Apple’s new acoustic reports measure the 2026 Mac mini at 4 dB and the 2026 Mac Studio at 7 dB. Both numbers are A-weighted sound pressure at the operator position, roughly where you sit, and each holds for idle and for light web browsing on the one configuration Apple tested. Mac Studio with M5 Max…
Mac
The Mac – or “Macintosh” if we’re going back to 1984 – is the first computer to effectively market a graphical computer to the masses, all delivered by Apple (or, at the time, Apple Computer).
The Mac has gone through several stages of evolution and iteration since 1984, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, Performa, Power Mac (including the G4 Cube!), iBook, and more. It remains one of the most popular computers you’ll see in business, schools, and homes today.
macOS 27 generates subtitles for video that has none, on M1 Macs and up
macOS 27 can build synced subtitles for a video that shipped without any, and it can put subtitles on screen in a language other than the one being spoken. Apple attaches two hard limits to the first half of that: the Mac needs an M1 chip or later, and generated subtitles are English only, for…
How to ask Siri AI from Spotlight on your Mac in macOS 27
To ask Siri AI a question on a Mac running macOS 27, press Command-Space bar to open Spotlight, type your question or request, and press Return. Once Siri AI (Beta) is turned on, Apple’s Mac User Guide says Spotlight “becomes the place where you start a conversation with Siri.” Mac mini with M6, one of…
How to use Visual Intelligence on your Mac in macOS 27, with two shortcuts
Press Command-Shift-Space bar to select a window, or Command-Shift-6 to drag across any part of the screen, and macOS 27 lets you ask Siri about what you captured. Both shortcuts work once Siri AI (Beta) is turned on, and they hand your selection to Visual Intelligence. Mac mini with M6. Siri AI in macOS 27…
macOS 27 now lists your Intel apps: Here's where to find it and what it means
macOS 27 Golden Gate can show you which of your apps are still built for Intel. Open System Settings, click General, then About, and click the Details button next to Intel-based Apps in the macOS section. Apple's M5 and M6 chips side by side. The Intel-based apps list is for Macs with Apple silicon running…
macOS 27 Golden Gate for musicians: Native Instruments and Focusrite say wait
If your Mac runs a studio, hold off on macOS 27 Golden Gate until your instruments, interface drivers and plug-ins are cleared for it. Native Instruments says its hardware and software “is not supported on macOS 27 Golden Gate,” and Focusrite tells customers not to upgrade until its testing is finished. The M5 Max chip…
Airfoil can't stream to Apple TV or HomePod after OS 27 updates, developer says
Airfoil, the Mac app that sends audio to AirPlay speakers, can no longer play through an Apple TV or HomePod once that device installs its 27 update, according to developer Rogue Amoeba. Its status page puts the fault with Apple: “Apple’s tvOS 27 and HomePod OS 27 updates contain a bug which breaks the ability…
How to check, clean up, and back up your Mac before installing macOS 27
macOS 27 Golden Gate ships as a free update Monday, September 14, and Apple’s own support pages describe three concrete steps a Mac owner can take before then: confirm the Mac qualifies, clear enough storage for the download, and back up first. None of it requires anything beyond System Settings and, ideally, an external drive.…
macOS 27 Golden Gate on M1 and M2 Macs: What Changes Monday, What Doesn't
macOS 27 Golden Gate becomes a free update on Monday, September 14, and Apple’s own compatibility page draws the line at Apple silicon, not at a specific chip generation. A Mac mini or MacBook Air from 2020 running M1 gets the same Liquid Glass redesign, the same Siri AI beta and the same Photos tools…
MacBook Pro's Education Prices, in Full: The Four Figures Apple Publishes
Apple’s Education Store lists a published price for MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max, the pro notebook line Apple introduced in March 2026. The 14-inch M5 Pro model is $2,199 standard against $2,049 education, the 16-inch M5 Pro is $2,699 against $2,499, the 14-inch M5 Max is $3,599 against $3,299, and the 16-inch…
Apple's Education Store Eligibility: The Categories Apple Names, and the Products It Excludes
Apple’s Education Store opens to four groups that Apple names on its own terms and conditions: current and newly accepted higher-education students, parents buying on behalf of an eligible student, faculty and staff at higher-education institutions, and employees of K-12 institutions. Apple verifies eligibility through UNiDAYS for an online order, or in person at an…
Apple's Trade-In Program Takes Old Android Phones and Ten-Year-Old Macs Too
Apple’s trade-in program is usually discussed as an iPhone-only conversation. It is not. The values recorded across Apple’s own trade-in categories cover Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, and, less widely known, phones Apple did not build at all: Android devices from Google, Samsung and OnePlus. Older MacBook models remain eligible for Apple's trade-in program well past…
Studio Display vs. Studio Display XDR: What the Extra $1,700 Actually Buys
Studio Display costs $1,599 and Studio Display XDR costs $3,299, a gap of exactly $1,700. Both are 27-inch 5K displays from Apple, both launched together in March 2026, well before Apple’s September event, and the gap buys a genuinely different panel technology, not just a badge. Here is what Apple has actually published on each…
The Real Cost of a Mac Mini or Mac Studio Desktop, Once a Screen Is Added
Mac mini starts at $899 and Mac Studio starts at $2,499, and both figures describe a computer with no screen attached, arriving alongside the same wave of hardware that brought iPhone 18 Pro to market. Apple sells its own displays separately, at $1,599 for Studio Display and $3,299 for Studio Display XDR, so the number…
Studio Display and Studio Display XDR: What Apple Has Published, Six Months In
Apple sells two standalone displays: Studio Display at $1,599 and Studio Display XDR at $3,299. Both launched in March 2026, both remain on sale unchanged today, and neither has received the coverage the desktops that depend on them have, so here is everything Apple has actually published about each, arriving the same year as iPhone…
Apple's Vintage and Obsolete List, Category by Category: Mac to AirPods
Apple’s vintage and obsolete list, last updated August 31, 2026, currently names specific Mac laptops and desktops, a range of iPhone models, several iPad models, three Apple Watch generations and the first-generation AirPods. Below is every category as Apple’s own support page groups it, without guessing at anything the page leaves out. Mac desktops are…
Every Mac Apple Sells Right Now, and the Four Chip Generations Behind Them
Apple is currently selling six Mac models built on four different chip generations at once. Its newest chip, M6, ships in the cheapest desktop Apple sells, while the most expensive Mac Studio configuration runs a chip Apple announced on the very same day, but from an older generation. Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5…
MacBook Neo at $599: Apple's Cheapest Laptop Ever, Spec by Spec
MacBook Neo starts at $599, and Apple’s own framing for it is direct: “Apple’s most affordable laptop ever.” It has been on sale since March 11, 2026, six months ago, with a 13-inch display, a fanless design and up to 16 hours of battery life. MacBook Neo is the cheapest laptop Apple has sold. Image:…
iPad or Mac for On-Device AI Work? Apple Publishes Numbers for Only One of Them
If the job is on-device AI work, running and prompting models locally rather than sending everything to a server, buy the Mac. Start at the Mac mini with M6 at $899, or $799 education, and step to the Mac Studio with M5 Max at $2,499 if the work pays for itself, because every AI performance…
Which Mac Should a Student Buy? The $799 Mac mini, and the Gift Card It Does Not Get
A student buying a Mac should buy it from Apple’s Education Store and buy it before Thursday, September 24, which is when Apple’s Back to School offer ends. If the work happens at a desk, the pick is the Mac mini with M6 at $799 education, against $899 on the consumer store. Mac mini with…
Which Mac Should You Buy? The $899 Mac mini With M6 Is the Pick for Most People
For most people buying a Mac right now the answer is the Mac mini with M6 at $899, or $799 on Apple’s Education Store. It goes on general sale on Tuesday, September 22, after pre-orders opened on August 25, and it is the one machine where Apple has put its newest-generation chip in its cheapest…
Rosetta Ends With macOS 27, Except When Apple Says 26 or 28
Apple has published three separate pages this month stating when Rosetta, the tool that lets Intel-only Mac apps run on Apple silicon, stops working. One says macOS 27. Another says macOS 27 too, with a narrower carve-out starting macOS 28. A third, posted eight days later, says macOS 26 was already the cutoff and that…
macOS 27 Golden Gate Has One Cutoff, Not Two: Every Mac on Apple's List Runs Apple Intelligence
On the Mac there is only one cutoff. Every Mac family on Apple’s macOS 27 Golden Gate compatibility list also appears on Apple’s Apple Intelligence device list, so a Mac that can install Monday’s update can also run the intelligence features that come with it. The 27 software family ships free on Monday, September 14.…
Should You Install macOS 27 Golden Gate on Monday? What Apple Publishes About the Rollout
macOS 27 Golden Gate arrives as a free update on Monday, September 14, and Apple has published a date, a build number and a compatibility list. It has not published a release time, a download size, a free space requirement or any description of how the rollout is staged. Apple issued the macOS 27.0 release…