GoKawiil
Tech News
Apple's cheapest laptop, the MacBook Neo, starts at $699 with an A18 Pro chip and 8GB of RAM, while the more popular MacBook Air starts at $1,299. The Mac mini desktop offers more processing power than either laptop while costing less, making it a budget option for buyers who don't need portability.
Apple's 27.2 software update for HomePod 2nd generation and HomePod mini 2 adds the ability to set them as the default system audio output for Macs with Wi-Fi 6E support. The update also significantly cuts wireless audio latency, and adds features like Sound Glow, Lock Controls, and home theater surround sound support.
Apple's laptop lineage traces back to the 1989 Macintosh Portable and 1991 PowerBook 100, through the iBook G3 and PowerBook G4, culminating in the 2006 launch of the first MacBook Pro. Since then, MacBooks have set design and performance benchmarks that influenced the broader PC industry, including the rise of ultraportable laptops after the MacBook Air's debut.
A third-party macOS utility called Open Sound Connect now allows direct control of Sony's WH-1000X and MDR-1000X headphone line from a Mac, covering noise cancellation, sound settings and custom scenes via a menu bar panel. The app requires no Sony account or phone pairing, and is distributed through a direct download with a license key, with a Mac App Store version still forthcoming. Licenses permit up to two active installations managed through a user account.
A Redditor building a Mac temperature-monitoring app with Claude Code AI discovered their machine was overheating because of a cryptominer called xmrig consuming roughly 1,175% CPU usage across about 12 cores, pushing CPU temperatures to 112°C. Claude's report flagged the miner and included an unprompted statement denying it had installed the software itself, which was shared by Reddit user UntilHEX.
A developer has released an unofficial web port of Glider 4.0, the classic Macintosh game, playable directly in a browser via JavaScript. The project's source code has been published on GitHub, allowing others to inspect or build on the port.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max chip, 36GB of RAM and 2TB of storage has dropped to $3,499, a 20 percent discount and $400 less than it cost just days earlier. Retailers say this is $150 below any previous sale price for this configuration, even after Apple raised prices across the lineup in June.
A vintage computing hobbyist has released version 1.0 of a MacOS Extensions Pack designed for the Apple Network Server, a rare 1990s Apple machine. The project is part of the developer's broader work preserving and extending old microcomputers, Unix workstations, and classic Mac/PalmOS platforms, shared through their personal blog Old VCR.
In a sponsored Apple @ Work column, IT admin Bradley Chambers argues that while companies have largely solved visibility into which AI applications are installed on managed Macs, browser-based AI tools remain an unmonitored channel for data exposure. He notes device management vendors can already detect and remove unapproved AI apps, but says web-based AI interactions inside Safari or Chrome fall outside that oversight.
To mark iPhone Duo's shipping launch, retailers are discounting related Apple gear: AirPods Pro 3 are $50 off at $199, Apple Pencil (USB-C)—the only stylus iPhone Duo supports—is down to $69 (or $61 used-like-new), and the new Apple TV 4K remains available at a pre-order discount. Additional savings cover leather cases, power banks, and the new Mac Studio and M6 Mac mini.
Apple unveiled the original iPod on October 23, 2001, with Steve Jobs presenting it as a hard-disk music player holding 1,000 songs for $399. The device offered 5GB of storage and supported MP3, WAV and AIFF formats, entering a market Jobs said lacked a clear leader despite existing players from Sony, Creative and others.
Apple TV has announced that its Frank Marshall-directed Fleetwood Mac documentary, titled "Fleetwood Mac: The Chain," will premiere on January 29, 2027, nearly two years after it was first announced. The film features new interviews and archival footage with band members Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, covering the group's history since forming in 1974.