Macworld February 2024

Last year ended up being a good one for the Mac, thanks to the somewhat surprising introduction of the M3 series of chips and the launch of the 15-inch MacBook Air. But what about this year? What will happen to the Mac lineup in 2024? Well, it looks like not a whole lot. We’ll get some new macOS features revealed at WWDC in June, but hardware-wise, we’ve reached a stage in the M-series Mac evolution that will likely be more routine than revolutionary. Put it all together and you’ve got the makings of a very dull year for the Mac. CHIP CYCLE PLATEAU The M3 chip got a lot of attention leading up to its October release in the iMac and MacBook Pro. It’s the first 3nm chip to be used in…

Three years ago today, Apple’s M1 chip had a tremendous debut in the Mac mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. Since then, those Macs have gone through their cycles and have had chip upgrades—or have been replaced altogether. But a single M1 Mac remains in Apple’s current Mac lineup: the M1 MacBook Air. Apple keeps the M1 Air around because at $999, it’s the company’s only sub-$1,000 laptop (yes, by only a $1, but, you know, marketing). It’s actually a decent MacBook by today’s standards, but it’s also a three-year-old laptop that’s no longer worth that price—especially when the M2 model is just $100 more. 3-YEAR-OLD LAPTOP, 5-YEAR-OLD DESIGN The $999 price was the original price back in November 2020. But the price isn’t the only thing that hasn’t…

MacBooks are great portable computers, but they lack one key feature for true, on-the-road usability: cellular connectivity. That may change in a future MacBook—but it’s going to take a while. In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman provides a progress report about Apple’s in-house chip development. One major project Apple has been working on is its own cellular modem, which has been in the works for some time. Gurman reports that the modem could be ready by 2026, but it will take “two or three additional years” for it to be used in the iPad and Apple Watch (both of which can be bought with Qualcomm modems), and yes, the Mac. If the modem is ready in 2026, why so long for it to be used in the…

Most PCs use fans to help their chips maintain an optimal operating temperature. These fans are bulky and noisy, which is why the super-thin MacBook Air doesn’t have one. But Frore Systems has a solution—its new cooling system, AirJet, is super thin—thin enough to fit in a current MacBook Air and boost its performance while under heavy load. Since the MacBook Air doesn’t have a fan for the SoC, its performance will throttle down during processor-intensive work to maintain a proper operating temperature. The M2 13-inch MacBook Pro, on the other hand, has a fan that expels excessive heat so the chip can keep chugging along. The AirJet is what Frore calls a “solidstate active cooling chip” that measures 27.5×41.5×2.8 mm, a lot smaller and thinner than a typical computer…

There’s generally a difference between a product’s marketing copy and what the software is capable of living up to. For all its bluster on the Mac App Store, BitMedic Pro Antivirus (version 3.1.3 at the time of writing), developed by Pocket Bits, is a good antiviral program, albeit with some shortcomings that need to be worked through. The program, which retails for $10 on the Mac App Store, features a nice complement of tools, including an Antivirus Scan module, an Adware Cleaner module, a Result Log, a Custom Scan module, a Browser Privacy module, and a System Settings module that allows you to schedule deep scans, customize system behaviors, and create a whitelist of files not to scan. Just download the software and assign it the requisite permissions, and you’re…

One of our favorite third-party displays is Alogic’s Clarity, a great-looking premium 27-inch 4K monitor that can pivot from landscape to portrait orientations and boasts a back-mounted USB-C hub. Alogic has now added two new monitors to its Clarity range: the Clarity Pro and Clarity Pro Touch. The Clarity Pro adds an all-important webcam to the display. The Clarity Pro Touch also has a webcam, but adds a touchscreen display that you can use much like an iPad with on-screen tap, swipe, slide, and pinch. SCREEN PIXELS AND COLORS Of course, the most important consideration when buying a display is the picture quality. As with the original Clarity, the Alogic Clarity Pro and Pro Touch offer a 4K (3840×2160 pixels) screen, capable of displaying over a billion colors at a…