From Air to Pro

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Because I’m an enormous cheapskate, I’ve almost always opted for Apple’s budget MacBooks.

I haven’t owned a MacBook Pro for years. Aside from the price, the MacBook Pros are overkill for my workflow, which rarely gets more demanding, compute-wise, than keeping a million browser tabs open. (And that’s more reliant on the amount of RAM/unified memory than the oomph of the CPU.)

The last MacBook I bought was an M1 MacBook Air, a beautiful and capable machine. I gave it to my brother after his Windows laptop finally became unusable (and it wasn’t that old).

But I’m traveling at the moment and using a borrowed 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip. And my goodness, I’m in love with this laptop.

I appreciate the much better camera, faster charging, more and better ports (including being able to charge through any one of the three Thunderbolt ports — the MagSafe charger has been lost), and the Liquid Retina XDR display. The speakers are better, too.

The only misgiving is the battery life, which is on par with the M1 Air. However, that has been vastly improved with subsequent Pro models, almost doubling (approximately 10 hours in everyday use versus approximately 20 hours).

The latest upgrade to this wonderful computer just hit stores. And, if you’re half-blind like me, the MacBook Pro with the PROLED XDR touchscreen display is overkill, too.

If I hadn’t blown my budget on an iPhone Duo, I’d seriously think about getting one, although next year’s M7 version might be the wiser buy. But if you’re in the market for a new MacBook Pro and can’t wait, there’s one waiting for you at your local Apple store.

Also in today’s newsletter:

I don’t know if this is good news or not, given the wretched inconsistency of the new Siri, but if you were waiting to try it out, the waitlist has just been lifted. The comments from yesterday’s poll reveal the sad truth of the current situation: Sometimes Siri AI is great, but oftentimes it’s not. See below.
We absolutely loved Apple’s budget iPhone 17e when we reviewed it last year, thanks to its lovely, clean design. The good news is that its successor will look the same, with a better brain.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: My son is always losing his earbuds, so we bought him a pair of these inexpensive Soundcore noise-canceling ones, and he loves them. They’re even more affordable with a 50% discount at only $25. #affiliate
If you need to keep your Mac awake but don’t want to disable sleep mode entirely, here are three easy ways to do it.
The upcoming iOS 27.3 is surprisingly feature-packed for a dot upgrade; we get into it on the latest Cult of Mac podcast (recorded using the great 14-inch MacBook Pro in my father-in-law’s tiny bathroom). Here are the video and the audio versions.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

Apple’s OLED MacBook Pro and three more products hit stores

Apple's busiest launch day of the year brings two new MacBook Pro lines (including the first with a touchscreen), an M6 iMac and an OLED iPad mini with a lighter design.

iPhone users no longer need to wait in line for Siri AI

Apple drops the mandatory Siri AI waitlist in iOS 27, letting eligible iPhone users download the new assistant immediately.

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Get 3 years of piano lessons on your iPhone, iPad or Mac for just $60

Turn your device into a smart teacher with Flowkey’s interactive piano lessons, real-time feedback and song-first approach to learning.

iPhone 18e rumor points to chip upgrade and few other changes

Apple’s budget phone reportedly will get a performance boost from a new chip but little else in the way of upgrades.

3 ways to stop your Mac from sleeping

You can stop your Mac from sleeping if you want it to stay on indefinitely — we show you how to do it the best ways.

^{A message from}^{the Cult of Mac Deals team}

Download movies and TV shows from most major streaming platforms for life

Grab movies and shows from Netflix, Prime Video and 1,000+ other sites with SameMovie. A lifetime license to the video downloader is on sale.

Today in Apple history: iTunes sales hit astonishing new heights

On November 6, 2003, Apple set a new record for digital music sales: 1.5 million downloads in one week, thanks to iTunes on Windows.

^{Big changes coming in iOS 27.3: Cult of Mac podcast #40}

Cult of Mac’s buyback program

We pay top dollar for used Apple gear

Sell your old iPhone, iPad, MacBook and more through Cult of Mac. Free shipping, fast payment!

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❝

[Joking about his $1 salary] I make 50 cents for showing up and the other 50 cents is based on performance.

— Steve Jobs, 2011.

Today’s poll

MacBook Pro or Air?

Results from yesterday’s poll:

Best reader comments

Subscribe to The Weekender — Get the week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.