation and inferior battery life as a PC compared to the new fanless MacBook Air with up to 18 hours of battery life.

Hodgman can be seen at the 45:27 mark of the Apple Event. We've also embedded a user-uploaded clip below, but it might be removed at some point by Apple:

Justin Long, who played the Mac in the ad campaign, did not make an appearance today.

Apple's new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini with the Apple-designed M1 chip are now available to order on Apple.com and through the Apple Store app, and they will be available in stores starting November 17. Pricing starts at $999 for the MacBook Air, $1,299 for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and a lowered $699 for the Mac mini.