Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models will feature an upgraded main rear camera with a variable aperture for the first time, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple has gradually expanded new camera technologies, such as sensor-shift stabilization, 48-megapixel sensors, and the tetraprism 5x telephoto camera, across its iPhone models in recent years. It now appears that after completing the rear camera array's transition to 48-megapixel sensors by bringing one to the telephoto camera on next year's iPhone 17 Pro models, the next significant camera upgrade will be the introduction of a variable aperture.
The information comes from Kuo's latest post on Medium, where he outlined how upcoming products such as the iPhone 17 "Slim," M5 MacBook Pro, and iPhone 18 will affect Apple supplier Sunny Optical. Kuo believes that Sunny Optical and Luxshare will be the primary and secondary shutter suppliers for the iPhone 18 Pro's new main camera, while the variable aperture lens will be supplied by Sunny Optical and Largan Precision.
The iPhone 14 Pro, 15 Pro, and 16 Pro's main cameras feature a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78. A variable aperture on future iPhone models would allow the main camera to control the amount of light entering the lens, allowing it to adjust to different lighting conditions. It also would provide more control over depth of field, enabling sharper focus on subjects or smoother background blur. The iPhone 18 is expected to launch in 2026.
When Image Playground was first introduced in June as one of the key Apple Intelligence features, Apple said that it would generate images in three styles: animation, illustration, and sketch.
The version of Image Playground available in the iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 betas only offers animation and illustration as style options, but Apple is planning to add the sketch style to Image Playground in the future.
As of right now, sketch can be used as an option in Image Wand in the developer and public betas of iOS 18.2, but it does not appear that it is ready for Image Playground just yet. Image Wand is the feature that allows users to add a drawing to written notes, either by sketching out an idea or referencing words in the note.
Apple did recently remove sketch from the Image Playground app description, but that's just because it's not yet in the Image Playground app.
Sketch is described as a "highly detailed and academic" style that "produces gorgeous drawings on stark backgrounds." It is distinct from the illustration style that has strong outlines, bold colors, and simple shapes, and the animation style that has a "whimsical, 3D cartoon look."
Image Playground and Image Wand will be released to the public in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 in December.
Update: This article has been updated to clarify that the sketch style has not been removed entirely and that it will be coming to Image Playground at a later time. The prior version of this article suggested that sketch had been entirely removed.
Nvidia today announced plans to start capping the number of hours that GeForce NOW players can game each month, with the company charging an additional fee for more game time.
Performance (formerly the Priority plan) and Ultimate subscribers will get 100 hours of gameplay a month starting in January 2025. Up to 15 hours of unused playtime will roll over to the next month. Performance subscribers can purchase 15 additional hours for $2.99, while Ultimate subscribers can purchase 15 additional hours for $5.99.
Current GeForce NOW subscribers that have a paid membership as of December 31, 2024 will continue to have unlimited playtime until January 2026.
Nvidia says that limiting playtime will allow it to provide exceptional quality and speed, along with shorter queue times. The 100-hour monthly playtime limit "comfortably accommodates" 94 percent of subscribers.
The Performance plan, priced at $9.99 per month, provides subscribers with access to a GeForce RTX with 1440p streaming quality. The Ultimate plan is priced at $19.99 per month and offers a GeForce RTX 4080 and 4K HDR 120fps streaming.
Nvidia continues to offer a basic free plan for entry-level cloud gaming, as well as day passes priced starting at $2.99.
Max, the streaming service previously known as HBO Max, is cracking down on password sharing in the coming months, reports The Verge. During an earnings call today, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery said that customers will start seeing "very soft messaging" about the upcoming change.
After that initial message about password sharing, more strict rules will be put into place in 2025 and 2026. Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Widenfels said that Max would be asking viewers who have "not signed up, or multi-household members to pay a little bit more."
Max could also get a price increase in the future, and the company has not ruled out raising the cost of a subscription. Widenfels said that there is a "fair amount of room to continue to push a price" that Max has been "judicious about."
Max has a total of 110.5 million subscribers globally, and the service is priced starting at $9.99 per month for an ad-supported version ($99.99 per year), or $16.99 per month for an ad-free version ($169.99 per year). There's also a more expensive "Ultimate" $20.99/month plan that provides 4K streaming.
Streaming services are putting an end to password sharing after Netflix successfully cracked down on the practice last year. Netflix saw its subscription numbers increase after preventing customers from sharing accounts across multiple households.
It's already Friday, November 8 in Australia and New Zealand, so customers who pre-ordered a new iMac, Mac mini, or MacBook Pro are beginning to receive their orders.
Apple introduced the new M4 Macs last week, with staggered announcements on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The iMac is equipped with the M4 chip that we first saw in the iPad Pro, while the Mac mini uses the M4 and the M4 Pro, a new higher-end chip.
The MacBook Pro can be purchased with the M4, M4 Pro, or M4 Max chip in the 14-inch size, or with an M4 Pro or M4 Max chip in the 16-inch size. Apple has bumped up the minimum RAM to 16GB, but starting prices have not changed. For the M4 Pro and M4 Max models, Apple added Thunderbolt 5, which allows for faster transfer speeds.
The Mac mini has a new, slimmed down size that takes up less space on a desk, and the MacBook Pro and iMac got a nano-texture display option that cuts down on glare. The Mac mini is priced starting at $599, the iMac starts at $1,299, and the MacBook Pro starts at $1,599.
New Zealand doesn't have any Apple retail stores, but Apple Stores in Australia will have stock configurations of the new Macs available for walk-in purchases. Supply constraints are not expected.
Following New Zealand and Australia, sales of the M4 Mac models will begin in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and finally, North America.
Wheel of Fortune Daily is modeled after the popular TV gameshow, providing players with a short daily puzzle to solve. Gameplay works like the TV series, starting with a selection of letters and allowing players to spin the wheel and guess additional letters to solve a phrase.
Drive Ahead! Carcade is a multiplayer PVP car battle game where the players smash into each other until just one car is left standing. Arkanoid vs Space Invaders+ is a classic game that has returned to the iPhone via Apple Arcade. It merges the gameplay of both Space Invaders and Arkanoid, and the goal is to reflect attacks to destroy enemies and break blocks.
Texas Hold'em Poker: Pokerist lets players compete against others in a series of casino games like Blackjack, Omaha poker, video poker, Split Bet Poker, and Set Poker. There are weekly tournaments and special modes to play.
Apple Arcade is priced at $6.99 per month, which gives up to six members of a Family Sharing group unlimited access to Apple Arcade games. Apple Arcade titles do not have ads or in-app purchases.
Law enforcement officials in Detroit, Michigan are warning other police officers about an alleged iPhone change that causes Apple devices stored for forensic examination to spontaneously restart, reports 404 Media.
iPhones that are undergoing examination have apparently been rebooting, which makes them harder to unlock with brute force methods, and Michigan police think that it's due to a security feature that Apple added in iOS 18. A document found by 404 Media speculates that iPhones running iOS 18 are causing other iPhones to restart when those iPhones have been disconnected from a cellular network.
The purpose of this notice is to spread awareness of a situation involving iPhones, which is causing iPhone devices to reboot in a short amount of time (observations are possibly within 24 hours) when removed from a cellular network. If the iPhone was in an After First Unlock (AFU) state, the device returns to a Before First Unlock (BFU) state after the reboot. This can be very detrimental to the acquisition of digital evidence from devices that are not supported in any state outside of AFU.
It is believed that the iPhone devices with iOS 18.0 brought into the lab, if conditions were available, communicated with the other iPhone devices that were powered on in the vault in AFU. That communication sent a signal to devices to reboot after so much time had transpired since device activity or being off network.
After First Unlock, or AFU, denotes a device state where the owner has unlocked their device with a passcode or Face ID at least one time since it was powered on. It is easier for law enforcement to get into a device in AFU mode with iPhone unlocking tools from companies like Cellebrite. A restart apparently makes the process more difficult.
The digital forensics lab that noticed the issue had several iPhones in AFU state reboot, including iPhones in Airplane mode and one in a faraday box. Since a faraday box blocks all electronic signals from reaching a device, there wouldn't be a way for an iPhone running iOS 18 to communicate with an iPhone in a functional faraday box.
The police document speculates that this is "an iOS 18.0 security feature addition" because one device running iOS 18 also rebooted after a period of isolation and inactivity. Several other devices in the same area did not, however, restart, and there is no evidence that Apple has added a feature that causes older iPhones to reboot when in contact with an iPhone running iOS 18.
Law enforcement officials recommend isolating iOS 18 devices from other iPhones that are in an AFU state as further testing takes place.
The specific conditions that must exist for these reboots to occur is unknown and further testing and research would nee to be conducted to add more specifics to the new hurdle we are now faced with. What is known is that this new "feature" of some sort has increased the difficulty with forensically preserving digital evidence.
Matthew Green, a cryptographer and Johns Hopkins professor told 404 Media that the law enforcement officials' hypothesis about iOS 18 devices is "deeply suspect," but he was impressed with the concept.
"The idea that phones should reboot periodically after an extended period with no network is absolutely brilliant and I'm amazed if indeed Apple did it on purpose," he said.
Update: Apple added an "inactivity reboot" feature in the iOS 18.1 update, but it does not relate to phone/wireless network state.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
The Travel Bag from Belkin is not quite as large as Apple's own Vision Pro travel carrier, measuring in at 9 inches by 8 inches by 5 inches. The smaller size will allow the bag to better fit inside a travel bag or backpack, but it is not as small as the WaterField Designs travel case.
Belkin's Travel Bag has multiple compartments to house the Vision Pro and accessories like the battery, power adapter, and additional headbands like Belkin's Head Strap. It can be carried using a handle or a strap, and there is cushioning to keep the device safe. The bag comes in gray, so it will presumably stay cleaner than Apple's white case.
Belkin's Travel Bag is priced at $99.95, so it is $100 cheaper than Apple's Travel Case. It can be purchased from the Apple website.
Apple is also selling the Belkin Head Strap, a $49.95 accessory that goes over the top of the head to make the Vision Pro more comfortable to wear by better distributing weight.
Back in October, Sonos ended its moratorium on new product launches and introduced the Arc Ultra, a new version of its popular Arc soundbar. We thought we'd check out the Arc Ultra to see if it's worth picking up as Sonos still struggles to overcome negative perception of its app.
Priced at $999, the Arc Ultra brings an upgrade in sound quality compared to the original Arc. It can be paired with the Sub 4, which is also new, for added bass. The Sub 4 isn't required, and the Arc Ultra sounds great even without it. For audiophiles, the Arc Ultra has 9.1.4 spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, and it is able to produce sound that feels like it's coming from all around you.
In terms of design, the Arc Ultra has a lower profile than the prior version, but it is a bit longer. It otherwise looks similar, with an HDMI port for eARC, a power button, a Bluetooth button for pairing, Ethernet, and a slider to turn the microphone for the voice assistant on and off. Power and volume can be controlled via a TV remote, but the app is required for other features.
With the Sonos app, you can use TruePlay to fine-tune sound, and there are different levels of speech enhancement for you to select from. Sonos held off on introducing new products after the criticism that it received over its May app overhaul. When the Ultra launched, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said that the company felt that the app had been improved enough to allow for new hardware.
Sonos has committed to regular app updates, and released an update alongside the new products. The app worked well with the Arc Ultra for setup, but if you're not a fan of the redesigned layout and the navigation issues that come alongside it, nothing has changed. It is also worth noting that some users have run into a problem with surround sound and TruePlay, which Sonos is working on.
In the Apple ecosystem, the Arc Ultra serves as an AirPlay 2 device so you can use it alongside other AirPlay 2-enabled speakers.
If you're all-in with Sonos products or if you're looking for a new soundbar, the Arc Ultra is worth checking out.
High Power Mode is available on the 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models with the M4 Pro chip, according to Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham. The feature was previously limited to Macs with Apple's highest-end "Max" chip, so this is the first time it is available on Macs with a "Pro" chip.
This is the second time that Apple has expanded availability of High Power Mode in as many years. The feature was initially limited to 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M1 Max and M2 Max chips, but Apple made it available on both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Max chip later last year. Now, the feature is available on even more MacBook Pro models, and on the higher-end Mac mini for the first time.
Apple says High Power Mode allows a Mac's fans to run at higher speeds, and this additional cooling allows the system to deliver higher performance for graphics-intensive sustained workloads, such as 8K video color grading. On supported Macs, the feature can be used when the computer is running on battery power or connected to a power source.
In his Mac mini review, Cunningham said High Power Mode performance gains were "essentially negligible" despite "considerably increased" fan noise. However, he acknowledged that his tests were short and that High Power Mode could be more beneficial "over many hours of activity." As mentioned, Apple said the feature is for "sustained" workloads.
In our tests on the Mac mini, any performance gain from using High Power mode was essentially negligible, so small that we haven't bothered to make charts showing the difference—there are signs of a very small upward nudge in a couple of GPU tests, but all the CPU tests and many of the GPU tests show differences that are essentially within the margin of error.
While performance is a bit of a wash, fan noise is considerably increased under High Power mode. The Mac mini is mostly inaudible most of the time, the same way most Apple Silicon Macs have been, but under sustained CPU or GPU load, the mini emits a louder whoosh that you'll definitely hear unless you're wearing headphones. That could be a sign that, over many hours of activity, High Power mode will produce better or more consistent results than most of our tests, which generally take no more than a few minutes to run. But from where I sit, the benefits of High Power mode in the M4 Pro Mac mini are negligible, and the downside is noticeable. I would generally leave it turned off.
On recent macOS versions, High Power Mode can be enabled in the System Settings app under "Battery" or "Energy" by clicking on the dropdown menus next to "On battery" or "On power adapter" and selecting the "High Power" option.
Apple is planning to consolidate the retail space dedicated to the Apple Vision Pro headset in some of its store locations, Bloomberg's Mark Gurmansaid today.
Most stores have two tables dedicated to the Apple Vision Pro, one for display units and one for customer demos. Apple is planning to move both the demo and display sections to a single table, using the extra space to display the new M4 Mac models.
Gurman says that Apple is piloting this new store arrangement, and that the change will only be coming to some locations at this time.
Apple's plan to dedicate less retail space to the Vision Pro comes just two weeks after The Information said that Apple had reduced Vision Pro production and could stop making the device entirely by the end of 2024. Some factories cut production of Vision Pro components as early as May based on poor sales forecasts.
Estimates suggest that Apple will sell fewer than 500,000 Vision Pro headsets this year, even as the rollout of the device expands to additional countries. Apple suppliers have already produced enough components to manufacture between 500,000 and 600,000 headsets, so Apple does not need additional supply.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will iterate on the Vision Pro as soon as 2025, introducing a new headset with a faster M5 chip. Apple is also developing a more affordable version of the Vision Pro, but rumors are mixed on when it might come out.
In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the Vision Pro is "not a mass-market product" because of its high price, and is instead aimed at early adopters, or "people who want to have tomorrow's technology today."
Apple's "Center Stage" feature that keeps you centered in the camera's view as you move around is available on the new iMac and MacBook Pro models, making them the first Macs that offer this feature without needing a connected Studio Display.
All new Macs configured with the M4 Pro or M4 Max chips support Thunderbolt 5, which has theoretical data transfer speeds up to 120 Gb/s.
The new Mac mini is significantly smaller, and it has two USB-C ports and a headphone jack on the front of the computer for the first time.
The new iMac and the existing Mac Pro now come with USB-C versions of the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard in the box, and a USB-C Magic Trackpad is an optional upgrade. The accessories are also sold separately.
Nearly all of Apple's devices released in 2024 do not come with Apple stickers in the box, including the latest iPad Pro and iPad Air, iPad mini, all iPhone 16 models, Vision Pro, and more. Unboxing videos shared today confirm that this trend has continued with the new iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro models launching this Friday.
Apple has stopped including stickers with its latest devices as part of its goal of removing plastic from its packaging by next year. One exception is the latest MacBook Air, which still comes with Apple stickers in the box, but that will likely no longer be the case once the laptop receives its rumored update to the M4 chip around March next year.
You can still ask to receive Apple stickers for free when purchasing one of these devices in person at an Apple Store, provided they have supply, so the era of Apple stickers is not completely over. You'll just no longer find them inside the box.
Target's early Black Friday sale has officially begun today, with an online shopping event that will run through Saturday, November 9. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including sitewide savings on Beats headphones, TVs, Apple chargers and iPhone cases, home appliances, and more.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Target. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Target's Black Friday Schedule
Target's Black Friday sale begins today with this week's three-day event and thousands of deals available sitewide. Target is also offering a "Deal of the Day" every day through December 24, with many exclusive deals available only to Target Circle members.
Additionally, a new lineup of deals will drop every Sunday in November and last through the following Saturday. All of this leads up to the week of Black Friday, where shoppers can expect even more discounts and offers both in Target stores and online.
Target's Early Black Friday Sale
Like many retailers, Target's early Black Friday offerings are wide and varied. You'll find notable markdowns on video games, appliances, TVs, smart home products, speakers, headphones, and more this week.
Shoppers should note that some of the deals below do require Target Circle, which does have a free tier and is worth signing up for if you're interested in any of these offers. Once you're a member, the deals will be applied automatically at checkout.
Apple Accessories
The best Apple-related deals during this sale are on Apple's USB-C power adapters and iPhone 16 cases, including both Silicone and Clear options. These Apple deals are today's Deal of the Day, and will expire later tonight.
You can find all the Apple Black Friday Deals currently available in our dedicated post. For everything else, we're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2024.
Deals Newsletter
Interested in hearing more about top deals as we head into the holidays? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!
Apple in September updated its iCloud terms and conditions with some minor changes, and this week it has been notifying iPhone users that they must accept the revised terms in order to continue using iCloud. Unfortunately, after accepting the new terms, some iPhone users have seen all of their notes disappear in the Notes app.
While some users have turned to social media to justifiably panic about all of their notes being gone, thankfully the issue can be fixed by following the steps below.
Open the Settings app.
Tap on your name at the top (aka your Apple Account settings).
Tap on iCloud.
Tap on Notes.
Turn on "Sync this iPhone" (green = on). If it is already on, turn it off and on again.
In the Notes app, wait several minutes for your notes to be restored from iCloud.
We began monitoring this issue earlier this week, but it is unclear what the underlying cause is. Apple did not respond to our request for comment.
Matter 1.4 adds enhanced interoperability features for smart home ecosystems like Apple's HomeKit, including multi-platform device support and expanded energy management.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the organization responsible for Matter, has now finalized version 1.4 of the specification (via The Verge), introducing a range of new device types and enhanced functionalities that promise to improve interoperability between smart home ecosystems, including HomeKit.
Matter 1.4 introduces support for home routers and access points (HRAPs) that are certified to operate as both Wi-Fi access points and Thread border routers. This means that any Matter-certified HRAP device will be able to enhance network stability and simplify smart home connectivity. Thread border routers allow Matter-enabled devices to connect across a home, regardless of which company manufactures them, while Matter-certified routers can securely store and share Thread network credentials.
The update also introduces Enhanced Multi-Admin, which allows users to add Matter devices to multiple ecosystems automatically with a single authorization. For example, a smart light or thermostat could be added to both Apple Home and Google Home without the need for multiple setup processes. Enhanced Multi-Admin achieves this by enabling "Fabric Sync," a system that allows each Matter ecosystem to securely communicate with other ecosystems a user has authorized.
Matter 1.4 also broadens its support for energy management devices. New categories include heat pumps, water heaters, battery walls, and solar energy devices, such as solar inverters and hybrid solar/battery systems. Matter 1.4's expanded energy management options allow devices to adjust their energy consumption based on demand.
While it's unclear exactly when Apple will introduce support for Matter 1.4's features, the CSA's bi-annual release schedule suggests that Apple and other Matter supporters will implement elements of the specification over the next few years.
The new Mac mini will launch in stores and begin arriving to customers this Friday. Ahead of time, the first reviews of Apple's latest redesigned computer have been shared by select media outlets and YouTube channels.
The Mac mini received its first redesign in over a decade this year, introducing a considerably smaller casing and two USB-C ports on the front of the enclosure. The Verge's Chris Welch:
Every time I glance over at the new Mac Mini on my desk, it feels like the Mini's ideal form. The redesigned enclosure makes the most of Apple Silicon's small footprint, and with Apple's M4 chip and an ample selection of ports, the 2024 Mini should remain a zippy, reliable computer for years to come. It's never been more mighty.
The M4 Pro version of the new Mac mini also supports Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, with a total of three type-C ports on the rear. WIRED's Brenda Stoylar on the new design and ports:
A lot of people compared the Mac Mini's new look to an Apple TV box, but I think it looks more like a mini Mac Studio—especially with the new port arrangement. Apple finally added ports to the front (a gripe I had with the M2-powered version), which means I can spend less time annoyingly reaching over to the back to plug a cable in.
The M4 model comes with two USB-C ports that support USB 3.0 and a 3.5-mm headphone jack. The other side has three Thunderbolt 4 ports (the M4 Pro variant has three Thunderbolt 5 USB-C ports for the first time ever) along with an HDMI, an Ethernet connection, and a power port. It marks an official end to the USB-A port on a Mac Mini.
Reviewers also commented on the location of the power button, which is now placed on the bottom of the device rather than the rear. Stoylar added:
Ports on the front are great. Moving the power button to the bottom? Not so much. It used to be on the back, but this new implementation isn't intuitive. I have to pick the device up and press the button to power on my desktop. It's just weird. You'll probably leave this thing on all the time but, like the USB-C port on the underside of the Magic Mouse, it's just an awkward design choice.
The Verge's Chris Welch on the new Mac mini's relocated power button:
...Apple made the curious decision to move it to the bottom of the machine near the rear left corner. Do I wish the button were someplace else? Sure. Pressing it requires reaching over the Mini and lifting the unit up slightly. It’s silly but hasn't negatively affected my experience in any material way. If you've got an Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, you’ll be reminded of its awkward location right during setup, when you've got to double-press the power button to make a secure link between the fingerprint sensor and Mac. The Mini is used in a wide mix of environments including home theater systems and live event production. I could see the button's position becoming a hassle in some of those scenarios, but if you're using it on a desk, it's more of a strange quirk than an annoyance.
The new Mac mini is powered by Apple's M4 and M4 Pro chips, which are up to 25% and 45% faster than their predecessors. As of the time of writing, higher-end Mac mini configurations with the M4 Pro chip (14-core CPU) receive a multi-core Geekbench score of 22,094 (average of 11 results), compared to an average of 14,480 for the previous Mac mini with the highest-end M2 Pro chip. Engadget's Devindra Hardawar on the Mac mini's performance:
Outside of benchmarks, the Mac mini impressed me by running Lies of P in 1,440p with maxed out graphics settings at 60fps. It even managed to run the game in 4K with medium graphics settings, but the frame rate hovered around 30fps, which wasn't very playable. That's not a huge surprise though — what's more important is that I know the GPU is powerful enough to run modern games at more reasonable resolutions. Resident Evil 4 and No Man's Sky also held a steady 60 fps in 1,440p.
To test out the Mac mini's AI capabilities, I used the Whisper Transcription app to transcribe an hour and nine-minute long episode of the Engadget Podcast. That took two minutes and nine seconds, using the small language model. In comparison, the M4-powered 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and three seconds, while an M3 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and thirty-seven seconds. These figures tell us Apple's M4 hardware can help students quickly get notes from lecture recordings, or even transcribe classes in real-time without much effort.
The M4 series of chips also brings an updated GPU architecture with improved efficiency, hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, support for AV1 decode, up to 64GB of LPDDR5X memory, dynamic caching, and a much more powerful Neural Engine to the Mac mini. The new Mac mini's thermal design was also highlighted by reviewers, with Welch adding:
Apple's revamped thermal system for the Mini keeps the M4 model running quietly. Even when I'm deep in a Lightroom photo editing session, I don't hear the fan. I'm certain the M4 Pro's extra GPU cores would make those RAW edits even faster, but the regular M4 is up to the task for most photo work. Elsewhere, the machine has rarely missed a step, no matter what I throw at it. I'm no videographer, so I can't speak to whether serious editing work would expose the M4’s limits. If there's one use case that warrants stepping up to the M4 Pro, it's likely that.
TechCrunch's Brian Heater concluded that the new Mac mini is well designed, but without a clear target customer:
The new Mac Mini is a case of a (mostly) well designed machine without an entirely clear market segment. Its sweet spot is those who already have a monitor or monitors and are just looking to upgrade their system with the newest entry-level Mac. I would toss in those who want to pick out their own monitor, but don't want to invest in the Studio and don't particularly care about the freedom a laptop brings. Or maybe the platonic ideal is someone who wants a quick, easy, and (relatively) cheap desktop to supplement it — without the built-in limitations of an all-in-one iMac.
If any of the above rings true, by all means, go small. There’s little that's inherently bad about the machine (the power button is more annoying than bad), but it’s not entirely clear where it stands in the Apple desktop lineup, with the Studio and iMac flanking it on either side.
I can't tell you for sure how large that segment of the market is at present, but I suspect the system is most purchased in the enterprise. It’s easy to image companies buying these up in bulk. For consumers who are on the fence, consider whether a MacBook or iMac makes more sense for your setup and pocketbook.
The first wave of reviews of Apple's new M4-powered MacBook Pro models were published this morning. We've collected some of the latest impressions from YouTube channels and select media outlets below.
Apple last month announced the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding next-generation M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, with Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display and camera changes, a nano-texture display option, and a few other updates.
As for doing my edits on the nano-texture display, I know glossy screens have a slightly deeper contrast, but I love not worrying about glare. I’m not exclusively editing in a dark room with a hooded reference monitor, and I like the flexibility of working in places with less-than-ideal lighting conditions. The convenience of the nano-texture far outweighs any slight technical advantage of a glossy display. And at $150, it’s a worthwhile upgrade for visual pros.
Simply put: If you’re buying a new Pro and plan to go outside ever, spend the additional $150. I presently have two Studio Displays on my desktop. One is nano-textured, the other isn’t. It makes a huge difference, even indoors. In fact, at one point I rearranged the two screens in a way that minimizes the glare from the one window in the room.
Glossy displays on Macs are one of those things we complained about years ago, but at a certain point, many of us were worn down by Apple’s refusal to offer an alternative over the years. I had given up on the idea years ago. Now that it’s available, I plan to get it for any MacBook I get, going forward.
I frequently use my laptop outside. If it’s a nice day, I will sit in my backyard under a redwood tree and write. I did so for this article, in fact, and spent some time trying to counteract the afternoon sun shining through the branches with the new screen brightness and nano-texture display.
The results were very good. True, not even the nano-texture display can really defeat the sun shining directly into the screen and reflecting into my eyes. But beyond that extreme condition, it defeated all other forms of glare easily. Using a nano-texture-covered display is a little weird—the reflections just stop at the screen edge, as if by magic. It works incredibly well. And most of the time, in more normal lighting conditions, I didn’t really notice the nano-texture being there. Yes, if you look closely, you will notice a light scatter that reduces contrast a bit.
You won’t see the same performance in grueling workloads as you would if you spent a bit more to get an M4 Pro or a lot more for an M4 Max, but the standard M4 has some marked improvements over the M3. The M4 fared about 64 percent better than the M3 in Cinebench’s standard multicore test, and it maintained around a 41 percent delta when running a longer, sustained 30-minute loop of the same benchmark. It’s got two more cores than the M3 we tested, so it makes sense for the M4 to excel here, but its single-core scores in both Cinebench and Geekbench were also over 20 percent better. The machine was up to 25 percent faster in GPU benchmarks with the same number of GPU cores, too.
Unsurprisingly, the M4 MacBook Pro outperforms its predecessors, as well as some of the latest Windows machines running on Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) chipsets. It's quite spectacular to see the $1,599 M4 MacBook Pro outpacing a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip that I paid almost $3,000 for.
Apple is now backing all of its new Macs with at least 16GB of RAM. This pays dividends in AI (Apple Intelligence is on board) and graphically intense operations like ray tracing, which helps make games like Lies of P look incredible on the MacBook Pro 14.
In benchmark testing, I found the numbers in line with the M4 performance I saw from the iPad Pro 13 inch. Geekbench 6.3 numbers measurably exceed those of the M3 in my MacBook Air.
When I played Shadow of the Tomb Radar, Steam's internal frames per second counter showed I got anywhere between 42fps and 62fps. To my eyes, there was no tearing or dropped frames.
According to multi-core CPU performance Geekbench results for the M4 Pro and for the M4 Max, the highest-end variants of the M4 Pro and M4 Max are both able to outperform the highest-end M2 Ultra chip in the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, which is impressive. Specifically, the M4 Max is up to 25% faster than the M2 Ultra in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance.
For customers choosing between the M4 Pro and M4 Max, the M4 Max appears to be up to 20% faster than the M4 Pro in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance. The M4 Max is now the fastest Apple silicon chip in the Geekbench 6 database.
Apple has a history of shipping disappointing webcams, even on its $1,599 Studio Display that costs as much as the M4 MacBook Pro and the just-released iPad Mini. But the MacBook Pro’s new 12MP camera has nice contrast even when I’m backlit by a window, and its Center Stage software that keeps you in frame works well enough without being overly aggressive on reframing. I can’t offer similar praise for Desk View, which uses some heavy cropping and software corrections to show a top-down view of your desk. It’s distorted and low-res, and there are myriad better ways to show and tell on a video call — including using your iPhone and Apple’s own Continuity Camera feature.
Apple also upgraded the MacBook Pros' webcams to 12-megapixels, a major leap over the previous 1080p camera. (Apple hasn't confirmed the megapixel figure for that camera, but it's likely around 2MP, the bare minimum to reach 1080p). Having a higher resolution camera also opens the door for Center Stage, which can keep you in focus as you move around your room.
I didn't hate Apple's previous webcams, but mostly that's because I remember how mediocre its older 720p webcams used to be. The new models look far sharper with more accurate colors, and the overall image doesn't look as heavily filtered as the previous cameras. They also support Desk View (above), Apple's helpful feature for showing off objects below your screen.
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