Qualcomm Enlists 'I'm a Mac' Ad Star for Snapdragon PC Skit

Justin Long, the face of Apple's iconic "I'm a Mac" commercials, now stars in a short Qualcomm skit promoting Snapdragon-powered PCs.


At the Computex 2024 keynote, Qualcomm unveiled the new skit featuring Long, who is well-known for his role in Apple's "Get a Mac" commercials nearly two decades ago. Long is depicted as being overwhelmed by a barrage of notifications about app compatibility, low disk space, and battery issues in macOS, prompting him to search for an alternative in the form of a Windows on ARM PC. The ad concludes with Long stating, "Things change," a sentiment echoed by Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon during the event's closing remarks. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips debut in new Copilot Plus PCs on June 18.

Long's participation in the skit is the latest development in a series of marketing strategies where tech companies use his association with the "I'm a Mac" persona to promote their products. The trend began in 2017 when Huawei featured Long in an ad for its Mate 9 smartphone. In 2021, Intel also employed Long to create commercials that praised PCs and mocked various aspects of Apple's M1 MacBooks, including the Touch Bar and its limited color options.

Apple launched the original "Get a Mac" ad campaign in 2006. Long played a personified Mac, characterized as easygoing and efficient, while John Hodgman portrayed a PC, depicted as conformist and prone to problems like viruses and system crashes. The ads ran for three years and consisted of 66 different commercials, although Long revealed in 2019 that approximately 300 were filmed.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...

Top Rated Comments

The Doctor11 Avatar
19 months ago
The time stamp in the video you’re looking for is 1:17:07
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
capamac Avatar
19 months ago
Long is an actor, who is paid to act. I'm sure he'd have no hesitation to appear in Mac ads tomorrow so long as he's paid.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lkrupp Avatar
19 months ago
That companies like Qualcomm, Samsung and others use Apple related themes and copy certain aspects of Apple advertising is a testament to Apple’s influence on and dominance of the public’s mindset. I distinctly remember when the Bondi Blue iMac was released. Within months you were seeing the same industrial design in all manner of products from blenders to electronics. Apple has been the one to beat for a long time now.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sai Zelion Avatar
19 months ago
In the immortal words of Dave Chappelle, "I don't even know why people listen to me. I'll say anything. I've done commercials for Coke and Pepsi. I don't give a f*ck what comes out of my mouth. Whatever it takes, that's what i'm saying. Ya wanna know the truth? Can't taste the difference. All I know is Pepsi paid me more so.... it takes better. It's pretty much how the game goes!"

Attachment Image
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
19 months ago

overwhelmed by a barrage of notifications about app compatibility, low disk space, and battery issues in macOS
I don't have any of that
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stinksroundhere Avatar
19 months ago
Step up the game

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)