MacRumors

The MagSafe Charging Case for the third-generation AirPods features sweat and water resistance, making the standard AirPods the first to feature an IPX4-rated charging case.

Apple promoted the sweat and water-resistance of the third-generation AirPods with the device's announcement last week, but the IPX4 rating applies to both the earbuds and the charging case. The AirPods Pro were the first AirPods to offer sweat and water resistance, but the feature only applies to the earbuds themselves, with the charging case featuring no accredited sweat or water resistance rating.

The IPX4 rating means that AirPods have ingress protection to withstand dripping, spraying, or splashes of water. It also means that AirPods cannot withstand water jets (IPX5) or water immersion (IPX7). The "X" part of the rating explains that the AirPods have not been rated for dust resistance.

The ‌AirPods Pro‌ also now ship with an updated Charging Case that adds ‌MagSafe‌, but unlike the third-generation AirPods, the new case is not officially rated for any kind of ingress protection. Apple confirms on its latest AirPods Pro specs page that "The Wireless Charging Case and ‌MagSafe‌ Charging Case for ‌AirPods Pro‌ are not sweat and water resistant."

The third-generation AirPods feature improved sound quality, a new design with shorter stems, force sensor controls, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, Adaptive EQ, Find My support, and more. These features debuted with the ‌AirPods Pro‌, but Apple has now brought the standard AirPods up to spec with its "Pro" sibling, with the exception of silicone in-ear tips and Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).

Sweat and water resistance is now an area where the AirPods surpass the AirPods Pro, but the IPX4-rated charging case is not the only new feature exclusive to the third-generation AirPods; the earbuds also feature an all-new skin-detect sensor.

Instead of skin-detect sensors in each earbud, the ‌‌AirPods Pro‌‌ use dual optical sensors to detect if they are in a user's ear. While they effectively perform the same function, the optical sensors can simply tell when they are covered up, rather than specifically against skin. This means that if you put an ‌‌AirPods Pro‌‌ earbud in a pocket or on a surface, it could accidentally resume playback.

There have been no rumors to suggest that the next-generation AirPods Pro will feature the new skin-detect sensor and a sweat and water-resistant ‌MagSafe‌ Charging Case, but it seems highly likely that Apple will bring its mid-range AirPods to parity with the entry-level model.

The third-generation AirPods have also begun shipping to customers around the world ahead of the device's official launch tomorrow.

For more detailed information about the third-generation AirPods, see our comprehensive roundup. If you are undecided about buying the new earbuds, take a look at our buyer's guides.

Popular accessory maker Anker today is launching a new family of MagSafe-compatible accessories for the iPhone 12 and 13 lineups, arriving under new "MagGo" branding.

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

Anker is announcing six new MagGo products today: three desktop chargers, a car charger, a battery, and a phone grip.

• Anker 622 Magnetic Battery: A 5,000 mAh magnetic power bank that offers up to 17 hours of extra battery life for an ‌iPhone‌ 12 or 13 and includes a built-in kickstand to support the ‌iPhone‌ in either landscape or portrait orientation. Despite the added kickstand flap, the battery is thinner than Anker's previous PowerCore Magnetic 5K power bank and only marginally thicker than Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack. I've been using the 622 for a few days, and while my ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max gets great battery life on its own, Anker's battery pack is handy to have around for some extra juice (it charges the phone at up to 7.5W) or to prop up my phone. It's priced at $59.99 and is available in five colors: Misty Blue, Interstellar Gray, Dolomite White, Lilac Purple, and Buds Green.
  
• Anker 623 Magnetic Wireless Charger: A can-shaped dual wireless charger with a hinged MagSafe-compatible surface to hold your ‌iPhone‌ in a range of orientations. The weighted base keeps your phone steady even in a semi-vertical orientation at up to 7.5W, and with the magnetic base deployed, it reveals a standard 5W wireless charging surface where you can charge AirPods or another phone. I've also been using this one for a few days, and it's a great addition to my desktop setup. It's priced at $79.99 and available in Misty Blue, Interstellar Gray, Dolomite White, and Lilac Purple.
  
• Anker 633 Magnetic Wireless Charger: A 2-in-1 desktop charging stand with a MagSafe-compatible charging surface that's actually a removable 5,000 mAh portable power bank that charges at up to 7.5W. There's also a 5W wireless charger built into the base of the stand for charging AirPods or another device. It's priced at $119.99 and available in Misty Blue, Interstellar Gray, and Dolomite White.

  

• Anker 637 Magnetic Charging Station: Another desktop charger, but this one is actually an 8-in-1 charger with a unique ball-shaped design featuring an angled 7.5W MagSafe-compatible charger on the front and a host of wired charging options on the back. There are three power outlets, two USB-C ports that can support up to 65W PD fast charging, and two USB-A ports. Priced at $119.99, the 637 will launch in early December and is available in Misty Blue, Interstellar Gray, and Dolomite White.

  

• Anker 610 Magnetic Phone Grip: A simple ring grip and stand with enough magnetic strength to hold up to 800 grams, or about the weight of four ‌iPhone‌ 12/13 models. It's priced at $15.99 and available in Misty Blue, Interstellar Gray, Dolomite White, and Lilac Purple.

  

• Anker 613 Magnetic Wireless Charger: A MagSafe-compatible charger for the car, the 613 sits on the dashboard and features an adjustable arm to position the 7.5W charging pad in just the right spot. It features both USB-C and USB-A ports on the rear for compatibility with most car models, and it has an always-on glow surface on the charging pad to help you find it in a dark car. It's priced at $69.99 and available only in Interstellar Gray.

  

All of the new MagGo products with the exception of the 637 Magnetic Charging Station are available to order today through both Anker's website and on Amazon.

Anker has also recently launched the 40W Nano Pro Dual USB-C power adapter, which we briefly mentioned last month alongside the launch of the single-port version. The new dual-port version is available for $35.99 at Anker and Amazon.

Tag: Anker

Apple's new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will begin arriving to customers this Tuesday, October 26, and ahead of time, the embargo has lifted on the first reviews of the notebooks across media publications and YouTube channels.

We've rounded up more video reviews of the new MacBook Pro models in a separate story, while highlights from written reviews can be found below.

Performance: M1 Pro and M1 Max

Both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro can be configured with either the M1 Pro or M1 Max, with both chips featuring a 10-core CPU. The difference between the chips comes down to graphics, with the M1 Pro available with up to a 16-core GPU and the M1 Max available with up to a 32-core GPU.

The first Geekbench 5 benchmark results for the new MacBook Pro models revealed the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are over 1.5x faster than the M1 chip in lower-end Macs, while Apple said the M1 Max chip has up to 4x faster graphics than the M1 chip.

Jason Snell shared a useful chart comparing benchmark scores at Six Colors:

MobileSyrup's Patrick O'Rourke:

In my time with the 14-inch MacBook Pro and its M1 Pro chip, I didn't encounter a single instance of slowdown, even when editing photos with Lightroom and Photoshop CC, while also cutting video in Premiere CC when connected to a 4K HDR external monitor. In fact, the laptop's fans only turned on while exporting a 4K video file.

As we previously reported, 16-inch MacBook Pro models configured with an M1 Max chip feature a new High Power Mode that is designed to maximize performance during intensive, sustained workloads.

Design: Notch, Keyboard, and More

Key design changes to the new MacBook Pro models include a notch at the top of the display that houses an upgraded 1080p webcam, and a revamped keyboard with an all-black design and full-size function keys instead of a Touch Bar.

The Verge's Nilay Patel:

And yes, the display has a notch, which we know will be polarizing, but I very quickly stopped noticing it, just like everyone stops seeing the iPhone notch. We'll see how I feel after another few days with this thing.

CNBC's Todd Haselton:

I like that Apple got rid of the Touch Bar screen up top, which I didn't really find useful on earlier MacBook Pro models, and instead replaced it with full-sized function keys that are easy to tap to adjust the volume, screen brightness and more.

Added Ports: HDMI, SD Card Slot, and MagSafe

Apple has brought back many ports on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that it had previously removed in 2016, including an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and MagSafe for a magnetic power cable.

CNET's Dan Ackerman:

It's as if Apple designers decided to go through all the feedback they've gotten for years and cherry pick everyone's top handful of wishlist requests (with apologies to whoever wanted mini-DisplayPort or DVI to return). […]

HDMI is something people have been asking to get back. It's great to be future-forward, but HDMI remains immensely useful, even if it's transitioning into being more of a legacy port. That's also why we had laptops with VGA ports for so many years after they should have vanished. People have older or legacy devices, like printers, projectors, displays, etc., and they want to be able to plug into those immediately, with a cable common enough that you might luck out and find one buried in the back of a desk drawer.

Displays: Mini-LED and ProMotion

The new MacBook Pro models are equipped with Liquid Retina XDR displays with mini-LED backlighting for up to 3x higher brightness when viewing HDR content, while the addition of ProMotion allows for an adaptive refresh rate between a power-preserving 24Hz and a smooth-looking 120Hz depending on the type of content that is showing on the screen.

Gizmodo's Caitlin McGarry:

The new Pro displays have also been upgraded with the iPad Pro's ProMotion feature, which is so good that it's now upsetting to use a laptop without it. ProMotion, which is turned on by default, makes it so the Pro can adjust its refresh rate between 10Hz and 120Hz, depending on what you're doing. You can turn off ProMotion and use the Pro at a fixed refresh rate (47.95Hz, 48Hz, 50Hz, 59.94Hz, or 60Hz) if you want to, but I tried using it at 60Hz and found the difference too glaring after almost a week at 120Hz. It really is so much smoother with ProMotion turned on.

Battery Life

Apple said the new MacBook Pro models get up to 10 hours longer battery life per charge compared to the previous-generation models.

Engadget's Devindra Hardawar:

[T]he efficiency of the M1 chip's ARM design leads to great battery performance. The 14-inch MacBook Pro lasted 12 hours and 35 minutes in our benchmark, while the 16-inch went for 16 hours and 34 minutes. That’s over five hours longer than the last Intel model.

Key Takeaways

With very fast performance, the return of useful ports like HDMI and an SD card slot, and improved displays, the new MacBook Pro models check all of the boxes for a lot of professional users and are a very worthwhile upgrade.

TechCrunch's Brian Heater:

Much like the return of MagSafe, the abandonment of the Touch Bar is a prime example of why the new MacBooks are the best in years. They build on the technologies and learnings of previous generations introduce some key breakthroughs and, perhaps, most importantly, listened to user feedback. That means moving on from what doesn't work and doubling down on what does, and above all, not ever assuming you know what's best for the consumer — particularly in the case of extremely particular creative pros.

Priced between $1,999 and $5,899, this is very much not the MacBook for everyone. For most consumers, the MacBook Air gets the job done — and then some. But if you're someone who regularly finds yourself pushing your machine to the limits, the new Pro is a great marriage of the line's best elements.

More Reviews

• Pocket-lint's Stuart Miles
• TechRadar's Matt Hanson
• Tom's Guide's Henry T. Casey
• Macworld's Roman Loyola
• PCMag's Tom Brant

MacRumors will share its own hands-on impressions of the new MacBook Pro later this week.

Apple's embargo on reviews of the new MacBook Pro has now lifted ahead of its launch tomorrow, giving the first official hands-on look at the company's much-anticipated new high-end laptop. In addition to our review roundup, we have gathered together a number of unboxing videos and reviews of the new ‌MacBook Pro‌.

The key new features of the redesigned ‌MacBook Pro‌ include the M1 Pro and M1 Max chip, larger displays with mini-LED and ProMotion, HDMI and MagSafe ports, an SD card slot, full-size function keys, fast charging, longer battery life, and more.

Scroll down for the first unboxing and review videos from a range of prominent YouTubers who have been first to get their hands on the new ‌MacBook Pro‌.

Videos

For more in-depth impressions of the new machines, read our MacBook Pro review roundup. If you are undecided about buying the new ‌MacBook Pro‌, take a look at some of our helpful buyer's guides:

• 13-Inch MacBook Pro vs. 14- and 16-Inch MacBook Pro Buyer's Guide
• 14-Inch MacBook Pro vs. 16-Inch MacBook Pro Buyer's Guide
• M1 Pro vs. M1 Max Buyer's Guide

Apple's suppliers are currently developing components for next-generation sensors in the Apple Watch Series 8 that will allow users to measure their blood glucose level, according to a new report.

According to a paywalled report from DigiTimes, Apple and its suppliers have begun working on short-wavelength infrared sensors, a commonly used sensor type for health devices. The new sensors, likely to be fitted on the back of the Apple Watch, will enable the device to measure the amount of sugar in a wearer's blood.

The Apple Watch, over the years, has gained more comprehensive health features, most recently with the Apple Watch Series 6 that added a blood oxygen sensor. Compared to the first Apple Watch capable of measuring heart rate and primary daily activity, the Apple Watch is now capable of taking an ECG, detecting falls, high and low heart rates, blood oxygen levels, and more.

Continuing to build the Apple Watch as an all-encompassing health tool, Apple has already been rumored to be eying blood glucose measuring functionality for the next-generation Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 8. According to The Wall Street Journal, blood glucose level is one of multiple health metrics Apple is looking to add to the Apple Watch.

According to The ‌Wall Street Journal‌, however, Apple is facing challenges in incorporating blood glucose capabilities into the Apple Watch. Current methods of measuring blood glucose levels include taking a sample of blood and using a medical-grade device. With the Apple Watch, Apple would be looking to take a typically invasive medical practice and make it non-invasive.

In iOS 15, the Health app added blood glucose highlights as a health metric. iOS 15‌ users have to use external hardware to provide the data, but that would change if Apple adds a glucose monitoring feature to a future Apple Watch model.

What Apple has in store for the next Apple Watch remains unclear, but the radical redesign that was rumored for the Series 7 but never materialized could make an appearance. The Apple Watch Series 7, announced last month, includes a larger display, faster charging, and a slightly larger battery. Apple is expected to announce the Apple Watch Series 8 in the 2022 fall season.

Blackmagic Design has announced a new update to its professional video editing and color correction software, DaVinci Resolve, adding full support for Apple's latest M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. As a result, the software runs up to five times faster on Apple's new MacBook Pro models, according to the developers.

DaVinci Resolve received an update in August for Apple's M1 chip, found in the low-end 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, MacBook Air, and Mac mini. That update brought threefold speed increases to ‌M1‌ machines, thanks to a completely reworked engine, and while the latest version of DaVinci Resolve isn't required to run natively on Apple silicon Macs, it has been optimized to take advantage of the more powerful chips in the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models.

The optimizations rely on hardware acceleration support for Apple's ProRes code, which has been designed specifically for Macs with ‌M1 Pro‌ and ‌M1 Max‌ processors. Blackmagic says DaVinci Resolve runs up to five times faster on the new 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, even when editing 8K video.

In addition to support for Apple's new chips, DaVinci Resolve 17.4 adds native HDR and 120Hz video playback support for the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models. The update also adds native Dropbox integration, an improved 3D keyer, and enhanced compatibility with macOS Monterey.

The DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio 17.4 update is now available for download from the Blackmagic Design website for all current DaVinci Resolve users. DaVinci Resolve is a free download on the Mac App Store for individual users; Resolve Studio, the enhanced group collaboration editing suite, costs $295.

The notch on the newly redesigned MacBook Pro offers a "smart way" to give users more room for their content and allowed Apple to make the bezels thinner and provide more screen real estate to customers, an Apple official has said during a recent media interview.

The inclusion of a notch on the entirely revamped MacBook Pros was a surprise and was one of the few last-minute rumors that surfaced ahead of Apple's "Unleashed" event last week. As expected, some social media users have criticized Apple's design choice of adding a notch to the display.

Addressing the company's decision, Shruti Haldea, a manager for the Mac product line and one of the presenters of last week's Apple event, said during an interview on the Same Brain podcast that the notch is a "smart" solution for the Mac as it provides users more room for their content by moving the macOS menu bar out of the way.

What we've done is we've actually made the display taller. Like on the 16-inch notebook, you still have a 16.0 active area on the diagonal in that 16:10-inch window, and we just grew the display up from there and put the menu bar up there. We just kind of moved it up and out of the way. So it's a really smart way to give you more space for your content, and when you're in full-screen mode, you have that 16:10 window, and it looks great. It's seamless.

Compared to previous iterations of the ‌MacBook Pro‌ design, the new 14-inch and 16-inch models do feature significantly smaller bezels. Apple says the bezels are 24% thinner than the previous generation on the left and right sides of the display, measuring only 3.5mm. On the top, thanks to the notch, the bezel is 60% thinner, also measuring at 3.5mm.

While the notch is noticeable at first, Apple is betting on some macOS software features, including dark mode, to help minimize how noticeable it is to some users in day-to-day use. For example, when macOS apps are in full-screen mode, the system adds a black border to the top of the display, hiding the notch while not interfering with a user's content. Developers can choose to have their app's content shown on either side of the notch.

The notch is one many changes to the new MacBook Pros. The new laptops feature an entirely redesigned chassis, additional ports such as HDMI and an SD card slot, MagSafe, a mini-LED display with ProMotion, and either the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips, which are the first Apple silicon chips designed for professional consumers.

Both the 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models became available for pre-order last week and will start arriving to customers on Tuesday, October 26. Both sizes can be configured with either the ‌M1 Pro‌ or ‌M1 Max‌ chips, giving users substantial performance gains compared to the M1 Apple silicon chip. Learn more about the new MacBook Pros using our detailed roundup.

Ahead of an official launch later this week, new images sent to MacRumors show the new 14-inch MacBook Pro on display at an Apple Authorized Reseller, offering us an even closer look at Apple's entirely revamped ‌MacBook Pro‌.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros were by far two of the most highly anticipated and talked about Apple product releases of the entire year. Now that Apple has officially announced them, customers are eager to get their hands on the new computers and see even better images of the first ‌MacBook Pro‌ redesign since 2016.

We've already seen an unboxing video and photos of the ‌MacBook Pro‌ earlier this week, and just earlier today, a second video that offered us a closer look. The latter, however, was taken down from YouTube, possibly at the behest of Apple, as official hands-on footage and reviews of the new laptops are not yet permitted to be published.

The new images sent to us by reader George offer us perhaps the best look at the new 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ yet, outside of shots of the laptop during last week's Apple event and promotional material. In the photos, the redesigned chassis is visible, and despite the impression that Apple's marketing material may give, the feet on the bottom of the ‌MacBook Pro‌ are not that noticeably high in comparison to some older ‌MacBook Pro‌ models.

On the front, one of the most notable design changes is the inclusion of a notch. Apple is taking steps to limit the influence that the notch has in day-to-day use on the new MacBook Pros. As you can see in the photo below, the notch is more noticeable when users are not using full-screen macOS apps, and Apple has increased the height of the macOS menu bar to accommodate the notch.

For the display, the new MacBook Pros include mini-LED technology, the same technology in the high-end 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Alongside support for ProMotion, the Liquid Retina XDR display offers improved color and brightness for HDR content. Other design changes on the front include an all-black keyboard and the return of the function keys on the top row, with Apple removing the Touch Bar. The trackpads on the new 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ are the same as the previous generation.

Sending us these images, George did leave a few notes for us regarding his first impression of the new machine. George told us that the laptop is heavier than expected, that "the notch isn't intrusive," and as we've reported previously, that the notch can serve as a hiding place for the macOS pointer.

Below are some additional photos of the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ that MacRumors received, including shots of the newly added HDMI port, SD card slot, and an image of the MacBook fully closed.

The MacBook Pros became available for pre-order earlier this week and have already started shipping to customers ahead of their Tuesday release. Both the 14-inch and 16-inch models can be configured with either the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips, which both offer significant performance gains compared to the M1 chip.

The new ‌MacBook Pro‌ lineup starts at $1,999 for the baseline 14-inch model with 16GB of unified memory, 512GB of storage, and the ‌M1 Pro‌ chip. The highest-end configuration of the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with 64GB of unified memory, 8TB of storage, and the ‌M1 Max‌ chip with a 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine retails for $6,099. Learn more about both models by reading our dedicated roundup.

(Thanks again, George!)

Update 10:01 a.m.: macOS Monterey is now rolling out for everyone, although it may take a few minutes to show up via Software Update.

---

Apple's official public release of macOS Monterey is set to occur today (Monday, October 25), just a few days after Apple released the second release candidate to developers and a week after its "Unleashed" media event.

Developers are busy putting the finishing touches on their apps to take advantage of new features in macOS Monterey and support the new MacBook Pro models with Apple's new high-end M1 Pro and M1 Max chips and a notched display, and many users will be looking to update their Macs as soon as Monterey is available.

Although Apple has not shared an exact time for the release of macOS Monterey, we can make some educated guesses based on Apple's localized sites for various countries and past releases.

While Apple lists the release date as October 25 in much of the world, localized sites for some countries in the Eastern Hemisphere list the launch date as October 26, as the launch time will come at or after midnight in those countries.

Notably, Apple lists a release date of October 25 on its Indian site, while its Thai site lists an October 26 release date.

Given that those two countries are 90 minutes apart by time zones, that pins things down relatively closely, pointing to a window between 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. The most likely release time in that window would be 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, which is a common release time for Apple. A release at that time would correspond to 10:30 p.m. on October 25 in India and midnight on October 26 in Thailand. This same method has accurately predicted the release times for a number of major operating system updates from Apple, including macOS Big Sur last year.

It's worth noting that Apple's release times do sometimes vary a bit and it can take a bit of time for the updates to propagate across Apple's servers and become available to all users, so the 10:00 a.m. estimate is simply that – an estimate.

Apple has also indicated that it will be releasing iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1, tvOS 15.1, and HomePod software 15.1 during the week of October 25, but the company does not appear to have specified an exact day for those releases. There are some cross-platform features that means it would be logical for Apple to release all of its updates at the same time, but we'll have to wait and see what Apple's plans are.

There are of course no guarantees Apple will stick to its usual release timing with macOS Monterey, but given our best guess of 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time release, here's a breakdown of what that corresponds to in other time zones in the United States and around the world:

• Honolulu, Hawaii -- 7:00 a.m. HST
• Anchorage, Alaska -- 9:00 a.m. AKDT
• Cupertino, California -- 10:00 a.m. PDT
• Vancouver, Canada -- 10:00 a.m. PDT
• Phoenix, Arizona -- 10:00 a.m. MST
• Denver, Colorado -- 11:00 a.m. MDT
• Chicago, Illinois -- 12:00 noon. CDT
• New York, New York -- 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Toronto, Canada -- 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Halifax, Canada -- 2:00 p.m. ADT
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- 2:00 p.m. BRT
• London, United Kingdom -- 6:00 p.m. BST
• Berlin, Germany -- 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Paris, France -- 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Cape Town, South Africa -- 7:00 p.m. SAST
• Helsinki, Finland -- 8:00 p.m. EEST
• Moscow, Russia -- 8:00 p.m. MSK
• Istanbul, Turkey -- 8:00 p.m. TRT
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- 9:00 p.m. GST
• Delhi, India -- 10:30 p.m. IST
• Jakarta, Indonesia -- 12:00 midnight WIB next day
• Shanghai, China -- 1:00 a.m. CST next day
• Singapore -- 1:00 a.m. SGT next day
• Perth, Australia -- 1:00 a.m. AWST next day
• Hong Kong -- 1:00 a.m. HKT next day
• Seoul, South Korea -- 2:00 a.m. KST next day
• Tokyo, Japan -- 2:00 a.m. JST next day
• Brisbane, Australia - 3:00 a.m. AEST next day
• Adelaide, Australia -- 3:30 a.m. ACDT next day
• Sydney, Australia -- 4:00 a.m. AEDT next day
• Auckland, New Zealand -- 6:00 a.m. NZDT next day

macOS Monterey is compatible with many of the Macs that were able to run macOS Big Sur, but it drops support for some older MacBook Air and iMac models from 2013 and 2014 as well as the 2015 MacBook. Compatible machines are outlined below:

• Early 2016 and later MacBook
• Early 2015 and later ‌MacBook Air‌
• Early 2015 and later MacBook Pro
• Late 2015 and later ‌iMac‌
• 2017 and later ‌iMac‌ Pro
• Late 2014 and later Mac mini
• Late 2013 and later Mac Pro

For all of the details on what's new in macOS Monterey, make sure to check out our roundup which offers a thorough look at the updates to key apps, visual changes, and other new features.

The first seemingly legitimate Geekbench 5 result for the base model 14-inch MacBook Pro with an 8-core M1 Pro chip has surfaced, and it reveals that the 8-core model is, as expected, ~20% slower than 10-core models in terms of multi-core performance. The 10-core model has 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores, while the 8-core model has 6 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores.

The benchmark result lists the 8-core 14-inch MacBook Pro with a multi-core score of 9,948, which is around 20% lower than the average multi-core score of around 12,700 for 14-inch MacBook Pro models configured with a 10-core M1 Pro or M1 Max chip. Keep in mind this is only a single result, so additional results are needed for certainty.

For single-core performance, the 8-core M1 Pro chip has approximately the same score as the standard M1 chip, the M1 Pro chip, and the M1 Max chip.

For multi-core performance, the 8-core M1 Pro chip is about 30% faster than the standard M1 chip, which also has 8-cores (4 performance, 4 efficiency).

Geekbench Scores

• M1 (8-core) Single: 1742 Multi: 7582
• M1 Pro (8-core) Single: 1767 Multi: 9948
• M1 Max (10-core) Single: 1764 Multi: 12380

The base model 14-inch MacBook Pro with an 8-core M1 Pro chip is priced at $1,999 in the United States. Customers can upgrade this configuration to a 10-core M1 Pro chip with a 14-core GPU for an extra $200, raising the total price to $2,199.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models became available to order on Monday and have started shipping to some customers ahead of a Tuesday, October 26 launch. In addition to M1 Pro and M1 Max chip options, the notebooks feature mini-LED displays with ProMotion for up to a 120Hz refresh rate, additional ports like an HDMI port and an SD card slot, MagSafe charging, longer battery life, and a notch housing an upgraded 1080p webcam.

Ahead of a Tuesday release, the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are now starting to ship to customers who were lucky enough to get an early delivery date, as availability of the new Macs seemingly continues to be low.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros ushered in a complete redesign to the product, the first since its controversial revamp in 2016. With the 2021 redesign, Apple has reintroduced ports to the MacBook Pro, such as HDMI and an SD card slot, and brought back MagSafe. The new MacBook Pros are also powered by the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips, the first Apple silicon chips designed for professional machines.

While the new MacBook Pros are now starting to ship to customers ahead of a Tuesday launch, those who have yet to place their orders or perhaps did so a little after pre-orders went live should prepare to face a long wait. For current Mac users not getting a new Mac this week, there is still something to look forward to as macOS Monterey launches on Monday, October 25.

Apple opened pre-orders for the completely redesigned MacBook Pros following its "Unleashed" event last week. Within minutes of pre-orders going live, delivery dates were already slipping by weeks and in some cases by over a month.. The 14-inch model, at the time of writing, displays at least 3-4 weeks for delivery, with all 16-inch models showing 4-5 weeks. Exact delivery date estimates will vary depending on location, configuration, and more.

Weeks ahead of the holiday season, a primetime for Apple, a number of the company's products continue to face long delivery dates. Models of the latest iPhone 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro, and even the Apple Watch Series 7 are showing weeks for delivery, potentially impacting customers' holiday shopping plans.

The news this week was dominated by Apple's Monday event, with the company spending most of its time talking about the new MacBook Pro models with M1 Pro and M1 Max chip options, although we did get a few other announcements at the event.

With Apple's final event of 2021 likely now out of the way, we also got straight back into the rumor cycle this week with reports about future iMac, MacBook Air, iPhone SE, and AirPods Pro updates, so read on for all of the details!

Everything Announced at the Apple Event in Just 7 Minutes

Apple held its virtual "Unleashed" event this week with several product announcements, including redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple's next-generation M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, third-generation AirPods with a similar design as the AirPods Pro with the exception of silicone ear tips, and three new HomePod mini colors. There's also a new Apple Music Voice Plan revolving around Siri.

We've put together a video with everything that Apple announced at its event in just 7 minutes. For more details about Apple's event announcements, make sure to check out our top stories of the week below.

Apple Unveils Redesigned MacBook Pro With Display Notch

After months if not years of rumors, the redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are finally here, and they are packed with new features. Early orders are preparing to ship ahead of a launch on Tuesday.

Key features of the new MacBook Pro models include Apple's next-generation M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, mini-LED displays with ProMotion for up to a 120Hz refresh rate, additional ports like an HDMI port and SD card slot, MagSafe, physical function keys instead of the Touch Bar, and more.

Apple Announces Redesigned Third-Generation AirPods

Apple unveiled third-generation AirPods this week with a similar design as the AirPods Pro, but no active noise cancellation or silicone ear tips.

Key features include improved sound quality with Adaptive EQ and spatial audio, longer battery life, a MagSafe charging case, IPX4-rated water and sweat resistance, and more. The third-generation AirPods are available to order now for $179 and will launch on Tuesday, October 26.

AirPods Pro now come with a MagSafe charging case too, for the same $249 price.

HomePod Mini Getting Three New Colors in November

Apple announced that the HomePod mini will be available in three new colors next month, including yellow, orange, and blue. Pricing remains $99 and space gray and white colors will still be available.

Apple also announced that, starting later this year, Siri support for multi-user voice recognition is expanding to all regions where the HomePod mini is available.

There's also a new Apple Music Voice Plan that is limited to Siri for $4.99 per month.

New MacBook Pros Are Over 1.5x Faster Than M1 Macs in Benchmark Results

The first Geekbench 5 benchmark results have surfaced for the new MacBook Pro models, and Apple's M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are over 1.5x faster than the M1 chip in lower-end Macs.

There's also Geekbench results for graphics that reveal the M1 Max chip's GPU is over 3x faster than the M1 chip's GPU based on Apple's Metal framework. Apple said the GPU in the M1 Max chip is actually up to 4x faster than the M1 chip's GPU, so we'll have to wait for further results to see.

Apple Rumored to Launch 27-Inch Mini-LED iMac With ProMotion in Early 2022

Apple is planning to introduce a new 27-inch iMac in early 2022, according to info shared by Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young.

Young said the iMac's display will feature mini-LED backlighting and ProMotion, allowing for an adaptive refresh rate between 24Hz and 120Hz.

We also heard some potential 2022 MacBook Air features, including an M2 chip, off-white bezels, MagSafe, and more. And finally, we heard some sketchy rumors about the next iPhone SE and second-generation AirPods Pro, so we'll have to wait and see how rumors progress on those in the coming months.

Apple Says High Power Mode on 16-Inch MacBook Pro With M1 Max Designed for Tasks Like Color Grading 8K ProRes Video

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro configured with the M1 Max chip has a new High Power Mode to maximize performance in intensive, sustained workloads such as color grading 8K ProRes video, according to information shared by Apple.

We've also learned some other MacBook Pro details, including that the SD card reader supports up to 250MB/s of data transfer with UHS-II SD cards, that eGPUs are still not supported on Apple silicon, and more.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

A new video posted to YouTube today offers viewers perhaps the best real-world look yet at Apple's latest 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Update: The video has been removed.

The eight-minute video, narrated in Vietnamese, shows the new ‌MacBook Pro‌'s display notch, thinner bezels, full-size keyboard, and additional ports in close-up, as well as the thicker design, all of which are compared side by side with a 15-inch Intel ‌MacBook Pro‌. It also shows the new MacBook being weighed, coming in at the expected 2.1kg.

The new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models have been available to order since Monday and will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, October 26. Pricing starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch model and at $2,499 for the 16-inch model.

(Thanks, Hugo!)

Apple's official public release of macOS Monterey arrives on Monday, October 25, and users should be aware that there are several features in macOS 12 that are only available to machines powered by Apple silicon chips. In other words, they won't work on Intel-powered Macs.

Differentiating the user experience like this isn't anything new to iOS users, since each year the latest iPhone models boast features that aren't available on iPhones that Apple released the previous year.

Mac users on the other hand aren't so used to such fast-paced changes, and the latest software-based depreciations could come as a shock to some. With the possible exception of Object Capture, the following macOS Monterey features won't be available to anyone running the new software on an Intel Mac, even if it was purchased from Apple only last year.

Portrait Mode in FaceTime

With Portrait mode in macOS Monterey, you can blur your background during a FaceTime call, so that the focus is on you rather than what's behind you. The feature is commonly used by other video conferencing apps like Zoom and Teams to obscure untidy domestic scenes and other sources of distraction or embarrassment. If you're using an Intel-powered Mac though, it won't be an option.

Maps Interactive Globe

On Macs powered by M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips, Apple has enhanced the Maps app to include a new globe view that allows you to spin the world around and zoom into different regions on Earth. In previous versions of macOS, zooming out maximally in Maps would present you with a flat world map, but the new globe view gives you a three-dimensional view of Earth from space that's a lot more fun to navigate.

More Detailed Cities in Maps

The globe also allows you to drill down into areas, where you'll find more detailed information on vast geological features like mountain ranges, deserts, forests, and oceans, and more comprehensive maps in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and London, which includes details for elevation, roads, trees, buildings, landmarks, and more. If you're using an Intel-based Mac, this extra detail will be lacking.

Object Capture

Object Capture allows users to create a photo-realistic, AR-optimized 3D object by stitching together a series of photographs. The technique is called photogrammetry, which previously required specialized software to work out, but with Monterey, Apple has integrated its Object Capture API into macOS, which makes the process faster and a whole lot easier when using an app that supports it.

For example, using an app like PhotoCatch allows users to import a video, or several photos of an object from several angles, and with no additional effort, turn them into a realistic 3D model of the object, which can then be easily integrated into any AR app. All Apple Silicon Macs support Object Capture, but it is only supported on Intel Macs that have at least 16GB of RAM and 4GB of VRAM.

Siri Text-to-Speech

The Text-to-speech feature in macOS allows users to select portions of text or highlight whole documents to be read out to them. Users of ‌Apple Silicon‌ Macs can use the text-to-speech voice feature in more languages than Intel-based Mac users, including Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish.

On-Device Keyboard Dictation

With keyboard dictation, you can dictate text anywhere you can type it, and the feature improves the more you use it, personalizing over time. On ‌Apple Silicon‌ Macs, keyboard dictation now protects user privacy by performing all processing on-device, meaning it's completely offline. And thanks to on-device dictation, users can also dictate text of any length without a timeout. On Intel Macs, however, there's a time limit of 60 seconds.

Apple Speeds Up Its Transition Away From Intel

This is a unique period in the Mac's history, as Apple is currently in the midst of a two-year transition from Intel processors to its custom Apple silicon chips in Macs, with the changeover slated to be completed by WWDC 2022.

The transition began last November, when Apple debuted the ‌M1‌, its first custom-designed chip, in the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini, followed by the 24-inch iMac in April. Just last week at its "Unleashed" event, Apple unveiled new 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models powered by even higher performance ‌M1 Pro‌ and ‌M1 Max‌ chips.

Intel chips continue to be available in desktop machines that include the ‌Mac mini‌, ‌iMac‌, and Mac Pro, but upgrades for all of those devices are in the works and expected next year, so expect the next version of macOS to exclude Intel-based Mac users to an even greater extent than Monterey.

In what has become one of the most defining moments in Apple's history, today marks the 20th anniversary of Steve Jobs introducing the original iPod at a small press event at the Town Hall auditorium at Apple's former Infinite Loop headquarters.

Above is a snapshot of what Apple's website looked like on October 23, 2001, the day the iPod was announced, courtesy of the Wayback Machine.

Our news story covering the original iPod's announcement is still live on our website, and the comment section on the story is well known for containing several negative comments about the device. One commenter described the iPod as "far from revolutionary" and another commenter wrote "all this hype for something so ridiculous!"

Of course, the iPod turned out to be one of the most important products in Apple's history and, along with the original iMac, helped the company become successful again after it flirted with bankruptcy in the late 1990s.

Jobs famously pitched the iPod as offering "1,000 songs in your pocket," and he unveiled the device by pulling it out of his own pocket.

"With iPod, Apple has invented a whole new category of digital music player that lets you put your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go," said Jobs in a press release. "With iPod, listening to music will never be the same again."

The iPod has since become a niche product for Apple, with the iPod touch being the only remaining model available for purchase today after the iPod classic was discontinued in 2014 and the iPod nano and iPod shuffle were discontinued in 2017. In fact, as of this week, the iPod touch's product page is only advertised in the footer of Apple's website.

Apple's former senior vice president of the iPod team Tony Fadell reflected on creating the iPod in an interview published yesterday.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that he doesn't expect Apple to hold another event or make any other major product announcements this year, while turning his attention to what we can expect next year.

Apple held an event in November 2020 to introduce its first Macs with its custom-designed M1 chip, but Gurman believes Apple has nothing else left of substance on its roadmap that would be ready to launch before the end of 2021.

Gurman believes that a new MacBook Air with an entirely new design and an Apple-designed M2 chip will launch in around six to eight months from now. He believes the upcoming model will represent the biggest redesign of the MacBook Air since 2010, with a rumor earlier this week claiming that the notebook will have a similar design as the 24-inch iMac, including off-white bezels around the display and a variety of color choices.

Gurman also expects a larger iMac with Apple silicon, a new Mac mini, a new iPhone SE, and a new iPad Pro to launch after the calendar turns to 2022.

Following the unveiling of redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple's next-generation M1 Pro and M1 Max chips this week, the only Intel-based Macs remaining in Apple's lineup include a low-end 21.5-inch iMac targeted at the education market, the 27-inch iMac, the high-end Mac mini, and the Mac Pro tower.

Alongside the third-generation AirPods, Apple this week also introduced a minor update for the AirPods Pro to add MagSafe support to the charging case. MagSafe makes for easier alignment of the AirPods Pro case on compatible magnetic chargers and allows it to stick on angled chargers.

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

The updated AirPods Pro carry the same $249 price tag as the previous version and have no other changes beyond the case, but Amazon is already discounting the new model down to $219.99, a savings of $29. The new AirPods Pro are in stock with delivery available next week.

The discounted price still marks a $23 premium over the original version at the moment, with Amazon currently pricing the non-MagSafe version at $197.00. We even saw them go as low as $169.00 around Black Friday last year, so if MagSafe isn't a necessity for you, you may still want to shop around for a good deal on the older ones.

AirPods and AirPods Pro make for popular gifts and we commonly see discounted pricing on them, especially leading into the holiday shopping season, so we're likely to see more deals on these in the coming weeks, but it's a good sign for supplies that we're already seeing significant discounts right at launch.

We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.