Apple has rolled out incremental updates across its Mac and iPad lineup, introducing the impressive M4 MacBook Air, a Mac Studio speed bump with M4 Max and new M3 Ultra chips, and modest chip upgrades that give the base iPad an A16 and the iPad Air an M3. We analyze what has changed and who should consider these new devices. Glenn Fleishman examines Apple’s plans to improve child privacy controls and refine age-related content restrictions on the App Store. Finally, Apple has quietly announced that the long-promised Siri revamp to add Apple Intelligence features has been delayed, causing Adam Engst to argue that Apple should instead focus on getting Siri’s current capabilities to work more reliably and consistently across devices. Notable Mac app releases this week include Acorn 8.1, Firefox 136, LaunchBar 6.20.2, Quicken Classic 8.1, Retrobatch 2.2.2, and VMware Fusion 13.6.3.
Apple’s latest iPad updates focus on processor upgrades. The iPad Air moves from the M2 chip to the M3 and receives a redesigned Magic Keyboard, while the base iPad jumps from the A14 Bionic to the A16 and doubles its starting storage to 128 GB.
Apple has updated the Mac Studio for the first time since 2023, replacing the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips with the M4 Max and M3 Ultra. The new models offer significant performance gains, increase maximum memory from 192 GB to 512 GB, boost storage limits from 8 TB to 16 TB, and add Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.
Upcoming changes from Apple will give parents greater control over what children with Child Accounts in a Family Sharing group can access while reducing the potential for disclosure of kids’ birthdates or other private data to developers. The company is trying to balance child safety, parental control, and new government age-verification requirements.
Apple has unveiled the M4 MacBook Air, featuring a more powerful M4 chip, a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, true dual-display support, and a lower price. Adam Engst explains how it sets a new standard for Apple’s lightweight laptop.
Watchlist
Maintenance update with feature enhancements and bug fixes for the image editor. ($29.99 new, free update, 84.8 MB, macOS 14+)
Brings an updated sidebar with easier access to multiple tools and a new vertical tab view. (Free, 131.1 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Maintenance release brings improvements and bug fixes to the keyboard-based launcher. ($29 new, free update, 14.6 MB, macOS 10.24.6+)
Updates the financial management app with user interface enhancements and improvements to the Business dashboard. ($71.88/$95.88/$131.88 annual subscription, free update, 3.2 MB, macOS 12+)
Brings improvements and minor tweaks to the bulk image processing utility. ($29.99/$49.99 new, free update, 58.3 MB, macOS 12+)
Important security update for an information disclosure vulnerability. (Free/$149.99/$199.99 new, free update, macOS 13+)
