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Ever need a moment of privacy without raising suspicion? If you’re secretly shopping for a holiday gift or planning a surprise party, you might want to temporarily obscure your actual location in Apple’s Find My app on your iPhone without completely turning off location sharing.

Here’s a clever trick that lets you keep sharing enabled while displaying a different location – all by using another Apple device you own.

To hide your actual location, you’ll need to have at least two Apple devices signed in to your Apple Account with Find My enabled. This method works by telling Find My to use a stationary device’s location instead of your iPhone’s.

Start by leaving the device you want to use as your displayed location (like an iPad or Mac) in a convincing spot – perhaps your home or office. Then, take your iPhone and follow these steps:

Open the Find My app and tap the Me tab at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down to find “Use This iPhone as My Location” and make sure it’s toggled off.

Grab your other Apple device and open Find My.
Tap the Me tab, then select “Use this [device] as My Location.”

Toggle on the switch next to Share My Location. Your shared location will now show where this device is stationed, not where you actually are with your iPhone.
When you’re ready to resume normal location sharing, simply return to your iPhone’s Find My app and toggle “Use This iPhone as My Location” back on.
Remember that this trick only works as long as your decoy device stays put and powered on. Lastly, we trust that you’ll use this tip responsibly – like keeping that upcoming surprise party under wraps!Tag: Find MyThis article, “Hide iPhone Find My Location Without Raising Suspicion” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

Ever need a moment of privacy without raising suspicion? If you’re secretly shopping for a holiday gift or planning a surprise party, you might want to temporarily obscure your actual location in Apple’s Find My app on your iPhone without completely turning off location sharing.

Here’s a clever trick that lets you keep sharing enabled while displaying a different location – all by using another Apple device you own.

To hide your actual location, you’ll need to have at least two Apple devices signed in to your Apple Account with Find My enabled. This method works by telling Find My to use a stationary device’s location instead of your iPhone’s.

Start by leaving the device you want to use as your displayed location (like an iPad or Mac) in a convincing spot – perhaps your home or office. Then, take your iPhone and follow these steps:

Open the Find My app and tap the Me tab at the bottom of the screen.

Scroll down to find “Use This iPhone as My Location” and make sure it’s toggled off.

Grab your other Apple device and open Find My.

Tap the Me tab, then select “Use this [device] as My Location.”

Toggle on the switch next to Share My Location. Your shared location will now show where this device is stationed, not where you actually are with your iPhone.

When you’re ready to resume normal location sharing, simply return to your iPhone’s Find My app and toggle “Use This iPhone as My Location” back on.

Remember that this trick only works as long as your decoy device stays put and powered on. Lastly, we trust that you’ll use this tip responsibly – like keeping that upcoming surprise party under wraps!

This article, “Hide iPhone Find My Location Without Raising Suspicion” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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WeChat is introducing passkey support for its iOS app, allowing users outside of China to sign in to the country’s dominant messaging platform using Face ID, Touch ID, or their device passcode instead of traditional passwords.

Introduced by Apple in iOS 16, passkeys provide a more secure and convenient authentication method. Rather than entering a password, users can quickly access their WeChat accounts through biometric verification on their device.

Passkeys offer enhanced security by eliminating common vulnerabilities associated with traditional passwords, such as phishing attacks and credential theft. Since authentication occurs directly on the user’s device using biometric data or their device passcode, there are no passwords to compromise or intercept.

To set up a passkey, WeChat users need an iPhone or iPad running iOS 16 or iPadOS 16 or later with iCloud Keychain and two-factor authentication enabled for their Apple Account. Users can enable the feature through WeChat’s Account & Security settings, according to a new WeChat support document.

Tencent-owned WeChat joins a growing list of major platforms that have adopted passkey technology, including Google, PayPal, Microsoft, and TikTok. The feature is currently limited to WeChat users outside of China, and there’s no word on if or when it might expand to the app’s domestic Chinese version.Tags: Passkeys, WeChatThis article, “WeChat Rolls Out Passkey Support for iOS Users Outside China” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

WeChat is introducing passkey support for its iOS app, allowing users outside of China to sign in to the country’s dominant messaging platform using Face ID, Touch ID, or their device passcode instead of traditional passwords.

Introduced by Apple in iOS 16, passkeys provide a more secure and convenient authentication method. Rather than entering a password, users can quickly access their WeChat accounts through biometric verification on their device.

Passkeys offer enhanced security by eliminating common vulnerabilities associated with traditional passwords, such as phishing attacks and credential theft. Since authentication occurs directly on the user’s device using biometric data or their device passcode, there are no passwords to compromise or intercept.

To set up a passkey, WeChat users need an iPhone or iPad running iOS 16 or iPadOS 16 or later with iCloud Keychain and two-factor authentication enabled for their Apple Account. Users can enable the feature through WeChat’s Account & Security settings, according to a new WeChat support document.

Tencent-owned WeChat joins a growing list of major platforms that have adopted passkey technology, including Google, PayPal, Microsoft, and TikTok. The feature is currently limited to WeChat users outside of China, and there’s no word on if or when it might expand to the app’s domestic Chinese version.

This article, “WeChat Rolls Out Passkey Support for iOS Users Outside China” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Vision Pro launched in stores and began arriving to customers today in South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, customers can now schedule a free 30-minute appointment to demo the headset at Apple Store locations in both countries.

Apple has localized Vision Pro pages in South Korea and the United Arab Emirates with more details about the headset, for those unfamiliar.

Apple first released the Vision Pro in the U.S. in February, with pricing starting at $3,499. In June and July, the headset launched in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. With the additions of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, the headset is now available in 12 countries and regions.

In July, research firm IDC estimated that Vision Pro sales would total less than 500,000 units this year. In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the Vision Pro is not a mass-market product due to its high price.

“At $3,500, it’s not a mass-market product,” said Cook. “Right now, it’s an early-adopter product. People who want to have tomorrow’s technology today—that’s who it’s for. Fortunately, there’s enough people who are in that camp that it’s exciting.”

Currently in beta, visionOS 2.2 adds an ultra-wide mode to the Mac Virtual Display feature.Related Roundup: Apple Vision ProBuyer’s Guide: Vision Pro (Buy Now)Related Forum: Apple Vision ProThis article, “Apple Vision Pro Launches in Two More Countries” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

Apple Vision Pro launched in stores and began arriving to customers today in South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, customers can now schedule a free 30-minute appointment to demo the headset at Apple Store locations in both countries.

Apple has localized Vision Pro pages in South Korea and the United Arab Emirates with more details about the headset, for those unfamiliar.

Apple first released the Vision Pro in the U.S. in February, with pricing starting at $3,499. In June and July, the headset launched in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. With the additions of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, the headset is now available in 12 countries and regions.

In July, research firm IDC estimated that Vision Pro sales would total less than 500,000 units this year. In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the Vision Pro is not a mass-market product due to its high price.

“At $3,500, it’s not a mass-market product,” said Cook. “Right now, it’s an early-adopter product. People who want to have tomorrow’s technology today—that’s who it’s for. Fortunately, there’s enough people who are in that camp that it’s exciting.”

Currently in beta, visionOS 2.2 adds an ultra-wide mode to the Mac Virtual Display feature.

This article, “Apple Vision Pro Launches in Two More Countries” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The award-winning Apple TV+ sci-fi series “Silo” is finally back, after nearly a year-and-a-half wait. The first episode of the second season is now available on Apple’s streaming service, and one new episode will follow every Friday through January 17.

“Silo” follows the last 10,000 people on Earth, all of whom live in a massive underground bunker to escape the seemingly toxic and deadly world outside. The people are unaware of why the silo was built, and those who seek the truth face deadly consequences. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette Nichols, an engineer who attempts to unravel the mysteries surrounding the silo following a loved one’s murder. The sci-fi series is based on Hugh Howey’s best-selling book trilogy “Wool.” Ferguson and Howey both serve as executive producers.

The official PlayStation account on YouTube recently shared an exclusive clip from the second season of the show. And earlier this week, Apple shared a season-one recap video highlighting key moments in the series so far. Warning: spoilers!

Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year in the U.S., and the streaming service is also included in all Apple One subscription bundles.Tags: Apple TV Plus, Apple TV ShowsThis article, “Apple TV+ Show ‘Silo’ Has Returned: Season 2, Episode 1 Now Available” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

The award-winning Apple TV+ sci-fi series “Silo” is finally back, after nearly a year-and-a-half wait. The first episode of the second season is now available on Apple’s streaming service, and one new episode will follow every Friday through January 17.

“Silo” follows the last 10,000 people on Earth, all of whom live in a massive underground bunker to escape the seemingly toxic and deadly world outside. The people are unaware of why the silo was built, and those who seek the truth face deadly consequences. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette Nichols, an engineer who attempts to unravel the mysteries surrounding the silo following a loved one’s murder. The sci-fi series is based on Hugh Howey’s best-selling book trilogy “Wool.” Ferguson and Howey both serve as executive producers.

The official PlayStation account on YouTube recently shared an exclusive clip from the second season of the show. And earlier this week, Apple shared a season-one recap video highlighting key moments in the series so far. Warning: spoilers!

Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year in the U.S., and the streaming service is also included in all Apple One subscription bundles.

This article, “Apple TV+ Show ‘Silo’ Has Returned: Season 2, Episode 1 Now Available” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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With iOS 18, Apple introduced a feature that causes the iPhone to reboot every three days, security researchers have confirmed (via TechCrunch). In a demo video, security researcher Jiska Classen proved that an ‌iPhone‌ left untouched for 72 hours will automatically restart, and Graykey manufacturer also Magnet Forensics wrote a blog post about the feature.

After a reboot, an ‌iPhone‌ is more difficult to break into with the forensic tools used by law enforcement and others, such as bad actors. There are multiple unlocked states for an ‌iPhone‌, and an ‌iPhone‌ that’s at a passcode screen but has been previously unlocked with Face ID/Touch ID is easier to break into.

An ‌iPhone‌ that has recently restarted is in a “Before First Unlock” state, and that is when an ‌iPhone‌ is most secure because all data is encrypted. A reboot will initialize if a device is in a locked state (as in has been unlocked with ‌Face ID‌ or ‌Touch ID‌ but is now at the passcode screen) and has not been unlocked for a 72 hour period.

A 7-day inactivity reboot functionality was initially introduced in ‌iOS 18‌, but the timer was shortened to three days with the launch of iOS 18.1. An ‌iPhone‌ in “Before First Unlock” state has messaging about ‌Face ID‌/‌Touch ID‌ being required after an ‌iPhone‌ restarts. An ‌iPhone‌ in the “After First Unlock” state simply says “Enter Passcode.”

Apple has not provided details on inactivity reboot, and kept quiet about the addition of the feature. It was discovered when law enforcement officials noticed iPhones spontaneously rebooting following the launch of ‌iOS 18‌. 404 Media last week shared a letter from officers in Detroit, Michigan, warning other law enforcement about the new limitation. While police speculated that the reboot could be tied to cellular network connectivity, iPhones will reboot regardless of connectivity status.

There was also speculation that an ‌iPhone‌ running iOS 18.1 could cause other iPhones to reboot, but that does not seem to be the case.

Law enforcement officials can still use brute force tools to get into iPhones running ‌iOS 18‌ or later, but breaking into an ‌iPhone‌ must now be done before the ‌iPhone‌ restarts.Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18This article, “iOS 18 Security Feature Causes iPhone to Reboot After Three Days of Inactivity” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

With iOS 18, Apple introduced a feature that causes the iPhone to reboot every three days, security researchers have confirmed (via TechCrunch). In a demo video, security researcher Jiska Classen proved that an ‌iPhone‌ left untouched for 72 hours will automatically restart, and Graykey manufacturer also Magnet Forensics wrote a blog post about the feature.

After a reboot, an ‌iPhone‌ is more difficult to break into with the forensic tools used by law enforcement and others, such as bad actors. There are multiple unlocked states for an ‌iPhone‌, and an ‌iPhone‌ that’s at a passcode screen but has been previously unlocked with Face ID/Touch ID is easier to break into.

An ‌iPhone‌ that has recently restarted is in a “Before First Unlock” state, and that is when an ‌iPhone‌ is most secure because all data is encrypted. A reboot will initialize if a device is in a locked state (as in has been unlocked with ‌Face ID‌ or ‌Touch ID‌ but is now at the passcode screen) and has not been unlocked for a 72 hour period.

A 7-day inactivity reboot functionality was initially introduced in ‌iOS 18‌, but the timer was shortened to three days with the launch of iOS 18.1. An ‌iPhone‌ in “Before First Unlock” state has messaging about ‌Face ID‌/‌Touch ID‌ being required after an ‌iPhone‌ restarts. An ‌iPhone‌ in the “After First Unlock” state simply says “Enter Passcode.”

Apple has not provided details on inactivity reboot, and kept quiet about the addition of the feature. It was discovered when law enforcement officials noticed iPhones spontaneously rebooting following the launch of ‌iOS 18‌. 404 Media last week shared a letter from officers in Detroit, Michigan, warning other law enforcement about the new limitation. While police speculated that the reboot could be tied to cellular network connectivity, iPhones will reboot regardless of connectivity status.

There was also speculation that an ‌iPhone‌ running iOS 18.1 could cause other iPhones to reboot, but that does not seem to be the case.

Law enforcement officials can still use brute force tools to get into iPhones running ‌iOS 18‌ or later, but breaking into an ‌iPhone‌ must now be done before the ‌iPhone‌ restarts.

This article, “iOS 18 Security Feature Causes iPhone to Reboot After Three Days of Inactivity” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Every year, the Unicode Consortium decides on new emoji characters that will be coming to smartphones and other devices in the future, and this week, the Unicode 17 emoji recommendations came out [PDF].

Eight new emoji characters have been proposed, including hairy creature (like Bigfoot), distorted face, fight cloud, apple core, orca, trombone, landslide, and treasure chest. There are also skin tone variations for a number of existing emoji like ballet dancer, people with bunny ears, and people wrestling.

The Unicode consortium created mockups of what the emoji might look like, with the images shared by Emojipedia. It is important to note that the Unicode Consortium only comes up with the underlying emoji code, and Apple designers will create their own version of each character in the Apple style when the Unicode 17 standard is finalized.

Unicode 17 will likely be approved sometime next fall, though it will take Apple time to implement the new characters. We could see them around spring 2026 if Apple sticks with its typical emoji release timeline.

In 2025, Apple will introduce the Unicode 16 characters, which were approved in September 2024. Unicode 16 emoji include face with bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.

Apple last introduced new emoji with the iOS 17.4 update that was released in March 2024. Characters added in iOS 17.4 include lime, an edible brown mushroom, a phoenix, a broken chain, shaking head vertically (as in a “yes” nod), and shaking head horizontally (a “no” head shake).

With iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, Apple will debut Genmoji for devices that support Apple Intelligence. Genmoji are a customizable version of emoji that are generated based on a phrase supplied by the user. ‌Genmoji‌ behave like emoji on Apple devices, but are not cross-platform and don’t display like emoji characters on Android devices.Tag: EmojiThis article, “Bigfoot, Orca, Distorted Smiley Face and Treasure Chest Among New Emoji Coming to iOS” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

Every year, the Unicode Consortium decides on new emoji characters that will be coming to smartphones and other devices in the future, and this week, the Unicode 17 emoji recommendations came out [PDF].

Eight new emoji characters have been proposed, including hairy creature (like Bigfoot), distorted face, fight cloud, apple core, orca, trombone, landslide, and treasure chest. There are also skin tone variations for a number of existing emoji like ballet dancer, people with bunny ears, and people wrestling.

The Unicode consortium created mockups of what the emoji might look like, with the images shared by Emojipedia. It is important to note that the Unicode Consortium only comes up with the underlying emoji code, and Apple designers will create their own version of each character in the Apple style when the Unicode 17 standard is finalized.

Unicode 17 will likely be approved sometime next fall, though it will take Apple time to implement the new characters. We could see them around spring 2026 if Apple sticks with its typical emoji release timeline.

In 2025, Apple will introduce the Unicode 16 characters, which were approved in September 2024. Unicode 16 emoji include face with bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.

Apple last introduced new emoji with the iOS 17.4 update that was released in March 2024. Characters added in iOS 17.4 include lime, an edible brown mushroom, a phoenix, a broken chain, shaking head vertically (as in a “yes” nod), and shaking head horizontally (a “no” head shake).

With iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, Apple will debut Genmoji for devices that support Apple Intelligence. Genmoji are a customizable version of emoji that are generated based on a phrase supplied by the user. ‌Genmoji‌ behave like emoji on Apple devices, but are not cross-platform and don’t display like emoji characters on Android devices.

This article, “Bigfoot, Orca, Distorted Smiley Face and Treasure Chest Among New Emoji Coming to iOS” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The ChatGPT app for Mac is now able to integrate with coding apps like Xcode, VS Code, TextEdit, and Terminal, simplifying workflows where developers copy and paste their code from a coding app into ChatGPT.

When ChatGPT is given permission to interact with an app like Xcode through a new Work with Apps feature, a selection of code can be sent directly to ChatGPT alongside a prompt. TechCrunch had a demo of the feature, and described how it works:
In a demo with TechCrunch, an OpenAI employee opened the ChatGPT app and an Xcode environment containing a simple project modeling the solar system – although it was missing the Earth. The employee selected an Xcode tab within ChatGPT, which tells the AI chatbot to look at the app, and prompted the chatbot to “add the missing planets.” The chatbot was able to complete the task, writing a line of code to represent the Earth that matched the rest of the project’s format.
Back in October, GitHub brought Copilot integration to Xcode, with Copilot providing coding assistance right in the app. ChatGPT’s integration is not that deep, and it is not able to write code in Xcode. ChatGPT is instead using the macOS Accessibility API for screen readers that allows apps to read text, which also means that it cannot interpret images or videos.

The new ChatGPT for Mac feature is available for ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Teams users starting today, with Enterprise and Edu support coming in the near future. Going forward, OpenAI plans to bring this integration to other apps.Tags: ChatGPT, OpenAIThis article, “OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Mac Now Works With Xcode” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

The ChatGPT app for Mac is now able to integrate with coding apps like Xcode, VS Code, TextEdit, and Terminal, simplifying workflows where developers copy and paste their code from a coding app into ChatGPT.

When ChatGPT is given permission to interact with an app like Xcode through a new Work with Apps feature, a selection of code can be sent directly to ChatGPT alongside a prompt. TechCrunch had a demo of the feature, and described how it works:

In a demo with TechCrunch, an OpenAI employee opened the ChatGPT app and an Xcode environment containing a simple project modeling the solar system – although it was missing the Earth. The employee selected an Xcode tab within ChatGPT, which tells the AI chatbot to look at the app, and prompted the chatbot to “add the missing planets.” The chatbot was able to complete the task, writing a line of code to represent the Earth that matched the rest of the project’s format.

Back in October, GitHub brought Copilot integration to Xcode, with Copilot providing coding assistance right in the app. ChatGPT’s integration is not that deep, and it is not able to write code in Xcode. ChatGPT is instead using the macOS Accessibility API for screen readers that allows apps to read text, which also means that it cannot interpret images or videos.

The new ChatGPT for Mac feature is available for ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Teams users starting today, with Enterprise and Edu support coming in the near future. Going forward, OpenAI plans to bring this integration to other apps.

This article, “OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Mac Now Works With Xcode” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Vision Pro users can now watch “The Weeknd: Open Hearts,” a new immersive music experience that features Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. Filmed in ultra-high resolution 180-degree Apple Immersive Video with Spatial Audio, the music experience is designed to put viewers in the center of the action, according to Apple.

Open Hearts invites viewers to journey alongside The Weeknd as he walks through a surreal cityscape inspired by downtown Los Angeles. Apple vice president of Marketing Communications Tor Myhren said that Open Hearts is a leap forward in the intersection between music and technology.
Apple Immersive Video brings The Weeknd’s creative vision to life in an entirely new way with Open Hearts, a groundbreaking music experience available only on Apple Vision Pro. With Vision Pro, fans experience storytelling in ways that were not possible before: with immersive visuals and Spatial Audio that make them feel like they’re right in the middle of the action. This is an exciting leap forward in how music and technology come together to deliver memorable experiences for fans, and we’re proud to collaborate with The Weeknd to make it happen.
With Open Hearts, The Weeknd is promoting his upcoming album “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” Apple customers without a Vision Pro who want to watch Open Hearts can visit an Apple retail store.

Open Hearts is available for free through the Apple TV app on Vision Pro. The music experience will be followed by Concert for One, another immersive music experience, on November 22. Concert for One will feature intimate performances with the world’s biggest artists, kicking off with singer-songwriter RAYE.Related Roundup: Apple Vision ProBuyer’s Guide: Vision Pro (Buy Now)Related Forum: Apple Vision ProThis article, “The Weeknd’s ‘Open Hearts’ Immersive Music Experience Launches on Apple Vision Pro” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

Apple Vision Pro users can now watch “The Weeknd: Open Hearts,” a new immersive music experience that features Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. Filmed in ultra-high resolution 180-degree Apple Immersive Video with Spatial Audio, the music experience is designed to put viewers in the center of the action, according to Apple.

Open Hearts invites viewers to journey alongside The Weeknd as he walks through a surreal cityscape inspired by downtown Los Angeles. Apple vice president of Marketing Communications Tor Myhren said that Open Hearts is a leap forward in the intersection between music and technology.

Apple Immersive Video brings The Weeknd’s creative vision to life in an entirely new way with Open Hearts, a groundbreaking music experience available only on Apple Vision Pro. With Vision Pro, fans experience storytelling in ways that were not possible before: with immersive visuals and Spatial Audio that make them feel like they’re right in the middle of the action. This is an exciting leap forward in how music and technology come together to deliver memorable experiences for fans, and we’re proud to collaborate with The Weeknd to make it happen.

With Open Hearts, The Weeknd is promoting his upcoming album “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” Apple customers without a Vision Pro who want to watch Open Hearts can visit an Apple retail store.

Open Hearts is available for free through the Apple TV app on Vision Pro. The music experience will be followed by Concert for One, another immersive music experience, on November 22. Concert for One will feature intimate performances with the world’s biggest artists, kicking off with singer-songwriter RAYE.

This article, “The Weeknd’s ‘Open Hearts’ Immersive Music Experience Launches on Apple Vision Pro” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple recently updated the MacBook Pro with the M4 series of chips and a series of other upgrades including a 12MP camera, a nano-texture display option, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. The new machines follow updated MacBook Air models with the M3 chip that were released earlier in 2024, so how do the latest models compare?

Despite now being similar in appearance, the ‌MacBook Air‌ and the ‌MacBook Pro‌ are very different devices, so should you consider purchasing the 13- or 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, which start at $999, to save money, or do you need one of the higher-end 14- or 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, which cost at least $600 more? Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two popular laptops is best for you.

‌MacBook Air‌
‌MacBook Pro‌

M2: 13.6-inch display
M3: 13.6- or 15.3-inch display
14.2- or 16.2-inch display

LCD Liquid Retina display
Mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display

60hz refresh rate
ProMotion for refresh rates up to 120Hz

Up to 500 nits brightness
Up to 1,000 nits brightness and 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness

Nano-texture display option

1080p FaceTime HD camera
12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View

Apple M2 or M3 chip
Apple M4, M4 Pro, or M4 Max chip

M2: Enhanced 5nm node (N5P) based on A15 Bionic chip from iPhone 13 (2021)
M3: 3nm node (N3B) based on A17 Pro chip from iPhone 15 Pro (2023)
‌3nm‌ node (N3E) based on A18 chip from iPhone 16 (2024)

M2: 3.49 GHz CPU clock speed
M3: 4.05 GHz CPU clock speed
M4: 4.4 GHz CPU clock speed
M4 Pro and M4 Max: 4.5 GHz CPU clock speed

8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
M4: 10 CPU cores with 4 performance and 6 efficiency cores
M4 Pro: Up to 14 CPU cores with 10 performance and 4 efficiency cores
M4 Max: Up to 16 CPU cores with 12 performance and 4 efficiency cores

Up to 10-core GPU
M4: 10-core GPU
M4 Pro: Up to 20-core GPU
M4 Max: Up to 40-core GPU

Updated GPU architecture
Updated GPU architecture with improved efficiency

M2: 16-core Neural Engine, 15.8 trillion operations per second
M3: 16-core Neural Engine, 18 trillion operations per second
16-core Neural Engine, 38 trillion operations per second

16GB or 24GB unified memory
M4: 16GB, 24GB, or 32GB unified memory
M4 Pro: 24GB or 48GB unified memory
M4 Max: 36GB, 48GB, 64GB, or 128GB unified memory

LPDDR5 memory
LPDDR5X memory

100GB/s memory bandwidth
M4: 120GB/s memory bandwidth
M4 Pro: 273GB/s memory bandwidth
M4 Max: 546GB/s memory bandwidth

Passive cooling
Active cooling

High Power Mode on all M4 Pro and M4 Max models

M3 models only:
Dynamic Caching
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
Hardware-accelerated mesh shading
Support for AV1 decode
Dynamic Caching
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
Hardware-accelerated mesh shading
Support for AV1 decode

M2: Wi-Fi 6
M3: Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi 6E

Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports
M4: Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports
M4 Pro or M4 Max: Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports

HDMI 2.1 port with support for multichannel audio output

SDXC card slot

13-Inch: Four-speaker sound system
15-Inch: Six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers
High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers

Three-mic array with directional beamforming
Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming

M2: Support for one external display
M3: Support for up to two external displays when the lid is closed
M4 or M4 Pro: Support for two external displays
M4 Max: Support for up to four external displays

Dedicated display engine

256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage
M4: 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage
M4 Pro or M4 Max: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage

13-Inch: 52.6-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
15-Inch: 66.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
14-Inch: 72.4-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
16-Inch: 100-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery

18-hour battery life
M4 14-Inch or M3 Pro 16-Inch: 24-hour battery life
M4 Pro 14-Inch: 22-hour battery life
M4 Max 14-Inch: 18-hour battery life
M4 Max 16-Inch: 21-hour battery life

30W, 35W, or 67W USB-C Power Adapter
67W, 96W, or 140W USB-C Power Adapter

Silver, Space Gray, Starlight, or Midnight color options
Silver or Space Black color options

M2 13-Inch: Starts at $999
M3 13-Inch: Starts at $1,099
M3 15-Inch: Starts at $1,299
M4 14-Inch: Starts at $1,599
M4 Pro 14-Inch: Starts at $1,999
M4 Pro 16-Inch: Starts at $2,499

Design
Both the ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌ share the same basic design with a flat top and rounded edges on the bottom, but they do have several minor details that differ. For example, while both MacBooks have displays with a “notch” at the top to facilitate the built-in webcam, the ‌MacBook Pro‌’s bezels are noticeably slimmer. The keyboard well of the high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ is also all-black.

The ‌MacBook Air‌ is available in Silver and Space Gray, but the ‌MacBook Air‌ is also offered in Starlight and Midnight color options, so if you are looking for a particular aesthetic with one of these finishes, you will need to get the ‌MacBook Air‌. Space Black is exclusive to the ‌MacBook Pro‌.

‌MacBook Air‌ (13-Inch)
‌MacBook Air‌ (15-Inch)
‌MacBook Pro‌ (14-Inch)
‌MacBook Pro‌ (16-Inch)

Height
0.44 inches (1.13 cm)
0.45 inch (1.15 cm)
0.61 inches (1.55 cm)
0.66 inch (1.68 cm)

Width
11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
13.40 inches (34.04 cm)
12.31 inches (31.26 cm)
14.01 inches (35.57 cm)

Depth
8.46 inches (21.5 cm)
9.35 inches (23.76 cm)
8.71 inches (22.12 cm)
9.77 inches (24.81 cm)

Weight
2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)
3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)
3.5 pounds (1.61 kg)
4.8 pounds (2.15 kg)

Dimensions are also a key area of difference between the ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌. The 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ is considerably larger and heavier than the 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, but it is important to not understate the difference between the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ and the 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌. While the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ offers a larger display than the ‌MacBook Air‌, its marginally larger footprint, added thickness, and an additional 0.8 pounds of weight do make for a noticeably less portable machine if you prefer to travel light.

Even so, the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ offers a very good balance of portability and performance, so if you need its added capabilities, its size and weight should not hold you back. The 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ also provides a good balance of portability and display area, but users wary of its size should opt for the 13-inch model.

Ports and Connectivity
The selection of ports is an area of major difference between the two machines. The ‌MacBook Air‌ features just two Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the M4 version of the ‌MacBook Pro‌ adds an HDMI 2.1 port and SDXC card slot. When configured with the M4 Pro or M4 Max, the ‌MacBook Pro‌ has a total of three Thunderbolt 5 ports, in addition to its HDMI 2.1 port and SDXC card slot. Both machines feature a 3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones.

All in all, the ‌MacBook Pro‌ is much more versatile in terms of physical connectivity, offering useful features for professionals who use SDXC cards from digital cameras, Thunderbolt 5 accessories, or even simply more USB peripherals.

Display Size
The smaller ‌MacBook Air‌’s display is 13.6 inches in size, which is a little smaller than the 14.2-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, and markedly smaller than the 16.2-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. 13.6 inches is still bigger than the largest iPad Pro model, which comes in at 13 inches, and even all of the previous Intel-based ‌MacBook Air‌ and smaller ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, meaning that it should be adequate for most users. The 14.2-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ simply offers a little bit more screen real estate to those who need high-end capabilities.

The 15.3-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ and 16.2-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌’s displays will be better replacements for a desktop machine and provide much more screen space to arrange multiple windows and use professional applications that benefit from additional display area.

Display Technology
The display technologies of both machines are significantly different. Like most MacBooks in recent years, the ‌MacBook Air‌ has an LCD panel, but owing to its slim bezels and rounded corners, Apple calls it a Liquid Retina display. The 14- and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models feature Apple’s more advanced mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR technology for deeper blacks, better dynamic range, and improved color accuracy.

The XDR display can get much brighter, reaching as high as 1,600 nits of brightness at its peak when showing HDR content. The 14- and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models also have ProMotion displays, allowing them to vary their refresh rate up to 120Hz. The ‌MacBook Air‌ does not have a display with a variable refresh rate.

It will be worth getting the high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ models for viewing and editing HDR content, as well as watching high-framerate video such as sports. The display of the ‌MacBook Air‌ is sufficient for most users and some may not even notice a drastic difference. The ‌MacBook Pro‌’s deeper blacks and smoother on-screen motion simply offer a slightly better experience.

The ‌MacBook Pro‌ is also available with a nano-texture display for an additional $150, which significantly cuts down on glare in bright environments. No such option is offered with the ‌MacBook Air‌.

Chips
The ‌MacBook Air‌ contains the ‌M2‌ or M3 chip, while ‌MacBook Pro‌ customers can choose between the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips. The M4 Pro and M4 Max are scaled-up versions of the M4 chip that offer additional CPU and GPU cores.

For example, the M4 Max provides a CPU with up to eight additional cores and a GPU with up to 30 additional cores. The entry-level ‌MacBook Air‌’s ‌M2‌ chip is only a little less powerful than the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max in single-core tasks, but the M4 chips, and particularly the Pro and Max versions, are considerably better in multi-core and graphics tasks.

With significantly more transistors, performance CPU cores, and GPU cores, the M4 Pro and M4 Max are powerful chips designed for professionals with demanding workflows. The ‌M2‌ and M3, on the other hand, are more consumer-oriented chips focused on delivering surprisingly impressive performance and excellent efficiency to keep temperatures down and prolong battery life. The M4 series of chips also brought a dramatic improvement to Neural Engine performance for machine learning and artificial intelligence tasks.

It is also worth noting that the ‌MacBook Air‌ is passively cooled and contains no fan, which can slightly constrain peak performance compared to the ‌MacBook Pro‌, since the high-end machines have large fans to actively cool the system and push the chips harder.

The ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ only supports a single external display. The limitations of the M3, M4, and M4 Pro chips also mean that ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌ devices configured with these chip support up to two external displays, whereas M4 Max machines support up to four external displays.

Memory and Storage
The ‌MacBook Air‌ can be configured with up to 24GB of unified memory and up to 2TB of storage, which should be more than enough for the vast majority of users. For those who need even more memory and storage, the ‌MacBook Pro‌ can be configured with significantly more memory and storage than the top-spec ‌MacBook Air‌.

The M4 Pro and M4 Max chips in the ‌MacBook Pro‌ also provide up to 273GB/s and 546GB/s memory bandwidth respectively – an enormous increase over the 100GB/s memory bandwidth with the ‌M2‌ and M3 models. All models now start with 16GB of memory as standard.

Speakers and Microphones
The 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ has a four-speaker sound system that is surprisingly full and balanced for such a small, slim device. The 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ and all of the ‌MacBook Pro‌ models take things to the next level with a six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers for dramatically bigger and deeper audio. Apple also describes the ‌MacBook Pro‌’s speaker system as “high-fidelity,” which may be invaluable to users who work in professional audio production or simply listen to a lot of music out-loud.

The ‌MacBook Air‌ has a three-mic array with directional beamforming that is perfect for activities like video calls and voice notes. The ‌MacBook Pro‌ has what Apple calls a “studio-quality” three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming. While they are not as good as a dedicated microphone, the ‌MacBook Pro‌’s microphones are impressive and, at a push, are suitable for production purposes like podcasting.

Battery Life
The 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with the M4 Max chip has the same 18-hour battery life as the ‌MacBook Air‌, but all other ‌MacBook Pro‌ models offer better battery life. The M4 14-inch and M4 Pro 16-inch models offer up to 24-hour battery life – a significant increase over the ‌MacBook Air‌.

Final Thoughts
Overall, the ‌MacBook Air‌ is the best option for casual users, offering an excellent balance of features and performance in a highly portable design. The ‌MacBook Air‌’s $999 starting price is much more affordable compared to the ‌MacBook Pro‌, and with an education discount or an offer from our Apple Deals Roundup, it is possible to get that price down by at least $100. The additional $600 to get the ‌MacBook Pro‌ likely is not worth it for most ordinary users, and on the contrary, many will prefer the slimmer, lighter design of the ‌MacBook Air‌ and perhaps even its additional color options.

Professionals who require larger and more accurate displays, additional ports, more memory and storage, and a very high level of performance should look to the 14- and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, and the higher price points of these machines reflects this. The high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ models are not targeted at everyday consumers, being clearly tailored to creatives and professionals who rely heavily on the capabilities of their machines. As such, these high-end models should only be a go-to option if you are a power-user or professional who can make use of its advanced features. The 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, in particular, is also potentially a good desktop replacement machine due to its large display.

M2 vs. M3 MacBook Air Buyer’s Guide: All Differences Compared
13-Inch vs. 15-Inch MacBook Air Buyer’s Guide
14-Inch vs. 16-Inch MacBook Pro Buyer’s Guide 2024

Alternatively, if you are considering the $1,299 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, it may be worth paying more to get the M4 MacBook Pro. For just $300 more, the ‌M4 MacBook Pro‌ offers a considerably better Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion, a more powerful chip with active cooling, an extra Thunderbolt port, four extra hours of battery life, better speakers and microphones, an HDMI port and SDXC card slot, and more. In fact, if you configure the 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ with 512GB of storage to match the ‌M4 MacBook Pro‌, there is only a $100 between the two machines, so in this instance it is almost always worth getting the more powerful machine, unless maximizing screen size is your only priority.Related Roundups: MacBook Air, MacBook ProBuyer’s Guide: 15″ MacBook Air (Neutral), MacBook Pro (Buy Now), 13″ MacBook Air (Neutral)Related Forums: MacBook Air, MacBook ProThis article, “MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro Buyer’s Guide: 30+ Differences Compared” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

Apple recently updated the MacBook Pro with the M4 series of chips and a series of other upgrades including a 12MP camera, a nano-texture display option, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. The new machines follow updated MacBook Air models with the M3 chip that were released earlier in 2024, so how do the latest models compare?

Despite now being similar in appearance, the ‌MacBook Air‌ and the ‌MacBook Pro‌ are very different devices, so should you consider purchasing the 13- or 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, which start at $999, to save money, or do you need one of the higher-end 14- or 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, which cost at least $600 more? Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two popular laptops is best for you.

‌MacBook Air‌

‌MacBook Pro‌

M2: 13.6-inch display

M3: 13.6- or 15.3-inch display

14.2- or 16.2-inch display

LCD Liquid Retina display

Mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display

60hz refresh rate

ProMotion for refresh rates up to 120Hz

Up to 500 nits brightness

Up to 1,000 nits brightness and 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness

Nano-texture display option

1080p FaceTime HD camera

12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View

Apple M2 or M3 chip

Apple M4, M4 Pro, or M4 Max chip

M2: Enhanced 5nm node (N5P) based on A15 Bionic chip from iPhone 13 (2021)

M3: 3nm node (N3B) based on A17 Pro chip from iPhone 15 Pro (2023)

‌3nm‌ node (N3E) based on A18 chip from iPhone 16 (2024)

M2: 3.49 GHz CPU clock speed

M3: 4.05 GHz CPU clock speed

M4: 4.4 GHz CPU clock speed

M4 Pro and M4 Max: 4.5 GHz CPU clock speed

8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores

M4: 10 CPU cores with 4 performance and 6 efficiency cores

M4 Pro: Up to 14 CPU cores with 10 performance and 4 efficiency cores

M4 Max: Up to 16 CPU cores with 12 performance and 4 efficiency cores

Up to 10-core GPU

M4: 10-core GPU

M4 Pro: Up to 20-core GPU

M4 Max: Up to 40-core GPU

Updated GPU architecture

Updated GPU architecture with improved efficiency

M2: 16-core Neural Engine, 15.8 trillion operations per second

M3: 16-core Neural Engine, 18 trillion operations per second

16-core Neural Engine, 38 trillion operations per second

16GB or 24GB unified memory

M4: 16GB, 24GB, or 32GB unified memory

M4 Pro: 24GB or 48GB unified memory

M4 Max: 36GB, 48GB, 64GB, or 128GB unified memory

LPDDR5 memory

LPDDR5X memory

100GB/s memory bandwidth

M4: 120GB/s memory bandwidth

M4 Pro: 273GB/s memory bandwidth

M4 Max: 546GB/s memory bandwidth

Passive cooling

Active cooling

High Power Mode on all M4 Pro and M4 Max models

M3 models only:

Dynamic Caching

Hardware-accelerated ray tracing

Hardware-accelerated mesh shading

Support for AV1 decode

Dynamic Caching

Hardware-accelerated ray tracing

Hardware-accelerated mesh shading

Support for AV1 decode

M2: Wi-Fi 6

M3: Wi-Fi 6E

Wi-Fi 6E

Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports

M4: Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports

M4 Pro or M4 Max: Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports

HDMI 2.1 port with support for multichannel audio output

SDXC card slot

13-Inch: Four-speaker sound system

15-Inch: Six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers

High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers

Three-mic array with directional beamforming

Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming

M2: Support for one external display

M3: Support for up to two external displays when the lid is closed

M4 or M4 Pro: Support for two external displays

M4 Max: Support for up to four external displays

Dedicated display engine

256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage

M4: 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage

M4 Pro or M4 Max: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage

13-Inch: 52.6-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery

15-Inch: 66.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery

14-Inch: 72.4-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery

16-Inch: 100-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery

18-hour battery life

M4 14-Inch or M3 Pro 16-Inch: 24-hour battery life

M4 Pro 14-Inch: 22-hour battery life

M4 Max 14-Inch: 18-hour battery life

M4 Max 16-Inch: 21-hour battery life

30W, 35W, or 67W USB-C Power Adapter

67W, 96W, or 140W USB-C Power Adapter

Silver, Space Gray, Starlight, or Midnight color options

Silver or Space Black color options

M2 13-Inch: Starts at $999

M3 13-Inch: Starts at $1,099

M3 15-Inch: Starts at $1,299

M4 14-Inch: Starts at $1,599

M4 Pro 14-Inch: Starts at $1,999

M4 Pro 16-Inch: Starts at $2,499

Design

Both the ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌ share the same basic design with a flat top and rounded edges on the bottom, but they do have several minor details that differ. For example, while both MacBooks have displays with a “notch” at the top to facilitate the built-in webcam, the ‌MacBook Pro‌’s bezels are noticeably slimmer. The keyboard well of the high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ is also all-black.

The ‌MacBook Air‌ is available in Silver and Space Gray, but the ‌MacBook Air‌ is also offered in Starlight and Midnight color options, so if you are looking for a particular aesthetic with one of these finishes, you will need to get the ‌MacBook Air‌. Space Black is exclusive to the ‌MacBook Pro‌.

‌MacBook Air‌ (13-Inch)

‌MacBook Air‌ (15-Inch)

‌MacBook Pro‌ (14-Inch)

‌MacBook Pro‌ (16-Inch)

Height

0.44 inches (1.13 cm)

0.45 inch (1.15 cm)

0.61 inches (1.55 cm)

0.66 inch (1.68 cm)

Width

11.97 inches (30.41 cm)

13.40 inches (34.04 cm)

12.31 inches (31.26 cm)

14.01 inches (35.57 cm)

Depth

8.46 inches (21.5 cm)

9.35 inches (23.76 cm)

8.71 inches (22.12 cm)

9.77 inches (24.81 cm)

Weight

2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)

3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)

3.5 pounds (1.61 kg)

4.8 pounds (2.15 kg)

Dimensions are also a key area of difference between the ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌. The 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ is considerably larger and heavier than the 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, but it is important to not understate the difference between the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ and the 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌. While the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ offers a larger display than the ‌MacBook Air‌, its marginally larger footprint, added thickness, and an additional 0.8 pounds of weight do make for a noticeably less portable machine if you prefer to travel light.

Even so, the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ offers a very good balance of portability and performance, so if you need its added capabilities, its size and weight should not hold you back. The 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ also provides a good balance of portability and display area, but users wary of its size should opt for the 13-inch model.

Ports and Connectivity

The selection of ports is an area of major difference between the two machines. The ‌MacBook Air‌ features just two Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the M4 version of the ‌MacBook Pro‌ adds an HDMI 2.1 port and SDXC card slot. When configured with the M4 Pro or M4 Max, the ‌MacBook Pro‌ has a total of three Thunderbolt 5 ports, in addition to its HDMI 2.1 port and SDXC card slot. Both machines feature a 3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones.

All in all, the ‌MacBook Pro‌ is much more versatile in terms of physical connectivity, offering useful features for professionals who use SDXC cards from digital cameras, Thunderbolt 5 accessories, or even simply more USB peripherals.

Display Size

The smaller ‌MacBook Air‌’s display is 13.6 inches in size, which is a little smaller than the 14.2-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, and markedly smaller than the 16.2-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. 13.6 inches is still bigger than the largest iPad Pro model, which comes in at 13 inches, and even all of the previous Intel-based ‌MacBook Air‌ and smaller ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, meaning that it should be adequate for most users. The 14.2-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ simply offers a little bit more screen real estate to those who need high-end capabilities.

The 15.3-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ and 16.2-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌’s displays will be better replacements for a desktop machine and provide much more screen space to arrange multiple windows and use professional applications that benefit from additional display area.

Display Technology

The display technologies of both machines are significantly different. Like most MacBooks in recent years, the ‌MacBook Air‌ has an LCD panel, but owing to its slim bezels and rounded corners, Apple calls it a Liquid Retina display. The 14- and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models feature Apple’s more advanced mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR technology for deeper blacks, better dynamic range, and improved color accuracy.

The XDR display can get much brighter, reaching as high as 1,600 nits of brightness at its peak when showing HDR content. The 14- and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models also have ProMotion displays, allowing them to vary their refresh rate up to 120Hz. The ‌MacBook Air‌ does not have a display with a variable refresh rate.

It will be worth getting the high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ models for viewing and editing HDR content, as well as watching high-framerate video such as sports. The display of the ‌MacBook Air‌ is sufficient for most users and some may not even notice a drastic difference. The ‌MacBook Pro‌’s deeper blacks and smoother on-screen motion simply offer a slightly better experience.

The ‌MacBook Pro‌ is also available with a nano-texture display for an additional $150, which significantly cuts down on glare in bright environments. No such option is offered with the ‌MacBook Air‌.

Chips

The ‌MacBook Air‌ contains the ‌M2‌ or M3 chip, while ‌MacBook Pro‌ customers can choose between the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips. The M4 Pro and M4 Max are scaled-up versions of the M4 chip that offer additional CPU and GPU cores.

For example, the M4 Max provides a CPU with up to eight additional cores and a GPU with up to 30 additional cores. The entry-level ‌MacBook Air‌’s ‌M2‌ chip is only a little less powerful than the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max in single-core tasks, but the M4 chips, and particularly the Pro and Max versions, are considerably better in multi-core and graphics tasks.

With significantly more transistors, performance CPU cores, and GPU cores, the M4 Pro and M4 Max are powerful chips designed for professionals with demanding workflows. The ‌M2‌ and M3, on the other hand, are more consumer-oriented chips focused on delivering surprisingly impressive performance and excellent efficiency to keep temperatures down and prolong battery life. The M4 series of chips also brought a dramatic improvement to Neural Engine performance for machine learning and artificial intelligence tasks.

It is also worth noting that the ‌MacBook Air‌ is passively cooled and contains no fan, which can slightly constrain peak performance compared to the ‌MacBook Pro‌, since the high-end machines have large fans to actively cool the system and push the chips harder.

The ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ only supports a single external display. The limitations of the M3, M4, and M4 Pro chips also mean that ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌ devices configured with these chip support up to two external displays, whereas M4 Max machines support up to four external displays.

Memory and Storage

The ‌MacBook Air‌ can be configured with up to 24GB of unified memory and up to 2TB of storage, which should be more than enough for the vast majority of users. For those who need even more memory and storage, the ‌MacBook Pro‌ can be configured with significantly more memory and storage than the top-spec ‌MacBook Air‌.

The M4 Pro and M4 Max chips in the ‌MacBook Pro‌ also provide up to 273GB/s and 546GB/s memory bandwidth respectively – an enormous increase over the 100GB/s memory bandwidth with the ‌M2‌ and M3 models. All models now start with 16GB of memory as standard.

Speakers and Microphones

The 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ has a four-speaker sound system that is surprisingly full and balanced for such a small, slim device. The 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ and all of the ‌MacBook Pro‌ models take things to the next level with a six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers for dramatically bigger and deeper audio. Apple also describes the ‌MacBook Pro‌’s speaker system as “high-fidelity,” which may be invaluable to users who work in professional audio production or simply listen to a lot of music out-loud.

The ‌MacBook Air‌ has a three-mic array with directional beamforming that is perfect for activities like video calls and voice notes. The ‌MacBook Pro‌ has what Apple calls a “studio-quality” three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming. While they are not as good as a dedicated microphone, the ‌MacBook Pro‌’s microphones are impressive and, at a push, are suitable for production purposes like podcasting.

Battery Life

The 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with the M4 Max chip has the same 18-hour battery life as the ‌MacBook Air‌, but all other ‌MacBook Pro‌ models offer better battery life. The M4 14-inch and M4 Pro 16-inch models offer up to 24-hour battery life – a significant increase over the ‌MacBook Air‌.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the ‌MacBook Air‌ is the best option for casual users, offering an excellent balance of features and performance in a highly portable design. The ‌MacBook Air‌’s $999 starting price is much more affordable compared to the ‌MacBook Pro‌, and with an education discount or an offer from our Apple Deals Roundup, it is possible to get that price down by at least $100. The additional $600 to get the ‌MacBook Pro‌ likely is not worth it for most ordinary users, and on the contrary, many will prefer the slimmer, lighter design of the ‌MacBook Air‌ and perhaps even its additional color options.

Professionals who require larger and more accurate displays, additional ports, more memory and storage, and a very high level of performance should look to the 14- and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, and the higher price points of these machines reflects this. The high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ models are not targeted at everyday consumers, being clearly tailored to creatives and professionals who rely heavily on the capabilities of their machines. As such, these high-end models should only be a go-to option if you are a power-user or professional who can make use of its advanced features. The 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, in particular, is also potentially a good desktop replacement machine due to its large display.

M2 vs. M3 MacBook Air Buyer’s Guide: All Differences Compared

13-Inch vs. 15-Inch MacBook Air Buyer’s Guide

14-Inch vs. 16-Inch MacBook Pro Buyer’s Guide 2024

Alternatively, if you are considering the $1,299 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, it may be worth paying more to get the M4 MacBook Pro. For just $300 more, the ‌M4 MacBook Pro‌ offers a considerably better Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion, a more powerful chip with active cooling, an extra Thunderbolt port, four extra hours of battery life, better speakers and microphones, an HDMI port and SDXC card slot, and more. In fact, if you configure the 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ with 512GB of storage to match the ‌M4 MacBook Pro‌, there is only a $100 between the two machines, so in this instance it is almost always worth getting the more powerful machine, unless maximizing screen size is your only priority.

This article, “MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro Buyer’s Guide: 30+ Differences Compared” first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Read More 

Apple on Wednesday released Final Cut Pro 11 for the Mac, with key new features including AI-generated captions, spatial video editing, and a Magnetic Mask tool for isolating people and objects in videos. The update also includes some smaller new features, changes, and bug fixes, as outlined in the full release notes on Apple’s website.

Many of these features were already outlined in Final Cut Pro 11’s release notes on the App Store, but the notes on Apple’s website are a little more comprehensive, revealing some specific new keyboard shortcuts and a list of bug fixes.

Apple also highlighted some new features in the Final Cut Pro user guide.

The full release notes:

Final Cut Pro 11.0 includes the following enhancements:

Expand your creative freedom with the revolutionary AI-powered Magnetic Mask, and isolate people, objects, and shapes in any footage without a green screen or time-consuming manual rotoscoping (a Mac with Apple silicon recommended).
Use Transcribe to Captions to automatically create captions from spoken audio in the timeline with a powerful AI language model built for speed and accuracy (Mac with Apple silicon and macOS Sequoia or later required).
Import and edit spatial video clips from Apple Vision Pro or iPhone 15 Pro or later; add titles, color correction, and effects; and share captivating spatial projects that can be viewed on Apple Vision Pro (Mac with Apple silicon required).
Edit in the timeline at 90, 100, and 120 fps.
Reduce clutter in the browser by automatically hiding original clips when creating synced clips or multicam clips.
Speed up your creative flow with new Picture in Picture and Callout effects.
Create interesting visual reveals with new Modular transitions.
Use Vertical Zoom to Fit to scale clip heights to fit in the timeline.
Change the order of vertically stacked clips with a new keyboard shortcut.
Quickly navigate clips in list view and edit clip text with a new keyboard shortcut.
Increase efficiency with additional new keyboard shortcuts including Rename Clip, Show/Hide Audio Lanes, Expand/Collapse Subroles, Play Half Speed Forward/Reverse, Consolidate Motion Content, Paste Timecode, and Show Horizon.
Install third-party Media Extensions to support playback and editing of more video formats (macOS Sequoia or later required).

Additional support and bug fixes:

Improves performance in timelines that contain a high number of markers.
Fixes an issue that caused the alert badge on an event to not disappear after all missing media was relinked.
Fixes an issue that caused the Clouds generator to be partially transparent.
Fixes an issue that caused the Collapse to Connected Storyline command to trim audio if the audio was leading video.
Adds support for exporting uncompressed or ProRes MXF video with 32 kHz audio.
Adds support for exporting directly to the Photos library.
Updates FCPXML to version 1.13.
Final Cut Pro 11 is available now as a free update for existing users of the app. In the U.S., the app remains priced at $299.99 on the Mac App Store for new users. Some of the new features require a Mac with an M1 chip or newer.Tag: Final Cut ProThis article, “Final Cut Pro 11: Apple Shares List of All New Features and Bug Fixes” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

Apple on Wednesday released Final Cut Pro 11 for the Mac, with key new features including AI-generated captions, spatial video editing, and a Magnetic Mask tool for isolating people and objects in videos. The update also includes some smaller new features, changes, and bug fixes, as outlined in the full release notes on Apple’s website.

Many of these features were already outlined in Final Cut Pro 11’s release notes on the App Store, but the notes on Apple’s website are a little more comprehensive, revealing some specific new keyboard shortcuts and a list of bug fixes.

Apple also highlighted some new features in the Final Cut Pro user guide.

The full release notes:

Final Cut Pro 11.0 includes the following enhancements:

Expand your creative freedom with the revolutionary AI-powered Magnetic Mask, and isolate people, objects, and shapes in any footage without a green screen or time-consuming manual rotoscoping (a Mac with Apple silicon recommended).

Use Transcribe to Captions to automatically create captions from spoken audio in the timeline with a powerful AI language model built for speed and accuracy (Mac with Apple silicon and macOS Sequoia or later required).

Import and edit spatial video clips from Apple Vision Pro or iPhone 15 Pro or later; add titles, color correction, and effects; and share captivating spatial projects that can be viewed on Apple Vision Pro (Mac with Apple silicon required).

Edit in the timeline at 90, 100, and 120 fps.

Reduce clutter in the browser by automatically hiding original clips when creating synced clips or multicam clips.

Speed up your creative flow with new Picture in Picture and Callout effects.

Create interesting visual reveals with new Modular transitions.

Use Vertical Zoom to Fit to scale clip heights to fit in the timeline.

Change the order of vertically stacked clips with a new keyboard shortcut.

Quickly navigate clips in list view and edit clip text with a new keyboard shortcut.

Increase efficiency with additional new keyboard shortcuts including Rename Clip, Show/Hide Audio Lanes, Expand/Collapse Subroles, Play Half Speed Forward/Reverse, Consolidate Motion Content, Paste Timecode, and Show Horizon.

Install third-party Media Extensions to support playback and editing of more video formats (macOS Sequoia or later required).

Additional support and bug fixes:

Improves performance in timelines that contain a high number of markers.

Fixes an issue that caused the alert badge on an event to not disappear after all missing media was relinked.

Fixes an issue that caused the Clouds generator to be partially transparent.

Fixes an issue that caused the Collapse to Connected Storyline command to trim audio if the audio was leading video.

Adds support for exporting uncompressed or ProRes MXF video with 32 kHz audio.

Adds support for exporting directly to the Photos library.

Updates FCPXML to version 1.13.

Final Cut Pro 11 is available now as a free update for existing users of the app. In the U.S., the app remains priced at $299.99 on the Mac App Store for new users. Some of the new features require a Mac with an M1 chip or newer.

This article, “Final Cut Pro 11: Apple Shares List of All New Features and Bug Fixes” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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