O'Grady's PowerPage

Category: Hardware

  • Some macOS Monterey features will only work with Apple Silicon hardware

    Some macOS Monterey features will only work with Apple Silicon hardware

    You may need to snag the newest Mac hardware to run all the features present within Apple’s upcoming macOS Monterey operating system.

    A number of features are reported to require an M1 processor. These features include Portrait Mode, Live Text in photos, and improvements to Maps such as a 3D globe of the Earth and additional map details in major cities. Other features that will require Apple Silicon hardware are the expansion of text-to-speech to additional languages, as well as on-device and unlimited keyboard dictation.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer, MacRumors, and Macworld

  • Apple releases compatibility list for macOS Monterey

    Apple releases compatibility list for macOS Monterey

    If you’re curious as to whether your Mac will be able to run macOS Monterey upon its release, Apple has published the following compatibility guide:

    • ‌iMac‌ – Late 2015 and later
    • ‌iMac‌ Pro – 2017 and later
    • ‌MacBook Air‌ – Early 2015 and later
    • MacBook Pro – Early 2015 and later
    • Mac Pro – Late 2013 and later
    • Mac mini – Late 2014 and later
    • MacBook – Early 2016 and later

    macOS 12 Monterey drops support for some ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌iMac‌ models compared to ‌macOS Big Sur‌. The new update is available to developers at the current time, with Apple planning to make a public beta available in July.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors

  • iFixit releases full teardown video of M1 iPad Pro, highlights XDR display, processor, and construction

    iFixit releases full teardown video of M1 iPad Pro, highlights XDR display, processor, and construction

    Once again, the super cool cats at iFixit have come through with another spiffy teardown report, this time covering and posting a full video of a teardown of the new 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro, which began arriving to customers’ locations on its May 21 launch date. The company noted a variety of interesting bells and whistles in the new report, including the new “XDR” mini-LED display, new 5G antennas at the sides to enable 5G connectivity, and a 10566 mAh (40.33Wh) battery inside.

    Per the display, it’s now slightly thicker than the Liquid Retina display found in the prior-generation iPad Pro (0.5mm), and “quite a bit heavier.” Unlike a traditional LED display, the mini-LED display in the ‌iPad Pro‌ features a giant grid of tiny LEDs that introduce the contrast and quality improvements seen in the 2021 ‌iPad Pro‌.

    There are now 2,596 local dimming zones found in the M1 iPad Pro, each consisting of a squire with four tiny LEDs inside. The non-XDR ‌iPad‌ display, meanwhile, uses a single strip of LEDs along one side, which functions as a primary difference between the 2020 ‌iPad Pro‌ and the 2021 12.9-inch version.

    A picture’s worth a thousand words, so check out the video and the link to the full write up and if you’ve been able to snag an M1 iPad Pro, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via MacRumors and iFixit

  • Apple releases over-the-air AirTags update to offer improved anti-stalking measures, shorter sound intervals

    Apple releases over-the-air AirTags update to offer improved anti-stalking measures, shorter sound intervals

    Apple on Thursday released an over-the-air firmware update to its AirTags units to help prevent stalking on the Bluetooth devices. The update is designed to shorten the amount of time before an unknown AirTag alerts you if it is in your possession.

    At the current time, ‌AirTags‌ play a sound after three days of being away from their owner. After the update, ‌AirTags‌ will begin playing at a random time in a window after eight hours and within 24 hours.

    The company stated that it is also working on an app for Android devices that will allow them to detect an unknown AirTag or Find My network-enabled item that is found to be traveling with them, which will prevent ‌AirTags‌ from being used to stalk Android users.

    AirTag units are designed to play a sound when away from their owner, and will also alert iPhone owners if there’s an unknown AirTag nearby. Apple, in turn, has been criticized that its anti-stalking measures don’t go far enough, and that the three-day sound time on AirTag resets could potentially allow for spousal abuse and stalking. Apple is currently working to address both of these issues.

    The Android app will be released later this year, and the sound updates for ‌AirTags‌ will be automatically applied when an AirTag is near an ‌iPhone‌.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and CNET

  • Chinese regulatory filing hints at updated 16-inch MacBook Pro battery, possible next-gen notebook that could be announced at WWDC 2021

    Chinese regulatory filing hints at updated 16-inch MacBook Pro battery, possible next-gen notebook that could be announced at WWDC 2021

    Once again, it might be the regulatory filing that hints at a really cool thing just around the corner.

    A Chinese regulatory filing for what appears to be a 16-inch MacBook Pro battery has been sighted ahead of a rumored WWDC 2021 announcement.

    The regulatory listing, filed on April 14 by Apple supplier Sunwoda Electronic, doesn’t specifically mention Apple. However, it carries a model identifier of A2527, which lines up with Apple’s other model numbers.

    Within the filing, Sunwoda Electric stated that the battery is rated at 8,693 mAh/11.45V. This places its operating specs very close to the current 16-inch MacBook Pro battery, which is rated at 8,790 mAh/11.36V.

    While the filing doesn’t offer any details as to Apple’s MacBook plans, it matches up with rumors about next-gen MacBook notebooks.

    Apple is largely expected to unveil a new 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro model with upgraded M1 chips in 2021. Those devices could sport a new 10-core Apple Silicon processor, a miniLED display, and a slight chassis redesign. The models could also bring back a MagSafe power port, SD card slot, and an HDMI port.

    Should the leak turn out to be accurate, it could indicate a very slight decrease in battery capacity. Still, given that the Apple Silicon architecture is more energy efficient than Intel’s, the new unit could offer identical – or improved – battery life.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and MacRumors