With its new M1-based iMac, Apple made shopping for a consumer-level desktop Mac more interesting. The 24-inch iMac is thin, colorful, and powerful. But is it right for you? Julio Ojeda-Zapata weighs the pros and cons of the iMac, the Mac mini, the MacBook Air, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, all of which use Apple’s new M1 processor.
In addition to the work Apple does in providing explicit accessibility features, Steven Aquino notes that many of the marquee features of Apple’s upcoming operating system updates provide notable benefits to users with disabilities.
A little-noticed fact about M1-based Macs has started to get some attention. If the Mac’s internal drive is dead or fully erased, you can’t boot from an otherwise valid external drive. Why would Apple make that choice? Security, security, security.
Apple has released operating system updates to add support for paid podcast subscriptions and Apple Card Family, along with enhanced privacy and anti-stalking protections for AirTags.
After being flummoxed by updates to Security Update 2021-002 for macOS 10.15 Catalina and Safari 14.1 that required a restart but never installed, Adam Engst discovered that Apple’s installer will fail silently if there isn’t enough free space.
Apple has issued updates to iOS and iPadOS to fix the App Tracking Transparency, and updates for Big Sur and watchOS—and iOS 12—to fix a WebKit vulnerability.
Looking for more network throughput with an M1-based Mac mini? Good news—Apple quietly started offering a 10 Gigabit Ethernet option for that model, along with support for Lights Out Management.
Apple has once again released updates to all its core operating systems with a slew of shared features (Siri! Reminders!) and fixes (including worrying security vulnerabilities that are actively being exploited) and product-specific improvements (Apple Watch fallback authentication for mask-drive Face ID failures).
You can now extend AppleCare+ coverage for a Mac indefinitely if you sign up for a monthly plan in time. You can also buy AppleCare+ for an Apple TV, but why would you?
Apple has introduced its next M1-based Mac—a 24-inch iMac in a colorful new industrial design that makes it perfect for use in the home. Its specs are likely similar to the M1-based Mac mini models, and the prices are entirely reasonable.
Rosetta 2 for Apple silicon Macs is the latest in a line of emulators and virtual machines that Apple has released to provide continuity across hardware and operating system transitions. What’s next to come? A full Intel chip emulator for Apple’s M-series ARM chips? We’ll see.
Prices for SSDs and Thunderbolt 3 enclosures have plummeted, so Glenn Fleishman finally bit the bullet to upgrade the storage for his lagging 2017 iMac. Doing so probably extended the useful lifespan of his iMac by years.
Mac OS X is now 20 years old, and the operating system that once seemed like it was from 20 years in the future is more relevant now than ever before.
A seven-state class-action lawsuit against Apple over faulty butterfly keyboards cites an unnamed executive who likened the keyboard revisions to putting lipstick on a pig.
Should you upgrade to macOS 11 Big Sur from a previous version of macOS? Only you can answer that question for sure, but Adam Engst has upgraded his primary Mac with no significant problems. Our recommendation is that it should now be safe to upgrade, though you might want to wait for macOS 11.3, due soon.