Apple sold 5.3 million Macs during its fourth fiscal quarter for 2017 and CEO Tim Cook credited that to new laptop models.
MacBook Pro
Some Users Report macOS High Sierra Gives Old Macs Better Performance
The first version of High Sierra is designed for Macs with all-flash built-in storage. This excludes iMacs and Mac Minis that have Fusion Drives. But support for these drives is coming in a future update.
Goodbye Apple Music Festival, the State of the Mac Touch Bar - TMO Daily Observations 2017-09-05
John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to Apple ending its Apple Music Festival, plus they look at the state of the MacBook Pro Touch Bar.
Leather MacBook Sleeves from Woolnut
I’m a sucker for nice leather, especially for my Apple devices. There’s a company called Woolnut making nice MacBook sleeves. I haven’t tested them yet, but Jeff Gamet and I have a couple of them on the way, and I’m looking forward to it. They make different sleeves for MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro (including with Touch Bar), starting at €68 (US$78). Sleeves are made from full-grain, vegetable-tanned leather, and the interior of the sleeve is wool. They also make leather wallet cases for iPhone.
iFixit Intros Retina MacBook Pro Battery Replacement Kits
Replacing a worn out battery in your Retina MacBook Pro has been pretty much a non-starter until now because iFixit just came to the rescue.
New iPad Pro Models Can Outperform MacBook Pro
New benchmarks of the iPad Pro models shows that the 10.5-inch iPad Pro reigns supreme in GPU performance.
Apple's WWDC Keynote Was One We Never Dreamed Could Happen
Apple’s WWDC keynote address was one that we hoped for, dreamed about but never thought would actually happen.
Foxconn Source Spills Details on iPhone X, Says AR Glasses Likely to be Cancelled
Reddit has exploded with this information, which includes details about iPhone X, MacBooks, and Apple’s unannounced AR glasses.
MacBook Pro Shipping Delay Hints at New Models for WWDC
Slow ship times ahead of Worldwide Developer Conference are a pretty good sign we’re about to get a MacBook Pro refresh.
Comprehensive Guide to Mac Trackpad Gestures and Force Touch
Jeff Butts examines the Mac trackpad gestures available within macOS Sierra, explaining how to enable and use them.
New Macs at WWDC, Apple vs Diabetes, Lattice Data - ACM 411
This could be the year Apple breaks form and introduces new hardware at WWDC, and Bryan and Jeff explain why. They also discuss Apple’s big bets on an even bigger future and the importance of AI, neural nets, and machine learning.
Imagine What Mac Sales Would Do If Apple Did Something Crazy Like Update All the Macs
During the second quarter of 2017, Apple saw Mac unit sales increase by a modest four percent. Jeff Butts, ever the dreamer, imagines what would happen if Apple gave us new Macs across all the various form factor categories, from the Mac Mini to the Mac Pro.
Pop Goes the Laptop: Some New MacBook Pros are Making Unexplained Clicking Sounds
Your new MacBook Pro may be making a popping sound, but Apple doesn’t have anything to say about it. Many MacBook Pro users are complaining about what sound like random trackpad click noises coming from their laptop and so far Apple has been silent about the issue.
Freshen Up Your Older Mac and Make It Feel New
When a new version of macOS comes out, many people are tempted to get the latest and greatest Mac to go with it. You don’t have to do that in most cases, though. Jeff Butts shows us how a few timely upgrades can make an older Mac feel like new again.
Apple Remote Desktop Updated with Touch Bar Support
Apple updated Apple Remote Desktop to version 3.9 Tuesday. The update adds support for the Mac Book Pro’s Touch Bar. It also features the ability to export computer lists and beefs up security.
Apple, Kill the LG UltraFine 5K and Make Your Own Displays
As if it weren’t bad enough that the LG UltraFine 5K performed poorly when placed too close to a wireless router, now Apple’s shipping times for the display have slid to five to six weeks. Jeff thinks that it just might be time for Cupertino to resume making the displays for their Macs and MacBook Pros instead of relying on the third-party market to fill the void.
The Devil Box Enables Solid Thunderbolt 3 Graphics Expansion
The promise of Thunderbolt has always been to eliminate the need for internal expansion slots. But it wasn’t until Thunderbolt 3 and its 40 Gbps speed that having a second, external, high end graphics card would become a practical reality. For example, if you’d like to augment your new 2016 MacBook Pro with a Radeon RX400 series or an Nvidia Geforce GTX 10, now you can do that with this $379 TB3 expansion box from PowerColor called the Devil Box. Here’s a review to whet your appetite for some serious graphics power.
Listener Comments on Consumer Reports, Apple Music Goes Pop Culture - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-16
TDO listeners have plenty to say about how Consumer Reports rates laptops, so today dive into their comments. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to respond to listener comments, plus they share their thoughts on Apple Music becoming a pop culture nexus.
Consumer Reports Loves the Mac Again, Bigger Apple TV Apps - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-13
Consumer Reports changed its tune and now recommends Apple’s new Touch Bar MacBook Pro. John Martellaro joins Jeff Gamet to debate whether or not we should trust Consumer Reports computer reviews, plus they share their thoughts on the big app size increase for Apple TV.
Jeff's 4 Must-have Touch Bar MacBook Pro Adapters
After spending a month with Apple’s 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro I’ve found there are only four must-have Thunderbolt 3 adapters I need to attach everything I use with my computer. I don’t need all of them all the time, but they’re my go-to set for all of my wired connection needs.
Apple Finds Bug after Consumer Reports MacBook Pro Battery Test
Consumer Reports said in a blog post Tuesday that Apple has a fix for a bug uncovered in CR testing. According to statements from both CR and Apple, there was a bug in Safari that caused battery life issues on Apple’s new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and Apple has released a fix for that bug to its beta program, and said it will release it to the public in the coming weeks.
Elgato's Thunderbolt 3 Dock Close Up at CES 2017
LAS VEGAS – Elgato’s new Thunderbolt 3 dock loads up your Touch Bar MacBook Pro with all the ports you need. Tim Böth highlights the features for Jeff Gamet at CES 2017.
How to Connect Your 2016 MacBook Pro to a mini DisplayPort Monitor
Want to connect your old Apple Cinema Display or another mini DisplayPort monitor to your new 2016 MacBook Pro? It’s possible, but not via the method you might think. Before you rush to pick up an adapter, be sure to check out these compatibility restrictions.
Speck's Presidio CLEAR for MacBook Pro Has 4-Feet Drop Protection
LAS VEGAS – Speck announced a new case for MacBook Pro (13-inch) that features 4-feet drop protection. Considering the lack of a MagSafe connector for charging on Apple’s new MacBook Pro models, drop protection may be on the minds of lots of folks. Speck said the case is made from its Impactium Clear material originally used for iPhone cases. As the name suggests, Presidio CLEAR is see-through, and it has a “no-slip grip” feel to it. It ships in later in the first quarter of 2017 and is priced at US$99.95—it hasn’t yet been added to the Speck website. I’ve never been a fan of cases on MacBooks, but drop protection? Come on, that’s cool.