Brought to you by Incogni, the easiest way to scrub your data from the internet.
There are a bunch of interesting things about the new MacBook Pros that Apple unveiled today.
The new machines start at a slightly higher price, but now offer better base storage options (1TB versus 512GB before).
At the same time, Apple is charging a bit less for storage upgrades, so an extra 1TB now costs $400 (that used to run $600).
Overall, storage is less expensive than it used to be, which is kinda odd, given the crippling demand for chips in the AI industry.
However, some chip analysts are complaining that the new M5 Max chip is only 15% faster than the M4 Max, which seems disappointing.
But other chip experts point out that M5 Max is capable of running enormous LLMs locally, a major selling point that Apple is touting in its marketing.
In fact, I’ve seen a couple of claims that these new chips perform as well as data center GPU clusters from 18 months ago (see the X posts below).
Yeah, Apple’s new laptops are comparable not to desktop machines or specialist workstations, but freaking data centers — data centers!
Before these machines were announced, we were thinking it was perhaps best to skip these M5 upgrades and wait for the M6 instead, which is expected later this year.
But my lord, if you’re looking for a laptop to run AI models that previously required enormous data center GPU clusters, perhaps they’re not too shabby after all!
Also in today’s newsletter:
The new M5 MacBook Air also looks like a great machine, now with 512GB of base storage, which is an essential upgrade. And Apple’s advertising for the new laptop speaks directly to me, touting how many browser tabs you can have open. See the X posts below.
We have more details about the new M5 chips, including an explanation of Apple’s new marketing terms like “super cores.”
Oops: Apple accidently leaked the name for its new low-cost MacBook, expected to be unveiled tomorrow. It’s a weird name, which Apple has never used before, but it’s growing on me!
I was shocked by the personal details available online about a close family member who was being targeted by scammers. Scammers don’t choose victims at random. They’re selected using data from brokers and the open web. To reduce future attacks, I signed her up with Incogni, an automated service that scrubs personal data from the net. It’s working. The scams have completely stopped.
In addition to new MacBooks, Apple also announced two new Studio Display monitors with fabulous mini-LED backlighting and Thunderbolt 5. These also look superb.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: This great MagSafe power bank from Anker offers 10,000 mAh of charge in a slim, “skin-friendly” package. It’s down to $64 (from $80).
Today’s the day in Apple history that a small club of early computer enthusiasts met for the first time. They likely had little idea about the size and scope of the revolution they were fomenting.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
A message from Incogni
Protect your privacy — and stop spam and scams
Hey, it’s Leander here, with a personal story about Incogni, this week’s newsletter sponsor. Last year, scammers targeted a close relative of mine who has dementia. They swindled her out of thousands of dollars in hard-to-trace gift cards.
She fell for the scams over and over. We tried several things in an attempt to help, including blocking unknown phone numbers and restricting her access to messaging apps.
Nothing worked — except Incogni.
I signed her up for the data-scrubbing service, which automatically removes people’s personal data from the web, including people-search sites and data brokers. Within a couple of months, I could no longer find any details about her on the open web. And the scam calls and texts stopped.
Try Incogni now and get 55% off your subscription with code CULTOFMAC.
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
Cult of Mac’s buyback program
Tweets of the day
Wallpaper of the day
One more thing ...
[Steve Jobs’ dad found marijuana in his son’s car.] “What’s this?” he asked. That’s marijuana. That was the only real fight I ever got in with my dad. He wanted me to promise that I’d never use pot again, but I wouldn’t promise.
Today’s poll
What do you think of the new M5 MacBooks?
Results from yesterday’s poll: What do you think of the iPhone 17e?
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.