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Physical Copilot key will be mandatory on the keyboard of Microsoft's AI PCs

Darren Allan | Mar 27, 2024 12:13 PM CDT

We keep hearing about AI PCs, and some more info just dripped through on the topic - namely that such a device will have a hard requirement in terms of a dedicated key for Copilot on the keyboard.

Physical Copilot key will be mandatory on the keyboard of Microsoft's AI PCs

The concept of the Copilot key was introduced by Microsoft back at in January 24, with the idea being that it's a dedicated key in the same vein as the Windows key, except obviously in this case tapping it summons the AI assistant.

Apparently having a Copilot key on the keyboard deck of your AI PC will be mandatory going by details Intel just shared as spotted by The Verge.

Continue reading: Physical Copilot key will be mandatory on the keyboard of Microsoft's AI PCs (full post)

The macOS 14.4.1 update just fixed that weird USB hub problem you've been fighting with

Oliver Haslam | Mar 25, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

Apple has today released the macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 software update to the public, bringing with it no new features but a number of important bug fixes that are likely to be a big deal for those who suffered from those issues. One of those issues related to a bug that caused some USB hubs not to function correctly when connected to an external display.

The macOS 14.4.1 update just fixed that weird USB hub problem you've been fighting with

Apple's new update is now available for download for free via the System Settings app on your Mac and it's currently rolling out to Apple's servers across the world. If you aren't yet able to download the new update it's important to try again later, with Apple's servers sometimes slow to update.

In terms of fixes, Apple says that the new macOS Sonoma software fixes an issue that caused some USB hubs to misbehave, with users having reported that they could no longer get their external display to work when it was connected to a Mac running macOS 14.4 via a USB hub.

Continue reading: The macOS 14.4.1 update just fixed that weird USB hub problem you've been fighting with (full post)

Wait a minute - new Surface devices for consumers might not have Intel CPUs, just ARM chips?

Darren Allan | Mar 21, 2024 1:13 PM CDT

You probably haven't missed that Microsoft just launched a new Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 for businesses, and consumer models are inbound - except they may come with a sting in the tail.

Wait a minute - new Surface devices for consumers might not have Intel CPUs, just ARM chips?

According to chatter on the grapevine, those consumer Surface devices will be the ones to carry ARM chips - specifically the Snapdragon X Elite, or a custom version of it tinkered with by Microsoft - whereas the business-targeted models revealed today have Intel Meteor Lake CPUs.

On X (formerly Twitter), well-known Microsoft leaker Zac Bowden was talking about the new Surfaces and somebody chimed in with a question about whether there will be an Intel option with the consumer Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6.

Continue reading: Wait a minute - new Surface devices for consumers might not have Intel CPUs, just ARM chips? (full post)

Honor reveals the first laptop with 24GB RAM, also packs Intel Core Ultra 'Meteor Lake' CPU

Anthony Garreffa | Mar 18, 2024 10:08 PM CDT

It looks like Honor is the first to market with a new laptop featuring 24GB of DDR5 memory, with its new MagicBook Pro 16 AI laptop teased on Geekbench. Check it out:

Honor reveals the first laptop with 24GB RAM, also packs Intel Core Ultra 'Meteor Lake' CPU

The new Honor MagicBook Pro 16 AI laptop features 24GB of LPDDR5X memory, versus the usual SO-DIMM memory modules. Inside, there are 8 individual memory chips, each packing 3GB for a total of 24GB of LPDDR5X-6400 memory. This is great to see, as 24GB of RAM is a fantastic step up from 16GB, and while it's not quite 32GB, it's once again, not 16GB. Great stuff.

We should see 12GB SO-DIMM memory modules in the near future, which will allow for up to 48GB of DDR5 memory as long as the laptop of choice has four DIMM slots, of course.

Continue reading: Honor reveals the first laptop with 24GB RAM, also packs Intel Core Ultra 'Meteor Lake' CPU (full post)

The M1 MacBook Air lives on for $699 at Walmart of all places

Oliver Haslam | Mar 16, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

When Apple announced the new M3 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air laptops the company took the decision to keep the M2 13-inch model around as the new entry-level option, priced at $999. That meant that there was no space in the lineup for the older M1 MacBook Air with Apple choosing to discontinue it entirely. However, those who still want to pick up the older 2020 model still can, and it's at an incredible price from an unlikely source.

The M1 MacBook Air lives on for $699 at Walmart of all places

That source is Walmart, making this the first time that the MacBook Air has been available from the company as a first-party sale. There were third-party sellers offering the laptop via the Walmart website but this is a first for Walmart proper. But that isn't even the most interesting part here - that distinction goes to the price that buyers will pay. At just $699, the M1 13-inch MacBook Air is a bargain and one that might be enough to get more than a few people to switch.

Switching from Windows to macOS is of course easier to do when you can get your hands on a bargain laptop at this kind of price and that could be a real benefit to Apple here. But this special price could also prove to be just low enough to get any Intel stalwarts to upgrade from their older model to a new Apple silicon Mac for the first time.

Continue reading: The M1 MacBook Air lives on for $699 at Walmart of all places (full post)

iFixit's M3 MacBook Air teardown confirms how Apple made its SSD so much faster

Oliver Haslam | Mar 14, 2024 8:30 AM CDT

When Apple released the new M3-powered 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops earlier this month it shared plenty of details about the new machines. We know that on the outside at least, not much had changed while the M3 chip was of course the big improvement on the inside. However, as people quickly began to notice when they started to receive their new laptops, there's also a big SSD speed boost to be enjoyed - specifically when you buy the entry-level 256GB version.

iFixit's M3 MacBook Air teardown confirms how Apple made its SSD so much faster

People who have been using the new M3 MacBook Air have noticed that the 256GB model is significantly faster when moving files around than the older M2 model with the same configuration. When Apple launched the 256GB M2 MacBook Air it was noted that its SSD file transfer speeds were hampered by the use of a single NAND chip whereas those with more storage had two chips, allowing for faster read and write speeds. Now, it seems Apple has gone a different route with the M3 version.

As confirmed by the iFixit video above, Apple has chosen to use two 128GB NAND chips rather than a single 256GB one for the M3 MacBook Air, allowing for read speeds of up to 82% faster and write speeds of up to 22% faster than the M2 version with the same amount of storage.

Continue reading: iFixit's M3 MacBook Air teardown confirms how Apple made its SSD so much faster (full post)

An upgraded MacBook Pro with unconfirmed M4 chip is reportedly already being tested

Oliver Haslam | Mar 12, 2024 5:45 AM CDT

Apple's latest M3-powered MacBook Pro laptops are available in both 14- and 16-inch configurations and are undoubtedly the best MacBook Pros that the company has ever made. But there's no rest for Apple's engineers and plans were always going to eventually turn to what comes next in the never-ending need for more power. Now, a new report suggests that Apple is hard at work on getting its next MacBook Pro ready for its debut - although it isn't yet clear when we should expect that to happen.

An upgraded MacBook Pro with unconfirmed M4 chip is reportedly already being tested

Writing as part of a Q&A session, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple has started formal development of an M4 MacBook Pro machine, saying that he currently uses a 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro and will look to upgrade to the M4 once it is available. Information on what the M4 will have to offer is hard to come by right now, but it's possible that a chassis design change is in the cards given the lack of any tweaks in the last couple of generations.

Apple updated the MacBook Air to add M3 chips very recently but it could be some time before we see the M4 devices make their appearance. The current M3 MacBook Pro models start at $1,599 for the 14-inch laptop with an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD but there are upgrades available. Additional RAM and more storage are all offered, while the top-of-the-range 14-inch model comes with an M3 Max with a 14-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 36GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. The RAM and storage can also be upgraded here, but the starting price for that configuration is an eye-watering $3,199.

Continue reading: An upgraded MacBook Pro with unconfirmed M4 chip is reportedly already being tested (full post)

A custom chip based on four M2 Ultras was set for the Apple Car, could it switch to the Mac?

Oliver Haslam | Mar 12, 2024 5:30 AM CDT

The Apple Car project first began as Project Titan way back in 2014 and it's struggled ever since. Apple finally took the decision to cancel the project recently in a move that meant finding a home for its 2,000-strong team. Now, more details about the ill-fated project have started to leak and it seems that Apple's much-vaunted silicon team was heavily involved.

A custom chip based on four M2 Ultras was set for the Apple Car, could it switch to the Mac?

Writing as part of a Q&A session Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has confirmed that Apple was working on bringing some serious processing power to an electric vehicle that was expected to offer self-driving capabilities among other things. The chip that would power the whole thing, Gurman says, was equal to about four M2 Ultras combined, and its development was almost finished when the project was canceled.

Gurman says that Apple's most important focus in terms of the Apple Car was on its AI brain which might explain why it was keen to use a chip that would theoretically be fourth times as powerful as anything that it has shipped in a Mac. The M2 Ultra currently powers the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, while an M3 Ultra is surely going to be unveiled later this year. The M2 Ultra is a highly capable chip and the idea of four of them bonded together could potentially make for interesting implementations in the future. Could such a chip one day find its way into a high-end Mac?

Continue reading: A custom chip based on four M2 Ultras was set for the Apple Car, could it switch to the Mac? (full post)

Apple's base model M3 MacBook Air is now way faster thanks to an SSD upgrade

Oliver Haslam | Mar 11, 2024 6:00 AM CDT

Apple's new M3 MacBook Air went on sale last week and it's quickly proven to be a fast, quiet, and capable machine. And as people are starting to spend more time with the new laptop in its 13- and 15-inch guises we're starting to learn more and more about it. And one of those things will be music to the ears of those who plan on buying the entry-level 256GB configuration.

Apple's base model M3 MacBook Air is now way faster thanks to an SSD upgrade

That's because while previous versions of the 256GB model of MacBook Air have offered slower SSD performance than those with more space, things seem to have been changed up this time out.

The issue that was experienced with previous MacBook Airs surrounded a slower SSD performance due to Apple's decision to ship those machines with a single 256GB NAND chip. That meant that the storage was limited to how quickly that chip could process data in an attempt to read and write files. Those who chose the 512GB storage option or higher received a different configuration. Those buying 512GB for two 256GB NAND chips while those buying 1TB got two 512GB chips, and so on. Now, Apple's M3 MacBook Air has changed things for those buying the 256GB SSD - it comes with two 128GB NAND chips.

Continue reading: Apple's base model M3 MacBook Air is now way faster thanks to an SSD upgrade (full post)

Apple is working on its biggest MacBook yet and it's unquestionably unique

Jak Connor | Mar 9, 2024 12:17 AM CST

Rumors have been circulating about Apple releasing a foldable product for many years now, but in Apple fashion they have been officially airtight on the foldable situation, seemingly until a few hurdles of the new technology are overcome.

Apple is working on its biggest MacBook yet and it's unquestionably unique

It was only late last month that reports surfaced that Apple has halted development on its rumored foldable iPhones, following reports that stated Apple was working on two iPhone prototypes that featured a similar design to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip. These rumored iPhones were rumored to come with a severe thickness reduction, but engineers working on the projects were struggling to implement batteries as well as completely remove the dreaded crease that plagues all foldable devices currently on the market today.

Now, reports indicate that Apple hasn't completely given up on its foldable future as a new X post from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reveals a new "20.3-inch MacBook" is Apple's "only foldable product with a clear development schedule." Notably, this wasn't the only rumor to come out about a foldable laptop, as display expert Ross Young said on February 1, 2023, that he's heard about a 20.5-inch foldable notebook scheduled for 2025.

Continue reading: Apple is working on its biggest MacBook yet and it's unquestionably unique (full post)