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

• 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

• The M1 Ultra debuts

  Posted on March 14, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Keeping to schedule, Apple drops the next shoe in its master plan to get all its products running on its own, proprietary, silicon.

  It’s been about 18 months since Apple announced the original M1 system on a chip (SOC), introduced several products based on it, and laid out its plan to transition to its own silicon in roughly two years.

  At its spring event last week, the company took its next step in that transition and went so far as to tease the last shoe. Perhaps “tease” is the wrong word because the company came right out and said it — the last brick in the wall will be a transition of the insanely expensive Mac Pro to Apple silicon.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.11.0 (2022-03-14).

  Apple Apple M1, Apple News, Apple Silicon, Mac Studio, Newsletters