Insane power: Mac Studio review roundup

What a time to be alive!

The new Mac Studio beats the pants off the high-end Mac Pro, and it's a heckuva lot cheaper. It also runs circles around pricier MacBook Pros.

“This computer is a historic achievement," said The Verge.

See our roundup of what else the reviewers are saying. (We also have a review roundup of the new Studio Display).

Fun fact: the ports on the front of the Mac Studio spell out "U" in Morse code: **_

Could it be "U" for M1 Ultra, or just a coincidence? You decide.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

The powerful Mac Studio desktop first reaches customers on Friday, but the initial reviews are out to answer any lingering questions about Apple’s latest macOS desktop. This is supposed to be Apple’s new mid-range desktop, but hands-on tests show it beats the 2019 Mac Pro hands down.

The first reviews of Apple’s new Studio Display are in, and just as expected, reviewers have some terrific things to say about it. Its impressive 27-inch panel and top design make it one of the finest monitors you can pair with a Mac. But is it worth its price tag? That depends who you ask.

Apple has promised that it will address webcam quality issues on its new Studio Display with a software update. The monitor’s rather disappointing camera performance is one of the biggest frustrations among reviewers. One likened it to an “old BlackBerry,” while another said it is “awful in good light and downright miserable in low light.”

Netflix on Wednesday confirmed new measures to crack down on the sharing of user accounts between multiple households. But rather than putting a stop to it, the company is adding a new “sub account” option for a small fee.

Sure, you rely on your stand to charge your Apple Watch when you’re at home. But, you need a great Apple Watch charger for when you’re traveling too. Carrying around a bulky stand simply isn’t practical. This 2-in-1 Portable Apple Watch Charger fits the bill perfectly, and even better, right now it’s on sale for $18.99. That’s a 45% discount off the regular price of $34.

Siri is about to get better at helping you clean the house. iRobot has begun to roll out an iRobot Genius 4.0 Home Intelligence software update to Roomba robot vacuum and Braava jet robot mop customers. The update brings Siri voice support to all users, at long last.

The release date for the Matter standard has been pushed back to fall of 2022. Previously, Apple and the rest of the Connectivity Standards Alliance had hoped to launch the cross-platform home-automation standard much earlier in the year.

If you buy a powerful new Mac Studio desktop computer and you need to take it somewhere, what are you going to do? Re-pack it? Here’s a better idea. Get a stylish and protective new carrying case like the one WaterField Designs just released.

Tweet o' the day

One more thing ...

"That's the moment that an artist really decides who he or she is. If they keep on risking failure, they're still artists. Dylan and Picasso were always risking failure. This Apple thing is that way for me. I don't want to fail, of course. But even though I didn't know how bad things really were, I still had a lot to think about before I said yes. I had to consider the implications for Pixar, for my family, for my reputation. I decided that I didn't really care, because this is what I want to do. If I try my best and fail, well, I tried my best. What makes you become conservative is realizing that you have something to lose. Remember The Whole Earth Catalog? The last edition had a photo on the back cover of a remote country road you might find yourself on while hitchhiking up to Oregon. It was a beautiful shot, and it had a caption that really grabbed me. It said: 'Stay hungry. Stay foolish.' It wasn't an ad for anything--just one of Stewart Brand's profound statements. It's wisdom. 'Stay hungry. Stay foolish.'" -- Steve Jobs.

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