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Apple just released its most advanced monitor ever and, oh yeah, it has a keyboard and trackpad attached. You can use it as a laptop, apparently.
The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display, introduced Wednesday, is — as the clunky name implies — all about its amazing tandem OLED screen. It’s the most advanced screen ever put in a laptop, according to Apple.
Oh, by the way, it’s touch-sensitive, too, so you can cover your beautiful new screen in greasy fingerprints.
Now ofc Apple didn’t say that, but the touch sensitivity is downplayed, almost as if it’s a relatively minor feature. Which surprises me, tbh. I thought the touch part would be front and center. Instead, it’s almost an aside.
Does the mobile computing world need such an advanced screen in a laptop? It seems like overkill to me, especially given the prices, which, naturally, went up — way up!
This MacBook seems pretty niche. I laughed at one line in Apple’s press release that mentioned the new MacBook is perfect for film composers — like all 12 of them.
But then again, it’s clearly a superb computer and bonkers powerful. Apple’s touting the screen right now, but it’s clearly a versatile and adaptive tool that will likely appeal to anyone and everyone who needs one of the most powerful computers around.
Cult of Mac writer Ed Hardy does a great job walking us through the new machine — better than Apple’s press release IMHO.
Also in today’s newsletter:
To make sure everyone knows you’re rocking the latest, greatest MacBook Pro, Apple cleverly resurrected one of its best viral marketing tools ever.
At the other end of the scale, the humble MacBook Neo looks set to get some great updates early next year. My mom just saw one at the local Apple Store and almost bought it on the spot just because of its neon green color.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: If you have a lot of gadgets to charge, this 130W 8-in-1 charging station looks like a good deal at just $26 and change (25% off). #affiliate
Twelve South’s AirFly is the adapter you need to attach your AirPods to flight entertainment systems, but it suffers from the absence of a screen to tell you what’s going on. The new model fixes that.
ChatGPT is getting even more integrated with new Mail and Calendar capabilities. It sounds really helpful tbh. I desperately need help with email.
Steve Jobs’ gross superyacht always rubbed me the wrong way. I know he was a billionaire and all, but he always had an everyman aura, which the yacht firmly dispelled.
There’s a ton of great new stuff in the latest HomePod software update, including, finally, the ability to use them as default low-latency Mac speakers. But don’t rely on the automatic update mechanism, which is murky and frustrating. Here’s how to do it manually.
The results of yesterday’s poll about your favorite Macs are interesting — see below. The results seem to closely resemble the unit numbers Apple sells (the estimates, anyway — Apple doesn’t officially break things down). Mac sales volumes are 85% to 90% MacBooks. Only 10% to 14% are desktops, led by the iMac. I kinda knew this but didn’t realize it was so skewed. The Mac mini and Mac Studio — which I thought everyone loved — represent about 1% of Mac sales apiece!!
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
Horror on Vision Pro: Cult of Mac podcast #38
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Tweets of the day
Wallpaper of the day
One more thing ...
We’ve done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn’t work. Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It gives great demo, but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue, and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. It doesn’t work, it’s ergonomically terrible.
Today’s poll
What do you think of MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display?
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.
