MacBook Air

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Time For the 13-Inch MacBook Pro to go

Charlotte Henry · · Add Comment

It’s time for the 13-inch MacBook Pro to be put out of its misery. No M2 chip. The end. That’s the view of Macworld Contributing Editor Samuel Nyberg. When he outlines what this would mean the Mac lineup looks like in 2022, it’s hard to disagree.

If the choice is between a ‘good enough’ MacBook with M2 and modern design, or an absolute monster with M1 Pro/Max and a 14in screen, who would choose a tired old MacBook Pro 13in? A device, moreover, with a Touch Bar, a five-year-old design, and no MagSafe. We know Tim Cook is an expert at saving money when he can. The iPhone had basically the same design for four years (from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 8), a design that now lives on in the iPhone SE. Reusing the same old chassis, the same old components, is a great way to save development and manufacturing costs for Apple. Cook would certainly like to squeeze a few more years out of his old MacBook Pro 13in design. But how about swallowing the stinginess and showing some pride in Apple’s products instead?

Battery Buddy Makes Charging Your MacBook More Fun
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Battery Buddy Makes Charging Your MacBook More Fun

Jeff Butts · · Add Comment

Let’s face it, the default battery indicator on MacBooks is pretty boring. If you want to liven it up a bit, consider the terminally cute (and free) app Battery Buddy by Neil Sardesai. This indicator shows your MacBook’s battery charge using cute smiley faces. Fully charged, the indicator smiles at you, but he grows less happy and more sad as your battery drains. When you plug in, your little battery buddy gets a charging icon next to him.

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MacBook Air With M2 Chip Arriving 2022, According to Leaker

Charlotte Henry · · Add Comment

Rumors are swirling about future Apple Silicon and the devices that updated chips will go in. MacRumors picked up on one leak that suggested an M2 going into Macbook Air, which will be released next year.

On Twitter, Dylandkt claimed that a new ‌MacBook Air‌ model is “on track” to launch in the first half of 2022, featuring an ‌M2‌ chip and a more colorful design. They also claimed that the “M1X” chip is being reserved for high-end “Pro” Macs, which could include the MacBook Pro and a larger, more powerful iMac model. Dylandkt’s claim is not entirely new, given that Jon Prosser has previously said that the next-generation ‌MacBook Air‌ will feature a complete redesign, a range of iMac-like color options, and an ‌M2‌ chip. Dylandkt has been resolute in previous comments about the “M1X” being destined for the next-generation MacBook Pro, while the “‌M2‌” will apparently be a lower-end chip for the ‌MacBook Air‌, but it is worth noting that this does not seem to fit very well with the specific thoughts of reliable Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman about Apple’s upcoming custom silicon chips for the Mac.

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Future MacBooks Could Offer Multiple Haptic Areas, Patent Suggests

Charlotte Henry · · Add Comment

Upcoming MacBooks could incorporate multiple discrete haptic areas. That’s according to a new patent, spotted by Patently Apple.

Apple’s granted patent generally relates to electronic devices with one or more input areas that also function to provide spatially localized haptics via the Taptic Engine. “Spatially localized” haptics (or haptic output) generally refers to any haptic signal, e.g., haptic output, that is tactilely perceptible to a person touching a particular active region of the electronic device, but imperceptible outside that region. The surface area over which a single haptic output is perceptible is referred to as a “discrete haptic region.” There may be any number of discrete haptic regions in an input area of a laptop computing device. The discrete haptic regions may be separated from each other, or they may overlap. Either way, they remain discrete haptic regions each associated with an individual haptic actuator. An “input area” is a structure or surface configured to accept a user input.

Quick Look Review

Apple's M1 MacBook Air: One Week In, It's the Little Things

Dave Hamilton · · 3 Comments

I was fortunate enough to receive my built-to-order M1 MacBook Air (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 8-core GPU) last Tuesday, and I’ve had a week to truly experience it. We’ve all read the early reviews (Snell, Gruber, and Bohn are the highlights), and they’ve focused on the specs and the highlights, so I won’t rehash (much of) that here. What I want to focus on are the little things.