Some early benchmarks of the new MacBook Pros show impressive performance gains.

The new M1 Max chip, for example, is by far the most powerful processor Apple has ever put into a laptop. It's performance is roughly on par with the workstation-grade chips found in recent Mac Pros and iMacs, which is unheard of for a notebook.

And graphics performance looks even better. The new chip is almost 200% faster than the previous-gen 16-inch MacBook Pro with a discreet Radeon GPU.

Apple's only been in the chips game for a year, and already it's blowing everything out of the water. Just imagine what's to come.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

Early benchmarks show crazy performance gains for Apple M1 Max — www.cultofmac.com

Buying a new MacBook Pro with a high-end M1 Max chip? You can expect crazy gains in both processing and graphics performance — no matter which Apple notebook you’re upgrading from.

2021 MacBook Pro proves Apple got its groove back — www.cultofmac.com

In 2016, Apple proudly unveiled a new MacBook Pro that rejected the HDMI port, the MagSafe charger and the SD card reader of the past. Fast forward to 2021, and the company just released new MacBook Pro models with an HDMI port, MagSafe and SD card reader. Why the reversal?

Incredibly rare Apple VideoPad ditched by Steve Jobs heads to auction — www.cultofmac.com

Purchased from an Apple engineer back in 1999, the prototype comes with a black leather carrying case that features the Newton logo. It's expected to fetch $12,000.

Keep AirPods 3 safe and protected with Elago’s brilliantly cool new cases — www.cultofmac.com

AirPods always look great when you first take them out of their box, but it only takes a few days for their shiny white case to become covered in scuffs and scratches. That’s why you should protect yours with a great case.

Apple Store purchases reportedly get 6% Daily Cash back with Apple Card — www.cultofmac.com

Shop at the Apple Store with an Apple Card and you’ll reportedly get double the usual cash back. There has been no announcement, but unconfirmed reports indicate that the usual 3% Daily Cash back jumped to 6%.

Charge all your gear with Hyper’s new 245W USB-C battery pack and GaN charger — www.cultofmac.com

Both feature four USB-C ports. And with either one, you can charge two laptops, a tablet and a smartphone at once.

Anker rolls out 40W dual USB-C Nano Pro charger in four colors — www.cultofmac.com

The new chargers pack more juice but remain compact and come in the same array of colors. They also feature dual USB-C PD ports.

Tweets o' the day

One more thing ...

"I'm brutally honest, because the price of admission to being in the room with me is I get to tell you you're full of shit if you're full of shit, and you get to say to me I'm full of shit, and we have some rip-roaring fights. And that keeps the B players, the bozos, from larding the organization, only the A players survive. And the people who do survive, say, 'Yeah, he was rough.' They say things even worse than 'He cut in line in front of me,' but they say, 'This was the greatest ride I've ever had, and I would not give it up for anything." -- Steve Jobs