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They're high-end for a number of reasons. Yes, Apple is being stingy with 8GB of RAM, but the performance is good (especially for audiovisual tasks), the designs are great, the displays are high-quality, and the battery life is superb.

Apple is likely to repeat the M3 strategy where it upgrades some models this year and others the next, but that's not surprising... it needs to deal with both production volume and the challenges of building very high-end chips like the M4 Ultra/Extreme. I do like what Apple is doing, though...

That's an RTX 4080 versus the lower end M3 Max. Now, even the higher-end M3 Max probably won't beat an RTX 4080, but neither result would be shocking. The RTX 4080 by itself can chew more power than the entire MacBook Pro (typically 150W); if Apple could achieve 4080-level performance with its...

You're still pitting a gaming laptop (and not ASUS' best-built, at that) against a high-end creative workstation. The markets for the two are wildly different! That's... actually not all that great in 2024, especially since the system will throttle back while on battery power (yes, I appreciate...

The comparison with that Lenovo isn't straightforward. The LOQ has a lower resolution (if slightly higher refresh rate) and lower quality display, just one USB-C port (no surprises at the lack of Thunderbolt with AMD), build quality will undoubtedly be worse... you get the idea. Performance will...

That's the one thing about the current Mac lineup that gets me — it's been at 8GB base for some configs for years, and a $1,600 machine shouldn't start there. Now, 8GB on a modern Mac isn't quite like 8GB on Windows, but it's also true that it doesn't magically provide gobs of headroom, either...

The funny thing: I was big on 3D acceleration, but I never had a Voodoo card. I jumped in early with Rendition-based cards and jumped to ATI/NVIDIA when those companies hit their stride. I was generally happy, but it was hard not to be a little envious of people who had dual Voodoo 2 boards.

I wouldn't feel that bad. M2 shipped in 2022; it was just MacBook Pro owners that got the M2 and M3 refreshes in the same year, and that was a fairly long stretch. That and there was a time when Apple refreshed computers roughly every half year as it kept up with chip revisions from Intel (and...

I'm curious as to where Apple can and will go with M4 beyond the Neural Engine upgrade. I could see a raw performance boost thanks to the improved 3nm process, but after that it's not clear. Maybe a newer version of the ARM architecture? Either way, I'd say this is a nice problem for Apple to...

Not as much of a heartbreaker these days, but still... ASUS is clearly making a play for more market share, and isn't as interested in catering to enthusiasts (see also: the 'safer' look of the latest ROG Phone).

In this case I don't see a reason to lie. If anything, Google has a strong incentive to tell the truth as this is a selling point for the Pixel 8.

If it's end-to-end encrypted, then it's going to be very tough to access. Google may thrive on user data, but I really don't think it's quietly tracking users here.

Egads, the leaps to conclusions are so large here that you'd think it was a long jump competition. This doesn't mean Google is spying on your whereabouts even when your phone is off. The company even notes that location data is end-to-end encrypted, and the crowdsourced data is provided in a...

There should be an M3 Ultra down the line, and that will get considerably closer to 4090 performance… but you’re probably going to pay a steep premium for that, well beyond the console realm. I will say that Macs excel at more than just video editing… really, they’re superb for media creation...

The government "just letting people do business" is how we got loads of ISP duopolies and even monopolies. Occasionally you get a flourishing market without government involvement, but an anecdotal experience of it doesn't mean your experience is commonplace. Never mind regulatory capture... in...

I see this as a course correction: Google noticed that many Apple/Samsung buyers get high-end but mid-sized phones, and that option just didn't exist in Pixel land. I know I'd go for the regular 9 Pro if I were in the market.

That's a very odd statement when we had years of reports that Intel and AMD chips were vulnerable to an unpatchable memory exploit. The reality is that it's very difficult to design a chip that's completely immune to attacks. It also sounds like M3 and later chips won't face as much of a threat.

Definitely a good use of AI if done well. The dream is that every NPC in a game can deliver an original response based on who they are, what they know, and what you've done.

You'll probably be very happy in the next few weeks, then! Besides the M3, the iPad Pro is believed to be switching to OLED screens, improved cameras, and an updated Magic Keyboard.

The credible rumors suggest Apple is launching multiple products this month, but without an event attached. The MacBook Air M3 just launched earlier this month. Next up is a reported iPad refresh that includes iPad Pro M3 models and an iPad Air M2. You might see a new iPhone SE, but not...

I'm sure some folks will complain that ASUS is shying away from small phones, but the simple reality is that those devices don't have much of a following. This is the company going for a larger audience. The price is right, and the battery life sounds great — I'm just not keen on the limited OS...

I enjoyed Rings of Power, even if it was always going to have a tough time competing with Peter Jackson's movies. I'm much more annoyed by Wheel of Time. The casting and general storytelling was fine, but they messed too much with the plot. I just spent my time noting how they'd changed X or...

If you want market share, you compare sales of computers attached to a given OS. That's easy for macOS, but you probably won't get a realistic picture of Linux use between the lack of transparency from OEMs as well as the ability to install Linux after the fact. Usage share is also risky to...

It's pretty simple: if an OEM wants the Play Store, they also have to accept the larger suite of Google apps as well as certain terms regarding default placement (such as the Google search widget in a certain spot on the home screen). If the OEM would rather steer people to its own store, or...

Google does have some anti-competitive behavior, such as strict requirements for apps and tool placements if you want access to the Play Store. Users can still sideload, of course, but the company still really, really discourages OEMs from steering singers to alternative app stores. I'm of...

If you can afford to wait for the M3 Air (which may show up as soon as next month), please do. The chip isn't a huge leap over the M2, but the current Air is old enough that I'd want to get the latest if I'm going to pay full price. Having said this: if you find an M2 Air with 16GB of RAM and...

Curious to know how the OnePlus 12R is working out. From what I've seen, the mediocre cameras are the only big setback; it's otherwise a really strong phone for the money, even without a trade-in.

There is speculation that the mainstream Vision will use A-series chips, and that the Pro line will keep using M-series parts. I could see that working, especially if it keeps costs down.

That's not entirely true. I'd liken it somewhat to the iPhone (not that it will necessarily have that kind of impact). Yeah, smartphones existed before then, including touchscreen phones... but the interface and experiences were significantly better. It overcomes long-existing problems, such as...

It is, but more in terms of power rather than completely new ideas. For example: yes, you can do some multi-window productivity on a Quest 3, but you don't have nearly as much flexibility or clarity; the resolution isn't as high, you can't have more than a handful of windows, the apps aren't...

It depends, really. If you’re going to use your headset for productivity and spend hours inside? I’d say so. Do you just want something for watching videos, playing games, and the occasional social experience? Yeah, a Quest 3 makes more sense. My guess is that Apple locked in the M2 choice and...

The Quest 3 does most of what the Vision Pro does, but not everything and not usually as well. The Vision Pro has a higher resolution, better hand tracking, better lenses, better passthrough, lower latency... and an M2 should generally outperform a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2. The Vision Pro is plenty...

That's not surprising, and likely what Apple has expected for a while. It's a different approach for the company. The company normally likes to enjoy success relatively quickly. While it sounds like Vision Pro is doing relatively well, it's also clear this is a long-term bet. Apple wants to get...

I would love to have one, but it definitely has first-gen iPhone vibes. That is, it's a good peek at the future that clearly has some room for improvement. Reduce the weight, extend battery life, either cut the external screen or make it more practical... you get the idea. Ultimately, I'd like...

Good news for Apple if accurate. The challenge, of course, is keeping the demand going. I suspect it’ll slow down substantially until there’s a mainstream model or revised Pro.

It feels old! And I didn’t use my first Mac until I was in high school (by which point even the Mac LCs were old).

Want to feel old? Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Mac. You probably know the story: it was the first mainstream computer with a GUI (the Lisa's $10,000 price ruled it out). Yeah, Apple was riffing on Xerox PARC's work, but that was considerably cruder... and researchers weren't really...

The hardware seems to merit the price; the problem is, of course, that price. This is really corporate-level money for something that's pitched as much for watching movies as it is getting work done. Varjo's recent XR-4 headset isn't far off in pricing. It makes sense if you already have some...

It's not going to flop — it's reasonable to assume Apple will sell every Vision Pro it can make this year. It's just that this is a low-volume product. The real challenge is scaling the business to reach a wider audience. Going all-out on specs, regardless of cost, is relatively easy. Making...

Spoiler: Marques Brownlee calls the regular Pixel 8 (not the Pro) the best phone of the year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkRXhe3KaPE I can't say I object, and I'm a huge iPhone fan. The P8 delivers a lot of phone for the money, even if it's considerably more expensive than its...