Today, Apple is unveiling new Macs that will be based not on Intel processors, but Apple’s own Arm-based chips. It’s a big deal and something we’ve been waiting a long time for. Depending on how you count, that wait has lasted either six months (since they were officially announced) or several years (since Intel’s roadmap detoured into a quagmire).
So: the day is here and there are many, many questions that Apple will hopefully have answers to. I fully expect we’re going to get a mix of good, bad, and possibly ugly answers — and heck, maybe even some very great ones too.
You are reading Processor, a newsletter about computers, software, and tech by Dieter Bohn. Dieter writes about consumer tech, software, and the most important tech news of the day from The Verge. This newsletter will arrive about once or twice a week. You can subscribe to Processor and learn more about it here. Processor is also a YouTube series with the same goal: providing smart and surprising analysis with a bit of humor. Subscribe to all of The Verge’s great videos here!
By subscribing, you are agreeing to receive a daily newsletter from The Verge that highlights top stories of the day, as well as occasional messages from sponsors and / or partners of The Verge.
One reason I’m more optimistic about how well the new Macs might perform is that Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman dropped his traditional pre-announcement reporting of what’s to come and his sources say it will include an Arm-based 13-inch MacBook Pro in addition to a MacBook Air.
To me, you don’t include a “pro” model on day one unless you are very confident in the benchmarks and performance. Better to stick with just the mid-range model if you’re not sure. After all, the only Windows Arm-based laptops we’ve seen recently are in that zone. But nope, Apple’s apparently going all-in.
In that context, as you watch the event today (I don’t think it’s appropriate to call these videos “keynotes” any more), I wanted to just list out a few things to keep an eye out for. I hope Apple hits all of the points below. How (or whether) Apple addresses some of these issues should give you some early indications of how well this whole Apple silicon transition is going to go in the early days.
How fast is fast? Apple is surely going to tout some impressive benchmarks for these Macs. But hopefully we’ll also see something more real-world — head-to-head comparisons work best when they’re done with applications people actually use in ways that tangibly show the speed difference.
How about battery life? One big benefit of Apple’s silicon is that we know it’s likely to be much more power-efficient than Intel’s chips. However, Apple could architect these chips in any number of ways that could kill a battery in the name of faster performance — or make it too slow in the name of battery life. Watch carefully to see if Apple thinks it can get the best of both worlds or if it’s tilting the scales one way or another.
Now that many of us are using iPads full-time for work, we’re finding that you can kill them off in a single workday. iPadOS was built to run only on battery power from the start, but macOS needs to run on both battery and the mains. Can it be made efficient enough to match the iPad’s battery life?
What will the graphics situation be? Apple has been using either integrated Intel or discrete AMD GPUs for a very long time on the Mac, but it’s been using its own stuff on the iPhone and iPad with some fairly incredible results. The difference, though, is that fewer Mac apps are likely to use the right kind of code to get the most out of whatever Apple puts in these Macs. Keep an eye out for what apps Apple demos and what apps it does not (and yes, I’m talking about Adobe’s Creative Suite here).
See if there’s LTE or 5G: It’s a stretch, but using the same processors as the iPhone and iPad theoretically makes it easier to integrate cellular radios. And Apple did buy Intel’s entire 5G modem business. My bet is it won’t happen this round, but if it does it’ll be another sign of just how serious Apple is about these Macs.
What about Rosetta? Apple is going to automatically make apps designed for Intel chips work on its Arm chips using a translation layer called Rosetta 2. Keep an eye on what apps get shown off there too — and for a bonus, see if you can spot any slowdowns outside of that one particular app.
This is one place where I really do wish we were at a live keynote instead of a pre-recorded livestream. Live demos are of course heavily tested and scripted, but I’ve seen enough of them go sideways to know that they’re also usually real. If something goes sideways in the Rosetta 2 demo, it’s probably a safe bet Apple would just re-shoot it.
Big Sur is a big question mark. Apple’s newest operating system for the Mac will obviously be a requirement for these new MacBooks, but I can tell you from experience that the betas have been rockier than usual. Will the OS be stable enough for release?
See if Catalyst is brought up. Catalyst, if you don’t recall, is one of the ways Apple is trying to bring iPad apps over to the Mac, by offering developers a framework to re-use their iPad code in a Mac app. That’s a very oversimplified explanation, but so far Catalyst apps have been a fairly big bummer so there’s no need to rehash it all again. It’s possible that Apple will continue to only half-heartedly support it (instead of going all-in as I hoped it would) because something “better” is happening on Arm-based Macs. To wit:
See if iPad and iPhone apps are any good. Macs running Apple Silicon will be able to natively run iPad and iPhone apps. There’s any number of ways this could happen, from a full-on iOS instance running behind Big Sur to including just enough pieces of the iOS subsystem to make apps work. Everything in that spectrum has advantages and disadvantages.
But assuming performance is solid, the big question will be whether these iPad and iPhone apps feel like aliens dropped onto a Macintosh planet. One big knock on Catalyst apps is they’re not Mac-like enough, and iPad apps won’t be Mac-like at all. Big Sur looks more like iPadOS than ever, but will that be enough to make iPad apps feel at home?
See what iPad and iPhone apps are actually available. By default, any iPad or iPhone app should theoretically be available for Arm-based Macs — but developers can opt their apps out. Last night 9to5Mac reported that many of the apps you might have hoped for are already opted out. YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, Snapchat, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Facebook, Instagram, Among Us, and even Candy Crush all reportedly won’t be available for the Mac at launch.
A charitable reading could be that these companies want to ensure their iOS apps offer a good experience on the Mac desktop. A less charitable reading is they believe there’s no such thing as a good iOS app experience on a Mac desktop. And a conspiratorial (but not necessarily wrong!) reading is that all these companies know they can collect more data on you through a desktop web browser than they can through a native iOS app.
See what the release date and pricing will be — and wait for reviews. Last but not least, let’s see if Apple can get these out the door on time and at a reasonable price. And my personal advice (which I swear isn’t being given because I’m a reviewer) is to wait for reviews before purchasing.
Hell, I would recommend you wait a year or more if you have a computer that works for you right now. Right now I have more faith than I expected that Apple is going to quickly and successfully navigate this transition, but even in the best possible case it’s going to be a little rocky here and there, with apps you depend on unexpectedly not working or working poorly. That thing happens all the time with new versions of an OS — it will only compound when you throw an entirely new processor architecture into the mix.
If Apple truly wows us with performance, sticking to that “wait and see” approach could be hard for a lot of us. And given the confidence required to put out a MacBook Pro right away, I bet Apple doesn’t want to make it easy to wait.
┏ PlayStation 5 review: a big, confident step into next gen. Right on the heels of the Xbox reviews we have this gangbuster from Andrew Webster and a video by Vjeran Pavic. True to expectations, Sony made a very good console. I still think it’s too weird looking for my living room and I haven’t figured out how I’m going to deal with that yet. I also think that the new controller lives up to the hype — it’s incredible. I just wonder whether or not developers will do enough to keep it that way.
┏ Lenovo’s Smart Clock Essential is a slightly smarter bedside clock. Lenovo has been trying to make Google-powered smart alarm clocks happen for a while now. Its latest effort is maybe the best: it just made that thing instead of a smart display. Dan Seifert explains:
It’s a voice-controlled, Google Assistant smart speaker with a simple, black-and-white segmented LED display. It displays the current time, weather conditions, day, and your currently set alarms. The display will automatically adjust its brightness depending on the light levels of the room, so it’s not blinding you in the middle of the night. But it’s not a touchscreen, doesn’t display photos or video, and can’t be used for monitoring camera feeds. It’s effectively what you’d get if you combined a modern smart speaker with an old-school LED clock radio from the 1980s.
The Pegasus pod used for the first passenger test, also called XP-2, was designed with help from famed Danish architect Bjarke Ingels’ design firm. It represents a scaled-down version of what Virgin Hyperloop hopes will eventually be a full-sized pod capable of carrying up to 23 passengers. It weighs 2.5 tons and measures about 15-18 feet long, according to Giegel. Inside, its lush white interior is meant to be familiar to passengers, who may not be immediately comfortable with the idea of slingshotting through a vacuum-sealed tube at the speed of a commercial jet.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
___
Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
