Lit Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad User Group

[sultrysandy]

iPhone 12 mini reviews: A small and powerful phone, but battery life is questionable

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Have two different posts about iPhone 12 mini. This first are quotes from half a dozen reviews. And the second will be quotes on four different aspects.

As the first pre-orders begin shipping to customers, early reviews of the iPhone 12 mini have arrived. The reviews praise the smaller form factor and feature parity with the iPhone 12, but many raise concerns about battery life compromises.


Chris Vekazci at Engadget has praise for the 5.4-inch form factor of the iPhone 12 mini:

I’ve know I’ve been calling the iPhone 12 mini a small phone, and that’s objectively true — it’s a bit smaller than the iPhone SE I reviewed earlier this year, but a few trusted people to whom I’ve shown the phone didn’t think it was that small. That’s largely thanks to the 12 mini’s 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR display. It’s just as bright as the standard iPhone 12 and packs the same support for wide-color gamuts and HDR, but because it’s smaller, it’s more pixel dense. While bigger phones are almost always better for immersiveness, this smaller screen never felt like too little.

At The Verge, Dieter Bohn writes that the iPhone 12 mini is “not the best iPhone for most people, but it’s going to be a favorite for many.” In particular, Bohn notes that the iPhone 12 mini shares almost all of the same features as the larger iPhone 12:

It’s corny to say I’m impressed by how much Apple packed into such a small space — but I am. The iPhone 12 mini has the fastest processor on any phone, it has the same dual-camera system as the iPhone 12, and most remarkably it has all the components and antennas necessary for both sub-6 and (in the US) mmWave 5G. It is fast, multitasks well, and doesn’t feel like a compromise when you use it. It really is an amazing feat of technology.

The exception to that, however, is the battery life:

Without making any effort at it, I have consistently drained the iPhone 12 mini’s battery by early evening. I’d say it’s fair to expect the 12 mini to clock up something near four hours of screentime with stuff like web browsing, Facebook, and taking photos. Intense games give you a chance to watch the battery percent tick down minute by minute.

So it’s not bad, but it’s definitely not great. My feeling after a little less than a week is that getting through a day requires a little bit of battery management. Holding yourself back from putting an hour into an Apple Arcade game, knowing where your next opportunity to charge might be, and above all being more willing to turn on

For TechCrunch, Matthew Panzarino has some details on the scaling of the iPhone 12 mini display:

Speaking of rendering, the iPhone 12 mini is scaled, which means that it is displaying at roughly .96 of its ‘native’ screen resolution of 2340×1080. In my testing, this scaling was not apparent in any way. Given that the mini has a resolution of 476ppi in a smaller screen than the iPhone 12 which clocks in at 460ppi that’s not too surprising. iPhones have been doing integral scaling for years with their magnification features so Apple has plenty of practice at this. I didn’t notice any artifacting or scrolling, and most apps looked just fine proportionally, though some developers that do not take advantage of Apple’s native frameworks that support various screen sizes may have to do a bit of tweaking here and there.

Panzarino also took the time to compare the iPhone 12 mini form factor to previous iPhone models:

The iPhone mini has a nice lightweight compactness to it. In order to get a read on its vibe I compared it to the iPhone 4S, which felt far denser, the iPhone 5 which felt a bit more airy and the iPhone 5C which still feels fun but cheap. It shares pedigree with all of these devices but feels far more assured and integral. The iPhone 12 design language doesn’t feel like multiple materials sandwiched together in the way that these earlier devices do. It feels grown, rather than made.

At The Wall Street Journal, Joanna Stern has a bulleted list of the benefits of the smaller design:

You can comfortably type with just one thumb, and reach icons on the other side of the home screen without shifting your hand.

You can use just one hand to snap a photo and not drop it on the ground—or in a pool, elevator shaft or drainage grate.

You can talk on the phone—putting it up to your ear—without blocking and greasing up your whole face. (And in case you were wondering, call quality when you do is good).

You can hold up your phone while lying down without fear it will slip and give you a bloody nose.

Writing at Input, Raymond Wong has some advice on who should buy the iPhone 12 mini:

There’s only one reason to get the iPhone 12 mini: it’s small. The iPhone 12 mini is the anti-phablet and you already know whether it’s right for you or not. It’s absolutely for you if you’re sick and tired of humongous phones and desire a device that’s smaller and more practical.

Going from a big phone to small phone takes some getting used to, but it’s not an impossible task. Yes, the display isn’t as on other phones, but I can tell you one thing: it won’t hurt as much when it falls on your face or chest while you’re laying in bed doomscrolling. Small phones are back, and hot damn, I missed them dearly!

Pocket-lint’s Britta O’Boyle on the iPhone 12 mini camera:

The iPhone 12 mini performs well in low-light conditions as well, with Night Mode automatically kicking in when necessary, allowing you to take some decent shots without the flash having to be on – as long as you keep still, as there’s not the optical image stabilisation here that you can find in the iPhone 12 Pro Max and other competitors.

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[sultrysandy]

Researchers hack Safari, iOS 14 to win $420,000 in China contest

Apple's software security has reportedly been defeated at the Tianfu Cup hacking contest in China, with thousands of dollars worth of prizes being handed out to participants for demonstrating vulnerabilities in Safari and iOS 14.

The contest, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, saw teams attempting to successfully demonstrate exploits that attack a wide variety of hardware. For the 2020 competition, the Apple-specific targets for the teams were Safari running on a 13-inch MacBook Pro and iPhone 11 Pro running iOS 14.

Each device had a list of requirements to meet to qualify for prizes given out by Tianfu Cup's organizers. For Safari, which had security researchers using Safari to browse a remote URL and enable the control of the browser or the Mac, $40,000 was on offer for a successful remote code execution (RCE) attack, rising to $60,000 for an RCE with a sandbox escape.

For the iPhone and iOS 14, teams had similar requirements as for Safari, but with the addition of needing to "bypass the PAC mitigation." The RCE earned hackers $120,000 if successful, rising to $180,000 and additional prizes for a sandbox escape and $300,000 for a remote jailbreak.

According to the published results, one team managed a sandbox escape in Safari, while two sandbox escapes were performed in iOS 14, resulting in payouts totaling $420,000.

The details of the exploits were not released, but were provided to Apple for patching under a responsible disclosure policy. Once patched, or a sufficient period of time has passed, the details of the vulnerabilities are usually shared by the researchers who discovered them.

Now in its third year, the Tianfu Cup is largely modeled after Pwn2Own in structure, with many of the researchers previously taking part in that competition. A change in Chinese regulations effectively banned security researchers from taking part in international contests, over national security fears.

The winning team from the weekend was the Qihoo 360 Enterprise Security and Government Vulnerability Research Institute, earning $744,500 from its submissions. Second place went to Ant-Financial Light-year Security Lab with $258,000, while security researcher "Pang" was third with $99,500.
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[sultrysandy]

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HOT DAMN!



Approximately and hour ago

The Apple Store is down for what is most likely Apple’s last product event of the year. At 10 AM PT, Tim Cook and team will take to the virtual pre-recorded stage to announce the first Apple Silicon Macs.

As previewed at WWDC in June, Apple is embarking on a transition to move from Intel-based Macs to ARM architecture using chips of its own design, just like how it designs the A-series processors in iPhones and iPads.

The first ARM Macs are believed to be laptops. Specifically, a new 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro to be announced today. An Apple Silicon 16-inch MacBook Pro is also in development, and could possibly appear at today’s event. The machines are not expected to look significantly different in terms of case design, but should boast significant CPU and GPU performance improvements, as well as longer battery life thanks to Apple Silicon.

Apple said that it intends to complete the transition within two years. This means throughout 2021 we can expect Apple Silicon variants of its desktop lineup, including a long-overdue iMac redesign.


Beyond that, we can fully expect that macOS Big Sur will be released, too. That's both because the beta operating system reached its release candidate version this week, and because any new Macs would most likely require it.
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[sultrysandy]

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Hopefully you understand that I'm at the office while typing this, and as hoped there is a lot going on in the Apple Mac world. Here a few headlines. Sorting out and want to post when have it organized.



Apple's macOS Big Sur features tighter integration with new Apple Silicon
Apple has tightened the integration between macOS and Apple Silicon with Big Sur, bringing a much snappier, smoother, and more versatile experience to the Mac.



Apple unveils M1, its first system-on-a-chip for portable Mac computers
Apple is unveiling its first Apple Silicon Macs today at its event that marks the beginning of the end of Intel inside Apple notebooks and desktops. The first in a family of Apple Silicon chips based on ARM is called the Apple M1 chip.



Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air powered by Apple Silicon M1 chip
During its “One more thing” event today, Apple has officially announced an all-new MacBook Air powered by Apple Silicon. The new MacBook Air is Apple’s first laptop to be powered by in-house processors rather than Intel.



Apple announces new Mac mini featuring Apple M1 chip, cheaper $699 price
Apple today announced a new Mac mini featuring the Apple M1 chip. Apple said the new chip enables up to 3x faster performance than the previous generation Mac mini.



Apple announces 13-inch MacBook Pro with faster performance and longer battery thanks to M1 chip
Apple today unveiled a new 13-inch MacBook Pro featuring the Apple M1 chip, replacing the previous Intel x86 models. Apple retained the same $1299 price point for the notebook.

The 8-core CPU offers up to 2.8x faster performance compared with the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro. Thanks to the efficiency of the M1 chip, the new MacBook Pro offers up to 20 hours of video playback on a single charge, twice the previous quoted figure.



macOS 11 Big Sur with new design, widgets, and more launching on November 12
macOS gets a major overhaul this year with version 11 that comes with an all-new iOS inspired design and much more. At its November Mac event today, Apple has revealed that the macOS Big Sur launch is set for November 12.



damn headlines are being changed faster thna I can put this post together
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[sultrysandy]

Everything Apple announced during its November event: M1 MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, an

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Want to do more detailed posts Wednesday



What Apple announced during its November event: M1 MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and more

Today was event day for Apple, with the company announcing more details on its transition to Apple Silicon processors in the Mac. The company announced its new M1 processor, a new MacBook Air, a new MacBook Pro, and a new Mac mini during today’s event.

M1 processor

Apple kicked things off today with the introduction of its new M1 processor, its first Apple Silicon chip for the Mac lineup. Apple says the M1 processor delivers up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, up to 6x faster GPU performance, and up to 15x faster machine learning.

Apple emphasizes that the M1 chip is the first designed specifically for the Mac. It is optimized for Macs in which small size and power efficiency are critically important. As such, the M1 features an 8-core design with four high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores.

In terms of graphics, the M1 processor includes eight core integrated GPU, which Apple says can handle multiple 4K video streams, gaming, and more. Apple says it’s the “world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer.” The M1 also brings Apple’s Neural Engine to the Mac for the first time with a 16-core architecture. This offers improvements for things like video analysis, voice recognition, image processing, and other machine learning tasks.

Finally, Apple emphasized during the event that macOS 11 Big Sur is engineered to take full advantage of the new M1 processor, offering things like waking instantly from sleep, improved Safari performance, and even better battery life.

The M1 processor also allows you to run three different types of applications on your Mac:

• iPhone and iPad apps on the Mac through the Mac App Store
  
  
• Rosetta 2 translation allows you to run apps made for Intel Macs on Apple Silicon, and sometimes apps perform better in Rosetta with M1 than they did with Intel, Apple says.
  
  
• Universal apps are apps built for Apple Silicon and Intel processors and are downloadable from the Mac App Store or from the web.

Apple also announced that macOS 11 Big Sur will officially be available to the general public on Thursday, November 12.

So what are the first Macs with Apple’s M1 processor? As it turns out, there are three of them.


New MacBook Air

The first Apple Silicon Mac introduced today was a new MacBook Air powered by the M1 processor. Apple says the new 8-core CPU performs up to 3.5x faster than the previous Intel MacBook Air while the 8 core GPU is up to 5x faster. The M1 chip’s storage controller and latest flash technology deliver up to 2x faster SSD performance, Apple adds.

Notably, the MacBook Air also features a fan-less design so it remains completely silent regardless of workload. Other than that change, the new MacBook Air design is largely identical to the previous generation MacBook Air. On the side, you’ll find two USB-C ports with support for Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4.

But where the new MacBook Air really starts to shine is in its battery life numbers. According to Apple’s data, the new MacBook Air features up to 15 hours of web browsing and up to 18 hours of video playback. This is up from the 12 hours of battery life offered by the 2020 Intel MacBook Air.

The new MacBook Air is available to order today, with prices starting at $999. For the base configuration, you get 8GM of RAM, an 8 core-CPU, a 7-core GPU, and 256GB of storage. You can upgrade to 16GB of RAM, to an 8-core GPU, and to up to 2TB of SSD storage as well. The first orders will arrive on November 17.




New Mac mini

Apple says the new Mac mini also features an advanced thermal design to help sustain performance while staying cool and quiet. There’s also support for up to displays, including the Pro Display XDR, and WiFi 6 connectivity. The new Mac mini features two USB-C ports on the back that support Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4, alongside two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.0, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Mac mini also notably got price drop, with the base model now starting at $699, which is $100 than the Intel model. The base configuration offers the M1 processor with an 8-core CPU and an 8-GPU with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSd. You can upgrade to up to 2TB of SSD storage and to 16GB of RAM.

You can order the new Mac mini starting today and the first orders will arrive on November 17.



New 13-inch MacBook Pro

Last but not least, Apple today introduced a new 13-inch MacBook Pro powered by the same M1 processor with an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU. Apple says the new MacBook Pro is up to 2.8x faster than the previous generation in terms of CPU performance and up to 5x faster in GPU performance.

The MacBook Pro also features a new active cooling system that should help thermal management. It’ll be interesting to see how the MacBook Pro and its cool system are able to sustain heavy workloads with the M1 processor, compared to the MacBook Air’s fan-less design.

Again, the MacBook Pro really shines in terms of battery life, with Apple saying it offers up to 17 hours of web browsing and 20 hours of video playback. This is twice the battery life of the previous MacBook Pro and the longest battery life ever for the Mac. The new MacBook Pro features two USB-C ports with support for Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4.

The new MacBook Pro is available today for $1,299, for an 8-core configuration with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. You can upgrade to up to 2TB of SSD storage and to 16GB of RAM in build-to-order configurations. The first orders arrive next Tuesday, November 17.

 

[sultrysandy]

John Hodgman returns to critique Apple Silicon advancements

John Hodgman, the co-star of Apple's popular "Get a Mac" ad campaign, returned during the company's Nov. 10 keynote to portray a PC criticizing the new Apple Silicon Macs.

The "Get a Mac" ad campaign featured Hodgman's PC character alongside Justin Long playing a Mac. Ad spots always opened with Long saying "Hello, I'm a Mac," and provided a contrast between the bumbling and uncool PC character and the casual and creative Mac.

"Why make all these advancements? What's the point?" the PC character asks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHG0cT_ck00

44 Seconds of John Hodgman (Mac vs PC) in Apple's November 2020 Event
John Hodgman (PC Guy) from the original 2006-2009 Mac vs PC commercials makes a special appearance in Apple's November 10th (One More Thing) event after the show!



"Oh, you're so quiet now. Look, I'm a machine. I'm proud of it," the PC says. "Longer battery life? Plug it in. Where you going? Just plug it in. Fast? I'm fast. I'm still fast. I still got it. I've always been there, I always will be."

Long's Mac character did not make an appearance in the video.

The popular "Get a Mac" ad campaign ran from 2006 and 2009. In 2010, Adweek declared it the best advertising campaign of the first decade of the 21st century.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple M1 chip: Specs, features, iOS apps, and more

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About Apple’s new M1 chip for the Mac

Apple has officially announced its first processor designed specifically for the Mac, dubbed the M1. The M1 chip features an eight-core design alongside a powerful Neural Engine and GPU, offering dramatic efficiency and performance improvements for the Mac.

If you’re buying a new Mac today and are confused by Apple’s M1 chip option in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini, read along for all of the details on what you need to know.


Apple Silicon M1 chip

Apple first detailed its plans to transition the Mac lineup away from Intel back at WWDC. The Mac has used Intel processors since 2006, but the transition to Apple Silicon means that the Mac will be using Apple’s own processors. This is similar to the iPhone and iPad, where Apple uses its A-series processors.

When Apple controls the silicon in a Mac it can offer significantly better software optimization. In the case of the Mac, this means that macOS 11 Big Sur is optimized specifically for the M1 processor. By creating the silicon in-house, Apple has much more control over how well macOS and a Mac perform together. Even without touching on the technical specifications of the new M1 chip, the improved optimization in macOS should make for dramatic performance and reliability improvements.

Using Apple Silicon in the Mac also means that the Mac can now run iPhone and iPad applications. While developers can opt-out of this, it means that you’ll be able to find iPhone and iPad applications in the Mac App Store for the first time.

iPhone and iPad apps on the Mac through the Mac App Store
Rosetta 2 translation allows you to run apps made for Intel Macs on Apple Silicon, and sometimes apps perform better in Rosetta with M1 than they do natively with Intel, Apple says.
Universal apps are apps built for Apple Silicon and Intel processors and are downloadable from the Mac App Store or from the web.

When it announced the new M1 processor during a special “One more thing” event from Apple Park, Apple touted that it’s the “first chip designed specifically for the Mac.” It’s built using a 5-nanometer with 16 billion transistors, and Apple says it was designed “for Mac systems in which small size and power efficiency are critically important.”

As such, the M1 features industry-leading performance per watt. This is why the first Apple Silicon MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are able to offer such notable improvements in battery life compared to their Intel predecessors.


The Apple M1 CPU

At the heart of the M1 chip is an 8-core CPU with four high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores. The high-performance cores each provide industry-leading performance for single-threaded tasks, and Apple says they are “the world’s fastest CPU cores in low-power silicon.”

Interestingly, Apple says that the four high-efficiency cores deliver “outstanding performance at a tenth of the power.” In fact, the high-efficiency cores are so powerful themselves that they deliver similar performance to the dual-core Intel MacBook Air while being much more efficient.

In total, Apple says that the eight cores work together to provide “incredible compute power for the most demanding tasks and deliver the world’s best CPU performance per watt.” Early indications from experts are that the M1 chip will live up to the hype.


GPU

But the M1 doesn’t stop there: it also features up to an 8-core GPU, which can execute 25,000 threads concurrently. Apple says that this means the M1 can handle “extremely demanding tasks with ease.” According to Apple’s data, the M1 has the “world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer” with 2.6 teraflops of throughput.

What does all of this mean for real-world usage? We’ll learn more once the first M1 Macs are available, but theoretically, it means that you’ll be able to do things like play Apple Arcade, edit videos, power a 6K external display, and more with ease.

The new MacBook Pro and Mac mini are both available exclusively with the 8-core GPU. The new MacBook Air can be specced to include a 7-core version or an 8-core version of the GPU. You can learn more about the limitation here:



Neural Engine

The M1 chip also brings Apple’s industry-leading Neural Engine to the Mac for the first time. The M1 Neural Engine features a 16-core design that can perform 11 trillion operations per second. Apple has used the Neural Engine in the iPhone and iPad since the A11 processor was introduced in 2017.

What kind of improvements can you expect with the Neural Engine? Think of the Neural Engine as something designed specifically for machine learning tasks. This includes things like video analysis, voice recognition, artificial intelligence, and much more.

Many modern applications increasingly rely on machine learning for everyday tasks, so the Neural Engine in the M1 chip will play a very important role. It works in conjunction with the CPU and GPU to power your Apple Silicon Mac.


Unified memory and SSD performance

The new Apple M1 chip also includes a new unified memory architecture:

M1 also features a unified memory architecture that brings together high-bandwidth, low-latency memory into a single pool within a custom package. This allows all of the technologies in the SoC to access the same data without copying it between multiple pools of memory, further improving performance and efficiency.

And for SSD storage, Apple has included a new high-performance storage controller with AES encryption hardware for improved security and faster performance. In fact, Apple says the new M1-powered MacBook Air offers up to 2x faster SSD performance.


Secure Enclave and ISP

As expected, the M1 also features Apple’s Secure Enclave to handle things like Touch ID authentication and other security tasks. This isn’t the first time Apple has brought the Secure Enclave to the Mac, though. In previous Macs, Apple included the Secure Enclave in the T1 or T2 chip, but now it can be integrated directly into the M1.

Apple also says that the M1 chip packs the latest image signal processor for higher quality video with better noise reduction, as well as improved white balance and greater dynamic range. This is how Apple is claiming the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro have better webcam quality, despite retaining the same 720p camera.

Apple M1 limitations

The new Apple M1 chip is not without limitations, which is to be expected since this is the first-ever chip designed by Apple for the Mac.

The first Macs to be powered by the M1 chip are the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. You’ll notice that all three of these machines feature two USB-C ports that support USB 4 and Thunderbolt. It is likely a limitation of the M1 controller that it only supports two ports.

Secondly, you’ll notice that the M1 Macs max out at 16GB of RAM, while Intel Macs can go significantly higher. The same also applies to SSD storage, where M1 Macs are limited to 2TB but Intel Macs can go to 4TB and even beyond. Again, these are likely limitations of the M1 chip.

• New Apple Silicon Macs with M1 chip don’t work with Thunderbolt eGPUs

A chip family

Finally, Apple has said that the M1 chip is just the beginning of a “new family of chips designed specifically for the Mac.” Again, the new M1 processor is designed specifically for lower-power machines where efficiency is especially important.

Looking ahead, there is still a lot more to come in regards to the Apple Silicon transition for the Mac. Apple will build upon the M1 chip with more powerful and more versatile processors for the rest of the Mac lineup.

 

[sultrysandy]

Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air powered by Apple Silicon M1 chip

During its “One more thing” event, Apple officially announced an all-new MacBook Air powered by Apple Silicon. The new MacBook Air is Apple’s first laptop to be powered by in-house processors rather than Intel. Head below for live updates on the new MacBook Air.

Apple Silicon in the new MacBook Air is a major upgrade, bringing improved performance, battery life, and efficiency. These are the improvements that Apple is emphasizing during its event today. The new MacBook Air is powered by Apple’s M1 processor and features up to 18 hours of battery life.

• Thunderbolt and USB 4
  
  
• Up to 16GB of RAM
  
  
• Up to 2TB SSD
  
  
• Silent Design
  
  
• 5x faster graphics
  
  
• 3.5x faster CPU
  
  
• WiFi 6

The new MacBook Air features a fan-less design and starts at $999. If you have an .edu email, that price drops to $899. It is available to order today from Apple’s website and will be available to ship on November 17.


The base configuration includes:

• Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 7‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine
  
  
• 8GB unified memory
  
  
• 256GB SSD storage
  
  
• Retina display with True Tone
  
  
• Magic Keyboard
  
  
• Touch ID
  
  
• Force Touch trackpad
  
  
• Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports

And the $1,249 configuration includes:

• Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine
  
  
• 8GB unified memory
  
  
• 512GB SSD storage
  
  
• Retina display with True Tone
  
  
• Magic Keyboard
  
  
• Touch ID
  
  
• Force Touch trackpad
  
  
• Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports

You can upgrade to 16GB of RAM and all the way up to 2TB of SSD storage as well.

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[sultrysandy]

Yesterday’s Apple event was the latest in a series of much snappier, more focused, pre-recorded presentations. The new MacBook Air was the undisputed star of the show. If it lives up to the promises Apple made – and there is every reason to believe that it will – it’s all the Mac most people will need.

That’s long been true of the MacBook Air through the generations, of course. When the average Mac user does nothing more demanding than email, web-browsing, and word-processing, they don’t need much of a machine to do it. But the new MacBook Air takes us into whole new territory …

As an aside, I remain a fan of this new approach to Apple events. I first expressed my enthusiasm for pre-recorded presentations after the WWDC keynote back in June. I explained then the three reasons I feel the format is an improvement on live keynotes.

As soon as it became clear we’d be getting multiple fall events, I also outlined why I think that too is a better approach than a single event with a mass of launches.

But I’d go further, and say that a greater number of more focused events is better. Better for us, better for Apple. Better for us because we’re not faced with a deluge of information all at one time, and a bunch of products all trying to get their hands on our wallets at the same time. Better for Apple because separating out products into different events means that they will get the attention they deserve.

Yesterday’s event reinforced that view. The various presentations did full justice to the first Apple Silicon Macs in just 45 minutes.

So, to that new Air …

One of the most remarkable aspects is the relatively small differences between the new MacBook Air and new MacBook Pro. Same display*, same chip, same RAM tiers, same storage tiers, same ports. The Pro only gets you a Touch Bar (meh), a little more brightness (*500 nits versus 400), slightly better speakers and mics, higher-power charging, and a bit more battery-life (17-20 hours versus 15-18).

Now sure, there will be more real-life difference. The MacBook Air has no fan, which means the M1 chip will quickly be throttled under heavy load while the identical but fan-cooled one in the MacBook Pro will deliver full performance for longer. But for most consumer usage, the two machines are closer than they’ve ever been.

The interesting thing here is that we have quite a different situation now between MacBook and iPad lineups.

I last month expressed my view that the new iPad Air is now the default iPad. There’s a cheaper base-model iPad if you can’t justify the cost of the Air, and there’s a more expensive Pro if you need any of the relatively few features which distinguish them (or want the largest size, of course) – but the Air is the one I’d recommend most people buy.

But when it comes to Macs, the default Mac – the one I’d recommend to most people – is the cheapest: the $999 M1-powered MacBook Air. It’s a huge amount of Mac for your money.

 

[sultrysandy]

Here’s the full list of macOS Big Sur compatible Macs

Apple’s next major version of macOS is now available. Here’s a look at all the macOS 11 Big Sur compatible Macs.

macOS Big Sur comes as a free software update and brings a major overhaul to the Mac software.

New features will include an all-new iOS inspired design, Control Center arriving for Mac, a revamped Safari with greater privacy controls, an all-new Messages, Apple’s new translation software that uses on-device processing, and much more.

Just keep in mind if you’re concerned about bugs and performance issues, you’ll want to hold off on updating to Big Sur right away and wait for the first bug fix update.


macOS Big Sur compatible Macs

Here’s the full list of macOS Big Sur compatible Macs:

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

Big Sur jumps a year to two years ahead for hardware compatibility (depending on the Mac) compared to macOS Catalina.
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[sultrysandy]

macOS 11 Big Sur now available, here’s what’s new for your Mac

After nearly five months of beta testing, macOS 11 Big Sur is now available to the general public. Big Sur is a massive update for the Mac, bringing a redesigned interface, widget support, a new Control Center, and much more. Here are some of the best new features in macOS Big Sur.

Apple has also published a press release detailing the new features in macOS Big Sur.


How to install macOS Big Sur

macOS 11 Big Sur is available as a free update for Mac users. The download and installation process might take some time, so be sure you’re prepared to be without a Mac for certain parts of the installation.

macOS Big Sur can be accessed directly from the Mac App Store. Note that you might have to try multiple times before the download will begin as it’s rolling out slowly:

Which Macs support macOS Big Sur?

Here’s the full list of macOS Big Sur compatible Macs:

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

The best macOS 11 Big Sur features

Redesigned interface

All throughout macOS 11 Big Sur, you’ll notice tweaks to the interface and design of the operating system. The system applications have new icons, the menu bar is now taller and more translucent, the dock has been redesigned, and much more.

• Redesigned sheets in apps
  
  
• Lighter window appearance
  
  
• New and updated system sounds
  
  
• Full height sidebars
  
  
• New symboled throughout macOS

New Notification Center

Apple has also redesigned the Notification Center with the notable addition of widgets. The redesigned widgets are very similar to what came to the iPhone and iPad with iOS 14. To customize your macOS Big Sur widgets, click into Notification Center, then look for the “Edit Widgets” button at the button.

Third-party applications are quickly adding support for the new macOS Big Sur widgets, including the popular task manager Things, among others. We’ll have more coverage of the best macOS Big Sur widgets as app updates continue to roll out over the coming days.

The Notification Center has also added new interactive notifications. When you click and hold on a notification, you’ll be able take action on the notification and get more information. For instance, clicking and holding on a notification from the Mail app will allow you to easily respond to an email from Notification Center.


Control Center

One of the highlights of macOS Big Sur is an updated Control Center that is similar to the Control Center available on iPhone and iPad. You can customize Control Center by dragging and dropping apps and features for things you use most, and drag and drop items from Control Center to the menu bar.

Designed just for Mac, the new Control Center consolidates your favorite menu bar items into a single place to give you instant access to the controls you use most. Just click the Control Center icon in the menu bar and adjust Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and other settings — without opening System Preferences.

New Safari features

Safari in macOS 11 Big Sur also includes a variety of changes and improvements. Apple says that the new Safari is dramatically faster and more efficient, with frequently listed websites loading 50% faster on average than Chrome. Furthermore, Apple says that you can stream video for up to one and a half hours in Safari than in Chrome or Firefox.

Safari has also gotten a visual overhaul, headlined by a new customizable start page. You can now set your custom background image and select new sections to display on the start page, including Favorites, Siri Suggestions, Reading List, iCloud Tabs, and a Privacy Report.

Safari also now offers a built-in Translation functionality to translate into English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Russian, or Brazilian Portuguese.

Finally, Safari also has a new Privacy Report feature to show how it protects your browsing history across the websites you visit. To find this, go to the Privacy Report from your Safari menu and you’ll get an in-depth overview of every cross-site tracker prevented over the last 30 days.


AirPods Automatic device switching

Much like iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, macOS 11 Big Sur also now supports automatic device switching with AirPods and other Apple and Beats headphones featuring the Apple H1 headphone chip.

This functionality will allow your AirPods to switch between your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple Watch paired to the same iCloud account depending on which device is actively playing audio. For instance, if your AirPods are connected to your iPhone, but you sit down at your Mac and start playing audio there, your AirPods will automatically connect to your Mac.


All-new Messages app

After years of the iPhone and iPad Messages app pulling ahead, today’s release of macOS 11 Big Sur includes an all-new Messages app based on the iPad version. You can now pin conversations to the top of your list, share your name and photo automatically, use mentions to direct a message to a particular person in a group, and much more.

• Inline replies: Reply directly to a specific message in a group conversation. See all related messages in their own view to easily keep track of a thread.
  
  
• Enhanced photo picker: Use the updated photo picker to quickly access and share your recent photos and albums.
  
  
• Group photos: Set an image for your group conversations using a photo, Memoji, or emoji. Group photos are automatically shared with all members of the group.
  
  
• Message effects: Balloons, confetti, lasers, and more

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[sultrysandy]

[Update: Fixed] Apple facing widespread outages affecting Big Sur updates, macOS Cata

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In case you were experiencing problems



[Update: Fixed] Apple facing widespread outages affecting Big Sur updates, macOS Catalina performance, iMessage, and more

Apple just released its major macOS update with Big Sur. While downloads are often slow with the large file and many users trying to get the software at the same time, it looks like download times are particularly slow this year and are failing in many cases. Meanwhile, it seems that Apple’s Developer website is down as is iMessage and we’re even seeing macOS Catalina performance impacted.



2:45 PM PT: Apple says the macOS software update issue has been resolved (along with all other user-facing services that saw outages today). Kudos to all the Apple engineers who no doubt worked under big pressure to fix the issues quickly!

2:34 PM PT: Apple Maps issues have been fixed, leaving just the macOS Big Sur update problem (and two small developer issues with TestFlight and documentation).

2:19 PM PT: Apple Card and Apple Pay issues are now fixed as well as iMessage and the ID Notary Service.

Update 1:51 PM PT: Apple’s Developer site is back up and running. The Dev System Status page notes multiple issues, including the ID Notary Service.

Update 1:20 PM PT: If you’re seeing your Mac that’s running Catalina experiencing major slowdowns and apps not opening, you’re not alone. It looks like an issue with an Apple server connection. Here’s how to fix it:

Hey Apple users:

If you're now experiencing hangs launching apps on the Mac, I figured out the problem .

It's trustd connecting to https:/*******FzIGwbGRan
https:// t . c o /FzIGwbGRan

Denying that connection fixes it, because OCSP is a soft failure.

(Disconnect internet also fixes.) pic.twitter.com/w9YciFltrb
https:// t . c o /w9YciFltrb

— Jeff Johnson (@lapcatsoftware) November 12, 2020

Update: 1:10 PM PT: Apple has confirmed the issue with downloading macOS Big Sur on its System Status page saying “Users may not be able to download macOS Software Updates on Mac computers. The issue is currently being investigated.”

Apple also added iMessage to the list of services seeing an outage.

Apple Pay and Apple Card are now down as well.

Original post:

macOS 11 Big Sur is roughly 12GB in size and will take a bit to download. But even users with fast to very fast internet service are seeing estimates of 12+ hours all the way up to 7 days in some cases. That points to the issue likely being on Apple’s end.

We’ve also heard from many reporting that the download fails and having to start over or that it completely downloads and then kicks out an error.

At the same time, Apple’s Developer website seems to be inaccessible which could be related to the very slow pace of macOS Big Sur downloads.

Here’s what we’re seeing when trying to load Apple’s Developer website:

We’re also hearing complaints from many that the Apple TV app is slow at the moment. Apple’s System Status page doesn’t mention anything about macOS Software Update issues or Apple TV app for now, however, it does say Apple Maps navigation and traffic features are currently down.

Are you seeing similar issues with downloading Big Sur or other Apple apps? Let us know down in the comments!

7 days remaining to download. Definitely enough time to make the final decision to cancel… pic.twitter.com/bychofv5WQ
https:// t . c o /bychofv5WQ

— Michał (@michalrejnowski) November 12, 2020

Failed after downloading 11.8 gb

— Karapu Rakesh (@KarapuRakesh) November 12, 2020

At the moment it’s gonna take 1 day to download.

— POMPEYTILLIDIE1898 (@philhayman2) November 12, 2020

I had to start over after the download was completed. Now it’s failing to restart.

— Enoque Costa Jr (@ecjrr) November 12, 2020

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[sultrysandy]

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Lots going on not only with Apple, but also third party developers releasing Big Sur and M1 compatibility versions.



Few headlines:


First iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max pre-orders now arriving to customers


Customers who preordered the new Apple Silicon Macs are beginning to see tracking information updates that suggest the devices are already in transit.


Apple issues first iOS 14.3, iPadOS 14.3, watchOS 7.2, tvOS 14.3 betas to developers

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[sultrysandy]

What happened during the troubled Big Sur launch, and why Apple can't let it happen a

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What happened during the troubled Big Sur launch, and why Apple can't let it happen again

Apple's Big Sur update needed to go smoothly, and instead it caused disruption worldwide even for users who weren't trying to download it.

Anyone can make mistakes. And very few companies can deliver a revamped operating system to millions of users without problems. However, Apple is one of those firms that can do it, it's one that has done it extraordinarily successfully.

It's also the one that on Thursday got it startlingly wrong. In 2020, at the dawn of Apple Silicon, when consumer trust needs to be maintained at all cost during a big hardware transition, Apple cannot allow this week's errors to ever happen again.


Ready or not

If we've all previously wondered whether iOS 13 was a little bit jinxed, macOS Big Sur has definitely been a problem child. It is the biggest update to macOS in years, but it's also had what has seemed to be a very extended beta period.

Right up to the end, that beta didn't seem to be closing in on the kind of robust, finished version that could be delivered to the public. It rolled out on November 12, though, and it was ready.

Only, instead of checking out Software Update in System Preferences, take a look at the macOS Big Sur entry in the Mac App Store. The latest version, the one announced and revealed on November 12, was actually uploaded and ready to distribute on November 9. It has not been changed or updated since then.

So it had been ready to release in time for Apple's unveiling of the Apple Silicon M1 Macs, but Apple chose to hold it back for three days. There was no apparent technical reason for it, nothing within the update it self. But what there was in those days, was the initial pre-order phase for the new Macs.

There could be one or two meetings going on in Apple Park about these problems



Apple cannot have expected a software release to impact on the online Apple Store. But if it did know that there was a risk of a serious problem, it can have expected that its resources would be stretched if it were simultaneously trying to handle a lot of sales transactions. And it could have done more to prevent it.


The move to Apple Silicon

You can't fault any company for balancing its resources, for deploying its efforts strategically. But this was part of the transition to Apple Silicon, a gigantic move that Apple has to get right.

What's more, it's a gigantic move that Apple had already done a great job of convincing us that it would get right. Even if you weren't using Macs around the transitions to PowerPC or Intel, Apple's really well presented explanations of what it is doing, when, and why, are remarkable.

Those explanations, this expectation Apple has built up so well, they are all remarkably punctured when the company stumbles. It's not as if this were just something like Big Sur taking a long time to download because of demand, though that was part of it.

It was that the problems downloading Big Sur affected Mac users around the world — including ones who were not trying to get the new macOS at all. Apps that were working just fine on Macs with macOS Catalina were suddenly not launching.


That was not a demand problem, that was a mistake. To run your apps, you just had to disconnect from the internet or use an app to block some traffic, and all was fine.

Naturally, you couldn't download Big Sur if you weren't online, but to get on with your work, you had to figure out this workaround. So however many people were watching that very, very slow download of macOS Big Sur, there were countless others who weren't downloading it but still could not do their work.

There are likely to be some people in Apple Park having a very bad day today, and the conversations will be chiefly about what went wrong with the Big Sur download. But they should also include examining how users were abandoned.

Apple didn't tell users what was going on, it didn't change error messages to ask people to try later. It took users to figure out what was going so wrong, and it took users to devise this workaround.

Hey Apple users:

If you're now experiencing hangs launching apps on the Mac, I figured out the problem .

It's trustd connecting to https:/*******FzIGwbGRan
https:// t . c o /FzIGwbGRan

Denying that connection fixes it, because OCSP is a soft failure.

(Disconnect internet also fixes.) pic.twitter.com/w9YciFltrb
https:// t . c o /w9YciFltrb

— Jeff Johnson (@lapcatsoftware) November 12, 2020

It wasn't about demand

It's also a little too easy to blame the problems on just how many people were trying to download macOS Big Sur. This was a failing, it isn't an excuse to claim Big Sur is popular.

Again, there aren't many companies that can push out an OS update to so many users, but this is was actually one of Apple's smaller cases.

True, macOS Big Sur was a very large file to download, but according to Apple's last unit sales volume data from a few years ago, there are at least 20 iPhone users to ever one Mac owner - and this ratio has surely only increased with time. So iOS 14, for example, was a far bigger deal to distribute from a volume of data perspective.

Apple can do OS distributions at large scale. Apple has now done this many, many times. And, it does it with popular media as well — the download crushes from a new Disney movie are fairly incredible, we understand, with 4k movies of similar size as Thursday's Big Sur download.

It hasn't been without incident, though, it hasn't been that everything has always gone so smoothly that Apple could be forgiven for relaxing. While nothing like this week's issues have come up before, macOS Mojave caused a lot of problems at first.

Yet if the next year's macOS Catalina saw issues with people's older apps failing, that was the move to 64-bits, it wasn't an error. So for all the disruption that the Big Sur problems caused, it isn't a case of Apple not being up to the task.

It is a case of mistakes. They were just costly mistakes that came at a time when Apple needs to be rock-solid with its releases.
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[sultrysandy]

iPhone 12 and 12 Pro Users Complain of Missing SMS Text Messages and Message Notifica

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iPhone 12 and 12 Pro Users Complain of Missing SMS Text Messages and Message Notifications



Since the release of the new iPhone 12 models, many new iPhone owners have been running into problems with the Messages app. There are complaints from users who aren't seeing SMS messages from friends, are missing text messages in group chats, and who aren't getting notifications when text messages are incoming.

It's not clear if this is a problem that's related specifically to the *iPhone 12* models or if it's a wider issue with iOS 14.1 and iOS 14.2, but the majority of complaints appear to be from *iPhone 12* owners.

Those who are experiencing missed SMS messages are simply not seeing some text messages that are sent from Android devices:

But I just upgraded to an *iPhone 12* (coming from an iPhone 11 Max Pro), and I am in a group message with my kids. One of my kids is an Android user. Last night he came up to me and asked me why I didn't reply to his two text messages he sent to the group. I checked my *iPhone*, and I didn't receive any text messages from him in the group chat. He then showed me his phone, and sure enough, he had sent them to the group.

Most of the people who are missing SMS messages are not seeing them in group chats, but there are reports of some standalone messages not getting delivered:

I'm having the exact same problem. It seems I'm having issues in group threads only when it has android users. I've been so confused in our messages the last few days. None of our conversations make sense. My friends and I just tested with iMessage and it doesn't seem to have any problems with just Apple users. I reported the bug to Apple. I just noticed this after upgrading to an iPhone 12 Pro from iPhone XS. Running iOS 14.1 on Verizon. I deleted every single text message on my phone and rebooted, turned iMessage off and back on. Hoping this helps.

There are also separate complaints of Messages being received, but no notification showing up. This is a problem that even pre-dates the *iPhone 12* and iOS 14, as we've had earlier issues with it too:

I am having the issue with just a single person and it's not SMS. Mine is iMessage. I was texting with my mom last night, and she updated to 14.2 on her XR in the process. Soon after, she stopped replying to my text. I sent her another one, and she said she never saw the text. Then I stopped receiving any alerts at all. I had to open the message app and check to see if a message was there. Sure enough the phone never alerted, and there was no badge, but there was a message. *iOS 14* is a total mess.

Some Verizon users have been able to solve their SMS messages by downloading the Verizon Message+ app, but it's not a complete fix for everyone and it doesn't work for all non-Verizon users. One reader also had success resetting network settings (Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings), but that has not worked for others. Toggling off 5G also does not seem to be a solution.

This is likely a problem that carriers need to address with updated firmware or that Apple needs to fix in an upcoming software update. It appears to be a problem in both iOS 14.1 and iOS 14.2, and it's too soon yet to tell if iOS 14.3 is affected.
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[sultrysandy]

iPhone 12 Mini Users Report Lock Screen Touch Sensitivity Issues

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A significant number of new iPhone 12 mini owners are reporting Lock Screen sensitivity issues since receiving their phones. A post running several pages describing the issue, and on Reddit, where more users are reporting similar problems.

Specifically, the problem manifests for most users when swiping up from the bottom of the Lock Screen using their thumb to unlock the device, or when pressing the torch or camera buttons on the Lock Screen.

The display doesn't always recognize the press or the swipe up to unlock. Other fingers seem to have more luck and the sensitivity issues end once the *iPhone 12* mini is unlocked.

Some users speculate that the lack of responsiveness could be a conductivity or grounding issue, because there are reports that it resolves itself when the handset is plugged into a wall charger, or when touching the frame without a case.

However, there's no consensus yet on what's causing the problem and whether it's hardware or software related, but hopefully it's the latter and Apple can release an update to resolve the issue soon.
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[sultrysandy]

MFi hearing aid static issues reported by iPhone 12 users

Users of MFi heading aids are reporting problems using their audio devices with the iPhone 12, with some also experiencing static issues along with difficulty in pairing them with the new smartphones.

Forum threads are suggesting there are issues with how Apple's Bluetooth connectivity functions for users of MFi-compatible hearing aids. Pairing to the iPhone, the "Made for iPhone" hearing aids are able to stream audio from the iPhone to the user's ear, such as music, phone calls, and notification sounds, among other benefits.

An email tip reader explains how they endured connection issues when they moved to the iPhone 12. While the iPhone 11 Pro Max and current-generation iPad Pro 12.9 both work without issue, the same can't be said about the iPhone 12, with the reader experiencing rapid disconnections and reconnections, with seemingly no stability at all.

For the reader, the problem is also still evident when using the beta of iOS 14.3.

Users on the HearingTracker forum also say there are problems using hearing aids with the iPhone 12, while connecting to other Apple devices worked fine. The connection issues included a "massive amount of static" through two hearing aids for one user, then one or both of the hearing aids disconnect.


Similar issues were also endured by others, as well as individual hearing aids becoming unpaired. One user also claimed they were informed it would be potentially fixed in the iOS 14.2 update, though it still persists.

Posts made to Apple's support forums advise of the same sort of problems, including static and disconnections, and again seemingly limited to the iPhone 12 generation of devices.

This is not the first time hearing aid users have encountered difficulty in using new iPhone models. An update for iOS 13.1.3 was released in October 2019 to fix Bluetooth connection reliability issues, specifically for hearing aids.

It is probable that a similar fix will be issued by Apple as part of an incremental software update in the coming weeks.
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[sultrysandy]

macOS Big Sur Update Bricking Some Older MacBook Pro Models

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Come in Apple! Problems continue mounting during the past four days.

And don't attempt to pull a Comcast bullshit excuse when their customer service was repeatedly not only worst in their industry, but also worst in all industries, for consecutive years. And despite their size, both financially and number of employees, claimed it would take extended time to correct.


Said in the beginning if this thread, just because I use Apple products and services, does not make me an Apple fan girl







A large number of late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro owners are reporting that the macOS Big Sur update is bricking their machines. A forum thread contains a significant number of users reporting the issue, and similar problems are being reported across Reddit and the Apple Support Communities, suggesting the problem is widespread.

Users are reporting that during the course of updating to *macOS Big Sur*, their machines are stuck displaying a black screen. Key reset combinations, including NVRAM, SMC, safe mode, and internet recovery, are all reportedly inaccessible after attempting to install the update, leaving no way to bypass the static black screen.

It appears that the overwhelming number of users experiencing problems are owners of the late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it is unclear exactly how many users of these models have been affected. It is also of note that these are the oldest models supported by *macOS Big Sur*.

One commenter on Reddit said that they were told by Apple support to book their MacBook Pro in for a repair. Another on an Apple Support thread said that the issue has been escalated to Apple's engineering team, so Apple should now be aware of the problem.

Until it is clear what may be causing the issue and Apple releases a fix, late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro may wish to hold off on installing *macOS Big Sur*.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple Says Hearing Aid Sound Issues With iPhone 12 Models Will Be Fixed in Future Sof

Users of MFi heading aids are reporting problems using their audio devices with the iPhone 12, with some also experiencing static issues along with difficulty in pairing them with the new smartphones.

Forum threads are suggesting there are issues with how Apple's Bluetooth connectivity functions for users of MFi-compatible hearing aids. Pairing to the iPhone, the "Made for iPhone" hearing aids are able to stream audio from the iPhone to the user's ear, such as music, phone calls, and notification sounds, among other benefits.

An email tip reader explains how they endured connection issues when they moved to the iPhone 12. While the iPhone 11 Pro Max and current-generation iPad Pro 12.9 both work without issue, the same can't be said about the iPhone 12, with the reader experiencing rapid disconnections and reconnections, with seemingly no stability at all.

For the reader, the problem is also still evident when using the beta of iOS 14.3.

Users on the HearingTracker forum also say there are problems using hearing aids with the iPhone 12, while connecting to other Apple devices worked fine. The connection issues included a "massive amount of static" through two hearing aids for one user, then one or both of the hearing aids disconnect.


Similar issues were also endured by others, as well as individual hearing aids becoming unpaired. One user also claimed they were informed it would be potentially fixed in the iOS 14.2 update, though it still persists.

Posts made to Apple's support forums advise of the same sort of problems, including static and disconnections, and again seemingly limited to the iPhone 12 generation of devices.

This is not the first time hearing aid users have encountered difficulty in using new iPhone models. An update for iOS 13.1.3 was released in October 2019 to fix Bluetooth connection reliability issues, specifically for hearing aids.

It is probable that a similar fix will be issued by Apple as part of an incremental software update in the coming weeks.
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In a new support document, Apple has acknowledged that users might experience sound quality issues with some Made for iPhone hearing aids/devices. Apple says that it is aware of the issue and will provide a fix in a future software update.

Apple says some hearing aids/devices connected to the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, or iPhone 12 Pro Max may exhibit unexpected noises, including loud static, interrupted or intermittent audio, or garbled audio. These issues have been reported by users in various online forums, including the Apple Support Communities and Reddit.

Apple has not specified which software version will include a fix. The first beta of iOS 14.3 was seeded to developers and public testers earlier this week.
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[sultrysandy]

Rosetta Mac App Translation Process Can Take 20 Seconds on First Launch

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Given that Apple's new M1 chip is designed based on ARM architecture, apps built for Intel's x86 architecture will need to be run through Apple's translation layer Rosetta 2 in order to function on Apple Silicon Macs, and this process can take some time.

Microsoft last week indicated that when launching any of its Mac apps for the first time on Apple Silicon Macs, the apps will bounce in the dock for approximately 20 seconds while the Rosetta 2 translation process is completed, with all subsequent launches being fast. This applies to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and OneDrive.

Apple's developer documentation acknowledges this matter, noting that the Rosetta 2 translation process "takes time" and that users "might perceive that translated apps launch or run more slowly at times" as a result:

If an executable contains only Intel instructions, macOS automatically launches Rosetta and begins the translation process. When translation finishes, the system launches the translated executable in place of the original. However, the translation process takes time, so users might perceive that translated apps launch or run more slowly at times.

To avoid this translation process, developers can create a universal binary for their apps, allowing them to run natively on both Apple Silicon Macs and Intel-based Macs with one executable file. Microsoft is one of many developers in the process of doing so.

A handful of apps have already been announced with universal support, including Darkroom, djay Pro AI, and OmniFocus.

The first Macs with the M1 chip will begin arriving to customers Tuesday.


Microsoft has since changed the wording of its support document, and now simply says that the first launch of each Office app "will take longer," rather than specifying 20 seconds. We’re told this is because Microsoft has not yet confirmed exact speeds on production hardware.
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[sultrysandy]

Mac mini with M1 chip faster than all Intel Macs in single-core tests

New Geekbench scores show that the 2020 Mac mini with M1 chip is faster than every Intel Mac in single core tests, even though the benchmarking app is running under the Rosetta 2 emulator. The M1-powered MacBook Pro and MacBook Air take second and third places.

There are some important riders to note, however …

The headline results.

The new Rosetta 2 Geekbench results uploaded show that the M1 chip running on a MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM has single-core and multi-core scores of 1,313 and 5,888 respectively. Since this version of Geekbench is running through Apple’s translation layer Rosetta 2, an impact on performance is to be expected. Rosetta 2 running x86 code appears to be achieving 78%-79% of the performance of native Apple Silicon code.

Despite the impact on performance, the single-core Rosetta 2 score results still outperforms any other Intel Mac, including the 2020 27-inch iMac with Intel Core i9-10910 @ 3.6GHz.

All of which is both true and incredibly impressive. However, three things need to be noted to put the results into context.

First, the rankings change significantly when running multi-core tests. There, the late-2019 Mac Pro tops the charts, and the M1-powered Mac mini drops down to 13th place behind other Mac Pro models, the iMac Pro and iMac models back to late 2019.

Second, Rosetta 2 is able to achieve impressive speeds for many apps as it is able to fully translate them before you run them. That isn’t true of all apps, so things like video encoding will be significantly slower. That’s not a problem with Final Cut Pro, as that will run natively on M1 machines, but would be an issue with apps like Adobe Premiere Pro, at least for now.

Third, while the MacBook Air takes third place here, its fan-less design means that it will hit thermal limits under sustained heavy loads, so will drop down the rankings in real-life use. Improved cooling also means that Mac Pro models will be able to maintain their performance longer than the M1-powered Mac mini.

All the same, it does bode very well for the future of M1-powered Macs, and it’s likely that the first M1-powered 16-inch MacBook Pro will be significantly faster than the 13-inch models.
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[sultrysandy]

Early macOS Big Sur adopters running into teething issues

The release of macOS Big Sur has been problematic for Mac users in a number of ways, launch issues that Apple is probably already working to fix in upcoming operating system updates.

Despite the best efforts of development teams in improving software in lengthy beta tests before the release of a major version, problems almost always creep through to the final release. The story is the same for macOS Big Sur, a major update that Apple is not only making sure works properly across both Macs with Intel processors and those using the M1, but also one that introduces changes and new features.

Initial reports surrounding the release have dealt with bigger issues, such as the troubled launch and the privacy-related scrutiny that followed. However, posts to the Apple Support Communities indicates there's many other smaller issues with Big Sur that need to be addressed.

As with any initial release of an Apple operating system, the company is likely to introduce fixes and patches in future software updates to rectify the complaints. In some cases, the problems may seemingly fix themselves in a later update, without any confirmation from Apple that a fix took place.

What follows is a partial list of issues that appear in the support forum less than a week after release.


Bricked older MacBook Pro models

Some users are discovering the update to macOS Big Sur is failing on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, specifically covering the late 2013 and mid 2014 models. Attempts to update can get stuck and result in a permanent black screen.

Typical attempts to restart the MacBook, including using Internet Recovery or booting to Safe Mode, are either unavailable or do not work in such cases.

Apple has yet to officially comment on it publicly, but at least one user claims the issue has been escalated to engineering teams.


Apple Watch connectivity

An issue with the way the Mac communicates with the Apple Watch has been found, with users complaining the Apple Watch Series 6 is no longer being recognized. One user reports enduring constant disconnections in the macOS update just before Big Sur's release, with the major update likely to have made the fatal blow.

Other users have the same issue, but between an iMac running Big Sur and an Apple Watch Series 5, with macOS no longer using the presence of the Apple Watch to automatically authenticate the user.


Mail

The Mail app has a wide variety of issues, including how attempts to use IMAP times out at login, with the problem being server agnostic. Outgoing mail has also failed for some, possibly under the same authentication issues.

Mail search also fails, with lengthy search times and truncated results accompanied by complete failures to bring up results at all. Attempts to rebuild the database and redownloading messages once again didn't fix the problem for one user.

Other Mail complaints include the app using 100% CPU when running, the loss of all "Trash" mail and the subsequent complete loss of deleted emails, and a missing attachment paperclip icon.


Menu and Interface

Some users are discovering the upgrade to Big Sur has resulted in an issue with the main Menu Bar, in that it is solid black in color. For one user, it remains the same regardless of changing between light and dark modes, as well as restarts.

Another discovered that all of the windows have lost their transparency, with each appearing as just white or grey. Replies suggested that the "Reduce Transparency" option in the Accessibility System Preferences menu may have been switched on by accident, though not necessarily an action performed by the user directly.


Smart Keys

One user complained that their YubiKey nano 5 they used for smart card logins in macOS Catalina was working for several months, but hit intermittent problems with the Big Sur upgrades. Attempts to perform actions requiring root privileges brings up the usual PIN entry dialog, but the dialog box hangs after the PIN is entered.

The issue only affected root privilege actions via the GUI, as the same dialog for terminal prompts works fine, as well as for logging in to macOS itself.


Screensavers

Some users are complaining about the Classic Screen Saver not working, regardless of whether the user's own photographs are used or Apple's collection. For one user, selecting images in the screensaver's menu will load the first set of images only, and not other sets.


Messages

For the messaging system, one user warns Messages asks for them to log in, then will load for 20 seconds before quitting and bringing the same log-in prompt again. Others complain that both FaceTime and Messages have stopped working entirely after the update, or is generally slow and unresponsive.

The keyboard shortcut to quick-delete messages, Option-Command-K, isn't working.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple MacBook Air with M1 review: Faster than Intel

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As the first wave of Macs with Apple's Silicon M1 beginning delivery today, think there will be many reviews released. Will try avoiding those praising as the fastest, lightest, best Mac, greatest PC, blah, blah, blah. Also those on the other end of the spectrum with overpriced, under powered, can't run majority of apps, et cetera. And attempt to be objective rather than subjective.



MacBook Air with Apple’s own M1 chip is faster and has better battery life than Intel-based predecessors

Apple made a good decision to ditch Intel and develop its own chips for its Mac computers. I’ve been testing the $999 version of the MacBook Air with Apple’s new M1 chip for the past several days, and it’s faster and offers better battery life than what equivalent Intel models offered.

Companies like Microsoft have also issued laptops with lower-powered Arm-based processors from Qualcomm and others, but those computers tended to come with a lot of compromises. Microsoft’s Surface Pro X, for example, didn’t always support legacy apps, wasn’t as powerful, and had poor battery life compared with Intel-based Windows computers. Based on my testing, the MacBook Air avoids those kinds of compromises.

Apple did make a lot of wild promises about its new M1 chip. It said it’s faster than 98% of the laptops sold in the last year (which may be true, given that many are low-cost Chromebooks and entry-level Windows computers). It also promises up to five times faster graphics for some tasks and all-day battery life. I couldn’t verify all those claims, but it is noticeably faster than its predecessors.

It’s also the first Mac to run iPhone and iPad apps, but doesn’t have a touch screen, which means those apps aren’t particularly useful, and there’s a limited selection anyway. It feels like a fast laptop, not some kind of dramatic new hybrid like the first Surface was. But long term, the new chip opens doors for Apple to make touch-screen Macs that let you interact with apps without a mouse or keyboard. Or maybe it’s laying the foundation for some sort of iPad that can run both Mac and iPad apps.

Here’s what you need to know about the new MacBook Air.


What’s good

The new MacBook Air looks identical to the model Apple launched in March. It has the same keyboard, which fixed a lot of reliability problems with the one that Apple had been using since 2015.

The biggest change you might notice on first glance is the screen, which is now just as colorful as the one on Apple’s more expensive MacBook Pro laptops. It helps images and videos look more accurate and will be useful for folks who want to edit visual content on the MacBook Air.

In fact, the new MacBook Air is perfectly capable of editing videos with pro-level software like Final Cut 10.5 -- in the past, many professionals have relied on the $1,299 MacBook Pro for video editing. I tested some editing on it and found that the laptop easily handled scrubbing through a 4K video without any hiccups I’d normally see on the previous-generation MacBook Air with an Intel chip.

I ran a few software tests just to see how much faster the new MacBook is and if it met some of Apple’s claims. Using software that measures the power of the processor, called Geekbench, I found the new MacBook Air to be twice as fast as the Intel-based equivalent model at some tasks and more than three times as fast at others.

I repeated these tests in some real-world environments, like in the game Shadow of the Tomb Raider. I don’t think folks normally think of Macs as gaming systems, but Apple’s website says the game runs 3.5 times faster than the MacBook Air.

That’s true: the old MacBook Air can barely run the game while the new MacBook Air can run it fine and on higher graphics settings. That game is 2 years old, though, so I still wouldn’t think of the Mac as a powerhouse compared with laptops with dedicated graphics chips from Nvidia or AMD. But, it’s more powerful than the Intel’s embedded graphics.

Apps open quickly, too, but are more on par with the MacBook Air from earlier this year. I didn’t notice any sort of slowdown even when I had lots of tabs open in the browser and about a dozen different apps open.

The new MacBook Air has longer battery life than the Intel models, too, despite the faster chip. I turned it on at 9:15 a.m. and still had 28% at 6:12 p.m. after using it most of the day, running benchmarks and watching a nearly two-hour movie in 1080p. Apple promises up to 18 hours of battery life if you’re just watching a movie, versus 12 hours on the last MacBook Air. But how you use your computer will drastically change the battery life. I think most folks will get a full day.

It’s really quiet, too, since there’s no fan inside to kick on while you’re in the middle of work. But that comes at a cost: the bottom gets pretty hot.

The chip change does not break any old apps -- at least the ones I use -- you can still run the ones that were designed for older Macs. I was able to download and open a bunch of apps from third parties that weren’t built for M1, like Spotify, Cisco AnyConnect, Geekbench and Google Chrome. They worked just fine. New versions of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator optimized for M1 chips are coming later.

The M1 chip also lets the MacBook Air run some iPhone and iPad apps, but a lot of app makers have opted out from having their apps published. I found some apps I use regularly on my iPhone, like the calorie-counting app “Lose It,” and HBO Max, but there aren’t apps for Instagram, any of Google’s products, Netflix or Hulu, which is kind of a bummer.

Also, the iPhone and iPad apps that do work on the new Mac are fairly limited -- you can’t make HBO Max full screen, for example. Moreover, most of these apps are designed around a touch screen, so unless Apple adds one to a future Mac, this feature is mostly a novelty and an easy way to use apps that otherwise weren’t available on Mac.


What’s bad

On a strict design level, there’s not much “wow” factor here. The new MacBook Air still looks and feels exactly like the last MacBook Air, just with a faster processor, better screen, support for iPhone/iPad apps and longer battery life. Those are great improvements, but they probably aren’t going to drive a lot of upgrades in the short term.

The M1 MacBook Air only supports one external monitor instead of two like on the last MacBook Air. I use two additional screens every day, so people who have a similar work flow might be upset about this. Also, while the 720p webcam offers sharper and clearer video thanks to additional smarts from the M1, it’s still a lower resolution than what you’ll find on other computers, like the Microsoft Surface, which has a 5MP camera. It’s fine for FaceTime, though.

I also couldn’t test every app out there in the week or so I had with the new MacBook Air. So there may be apps that don’t run properly on the new M1 chip yet. Your mileage may vary, though all of the apps I use for work and play ran fine.

I am also a little peeved that I spent $999 on a MacBook Air back in March only to have it replaced by a faster model with a better screen and more apps just eight months later. I guess that’s the pace of technology, but it still stings for people like me who expect a new product to be state-of-the-art for at least a year before it’s replaced.


Should you buy it?

I tested the $999 MacBook Air and think it’s a great buy for the price if you need a new computer. I was pretty blown away by how powerful it felt compared with Intel models, and I think people will be pleasantly surprised to see it can handle tasks like video editing compared with previous models.

But, if you’re just starting to think about new MacBooks, you may want to wait a little bit. It seems like there’s a lot of power here to enable new features that could launch in versions of the MacBook Air with a new design, perhaps with touch screens, a better camera and new options like Face ID.

At the rate Apple’s releasing new computers, you might not have to wait long.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple M1 Mac reviews: Impressive performance and battery life, iOS apps are mixed

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Apple M1 Mac reviews: Impressive performance and battery life, iOS apps are a mixed bag

As the first orders arrive to customers, early reviews of the M1 Mac mini, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air have officially been published. As expected, the reviews praise the M1 chip’s performance and battery life, and they note that Apple Silicon will only get better from here.

The Wall Street Journal leads things off with a detailed look at the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro performance using Chrome:

Fifty browsing tabs? Not at a peep or a degree above 80 Fahrenheit on either M1-powered system. The Intel-powered Air? Thirty-five tabs got its fans revving, and it hit 93 degrees.

How about 65 tabs? The M1-powered Air was still cool and quiet, though it began showing signs of sluggish scrolling and tab switching. The Intel-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro powered up its fan at around 75 tabs. At a whopping 100 tabs—which no sane human could ever navigate—the M1-powered Pro was quiet as a mouse and scrolling pages smoothly. Even when I threw in a Zoom call, it kept silent. I finally got the new MacBook Pro’s fan to kick on, with a temperature of 98 degrees, when playing “Rise of Tomb Raider” while simultaneously exporting a 4K video in Adobe Premiere and running some Chrome tabs in the background.

The WSJ also got a quote from Intel on how its chips compare to the new M1 processors:

An Intel spokesman said the company believes the PCs powered by its processors, including its latest-generation mobile chips, “provide global customers the best experience in areas they value most, as well as the most open platform for developers.” He also said Intel is focused on delivering “a wide range of technology choices that redefine computing.”

Engadget on the MacBook Air’s performance, with a particular emphasis on Safari:

My first thought while using the M1-powered MacBook Air, surprisingly enough, was that it felt like an iPad Pro. It’s shockingly responsive, as if it’s awaiting your next command like an over-eager puppy. Running apps natively built for the M1, like Safari and GarageBand, felt just as fast as launching an iPad app. Safari, in particular, delivers the best web browsing experience I’ve ever had on a computer. Sites load up almost instantly, and scrolling through complex pages feels effortless. It’s like seeing the web for the first time — one unencumbered by the cruft of increasingly sluggish desktop browsers.

The Verge writes that battery life of the new MacBook Air is impressive, even if it doesn’t quite live up to Apple’s expectations. They also note, however, that as more apps are optimized for the M1, battery life will also improve:

I’m getting between eight and 10 hours of real, sustained work depending on how hard I am pushing it. That’s not quite 50 percent better than the last MacBook Air, but it’s very close.

To be very clear, I’m getting those numbers using the apps I actually use, which, of course, includes Chrome and various apps that are also based on the Chrome engine, like Slack. What’s remarkable about that is, for some applications, Rosetta 2 needs to do a bunch of real-time code translation, which further eats into battery life.

If and when these apps are rewritten to be “universal” apps that work natively on the M1, I expect to see even better battery life.

According to The Verge’s testing, the new M1 MacBook Pro does indeed last “a couple more hours on a charge” than the Air. This could be a deciding factor for many users contemplating the choice between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro:

If you’re trying to choose between the new 13-inch MacBook Pro and this MacBook Air, I think that battery life is going to be the deciding factor for most people. In Nilay’s testing, the Pro is consistently getting a couple more hours on a charge. The Pro also has a Touch Bar and a slightly brighter screen, but the other major difference is that it has a fan. That allows it to run heavy workloads for extended periods of time. Same deal with the new Mac mini.

Chart via The Verge



TechCrunch has some details on just how well iOS apps actually perform on M1 Macs, with a useful ranking of the various different types of apps:

Apple gets to say that the Mac now supports millions of iOS apps, but the fact is that the experience of using those apps on the M1 is sub-par. It will get better, I have no doubt. But the app experience on the M1 is pretty firmly in this order right now: Native M1 app>Rosetta 2 app>Catalyst app> iOS app. Provided that the Catalyst ports can be bothered to build in Mac-centric behaviors and interactions, of course. But it’s clear that iOS, though present, is clearly not where it needs to be on M1.

Jason Snell at Six Colors says it’s ultimately a “net plus” that iOS apps can run on the new Macs:

App developers can opt their iOS apps out of being visible on the Mac, and many have done just that. Want to watch videos in the Netflix app rather than a browser tab? Too bad—Netflix isn’t available, nor are most other video streaming services. Many productivity apps are missing, too. In fact, over the days that I was working on this review, I found more iOS apps disappearing from the store.

In the end, it’s a net plus that some iOS apps will run on these new Macs. But I suspect it will take a while—a few months, or maybe even longer—for this whole story to play out. My guess is that many developers will want to do a little work to make their apps run a little bit better on the Mac. And Apple offers a pathway for that approach, via Catalyst. Maybe it’s a little counterintuitive, but I wonder if the ability to run iOS apps unmodified on macOS might be what motivates developers to do the extra work with Catalyst to make them more Mac-like.

TechCrunch got closer to Apple’s claimed battery life numbers:

The new M1 chips are remarkably energy efficient, even when performing more resource-intensive tasks. In a video playback test, I got 16 hours of life. That’s less than the maximum 18 hours stated by Apple’s numbers, but it’s an impressive figure, nonetheless. I would certainly feel comfortable leaving the house without a charge.

Per Matthew’s numbers, the Pro fares even better. He was able to get right around the stated 20 hours. That higher figure likely comes due a higher capacity battery courtesy of the thicker laptop footprint. In both cases, however, the systems blew away last year’s 13 and 16-inch Pros, which got eight hours and eight minutes and six hours and 40 minutes, respectively. That’s a tremendous bump in an important metric.

CNN Underscored on the Rosetta 2 Translation process:

Microsoft Outlook, a much less intense application, took about 8.5 seconds to fully open. Mileage varies a bit after the first few opens with applications, but as the Mac learned our use cases, we saw app load times improve. Essentially, it will have the conversion processor queued up and be ready to handle new processes in real time.

CNET on gaming performance:

One disappointment was that Mac gaming remains, much as it ever was, an afterthought. After some big claims about cult favorite new RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 running on M1 Macs, I could not get the Mac version to run via Steam — I got an error message on each of the M1 Macs I tested. Larian, developer of BG3, tells me that it’s working on a Rosetta-ready patch for the Steam version of the game right now.

Emulating software, especially games, is always a roll of the dice, but at least that’s the only app I tried that wouldn’t even launch in Rosetta mode. That said, the Steam interface itself ran sluggishly. I hope there’s a native version of that in the not-too-distant future as well.

Testing several other MacOS-compatible games from my Steam and GOG.com libraries, I got two out of six to work, so at the moment, I’d consider this even less of a gaming-friendly machine than its predecessor, but hopefully that’s an issue that can be patched or updated away soon.

But I wouldn’t call that a dealbreaker (unless you’re specifically buying a new Mac to play Baldur’s Gate 3 right now…). The truth is, the x86 app compatibility on the M1 is night and day different from my experience on Arm-based Windows PCs, including similarly high-end ones like the Surface Pro X.

On the new Mac mini, The Verge says it’s an “over-performer.”

Outside of benchmark world, the Mac mini feels wonderfully fast day to day. That said, I’ve noticed the occasional odd hitch: sometimes Spotify takes a noticeable amount of bounces in the dock (up to 10) before it opens after a cold reboot of the system. That’s been pretty rare, and once Intel-optimized apps are open, performance feels indistinguishable from how they run on my fully loaded 16-inch MacBook Pro. I’ve also not run into any glaring app compatibility issues, though if there’s some piece of software that’s job-critical for you, it’s probably worth waiting on reports of how it runs on the M1.

For the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, the consensus among early reviewers is that the new M1 chip truly lives up to Apple’s expectations. The machines are powerful and efficient, offering notable improvements in battery life and performance compared to their Intel predecessors. Furthermore, things will only get better as more Intel applications are optimized for the M1 Mac.

The design story is largely the same: the MacBook Pro includes the controversial Touch Bar, which might be reason enough for some users to choose the MacBook Air instead. As we’ve said before, Apple’s goal with these first M1 Macs was to showcase the capabilities of its Apple Silicon work in familiar designs. It’ll be interesting to see how this strategy evolves with the rest of the Mac lineup.
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[sultrysandy]

Restoring Apple Silicon M1 Macs Leading to macOS Installation Errors

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Several customers who purchased a new Mac with an M1 Apple Silicon app have discovered an issue when attempting to restore the machine, which leads to it becoming non-functional and stuck on error screen that says "An error occurred preparing the update. Failed to personalize the software update."

There are threads outlining the issue and warning against restoring one of the new machines. One describes the problem:

I just received my M1 MacBook Pro and Macbook Air. Because I don't need any of the included software, it is always my procedure to restore the operating system without things like garage band and iMovie.

during the install process, an error occurs relating to "customizing the system update"

after a couple hours on the phone with Apple care, they told me that 75 other people have called in with this issue, and They have no work around. I was instructed to return my systems, or wait for a fix. Without having an operating system running, there is no way for me to install any future updates, so these computers are effectively bricked.

While Apple Support wasn't able to provide a reliable fix for the problem, others have discovered a solution that appears to work.

Apple has instructions on using Configurator 2 and a secondary Mac to revive or restore an *Apple Silicon* Mac that has become unresponsive. This method requires the newest version of Apple Configurator 2, a functional Mac, and an appropriate cable to connect the two Macs.

Restoring in this way restores the firmware, updates recoveryOS to the latest version, and erases and installs the latest version of macOS on internal storage, thereby erasing all data. This method was successful for few who had the recovery problem.

Apple may have a fix coming for this issue in the future, but for now it's best to avoid restoring an *Apple Silicon* Mac. For those that have already done so and are running into trouble, the Apple Configurator solution may be worth trying.
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