There's been a lot to catch up since last week's introduction of the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac models, and we've learned more about the new machines as they've made their way into the hands of reviewers and now regular customers.
Apple is also rolling along on iOS 18.2 development with additional Apple Intelligence features, and it's now in public beta as well as developer beta ahead of an expected early December release. Read on below for all the details on these stories and more!
M4 Pro Chip Benchmark Results Reveal an Extremely Impressive Performance Feat
Ahead of the official launch of the M4 Macs, we began seeing some impressive benchmarks for the new chips. While we had some idea of the raw performance of the base M4 chip given its inclusion in the iPad Pro released earlier this year, the M4 Pro and M4 Max are brand-new higher-end chips with correspondingly better performance.
The M4 Pro tops even the M2 Ultra in multi-core CPU performance, with the M4 Max pushing things even further with two additional CPU cores compared to the M4 Pro in their highest configurations. On the graphics side, the new M4 Max can't quite match the M2 Ultra with its 76-core GPU at the high end, but it comes pretty close and blows past the M3 Max.
For a comparison of all of the M4 variants found in the latest Macs, be sure to check out our guide.
Mac Mini With M4 and M4 Pro Reviews: Smaller Design and Pro Performance Make for Major Upgrade
With the new M4 Macs being announced around a week and a half of ahead of their public launch, media and YouTubers were able to get some early hands-on time with the new machines.
Reviewers appreciated the Mac mini's redesign and beefed-up power, while the MacBook Pro delivers solid spec improvements and a fantastic new nano-texture display glass option. The M4 iMac offers a similar nano-texture glass option, a Center Stage camera, and updated colors.
We've had a brief chance to go hands-on with the Mac mini ourselves, and it's definitely an impressive upgrade in nearly every way.
Apple Silicon Unified Memory: How Much Mac RAM Do You Need?
With all Macs now starting with at least 16GB of unified memory, it's worth considering how much you should opt for when choosing or configuring a new Mac for purchase. After all, memory can't be upgraded after purchase, so you need to get it right the first time.
One of our latest guides walks through the various memory options ranging from 16GB on consumer machines all the way up to a maximum of 192GB on the Mac Pro, so see where you fall based on the tasks you need your Mac to be able to accomplish.
Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2
Apple is continuing work on iOS 18.2 and related updates that are expected to officially launch in early December, and the latest beta seeded to developers and public beta testers this week includes a number of changes.
A new Find My feature lets you temporarily share the location of an item like an AirTag with an "airline or trusted person" which can be useful when trying to track down lost luggage or other items. Siri integration with ChatGPT has been enhanced with information on daily limits for free users, as well as offering the ability to upgrade to a paid ChatGPT Plus plan. There are a number of other tweaks in the latest beta, so check out the full article for more!
Apple Acquires Photo Editing App Maker Pixelmator
In a surprise announcement, Pixelmator shared that it is being acquired by Apple, bringing its popular Pixelmator and Photomator apps under Apple's purview.
While there will be no immediate changes to the existing apps, the move could eventually see Pixelmator become an advanced image editing app for Apple, which previously offered Aperture in that role but ceased development on it a decade ago and it eventually stopped working on machines running macOS Catalina and later.
The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals
Yes, it's that time of year again! Holiday shopping deals are already kicking into high gear with several weeks still to go before the main shopping blitz.
We're seeing solid deals on Apple products like AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and more, so make sure to keep tabs on all of our coverage to help save some money on all of those holiday gifts!
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