Newsletter Archives

• Apple silicon just got confusing

  Posted on March 5, 2025 at 12:40 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  Today, Apple announced several new products without fanfare: the iPad Air, MacBook Air, and Mac Studio. In a related announcement, Apple unveiled the M3 Ultra chip.

  This is not the progression I anticipated. I thought 2025 would be the year of the M4, expecting general upgrades to M4 and a new M4 Ultra. Instead, the iPad Air got an M3 chip, the MacBook air an M4 (expected), and the Mac Studio in two models, one with the M4 Max (expected) and the other with the new M3 Ultra (completely unexpected).

  

  Image courtesy Apple, Inc.

  The progression for the Airs makes sense. But the Studio? Now the entry model has an M4 and the tricked-out model has an M3. That will confuse the buying process. It also makes me wonder where the M4 Ultra is.

  Apple Apple, Apple M-series chips, Apple M3 Ultra, Apple M4 Max, Apple Silicon, iPad Air, Mac Studio, MacBook Air

• Can Office and Windows play nice on ARM computers?

  Posted on August 19, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  ARM-based computers are about to move from a nerd niche to a mainstream product with the arrival of Copilot+ PCs and the increasing popularity of Mac computers.

  What are the compatibility issues for running Windows apps, especially Microsoft Office, on this very different hardware?

  Though Windows and Office look the same on both ARM and Intel computers, their CPUs are fundamentally different. Under the hood, there are big differences in the software layers between the hardware and what you see on the screen. It’s a bit like the difference between a petrol and an electric car — both look and are driven the same, but they have hugely different engines and mechanics.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.34.0, 2024-08-19).

  Microsoft 365 Apple Silicon, ARM, Newsletters, Office, Office on Mac, Windows on ARM

• The M1 is dead

  Posted on March 11, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.11 • 2024-03-11

  APPLE

  

  By Will Fastie

  With no fanfare, Apple announced two new MacBooks.

  The reason for the lack of fanfare is that Apple had little to say. I expected this move, and I’m not even an Apple expert.

  But there is a key takeaway — there are no longer any Macs with the M1 SoC.

  I’ll get to the lineup in a second, but first I want to share a lovely photo.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.11.0, 2024-03-11).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Apple Apple, Apple Silicon, MacBook Air, News, Newsletters

• M3 powers new MacBook Pros and iMac

  Posted on November 6, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Apple is infamous for making nebulous comparisons, but this time it has gone too far.

  Apple’s dark (Halloween) event a week ago was mildly disappointing. The company finally got around to announcing its previously expected M3 family of silicon and refreshed the MacBook Pro series as a result.

  The problem is that it wasn’t all that exciting. With a few exceptions, these were moves the company had to make, even though they will not generate the same sort of excitement as previous M1 and M2 announcements.

  The centerpiece of the event was silicon, a set of chips Apple calls “the most advanced chips ever built for a personal computer.”

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.45.0, 2023-11-06).

  Apple Apple M3, Apple News, Apple Silicon, iMac, MacBook, Newsletters, Qualcomm

• The last shoe drops

  Posted on June 12, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Three major announcements from Apple during WWDC 2023 close the loop for Apple silicon.

  No, I’m not talking about Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s new “spatial” computer.

  The big news is that Apple’s product lineup no longer includes Macs with Intel silicon.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.24.0, 2023-06-12).

  Apple Apple M2, Apple News, Apple Silicon, Mac Pro, Mac Studio, Newsletters

• Apple announces new Mac products

  Posted on January 30, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.05 • 2023-01-30

  APPLE NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  The MacBook Pro and Mac mini are upgraded to new versions of Apple’s M2 system on a chip.

  All models became available last Tuesday.

  There’s not a lot of news here. The move to the M2 series of Apple silicon was inevitable and expected for both product lines, so the new products are not much of a surprise. But it’s important to keep up, because Apple silicon keeps evolving.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.05.0, 2023-01-30).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Apple Apple M2, Apple News, Apple Silicon, Mac mini, MacBook, Newsletters

• The Apple M2 arrives

  Posted on June 13, 2022 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  This wasn’t quite the shoe everyone hoped would be dropping.

  As you know from previous Apple News installments, our focus has been on developments related to Apple silicon. Our oft-stated reason for this is that, for the first time in decades, Apple devices might be more interesting to our readers, especially the large number who already own an Apple device.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.24.0, 2022-06-13).

  Apple Apple, Apple M2, Apple News, Apple Silicon, Newsletters

• Will Intel be a dominant chip company going forward?

  Posted on May 16, 2022 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  SILICON

  

  By Brian Livingston

  All the headlines seem to be bad for Intel lately — poor yields on bleeding-edge technologies, disappointed customers, lagging performance compared with competitors from around the world, and on and on.

  The truth of the matter is a bit more complicated.

  Most of the stories you’ve been reading in the mass media about Intel are telling only half the tale — if that.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.20.0, 2022-05-16).

  Silicon Apple Silicon, Intel, Newsletters, Samsung, Silicon, TSMC
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