Blogs on Tech Journeyman

Apple smartphone chips vs Qualcomm over the years

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 09:22:43 +0800

Apple is known for their sleek products and industry leading designs, but in the background, they are also one of the leading chip designers in the world. Their System-on-Chip (SOC) which runs their best selling iPhones are legendary, but Apple has been playing with and designing ARM chips far longer than you think. Here we study the evolution of the Apple A-series SOC which generally serves as the main processor for their iPhones, iPads and other devices.

Apple Silicon Evolution (vs Top Competitors) over the years

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 16:16:10 +0800

Healthy competition is always good for everyone because it brings the drive for people to be the best version of oneself. Intel is a dominant player in the microprocessor market. Dominance is so high that you basically get what Intel gives for a very high price. The smartphone revolution has changed that and with billions and billions of dollars of research went into making the most powerful hand computers ever known to man, we are now in the age where modified versions of mobile microprocessors can compete and beat out processors that are meant to be use on laptops and sometimes desktop.

What if Apple Released the Mac Neo?

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:45:47 +0800

Apple recently released the MacBook Neo, a $600 laptop that is meant for students, casual users, and, more importantly, a gateway to the Apple ecosystem and securing future lifelong customers. What’s more interesting, you can get it for $500 if you are a student, which is Apple’s actual target market. The reception of the MacBook Neo was so good that even Apple was surprised by the response. It is expected that Apple will sell around 10 million units of the MacBook Neo before its next upgrade.

Rest in Power, Mac Pro

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:06:12 +0800

On the verge of Apple’s 50th anniversary, Apple has pulled the plug on the Mac Pro. Apple has announced that it has discontinued the Mac Pro with no further plans to update the computer in the future. The Mac Pro has been removed from Apple’s website, and it is no longer available for purchase.

While it is a very sad day for computer enthusiasts worldwide, the writing was on the wall for a while, and the outcome is not surprising, if one is honest.

Apple's Silicon Strategy

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 19:07:02 +0800

Apple Silicon was introduced to the world in 2020 with the M1 chip, but Apple’s Silicon strategy started well before that, with the A4 chip for the first iPad, way back in the 2010s. Back then, it was nonsensical to see why Apple would invest a massive amount of capital in developing its own chips for its smartphones and tablets, going against market practice. Today, that strategy shines through Apple’s accounts as clear as a cloudless day. We examine how Apple utilizes Apple Silicon through its product line.

Apple March 2026 Event Recap

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:31:23 +0800

Apple has invited members of the press for an experience presentation in New York City, London, and Shanghai. Instead of a long, thoughtful, well-edited video, Apple decided to drip new products closer to the presentation date.

Amuse-Bouche: iPad Air and iPhone 17e

The drops started 2 days before the event. Apple updated the iPad Air to run on the M4. It is basically a spec bump with virtually nothing else changed. The Wi-Fi chip is faster, but that’s basically it.

Why Apple Is Sitting Out of the AI Race

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:40:45 +0800

In early 2026, titans of the tech industries, nicknamed “The Magnificent Seven,” have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in 2026 to be spent on building datacenters and hyperscalers for AI models. OpenAI’s next round of funding is expected to raise $100 billion dollars on top of a $850 billion valuation, fueling the boom to build more datacenters. Apple’s capex for 2026? a measly $14 billion. Basically relatively unchanged from the previous years. Apple decided to leave the AI race behind. Is it a good move for Apple or a tactical mistake that will cost Apple’s leadership?

The Business Case for Human Space Exploration

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:34:35 +0800

Space: the final frontier. Since the first recorded images of Earth from outer space, humans have been trying to reach for the stars. We eventually reached our zenith when humans first set foot on the moon in the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, we have only gone around low-Earth orbit. If the Earth was compress into a school room globe, the moon would be 30 feet away, and for the past 50 or so years, we only left earth to the equivalent of two US dimes. There’s a reason why we are not sending humans to deep space, and it has to do with the current world we live in.

What We Will Get From the AI Crash

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:11:43 +0800

As the computing industry has gone mad with Artificial Intelligence (AI) or generative AI in particular, gobbling up resources like air, water, electricity, graphics chips, and now memory and network chips as if there is no tomorrow or fear of being left behind, the talk about AI being in a bubble grows louder and louder. Bubbles, or market mania, which is once called by itself, is bad. But, like how a coin has two sides, there are benefits from a bubble, especially an infrastructure bubble like AI.

Adobe Creative Cloud vs Apple Creator Studio

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 10:39:08 +0800

In early 2026, Apple launched the Creator Studio. A subscription-based suite of apps aimed at creators for productivity, and also to help capture and edit videos and photos. In the creative suite of apps, Adobe is the undisputed leader in the market. Will Apple’s effort loosen Adobe’s stranglehold on the creative headspace?

Overview

Here is an overview of what both companies have to offer in terms of functionality. On the surface, they might be comparable, but the devil is in the details.

Humanoid Robots on Sale 2026

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:46:05 +0800

Humanoid robots have been touted since the creation of the idea of robots back in the 1920s. Yes, believe it or not, people has been thinkering, toying with the idea of artificial lifeforms replacing or augmenting humans before the concept of a computer even exists. And today, the technology has grown exponentially. A decade ago, the idea of humanoid robots replacing factory workers was laughable. Today, we are on the cusp of that whisper of an idea becoming a reality. Here are some of the humanoid robots that you can actually buy today and put to work in your factory.

Vision Pro: Whats Next?

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 09:19:54 +0800

The Apple Vision Pro, which was launched in early 2024, is one of the most recently spectacular devices ever produced by any company. However, as one would notice, they are not exactly everywhere nor flying off the Apple Store shelves. Despite agreed by tech reviewers and enthuasists alike as one of the most incredible devices ever made, none of them is recommending to buy it. So what gives? And what next steps that Apple will take for the Vision Pro?

Apple in 2026

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:41:37 +0800

To see what Apple did in 2025, read here.

This is the blog post to mark Apple’s progress in 2026. We hope this post will bring a lot of good news to the world. - Apple

May

Apple announced their financial results for Q2 2026 (ended 28 March 2026). Quarterly revenue is $111.2 billion, up 17% y-o-y. Services hit all-time revenue record. Biggest revenue growth contributor would be from the iPhone and Services segment. Apple attribute their strong growth from this quarter from their high demand for iPhone, services, and the unexpected success of the MacBook Neo. - Apple

Credit: MacRumors.com

April

A New York Times guest opinion essay has painted Tim Cook as one of the key architects of selling out America’s manufacturing capabilities to China. As the entire production line moved from the US to China, it in turn had made Apple, and the US by extension, more dependent on China - New York Times
Apple announced that Tim Cook will step down from the role of CEO and become Executive Chairman. John Ternus, long time SVP of hardware will become Apple CEO effective September 1 2026. Transition has been approved unanimously by the Board. - Apple
- Following John Ternus promotion to CEO, Johny Srouji which was currently SVP of Hardware Technologies will assume an expanded role as Chief Hardware Officer effective immediately. Johny Srouji has been credited with the development of the A4 chip, Apple’s first system-on-a-chip which went into the first iPad and iPhone 4. - Apple
- The New York Times has a short profile of the CEOs that had helm Apple from the begining. - New York Times
Astronaut Reid Wiseman shared an Earthset video captured using his iPhone 17 Pro while on board the Integrity spacecraft during Artemis 2 mission.
Only one chance in this lifetime…

Like watching sunset at the beach from the most foreign seat in the cosmos, I couldn’t resist a cell phone video of Earthset. You can hear the shutter on the Nikon as @Astro_Christina is hammering away on 3-shot brackets and capturing those… pic.twitter.com/8aWnaFJ69c

Apple in the Tim Cook Era

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 15:15:29 +0800

When Tim Cook took over the reins of Apple by becoming its CEO, there were doubters about how Tim Cook would lead. He has his work cut out for him from the beginning. Steve Jobs, the charismatic, reality-distorting, sometimes visionary, and sometimes controversial founder and CEO of Apple, has recently passed away. Tim Cook will now take over and realize Jobs’ vision of the future.

And there’s no doubt, 15 years on, Tim Cook not only did that but put Apple as one of the most valuable companies in the world. Talk is now rife that Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO, and who will be the next person. But until that news comes, we just took a look back at what Tim Cook brought us as Apple’s CEO.

Apple Product Roadmap 2026

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 09:01:46 +0800

To see what went down in 2025, read the article here

2025 was a crazy year. The United States swore in a new president who immediately made significant changes, including those that have impacted the tech industry. Like merchant captains in the Foundation series, tech titans had to curtsy to the new king. For the first time in history, Apple gifted a golden tribute to curry favour with the president. And that’s just the politics part.

AWS Ecosystem Demystified

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 10:06:55 +0800

Amazon Web Services, or AWS, is one of the most transformative inventions for the internet. Most people would not know about it, but you can think that almost every online service, every Fortune 500 company, or every modern convenience would have been on AWS now, or at least at one point in time.

The goal of this guide is hopefully you can decipher the above diagram

AWS started off with just a handful of products. Just a few servers and maybe a place to store your files online. Since then, there are hundreds of products, and for the uninitiated, it’s daunting to understand what AWS is and what the best way to use it is. The goal of this little guide is to demystify the monolith of internet infrastructure that is AWS.

Starting ARM64 Virtual Machines on Macs

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 19:26:17 +0800

This is a small guide on how to start Virtual Machines (VMs) on modern Apple Silicon Macs. The motivation is that there are scattered guides about doing this around the internet, and hopefully, this is a good one-stop guide to how to run and play with VMs on your Mac.

Scope

The scope of this guide is that it exclusively uses the open-source QEMU emulation and virtualization software. There are many commercial, free, and paid ones, but I prefer qemu because you can customize how to create your machine. Just like other open-source projects, there is a learning curve to run qemu, but we are touching the basics. All commands are run to ensure that it is working.

Apple A19 Pro vs Apple M4

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:08:22 +0800

There has been speculation that Apple has been working on a cheaper version of a MacBook Air solution, fit for young children or even an iPad replacement. On the other hand, Apple has been fielding more and more powerful mobile chips on its iPhone Pro series, and combined with Apple’s penchant to use common items on its platforms and its supply chain logistics prowess, it is not difficult to put two and two together and arrive at the conclusion that Apple indeed is working on a cheap MacBook Air.

Why the iPhone Air Exists

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 10:41:14 +0800

In their all-important September event, Apple unveiled a new kind of iPhone. Instead of the usual numerical classification that is given to their new phones, it was bestowed with its unusual name: the iPhone Air. Not the iPhone 17 Air, or iPhone 17a. Just plain iPhone Air. This might be a small step for most consumers, but dropping the numerical system is a big step for Apple. What is the significance for Apple to launch a thinner, sleeker, but compromised iPhone that warrants a completely new naming scheme?

Circular Relationship of AI Companies

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 09:11:19 +0800

The landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly complex, characterized by interwoven relationships between AI companies and their key vendors. This intricate web is exemplified by the recent developments involving major players like Oracle, Nvidia, and OpenAI. As these relationships evolve, they reveal a significant circular dynamic that could skew the market for years to come.

Current known relations between AI companies and their vendors

OpenAI money goes around and around

Oracle’s announcement of a staggering $300 billion contract to build AI data centers highlights the investments being made to fuel the AI industry. Among these facilities, one is designated for OpenAI, the frontrunner in AI development today. This begs the question: where does OpenAI secure its funding? The answer lies in partnerships with companies like Nvidia, which has placed itself at the heart of the AI “gold rush.”

Apple Journal App Review

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:46:12 +0800

Apple’s Journal app, which was first introduced during the WWDC 2023, has made its debut beyond iOS, now available on iPadOS and macOS. This expansion marks a significant step for Apple in the realm of digital journaling. However, with well-established competitors like Evernote, Notion, and Apple’s own Notes app, it’s essential to analyze how effectively the Journal app stacks up against these popular alternatives.

Journal App

At its core, Apple’s Journal app is built around the concept of creating collections of journals, where each journal comprises a series of pages. Users can freely write on these pages, providing a straightforward canvas for their thoughts, reflections, and daily entries. One of the standout features of the Journal app is its ability to incorporate multimedia elements; users can insert video and audio directly from their device’s camera and microphone, making it easy to capture spontaneous thoughts or experiences in a more dynamic format. This integration allows users to create richer narratives within their journals, blending text with multimedia to enhance storytelling.

iPhone 17 vs iPad Mini 7 - same, but different. But still the same.

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 08:37:04 +0800

In the ongoing debate about whether the iPad or iPhone serves better as a primary personal device, the iPad Mini 6 and iPhone 17 emerge as noteworthy contenders. With the iPad Mini often considered a bridge between the two categories—offering a larger screen than the iPhone but compact enough for portability—questions arise about which device truly meets user needs. Let’s delve into the specifics of each device to explore its strengths and weaknesses.

Apple September 2025 Event Recap

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 06:38:04 +0800

The event opened memorably with a quote from the late Steve Jobs: “Design is not just what it looks or feels like; design is how it works.” The game is afoot. A creative short focusing on the circle motif acts as the starting shot. Apple is still here and innovative.

On September 10, 2025, Apple held its highly anticipated annual event, a showcase that has become a seasonal ritual for tech enthusiasts worldwide. This year’s presentation brought a wealth of refreshing updates across the iPhone series, a significant upgrade to the Apple Watch lineup, and transformative innovations in the AirPods. With an overarching theme of seamless connectivity and unparalleled user experience, Apple highlighted how its ecosystem serves as the backbone of its devices.

Tesla Optimus: Hype Vs Reality, Another Vaporware?

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 10:08:52 +0800

Since its founding in 2003, Tesla has been a pioneer in the electric vehicle (EV) market. Today, EVs account for approximately 7-8 percent of vehicle sales in the U.S., with Tesla remaining the dominant player in this space—for now. Elon Musk envisions Tesla as more than just a car manufacturer, pushing the company to explore ventures in energy generation, storage, and now, artificial intelligence and robotics.

In fact, Tesla offered Musk a chance to become the world’s first trillionaire by selling at least one million units of the Optimus robot within seven years. With such high stakes, one must ask: is the Optimus robot truly capable of delivering on its promises, or is it simply hype?

What Science Fiction Taught US About AI

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:52:38 +0800

Since the Renaissance era, humanity has gazed at the stars, dreaming of the future. Today, as Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes an integral part of our lives, we find ourselves reflecting on how science fiction has explored this concept over the years. From early imaginings of robots to contemporary narratives about sentient machines, the genre has shaped our understanding of AI and sparked critical conversations about its implications.

The AI Future According to Science Fiction

Science fiction has always served as a lens through which we envision the future. Many ideas that seemed far-fetched have become reality, from robots and satellites to handheld information terminals. As AI becomes one of the hottest topics of discussion today, it’s fascinating to see how various sci-fi universes have tackled the concept of artificial lifeforms.

Is Intel Still Relevant?

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 16:16:14 +0800

As we navigate through the fast-evolving landscape of technology, the question arises: is Intel still relevant in the future? Once a titan of the semiconductor industry that shaped the computing age, Intel now faces challenges that could redefine its role in the tech ecosystem over the next decade.

The Current Landscape

Intel has long been a fundamental player in the computing world, often referred to as the company that stood at the forefront of the digital revolution. However, its current standing raises eyebrows. From a market cap of $292 billion in 2020, Intel has seen a significant decline to around $85 billion today. While still formidable, this drop puts them in stark contrast to competitors like AMD, ARM, and Nvidia, which are now leading the charge in innovation and market capitalization. What went wrong for Intel, and can it reclaim its position?

A18 Pro vs M1: Will Apple’s Upcoming MacBook Air Satisfy Users?

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 08:27:22 +0800

As of today, you can find the M1 MacBook Air at Walmart for $599, despite Apple discontinuing that model some time ago. This peculiar situation raises questions about Apple’s strategy and product lifecycle. However, it highlights the enduring appeal of a design that dates back to 2010, which continues to satisfy user needs more than a decade later.

Now, there are emerging rumors suggesting that Apple is preparing to launch a new low-cost MacBook Air powered by the A18 Pro chip, which currently runs in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. This raises an important question: can a chip designed for mobile devices meet the demands of a laptop in today’s world?

Developing for Apple With ChatGPT

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 11:15:31 +0800

As a software developer focused predominantly on backend web applications, I’ve occasionally delved into front-end development. Yet, my recent endeavor to create a macOS app led me down an unexpected path filled with both frustration and discovery. Initially, I was dubious about the role of large language models (LLMs) in replacing developers. It seemed too far-fetched. However, when I faced a unique challenge, I realized that leveraging ChatGPT could prove invaluable.

The Many Standards of USB: A Comedy of Connectivity

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 08:28:25 +0800

Let’s talk about USB: the universal connector that was supposed to simplify our digital lives but instead turned into a tangled mess of confusion. Began as a noble quest to create a standardized way to connect a plethora of devices to our computers—think keyboards, mice, printers, and, yes, even speakers—USB has evolved into something that could easily win a “Most Confusing Technology” award.

How It Started…

Back in the day, connecting devices was a nightmare. Printers required parallel ports, mice had their own unique connectors, and heaven help you if you had an Apple product with Apple’s proprietary ports. Talk about a mess! Enter USB, the hero we didn’t know we needed, with a vision: one port to rule them all, at least for peripheral devices.

Cutting deeper: Summary of updates during WWDC 2025

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 09:57:00 +0800

Every year, Apple unveils exciting software updates during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This year is no exception, with a range of innovative features and improvements showcased across various platforms. Here’s a breakdown of the new tech introduced during WWDC 2025.

Swift

The upcoming version 6.2 of Swift promises a host of enhancements. As an Apple-backed open-source programming language, Swift continues to evolve, making it a prime choice for developers creating apps across Apple’s ecosystem. Key updates include:

WWDC 2025 Event Recap

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 08:00:25 +0800

It is that time of the year again when Apple will host a week to showcase, explain, demo, and ultimately release their next generation of software to the public. Last year, Apple’s big major theme was AI, or in Apple’s parlance, Apple Intelligence. While critics might say Apple did not meet expectations on the promise, this year Apple will try to allay the fears that Apple is slipping up from the race to dominance.

Did Apple Fumble the AI Ball?

Wed, 21 May 2025 14:58:01 +0800

One of the main themes of WWDC 2024 is AI, or in Apple’s marketing, Apple Intelligence. Apple promises that it will bring AI features to the next version of the software that runs its hardware. Apple promises that AI features that make headlines will be safe, private, and useful. One year on and as we approach, let’s look at how Apple did on AI. Or, how Apple botched its AI response.

Why Apple Still Uses M3 on the Mac Studio

Thu, 15 May 2025 15:00:44 +0800

WWDC 2025 is upon us we would expect new hardware from Apple soon. But, somehow, you can still buy a Mac with an M2 Ultra, which was first introduced in 2023. Two years is a very long time in the computer industry, where almost every week, you would hear a new JavaScript framework, a new advancement in AI, and a new breakthrough in computer science. Why does Apple still use M2 Ultra and M3 Ultra, chips that are based on older architecture, in its top-of-the-line Macs?

Do You Really Need a Mac Studio?

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 16:50:24 +0800

Apple recently showed a behind the scenes view of their latest hit show, Severence. In that featuratte, Ben Stiller, the show creator/director is working with Geoffrey Richman, his editor, is seen arranging and discussing about the season finale. The behind the scenes look highlighted a few of Apple products, notablably Macs that help create a potentially Emmy-winning series.

One noticable fact that is shown on the scene is they are just using baseline Macs like iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Air. Not the high-end ones like the Mac Studio and MacBook Pro like what you are expecting from professionals of this calibre. So what gives? Do we really need a Mac Studio to deliver high-end results?

How to Run Local LLM on Your Mac in 60 Seconds

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 10:44:09 +0800

Throughout the 2023 and 2024, the biggest trends in tech is the “rise” of AI systems. To be more specific, the rise of smart chatboxes that can mimic human conversations. Of course, later, AI-generated Art comes to the scene and the whole AI, or more specifically, content generation through Large Language Models or Transformation process exploded with a few leading edge companies like OpenAI coming to the scene.

The common theme of those AI companies is they require loads and loads of servers, GPUs, networking equipment, and energy to host and generate those texts and images. What if we can have our own smart chat boxes that runs right from your Mac? What if we can set it all up under 60 seconds?

iPhone 16e vs iPhone 15 Pro

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 10:16:40 +0800

Apple dropped the new “cheap” iPhone in March 2025 in the form of the iPhone 16e. E stands for expensive as the cheaper iPhone on the market starts at $599. iPhone SE 3, the iPhone 16e replaces, starts at $499. Is the price bump justified? How does it fare against an older pro model like the iPhone 15 Pro which you can get around the same price refurbished on Amazon??

Is Innovation Dead (at Apple)?

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 11:16:32 +0800

I have been writing on technology in general, and Apple in particular for a few years now and the vibe that is being getting right now is, that innovation and improvement in the tech field seem to feel stagnated right now. One would argue that Apple has grown bigger as a company, but it is still the iPhone company.

When people think of tech, the narrow focus would be things that from the electronics and computer section on the department store. And I can assure you, that even in those narrowest fields, there is a lot of new things and technology that are coming out from that field. Things might now change every day, but if you look back 2,5, and 15 years before, life has not been the same, we just did not realize it.

20 Years of Mac Mini

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 09:36:37 +0800

On January 22nd, 2005, Steve Jobs, for the first time, introduced Mac Mini to the world. It was the first Macintosh that did not come with a display or any other input device. In fact, during the presentation, you have to BYODKM - Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, and Mouse. And the rest is history: Mac Mini has been a staple for the Mac lineup since then, offering the cheapest entry point to the world of Mac, and Apple by extension.

Is Apple's Vision Pro a Failure?

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 13:56:03 +0800

One year ago, Apple officially launched Vision Pro to the world. It was first introduced during WWDC 2023 but in early 2024, it is finally in the hands of the public. The product received rave reviews. Some even call it the future of all computing and lament that after Vision Pro, the 60-inch OLED TV looks like a quaint device.

One year later, how is Vision Pro doing? Did it make a dent in the universe? Let’s find out.

Apple in 2025

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 13:28:41 +0800

We are tracking announcements and news for Apple in 2025. To find out what they did in 2024, read here.

December

Apple avoids Chinese Chip Tariff for US consumers until mid-2027 - MacRumours
As the most watch show in Apple TV+ history, Pluribus, wraps up the premier season, Apple takes a behind the scene look of the show
Tim Cook, Apple CEO, who is also director of Nike bought $3 million shares of Nike - Barrons
Latest macOS 26 update, version 26.2 brings RDMA feature on Thunderbolt 5 ports. Jeff Geerling demonstrated a rig that combines 4 Mac Studio to bring a 1.5 TB unified memory to run an AI model - Jeff Geerling
As 2025 closes in, Apple awards best in store - Apple
- The Rest is History - Apple Podcast 2025 Show of the Year
- Tiimo - iPhone App of the Year
- Detail - iPad App of the Year
- Essayist - Mac App of the Year
- Explore POV - Vision Pro App of the Year
- Strave - Apple Watch App of the Year
- HBO Max - Apple TV app of the Year
- Pokemon TCG Pocket - iPhone Game of the Year
- DREDGE - iPad Game of the Year
- Cyberpunk 2077 - Mac Game of the Year
- Porta Nubi - Vision Pro Games of the Year
- WHAT THE CLASH? - Apple Arcade Game of the Year
- And many more …
Apple announced even more executive transitions - Apple
- Jennifer Newstead promoted to SVP, General Counsel and Government Affairs in March 2026
- Kate Adams, the current General Counsel is set to retire late 2026
- Lisa Jackson, VP for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives will to retire in late January 2026
Apple announced the retirement of John Giannandrea, SVP for Machine Learning and AI Strategy and will serve as an advisor. Amar Subramanya will join Apple as VP of AI, reporting to Craig Federighi - Apple

November

Tyler, The Creator has been crowned Apple Music’s Artist of the Year - Apple
Bloomberg reports that Apple is cutting jobs in Sales in a rare round of layoffs - Bloomberg
Pluribus (stylized PLUR1BUS) has set viewership records for Apple TV. - Deadline
Apple hit with a $634 million verdict in a lawsuit against Masimo in a case related to blood oxygen sensing tech - MacRumours
Issey Miyake and Apple announced the iPhone Pocket, a sling / wristlet accessory to put your iPhone safe in a 3D-knitted construction loop. Prices starts from $150 for the short strap and $230 for a long strap.

October

Apple announced their 4th quarter results with revenue of $102.5 billion, wth services reach all time high of $28.6 billion. iPhone accounts for almost half of sales at $49.1 billion. This is the first time that services accounts for over $100 billion sales in yearly revenue for Apple. Apple expects bullish growth with strong demand for iPhones. - Apple

Graph by MacRumours.com
Apple, together with Microsoft, has joined the $4 trillion market cap club. They both trailed behind Nvidia, the first company on earth to achieve $5 trillion market capitalization. Nvidia market cap is larger than every countries’ GPD except USA and China - Wall Street Journal
Trump dined with Apple CEO and other US/Japan tech chiefs in Tokyo - Bloomberg
Apple hosted a Vision Pro event for developers at their headquarters in Apple Park. The full two day stream of the event is available on YouTube. - MacRumours
Apple donated to Trump’s $350 White House Ballroom project - MacRumours
Apple secured the exclusive broadcasting rights to all F1 races in the US for the next 5 years. Apple paid $750 million for the privilege. All F1 races in the US will be broadcasted through Apple TV ~~Plus~~ starting next year - Apple / Arstechnica
Apple launched a slew of update with the new M5 chip being the center focus
- Apple launched the new M5 SoC which powers the updated MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Vision Pro. It is built on the 3rd generation 3nm manufacturing process and features 10-core GPU, 10-core CPU and 16-core NPU. Just like the just released A19 Pro chip, it has Neural Accelerators in the GPU cores to enable 4x AI performance compared to M4. Unified memory bandwidth also bumped to 153GB/s (30% increase over M4)
- The base MacBook Pro has been bumped with the M5 chip. Apple promises higher performance compared to the M4 MacBook Pro.
- The iPad Pro also has been updated with the M5 chip. The M5 iPad Pro also features the new optional Apple-designed N1 wireless networking chip and C1X modem. Starting memory also bumped from 8GB to 12GB for all models.
- Vision Pro also has been updated with the M5 chip. With the M5 chip, the updated Vision Pro can render 10% more pixels compared to the previous version. Refresh rate also increased from 100Hz to 120Hz. The battery also has been improved to last 2.5 hours of video playback instead of 1.5 to 2 hours as before. Apple introduced a new Dual Knit Band for a more comfortable fit.
US Mint released the 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin Program designs. One of the four designs showcase Apple founder Steve Job sitting in front of California landscape of oak covering hills. His pose suppose to capture how Steve Job able the transform something arcane and complex into something intuitive and organic like nature itself. - US Mint
Apple TV+ has been rebranded to simply Apple TV. F1 the movie is also coming to Apple TV. - MacRumours
Apple increase it’s security bounty program to up to $2 million for zero-click remote attacks - Apple
Some LA Lakers games will get 3D live streams on Vision Pro. They will be available on the SportNet and NBA apps for the visionOS. - MacRumours / Apple
According to Mark Gurman, there will be a major shakeup of Apple leadership. In his Power On newsletter, Apple’s SVP of Hardware John Ternus is slatted to be the next CEO replacing Tim Cook who has been on the helm since 2011. A few members of Apple leadership are considering leaving the company or retiring. - Bloomberg

September

Apple launches new project to protect and restore California redwood forest - Apple
Apple re-opens Ginza store.
Apple has demanded EU to repeal the Digital Markets Act, a law that regulates large digital service operations in the EU - Arstechnica / Statement by Apple
Intel, once a major supplier to the extend powers the entire Mac line up has reach out to Apple to seek investment from the giant - Reuters
Apple September Event brings us a refresh of Apple’s best selling product:
- AirPods Pro 3 - Heartbeat monitor, live translation, 5 eartips sizes instead of 3 and a redesigned speakers for better sound quality and noise cancellation.
- Apple Watch Series 11 - Sleep score, hypertension detection, 24-hour battery life, and a more scratch-resistant display
- Apple Watch SE 3 - Always-on display, fast charging, and single hand gesture support
- Apple Watch Ultra 3 - Satellite communication, 42-hour battery life, larger display, hypertension detection, and sleep score
- iPhone 17 - bigger and brighter display with ProMotion and Ceramic Shield 2, brand new front-facing camera with Center Stage feature, A19 chip, and a new crossbody strap. Starts at $799.
- iPhone Air - super-slim design. Two Ceramic Shield 2 glasses sandwich a titanium body. A19 Pro chip, single camera, eSim only. New slim accessories. Camera plateau. Starts at $999.
- iPhone 17 Pro (Max) - Redesign with camera plateau which houses most of the logic board so the batteries can be bigger. All cameras now have 48MP sensor. Telephotos have 4x and 8x (200mm equivalent) focal length. ProRes RAW support, eSim models have bigger battery, vapor Chamber for cooling, new aluminum unibody design with a Ceramic Shield sandwich, and a 2TB storage option. Starts at $1099.
- Internally, Apple introduced the C1X modem chip, N1 chip for wireless networking, A19 and A19 Pro for mobile chip.
US President Donal Trump invited major tech companies for dinner at the White House which includes Apple CEO Tim Cook. Tim Cook praises Trump for his leadership and focus on innovation - 9to5Mac

August

Apple announced a new Apple event that will take place on Sept-9 at 10am PT. It is anticipated that the new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, new Apple Watch, and a possible new iPhone Air will be introduced in the event. The event announcement showcase a glowing Apple logo which does have a vibe of a infrared camera heatmap.
Apple announced a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users through a software update.
Elon Musk’s xAI sues Apple and OpenAI, claiming they are monopolist - Wall Street Journal
In an event in the White House, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a new $100 billion investment in USA. Together with this new pledge, Apple committed to invest over $600 billion in the USA for the next four years. Apple claims that it supports more than 450,000 jobs across all 50 states with thousands of suppliers and partners. The cover glass that will be used on new iPhones and Apple Watches will be made in Kentucky by Corning is one of the examples that Tim Cook touted in the White House event. - Apple

July

Apple announced 3rd quarter 2025 results. This is the best 3rd quarter report by Apple. Revenue is up 10% at $94 billion. iPhone, Mac, and services continue to grow. 3rd quarter net income is at #23.4 billion. Apple’s board of director declare a $0.26 cash dividends per share. - Apple
- Tim Cook,which now served as Apple’s CEO longer than Steve Job, said that Apple sold their 3 billionth iPhone in the last quarter - Yahoo
Apple introduced Apple Care One: streamlining coverage with a single plan. So you have multiple Apple devices (iPad, MacBook Air, and iPhone). With Apple Care One, you’ll pay $19.99 a month to cover all three devices options to add more devices with $5.99 per month per device. From the website, it covers every Apple product sold. - Apple
Apple lands record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations with Severance leading as this year most-nominated series. Severance alone scored 27 nominations including Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor (Adam Scott), Lead Actress (Britt Lower), Supporting Actor (Zach Chery, Tramell Tilman, John Turturro), Guest Actress (Jane Alexander, Gwendoline Christie, Merritt Wever), Directring (Jessica Gagne, Ben Stiller) and many more - Apple
Apple announced that Jeff Williams, COO, will transition his role to Sabih Khan, Apple SVP of Operations. Williams is set to retired by end of the year. - Apple
According to Bloomberg, Apple is considering to use ChatGPT instead of their own models to improve Siri. To put things in context, there’s also another Bloomberg story that Apple is considering to buy Perplexity AI to improve Apple’s AI offerings. Update: Apple is also considering Claude. - [Bloomberg]

June

Apple will delay bringing some features to the EU due to regulatory hurdles - Wall Street Journal

The Energy Cost of AI: Worth It?

Sat, 23 Nov 2024 15:23:06 +0800

For some, the AI revolution is already here. With around $20 a month, you can have an AI chat assistant at your beak and call, ready to answer any question that you have. Some are better at writing code that runs the applications that you use every day, and some can plan your holiday trip to Italy. There are a lot of startups that rely on these AI chatbots to be “smart” on your app. But what is the true cost of using those AI chatbots in the first place? Are they ready to replace humans?

Why M4 on Macbook Pro Finally Make Sense

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:06:27 +0800

Apple updated most of their Macs during their October event which lasted over three days. As their piece de resistance, they unveil the newly updated MacBook Pro. Design-wise, nothing changed, but Apple introduced new powerful mobile chips such as the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max. The M4 Max is now the most powerful chip in the entire lineup.

One such novelty is Apple introducing the base chip, the M4 for the MacBook Pro, a device that is meant for professionals. This decision did not make sense when Apple introduced it on the M3 MacBook Pro, but it made a lot of sense on the M4 generation.

Apple Silicon M4 Generation vs M3 Generation

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 14:43:24 +0800

In a Halloween event or October surprise, depending on who you ask, Apple updated their Mac lineup, just in time for the Christmas holiday shopping season. Instead of one big sweeping announcement, Apple drips new Mac over 3 days, praising the virtues of their new designs, processors, and more importantly for Apple, the new Apple Intelligence feature.

With the new M4 generation lying before us, how does it stack up against the previous generation and also the ultimate SOC in Apple’s lineup, the M2 Ultra?

Apple Halloween 2024 Event Recap

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 09:21:34 +0800

Apple announced a slew of updated Macs in their October event, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Unlike previous years where there was one big announcement complete with an hour-long video about all the Macs that got updated, we are treated with drips of announcements throughout 3-days. At the end of the 3-day announcements, Apple invited a few journalist and media influencers to their campus to take a look at the new Macs.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPad Mini 7

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 09:50:17 +0800

This year, Apple updated both the iPhone in their annual September event and the iPad Mini via press release. The last time the iPad Mini was updated was in September 2021, when Apple released the iPhone 13 Pro Max. As Apple enlarged the screen of the iPhone 16 Pro Max to 6.9" while the iPad Mini retains its 8.3" screen, it begs the question if the iPad Mini can be a great iPhone too.

Mac Mini 2024 Buyers Guide

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 10:56:16 +0800

One of the best, under-rated, and under-marketed products Apple ever made is the Mac Mini. It’s a desktop personal computer that is cheap, can almost any software in the world, and contrast to other Apple products, it is very affordable. The only downside that is not mobile (although attempts have been made), the Mac Mini is the best Apple product. Period.

Here is a guide on how to get the best bang for your buck.

Apple & Health

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 19:03:38 +0800

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple is well-known as a health enthusiast. Waking up at 4 am, working out at 5 am every day before starting the day, and munching protein bars before meetings, you’ll be hard-pressed to see why Apple has a lot of emphasis on health. Even one of his inspirations is sports. As the adage goes, health is wealth.

Apple Watch

Apple Watch is the ultimate health monitor. Although the Apple Watch started as a companion device for the iPhone and as a fashion accessory. The early generation of the Apple Watch requires you to pair with an iPhone. The first generation of Apple Watch has an 18K gold version and is featured mostly in fashion magazines instead of tech magazines.

Apple September 2024 Event Recap

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 17:04:56 +0800

Every September, Apple will have a presentation on its best-selling product of all time: the iPhone. And this September is no different than the last 10 Septembers. While it’s pretentious to say the iPhone design hasn’t changed for almost a decade, the devil is in the details and the iPhone 16 is no different.

Since the pandemic, Apple has moved the event from live to scripted, well-produce videos. And Apple has raised the bar again on how to do product presentations this year.

Apple Vision Pro: 6 Months Later

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 15:22:19 +0800

When the Apple Vision Pro came out in early 2024, the experience blew people’s minds away. Some call it the future of all computing, declaring in 10 years or so, computing will all be done with floating windows projected to your glasses and we would naturally talk to our computers like another person. Others feel like this would be the new way to consume media: immersive, with ways to share the moment.

Has the AI Bubble Burst?

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 11:58:19 +0800

AI or Artificial Intelligence has been the tech buzzword since 2022 when ChatGPT 3.5 was released to the public. Before that, we have ML or machine learning where the power of hardware is fast enough and the explosion of data made neural network algorithms can be bigger than before. The result of Machine Learning is that we get pretty good pattern recognition. ChatGPT took the world by storm because, for chatbox software, its resemblance to human creation is uncanny.

Apple TV+ is Peak Sci-Fi Right Now

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 11:20:33 +0800

Apple introduced its streaming service TV+ in late November 2019 and Apple’s way of doing things focuses on quality instead of quantity. Despite spending billions of dollars and fronting one of the most expensive TV shows on earth, winning accolades including Grammy’s, Emmys, and Oscars, it did not translate into legions of viewership for Apple. Which explains why Apple is cutting back on investing in TV+.

Say what you think about TV+, Apple did produce some nice shows in recent years. One place that they have a hard-on is the Sci-Fi genre. To be frank, Apple keeps dishing out one great sci-fi series after another. Amazon might have The Expanse (now canceled), Netflix has none, but Apple has a few. Here are the ones you should watch (if you haven’t already).

Apple Intelligence Explained

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 10:50:15 +0800

Apple Intelligence was revealed during the WWDC 2024 event in June 2024. It was a monumental change to the entire ecosystem because, for the first time, Apple has publically jumped on the Artificial Intelligence bandwagon.

Let’s explore what is Apple Intelligence and what makes it different than other offerings by other AI-focused companies.

AI Features

Instead of a standalone product, Apple decided that AI would be a new feature for their ecosystem. In other words, Apple Intelligence will enhance the experience of using their products. Apple will cut your work from hours to mere seconds.

AirPods Max in 2024: Still Worth It?

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 08:03:40 +0800

Apple released the AirPods Max in late 2020, at the height of the pandemic where everybody is locked indoors. The AirPods Max was the first Apple-branded headphones and it looked the part.

Fast-forward to 2024, Apple is still selling the same original AirPods Max and if rumors are to be believed, Apple will not update the AirPods Max until 2025 at the earliest. So, how does Apple’s most luxurious listening device hold after 4 years?

Vapor Swift compared to Popular frameworks

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 15:10:03 +0800

Vapor is a web framework written in Swift. It was mention in the Platforms State of the Union address during WWDC and it got me curious, what is Vapor, and why nobody is using it?

Background

I have been a web developer for decades running plain php in WordPress way back in the late 90s. As the tech evolves, so do my tools. Going from PHP in WordPress to Ruby on Rails to JavaScript back to PHP on Laravel, and now exploring Vapor on Swift.

First Apple Store in Malaysia Opens

Sat, 22 Jun 2024 15:26:09 +0800

The first Apple Store in Malaysia and third in South East Asia (After Singapore and Bangkok) is officially opened on June 22, 2024. The store is located at The Exchange TRX mall. Below are some of the photos at the opening event and the store itself

Opening Event

Platforms State of Union 2024 Recap

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:32:46 +0800

After the glitzy keynote of WWDC 2024, there’s the technical presentation of what’s in store in the next update. After all, it is a Developer’s Conference, so you have to talk about code right? This year is no different and Apple spent around 1 hour giving an overview of what’s next. I divided it into three parts: Apple Intelligence, the Swift language, and platforms.

Intro

The address started with the developers’ appreciation message from Apple. After all, they are the ones who occupy the App Store and make their devices even more desirable.

WWDC 2024 Keynote Recap

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 17:37:39 +0800

WWDC is a software-focused event outlining Apple’s plans for the next twelve months. Unlike hardware announcements that are prone to leaks in the supply chain, the software is entirely controlled by Apple so rumors about what will shown are scant.

The Intro

The keynote started with Apple’s SVP of software engineering, Craig Federighi, motivating their time to jump out of an airplane with Mötley Crüe’s 80s classic “Kickstart My Heart” sung in the background. As they jumped and opened their parachutes unveiling “Apple presents …” and credit, Tim Cook the CEO on the roof of the Apple Park building welcoming you to WWDC 2024. What an entrance. After that, it’s the usual corporate news announcements like new shows coming to Apple TV including the long-awaited second season of Severance.

Apple Store in Malaysia

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 12:03:03 +0800

Apple has officially announced a new store will open in the highly exclusive, posh mall The Exchange. The opening date is set at 22-June-2024. The Exchange TRX is a mall situated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the base of Exchange 108, one of the tallest building in Malaysia.

Here are some of the photos around the site.

'Jom' means Let's go in Malay

The store is located at level 3 in The Exchange

The building in the background is Exchange 108, a 453.6m tall office tower, making it one of the tallest tower in the country.

The store is set to open on June 22nd, 2024. We will post updates when the store is opened.

Brief History of Apple Silicon: Evolve to meet user's changing needs

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 21:23:40 +0800

One of the craziest things that people thought Apple did was create a chip in their design to run the iPhone. For a lot of companies, the final product is a collection of components that are put together to create something new. Companies usually don’t create the component itself because of the high risk and cost involved. And through the years, Apple pushed the envelope into what kind of performance is possible that you can put in a 5-watt, air-cooled chip.

Snapdragon X Elite: What We Know

Tue, 21 May 2024 17:38:24 +0800

In the land of ARM mobile chips that power laptops, the fruit company reigns supreme with Apple Silicon. Today, there’s a new player in town from a nemesis that usually plays in the mobile space: Qualcomm. Granted, Qualcomm has been previewing the SnapDragon X Elite since last year, but now, the chips (and the laptops) are finally coming to market and giving Apple some good old-fashioned competition. At least, the laptop/tablet market will be interesting again after watching Intel struggle against Apple. Can Qualcomm make a dent in Apple’s universe?

Apple M4 vs Intel Core i9-14900KS

Thu, 16 May 2024 14:17:04 +0800

Apple updated its iPad line in an early May event and the most surprising thing is they introduced a new processor, the M4, before any of the Macs. Currently, the iPad Pro is the most powerful consumer device that Apple ships, and a few critics that the only thing holding the M4 back is Apple’s running iPadOS on the iPad.

To get the point across, we pitted the Apple M4, which is running on a tablet that has no fans with Intel’s ultimate desktop chip, which has enough power to cook steaks if run without a heatsink.

Oldest Devices Apple Still Sells In May 2024: Or devices that Apple should update already

Sun, 12 May 2024 09:57:04 +0800

Every season, Apple would hold a media event where they would invite the press, influential reviewers, and lately celebrity YouTubers. They would give a presentation, show new devices, get people excited about the new product, and sell it to the market. Apple has perfected the art and now went from live presentation to video presentation where everything is cheerful, colorful, and exciting.

The process aims to ensure that Apple, as a company, is relevant to the market, the Wall Street investors, and more importantly, to you, the consumers who would end up buying and using their products. The process is also designed to ensure that their product lineup is updated, fresh, and more importantly useful. A product on the shelve that isn’t moving from inventory to the customer’s hand is as useless as garbage.

iPad Pro M4 vs MacBook Pro M3

Fri, 10 May 2024 09:23:03 +0800

In early May 2024, Apple held an event in which they unveiled the most powerful consumer device ever. And no, it’s not a gaming laptop, but a tablet that a lot of people mostly use to watch streaming cat videos. Engineering-wise, Apple managed to pack a lot of power in a slab of glass and metal barely 5mm thick, which is around 100 sheets of paper.

However, given they bumped up the price of the iPad Pro, so now it starts at $1299 for the 13", and the new Magic Keyboard starts at $299, the comparison with their own MacBook Pro is inevitable. Did Apple manage to finally replace the laptop with the tablet of the future?

Apple May 2024 Event Recap

Tue, 07 May 2024 10:05:54 +0800

Apple has recently wrapped up its May mostly online event. Mostly because Apple invited select reviewers to preview their newly released iPads. Some background: Apple did not update their iPad for almost 18 months, making 2023 the only year where Apple didn’t update the iPad since the iPad launched in 2010.

In summary, Apple updated the iPad Air to be on par with the previous generation iPad Pro, as per script. The big changes were the unveiling of the all-new redesigned iPad Pro with the all-new M4 chip and the introduction of the Apple Pencil. Other minor stuff is the 10th generation iPad is now priced at $329, Apple discontinued the 9th generation iPad and the starting price of the iPad Pro is now $999 instead of $799.

Fallout TV series: What we wish we would see

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 10:33:35 +0800

The Fallout TV series has landed and fortunately, Amazon Studios managed not to screw up this franchise. It helps that Todd Howard, the Fallout creator is an executive producer of the show and the showrunners have a lot of respect for the source material. It was an instant success and there are many easter eggs from the games featured in the show.

However, there are a few major things that we did not get to see, and some are glaring. Here are a few of the things that we wish to see in the Fallout TV show.

Why Console Is Better Than PC

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 18:34:35 +0800

There’s the conventional wisdom out in the street that if you want the best in gaming, you should get a PC, specifically a custom-built Windows PC running the latest hardware and software. I’m here to tell you that it’s wrong and why you’ll get more from your money buying a console than a PC. How consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X is better than the PC? Let me count the ways.

Is Apple behind in the AI race? Maybe not.

Sat, 06 Apr 2024 11:49:38 +0800

Artificial Intelligence or AI seems to be the latest fad in technology. Despite that, there are a lot of things that are going on that are hard to ignore. Near omniscient facial and object recognition, chatbots that pass the uncanny valley and are convincing and so generate video and audio that comes out from the text.

While all this looks nice and great, the largest tech company in the world, Apple, seems to be inconspicuously quiet. Is Apple resting on its laurels and happy selling iPhones to kids? Further analysis shows that this is not the case.

Amazing Starter Terminal Apps

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 09:36:40 +0800

In the previous article, we explore the Terminal, why it is there in macOS, and why people still using it despite one could say everything is graphically based. We touched a bit on the basic stuff and now we explore some programs that come with it.

Homebrew

Homebrew is a package manager that was originally built for macOS. What is a package manager? Imagine it is like an app store but for your terminal. It has a collection of small programs that we call packages. Homebrew manages them by helping you install them, update the package where necessary, and download all the supporting packages where required.

Terminal: Or How I Stop Worrying and Love the Command Line

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 17:31:37 +0800

Apple Macs are not only popular for students, and simple people who need to use a computer, they are popular with power users who build apps and software that runs the world. This is because despite Macs looking like toys, underneath the hood is one of the most powerful and robust operating systems ever built. It is estimated that macOS has around 86 million lines of code.

To unleash the power, one of the main gateways is using the command line, which is wrapped in an application called Terminal. Here’s a basic guide on how to use it and why you should at least learn the basics of it.

WWDC 2024: What to Expect

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 09:03:46 +0800

Just like clockwork, Apple announced that WWDC will be held in early June. And this year it will be from June 10 to June 14. There hasn’t been any theme announced yet, but there are some hints of things that might come based on what Apple executives say and the general industry trends.

Hardware Updates

WWDC is usually not the place the Apple does hardware updates, but every other year or so, they do drop new hardware. And since this event is geared toward developers, most of the hardware will be more developer-relevant.

End of Apple Ecosystem? The DoJ Lawsuit explained

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:44:45 +0800

On 21 March 2024, the Department of Justice in the USA filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc for anti-competitive behavior. Dominating market share because your product is that good and your company is that well run is one thing, but securing your monopoly by killing your competitors, the DoJ has a problem with that.

The lawsuit attacks Apple on the iPhone platform, but we know Apple did the same for the iPad and others. It's just the iPhone is Apple's biggest money maker.

We read through the lawsuit and here’s what we understand. The main theme is that Apple is forcing users to stay on their #1 product, the iPhone by making it hard for competitors to put in alternatives, forcing users to those expensive iPhones.

Is AI Going to Replace Developers

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:56:48 +0800

We are now in the age of AI mania, from the heels of Crypto mania and other mania. Unlike the previous manias that we encountered, this one might have some significant impact although how big the impact has not been ascertained. Some spoke about the singularity event coming soon which means the end of the human race, but some have a lesser degree of pessimistic view of AI. The worst, for them, is that AI would take all human jobs.

Macbook Air M3 vs Macbook Air M2

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 21:33:23 +0800

Apple has finally updated its best-selling laptop and arguably the best laptop on the market: the MacBook Air. For many, it is a very minor spec bump but there are a few improvements that make it a compelling case especially if you are still on the Intel.

Here’s What Important

Apple, for one, is in a dilemma. They make a very good product. In fact, their product, especially the Macs, are so good there there is not much of a case to upgrade them every other year, or even after 3-4 years. Granted, even in Apple’s own marketing literature, the performance gap between the M2 and M3 is not that much, but there are a few nuggets you should consider.

Nvidia Data Center GPUs

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 20:59:16 +0800

In early March 2024, Nvidia replaced Netflix in the circle of the most powerful technology companies, which is often abbreviated as FAANG. Nvidia has reported their best quarter yet with income more than doubled to the previous year. Their stock raised over $100 in a single day, which translates to around $273 billion in market cap, the highest single-day raise in history. As of writing, Nvidia’s market cap is around $2.2 trillion which is in hot pursuit of Apple ($2.6 trillion and falling) and Microsoft ($3 trillion).

Mac Mini 2024 Setup Guide

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 14:07:50 +0800

The iPhone might be Apple’s best-selling product but the most useful product that Apple made, in my opinion, is the Mac Mini. It is not only the cheapest computer that you can buy from Apple, but it is also the most useful. Granted you can watch YouTube with your Mac Mini while lying down to sleep, but the Mac Mini is the most customizable, the most versatile, and the best bang for your buck.

Why Apple Won't Focus on Foladables

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 14:54:33 +0800

Like all technologies that arrive at the consumer’s doorstep, foldable displays are not new technologies. They have been around since the mid-2000s. There was a dream about having displays rolled around like a scroll and unfolded when they needed to be used. Early patents for foldable display apparatus were unveiled in 2014.

Most smartphone manufacturer believes that folding displays are the next evolution in devices that we bring everywhere. And it is rightly so. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold lines are the best in the business and their Galaxy Fold smartphones are highly desirable and well built. However, Apple’s focus is far more than that. Here’s why Apple might do foldable devices shortly.

Apple Vision Pro Reviews

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 13:47:46 +0800

The Apple Vision Pro has finally hit the streets. During launch day, it was estimated that Apple sold around 200,000 units of Vision Pro and expected to hit 500,000 units by the end of the year. Quite impressive considering it is a $3,500 device, one of the most expensive devices that Apple makes. Right now Vision Pro is only available in the USA and new markets like Europe, China, and Japan will be rolled out by the end of the year.

1984 Mac vs 2024 iMac: 40 years of personal computing. Then, now and the future.

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 20:55:25 +0800

Around 40 years ago, as Americans are watching the Superbowl XVIII between Washington Redskins (now Commanders) and Los Angeles Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders), the world is treated with an enigmatic ad. It shows the scene of a totalitarian regime marching on in honor of their leader, which is shown, as giving a speech. Now, there’s a girl, in a white shirt and orange shorts running while being chased by foot soldiers across the hall towards the screen showing “Big Brother”, in stark contrast with the black and grey of the drones. With full might, she swings her hammer and smashes the screen. The video fades out and the greatest proclamation even shown in an ad appears:

Apple Vision Pro vs Meta Quest

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 08:18:25 +0800

The Apple Vision Pro is finally coming to market in the US in early February after being shown at WWDC 2023. After months of anticipation, the new Apple product is here. However, is the new $3,500 spatial computer can unseat the king of VR, the Meta Quest or more specifically, Meta Quest 3? We dig deeper to find out.

Meta Quest

Meta Quest is a product by Meta that is bringing VR headsets to the masses. This product is so important for Facebook that the company changed its name from Facebook to Meta, signaling the future is the Metaverse. So far Meta Inc. has invested tens of billions of dollars in the project and this is their latest creation: the Meta Quest 3.

iMac M4 vs Studio Display: It Is Worth It?

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 09:19:46 +0800

In Apple’s Mac line-up, there is this peculiar thing that is happening. Right now, Apple is selling an all-in-one computer which starts at $1,299. That computer, the iMac, comes with a 24-inch display. A slightly bigger display, the Studio Display, is priced at $1,599. Why does Apple sell a standalone display that costs more than an all-in-one computer? And is that Studio Display worth it against the iMac?

History

To understand why Apple’s Mac and Display line looks like this, you have to peek back at history. Before Apple Silicon came to the scene, there were Intel Macs. And back then, there were two flavors of the iMac instead of the one that we currently have: the 21.5" 4K iMac and its bigger brother, the 27" 5K iMac.

iMac M4 vs Studio Display: It Is Worth It?

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 09:19:46 +0800

History

Apple in 2024

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 10:10:03 +0800

This tracks Apple’s major movements and announcements in 2024. To view Apple’s movements in 2023, click here.

December

Awards seasons by Apple are in place
- Billie Elish is Apple Music’s Artist of the Year - Apple
- Apple announced 2024 App Store Awards winners - Apple
- Hysterical is Apple Podcast of the year - Apple
Apple will stop selling iPhone 14 and iPhone SE in EU by end of 2024 to comply with the regulation where all mobile phone would be charge using USB-C - MacRumours
CNBC feature TSMC’s newest chip fab in Arizon. It is expected that it will build the chips with Apple as the primary customer. Some superlative numbers: it uses electricity that can power 100,000 homes, costs around $20 billion, and the concrete to build it is equal to 10 empire state buildings.
Apple has been sued for $1.2 billion in damages. In the filling, the plaintiff argued that Apple has failed to scrub the images, which contained sexual abuse, despite Apple reportedly introduce a tool to do so in 2021, which Apple later did not implement. - New York Times
Tim Cook, Apple CEO, had an interview with Wired. He commented how Apple has been an integral part of his life

November

Apple is in the process of acquiring popular photo editor Pixelmator - Arstechnica

October

Apple announced a series of updates over the week

Apple Ecosystem Explained 2024

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 14:09:49 +0800

Apple is known as a company that sells high-quality products that are both unique and familiar at the same time. When we think of Apple, we think of iPhones, iPads, Macs, AirPods, and sometimes, the Apple TV. But there’s a product that Apple kinda sells, but it is invisible. You won’t find this product in any of Apple’s marketing or ads or even in the Apple Store, but it’s on everyone’s tip of the tongue. It’s the Apple ecosystem.

Apple Product Roadmap 2024

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 11:17:24 +0800

Apple 2024 Product Roadmap

We have a dedicated page to track those announcements and expectations, do read them from time to time. From the looks of it, Apple isn’t going to change much in terms of their playbook, because after all, they make more than a billion dollars a week using that playbook.

2023 was a very eventful year for Apple. From the surprise release of new Macs in January, bringing USB-C to iPhone, and the creation of a new computing paradigm, spatial computing, aka Vision Pro. We see what 2024 will bring for Apple and the rest of us.

MacBook Pro battle: M3 Pro vs M3 Max. Is It Worth It?

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 08:43:16 +0800

The starting price for a M3 Pro MacBook Pro is $1,999. The starting price of the M3 Max MacBook Pro is $2,999. From the outset, you can’t tell a difference if this 14" MacBook Pro has M3 Pro or M3 Max chip. And in some cases, you can’t even tell if it has the base M3 chip but we are not talking about that. What we want to know is if it is worth it to invest an extra $1,000 to get that M3 Max on the MacBook Pro?

MacBook Pro M3 vs MacBook Pro M3 Pro: Is The $400 Difference Worth It?

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:13:07 +0800

During the October “Scary Fast” event, Apple unveiled their latest chip powering the flagship laptop, MacBook Pro. Instead of dripping out new chips every few months, Apple decided to rip the band-aid this time and unveil an entirely new line from the get-go.

The biggest change in the MacBook Pro lineup is the M3 has moved its shell from the MacBook Pro with the TouchBar to the newer chassis that was introduced in 2020. So Rest In Power TouchBar, you’ll be dearly missed (or not). So the starting price of the MacBook Pro is now down to $1599 from $1999, but is the M3 worthy to carry the “Pro” moniker? Is the $400 upgrade to get the proper “Pro” chip worth it? These are the questions that this article is trying to answer.

Apple Invisible AI products

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:11:49 +0800

The biggest tech buzzword for 2023 is Artificial Intelligence. We are bombarded by news that we are getting closer to the holy grail which is general artificial intelligence. Through keywords like transformative model, large language model, tensor matrix, and supervised machine learning we got things like Google Bard chatbot, OpenAI’s infamous ChatGPT chatbot, and Stable Diffusion image generator. One famous name that seems to be absent in all of these is Apple. Is Apple left behind in the AI race? Does it not feel a threat to its survival like Google did?

Apple M3 vs Intel Core i5-14600K

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 23:07:02 +0800

The Apple M3 family was launched during the October “scary fast” event in Apple Park. Here Apple introduced their latest SOC (system-on-chip) which compromised the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max.

Intel launched their 14th generation Core desktop processors in mid-October with much fanfare. Intel has been the bedrock of the personal computing revolution which started almost 40 years ago and with the latest Core processors, Intel continues to lead the way in innovation and technology.

What to Do if External Hard Drive Is Not Showing Up on Mac

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:53:23 +0800

External hard drives are a good way to network and share data. However, while they have been very important in the data industry for a long time, they sometimes come with their own share of challenges.

Many times, when you connect an external hard drive on the Mac, you see it popping up quickly on the deck top. This is a sign that it has successfully mounted and Apple prefers to ensure that they are easier to find by users, which is why they also appear in Finder.

Apple October 2023 Event Recap

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 13:52:40 +0800

Right before Halloween, Apple dropped some product updates with the theme “Scary Fast”. The drops are a bit unusual for Apple because it’s the first time that they dropped at 5 pm (usually it’s 10 am in California) and historically quite late (usually by mid-October).

The event unfolded in a record time of 30 minutes (usually it’s over an hour of product showcase extravaganza). So here’s what you need to know from Apple’s October Event of 2023.

Pro iPhones Compared: From iPhone 11 Pro to iPhone 15 Pro

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:39:34 +0800

One of the criticisms of Apple is they seem to be selling the same iPhone year after year. The designs are the same! The camera is just 12MP! Even the colors are not much different between this generation and the next.

While on the surface, those people are right to a degree, Apple’s designs are subtle from year to year and many people will notice. However, just like evolution, those small changes over the generations will add up over time. Year to year might see small and subtle changes, but once you compare it to the first, the current iPhone Pro is nearly unrecognizable from the first.

YouTube Is Getting Worse (On Purpose)

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 18:54:39 +0800

In September 2023 alone, YouTube received 31.9 billion unique visitors on their website. That’s almost 4 times the amount of people on the planet. This makes YouTube the second most visited website on earth after YouTube’s parent, Google.

However, despite the popularity and the amount of revenue Google and YouTube collectively make, YouTube has made changes on their website and apps to be worse than before. It was done on purpose. Why?

iPhone 12 vs iPhone 15: What Difference 3 Years Makes

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 21:08:42 +0800

One of the criticisms about Apple is they basically release the same products every year with hardly any real changes to it. And yet, millions and millions of people bought their products. In fact, it’s so much that they are the most valuable company on Earth. Why it is so?

We take a look at the changes from this year’s iPhone 15 and compare it with the base iPhone from 3 years ago, the iPhone 12, and see how those small changes become substantial over generations. In fact, these incremental updates hide a bigger strategy from Apple.

Online IDEs Compared

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 14:33:08 +0800

Most often, a programmer can simply program away in a computer by launching a notepad or text editor and launching a terminal to launch services or compile the code. Of course, a few moments later, some programmers create their tools to help create programs and that tool is now called Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

And those tools help build the internet and just like almost everything else, the tools are slowly moving to the special kind of internet we call The Cloud. Online IDE is nothing new, but nowadays, it is quite capable that it is close enough to the desktop version. Here are some online IDEs that you can find.

Intel Meteor Lake What We Know

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 11:55:20 +0800

There is an old saying which stated imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. A few years ago when Apple launched its Apple Silicon, Intel responded by saying that Apple is a “lifestyle brand and we have to be that good.”. What difference 3 years has made. Apple introduced Intel Core Ultra, which is based on their latest architecture core codenamed Meteor Lake and from their presentation, it seems it was a major shift from Intel in how they do things. From an outsider’s point of view, Intel basically copied Apple’s homework and added some flair of its own. Read on to find out more.

How Nvidia and AMD Use AI to Improve Gaming Performance

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 14:31:16 +0800

GPU manufacturers have found a unique solution to enhance gaming performance. They are using AI to make low-spec hardware run modern AAA titles. The technology also makes 100+fps 4K gaming possible on large displays. AMD and Nvidia are not the sole developers of this technology. Intel, with their latest Arc GPUs, also features XeSS. AI-based frame addition and resolution upscaling methods make gaming accessible to everyone.

Gamers and professionals can evaluate the performance impact of individual AI technology through benchmarking. Each AI technology has its pros and cons. This article will explain these technologies and their impact on modern AAA titles. It will also show how AI changes the gaming landscape through visual and programming aspects.

Apple A17 Pro: Everything we know.

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 14:29:00 +0800

Apple launched the iPhone 15 Pro during their annual September event. Together with their new smartphone, Apple also launched a new mobile processor inside the flagship smartphone called the A17 Pro. While there are a lot of factors that give a very warm response to the iPhone 15 Pro such as the new titanium body, new camera system, and USB-C port, the A17 Pro is perhaps one of Apple’s most recent groundbreaking technologies.

Apple September 2023 Event Recap

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:11:52 +0800

There is no doubt that the iPhone is Apple’s most important product. When looking at the revenue graph, the money that comes from the iPhone is like a mountain compared to other Apple products. So there’s no reason to believe that Apple pulled all the stops to ensure their September product reveal would be the best of the entire year. Just in time for the holiday shopping season.

And this year, things are no different. We have new iPhones, new Apple Watches, new wireless headphones and a surprise. Hundreds of billions of dollars are going to Apple’s bank account.

Evolution of iPhone Boxes

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 22:24:52 +0800

For many manufacturers, the box that you ship your product serves only two purposes: to protect your product on the way to the hands of the customers and to help advertise your product when displayed in stores. Apple, being the more detailed-orientated company has put a lot more thought into the packaging box. For Apple, the packaging box is not just a mere vessel, but a statement of what the company represents. There’s a term for it and it’s called out of the box experience.

How to Create an Efficient Study Environment With Apple Devices

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 10:56:51 +0800

The life of an average student in the age of technology and constant innovations can be quite challenging and time-consuming. Just think about virtual classrooms, artificial intelligence to check grammar and readability, or all the helpful apps that are constantly used to verify facts and create automatic summaries. Ultimately, the creation of an efficient study environment comes down to the set of tools and technical solutions. People behind Apple Inc. have always been in the vanguard of technology and education as they worked hard to provide modern learners with helpful devices that stir creativity and help to achieve numerous tasks much easier!

Apple's CPU History

Sun, 20 Aug 2023 13:27:55 +0800

A few years ago, Apple did something very significant: they launched their line of CPUs that power their Macs. Because instead of being like other PC manufacturers that rely on Intel, Windows, Nvidia, et al to build the final product, Apple has vertical integration in their desktops and laptops. But this move has been a long time coming for Apple.

We review Apple’s history of CPU usage to reveal that Apple carving its own path is the most logical path for Apple.

How to Make Phone Calls on Your Mac

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 21:44:20 +0800

We make 13.5 billion phone calls every day, with the average person making or receiving around eight phone calls daily. These numbers look insanely impressive, agree? But in today’s interconnected digital world, the ability to seamlessly transition between devices has become a hallmark of convenience. If you own Apple devices, then you’ll be happy to know that your Mac can do more than just handle spreadsheets and presentations. It can also serve as a platform for making and receiving phone calls. In this article, we’ll explore the top methods for making phone calls directly from your Mac, allowing you to stay in touch without missing a beat.

5 Best Data Recovery Software for MacOS Sonoma

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 21:57:07 +0800

Apple’s macOS Sonoma is the latest and best version of Mac’s Operating Systems. It comes with several optimizations and additional features. But it does not prevent you from losing data in whichever way. That said, you must take care of all your files to safeguard them from loss and overwrite.

But in case you lose data from the new version of Mac, you should not worry as there are still many ways to recover it. One of the best and seamless ways to recover files is the use of data recovery software. You may not have known it, but there are more data recovery tools for various Mac OS versions with varied support systems including procedures to recover emptied trash Mac. In this article, we focus on the top 5 data recovery software for macOS Sonoma.

External Hard Drive Recovery on Mac Essential Techniques and Tips

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 21:50:03 +0800

Mac users like Windows PC users also use external hard drives for various reasons. While others use them to expand their Mac storage, some users need them when transferring files or creating external backups of their data.

Also, depending on the situations within which your Mac is used, data loss can result from various causes. Besides, external hard drives are more exposed to data loss than internal drives. This is one reason why you need to have knowledge of more ways to recover files.

Restoring Your Macs Emptied Trash Files

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 21:41:09 +0800

If you use a Mac and have accidentally emptied the trash folder, then you are looking for solutions in the right place. Mac Trash works in a similar way as Windows Recycle Bin. Generally, all the files you delete from your Mac end up at the Mac Trash.

Emptying the Trash however would be more gross if you continued using the device. This is because there are more chances the files can be overwritten by new ones. Overwritten files would be cleared permanently and would become unrecoverable. That is when you start looking for some of the best recovery apps for Mac or even professional recovery service.

How We Use Superconductors Today

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 08:46:28 +0800

Sometime in late July 2023, three South Korean scientists released a paper that claimed that they had created a material that is a superconductor at room temperature and at ambient pressure. Of course, such extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, which shows a series of videos that shows the material levitates and some graph showing nearly zero resistance at room temperature.

Of course, if this is true, experts are claiming that it will bring a new scientific and engineering revolution that will usher in a new technological age. If the claims in the scientific paper are true and are easily replicated, then they might, but superconductors itself is not new, and believe it or not, we have used them in our daily lives.

Security: Free Password Managers Compared

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 18:36:54 +0800

According to a report, hackers leaked around 721 million passwords in 2022. That means, for every second, 23 passwords are leaked onto the internet which can compromise your security. Why is this important? If we reuse passwords for our account, a breach in one account and lead to a breach in other accounts. So one way to mitigate this is to use a password manager service.

How Password Manager Works

A password manager works by how you think it works: by managing your password in a centralized location. It might seem counter-intuitive to put all your eggs in one basket, but there is logic to this method. There are also some criteria for a good password manager:-

M2 Ultra vs Nvidia RTX 4090

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 14:39:53 +0800

The M2 Ultra and the RTX 4090 represent flagship products from Apple and Nvidia, each bringing their best performance to the table. However, the approach from each company couldn’t be any more different.

Nvidia is what one considers the “old school” of thinking where you specialize in doing one thing and doing it very well, by any means necessary. This means bumping up the clock speed and power consumption to the limit that components might melt from the heat. Apple, on the other hand, prefers to take a holistic approach by identifying the workflow and building solutions that attack said workflow. And the result is the M2 Ultra where there are specialized cores to tackle specific workflow.

Battle of M2 Ultras: Mac Studio 2023 vs Mac Pro 2023

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 11:16:04 +0800

Apple finally updated the Mac Pro in WWDC 2023, thus completing the transition from Intel processors to their own Apple Silicon. In the same event, Apple also updated the Mac Studio lineup to feature the M2 Max and for the first time, M2 Ultra.

What’s surprising is Apple released a Mac Pro which is essentially an M2 Ultra Studio but with PCI-Express slots. Everything else is basically what you get in the Mac Studio: the memory and storage options, the graphic options, and no option for upgradability. Is the Mac Pro worth the $3,000 premium that it commands?

How To Try Apple Vision Pro Today

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 21:32:19 +0800

Apple announced the [Vision Pro] for [WWDC 2023] with an eye-watering price tag of $3,500. The price is a very high barrier of entry to many, but rest assured, you do have alternatives if you just want to try out the new visionOS but do not want to spend the dough.

The trick is basically to run visionOS (the operating system that runs the Vision Pro) in the Simulator and test out visionOS to your heart’s content.

Unlocking Online Freedom: Complete Guide to Internet Privacy and Security on Mac

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 21:29:19 +0800

Securing your computer may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Just a few simple actions can protect your Mac from common threats without affecting its functionality. There is no limit to perfection in terms of digital privacy protection, but for most people, basic protection is sufficient. Here we provide tips to help you protect your online privacy and improve the security of your device.

What Is Internet Privacy?

Internet privacy is a paramount concern for individuals living in today’s digital age. It refers to the ability to control the information that is shared online and who has access to it. From browsing history to social media activity, search results, and personal details, people leave a trail of digital footprints behind them as they navigate the web. Unfortunately, these footprints are not always secure, leaving individuals exposed to potential cyber crimes like identity theft, fraudulent activities, and data breaches. Confidentiality means that you do not leave these traces behind you or clean them up masterfully.

M2 Ultra vs Intel 13th Generation Core i9-13900KS

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 07:09:54 +0800

From the 80s to the 2010s, Intel was the king of the hill in building microprocessors. Their manufacturing process is cutting edge, their performance was ahead of the class and there are no competitors nearby. Today, things are way different. Intel is now in a marathon race and its position as the leader of the pack is in danger. Competitors like AMD, TSMC, Samsung, and even Apple who used Intel chips in their Macs are closing in and in some cases, beating Intel in its own game.

Mac Studio vs Mac Mini: Which one gives the best value?

Sat, 10 Jun 2023 08:30:03 +0800

After months of speculation, Apple finally updated the Mac Studio during WWDC ‘23 and thus, unveiled the new M2 Ultra chip. With the Mac Pro sporting the M2 Ultra chip, it completes the transition from Intel to its own Apple Silicon.

Now we have the entire desktop line-up, which gives the most value for your money? The basic Mac Mini? The Mac Mini with the M2 Pro? Is the M2 Ultra overkill for power users? These questions will be answered in our investigation.

Mac Studio 2023 vs Macbook Pro 2023

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 15:14:19 +0800

Apple annouced updates to their Mac line during WWDC ‘23. Among them is the new 15-inch MacBook Air and the anticipated Mac Studio, and finally, the long-awaited Mac Pro.

Now the dust is settled, and you are now in the market for getting a professional Mac to augment your workflow. What would be the better way to spend your multi-thousand-dollar budget? The MacBook Pro or the Mac Studio?

Mac Studio

The Mac Studio is Apple’s high-end desktop slotted below the recently updated Mac Pro. The Mac Pro at this point is a M2 Ultra Mac Studio in a nicer chassis and with PCIe expansion slots for which you pay the $3,000 premium for the privilege.

WWDC 2023 Prediction & Recap

Wed, 31 May 2023 11:48:14 +0800

Every June, Apple will host a special event called World Wide Developers Conference or WWDC. The keynote is what everyone will see and what news outlets will report the most, but the special event is weeklong instead an hour. It is where Apple showcases its software architectures, software & hardware developers can see and talk to Apple software engineers to discuss the details of the Apple ecosystem. And sometimes, there will be some new hardware announcements.

Final Cut Pro: macOS vs iPadOS Versions

Sun, 14 May 2023 09:09:32 +0800

The day that we have longed for has finally come. After years of building overpowered iPads, Apple finally bring apps that are worthy to fully utilize the desktop chip that Apple put on the iPads since 2021. Some of the pre-WWDC 2023 announcements that Apple made, one of which raises the brow is Apple launching Final Cut Pro (FCP) and Logic Pro for the iPad.

Although the official release will be on the 24th of May 2023, here is what we know so far.

Safari Preferences and Settings Customize Your Browsing Experience

Thu, 11 May 2023 17:08:18 +0800

Your web browser often starts out as a medium for accessing web pages on the internet. However, it soon grows to become your companion. At this point, you are so used to it and want to personalize your experience.

Doing this makes surfing the web much easier. If you do it right, you may even be able to use your browser with your eyes closed. It will be similar to walking through an apartment you have lived in all your life.

European Unions' Digital Services Act vs The Apple App Store

Sat, 06 May 2023 12:21:16 +0800

The European Union (EU) is an enigma. It’s not a country per se, but with a common law framework and common market that has over 450 million inhabitants and a market size of around $16 trillion, it commands a significant place in the world today. More importantly, with a per capita income of around $32,000, it is the other economic entity that is large and rich, with the other one being the USA.

Macbook Air vs Dell Xps 13

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 10:38:05 +0800

The computer started life as a state secret. The room-size computers in the early days were used to calculate the ballistic trajectory of missiles and artillery. Then it was a company secret that IBM makes their name selling “mini” computers that were used to tabulate sales data. Today, it’s a fashion statement where computers that sit on your lap or hand come in various colors and you basically express yourself through the computer.

Roadwarrior's battle: Macbook Air M2 vs Lenovo T14

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 11:00:11 +0800

The laptop is no longer a luxury item but a necessary tool to conduct day-to-day business. Yes, they can also play games, but more importantly, it carries your livelihood and is a way to present your ideas to the world. Basically, the laptop is the bicycle for your mind.

Yes, there are powerful, bulky gaming laptops that can rival desktops in terms of performance, power consumption, and features, but the real workhorse that moves the planet around are the smallish, light portable laptops that basically we call business laptops. We explore the best sub $1,200 laptops that run Windows and macOS: Apple’s MacBook Air with M2 and Lenovo’s ThinkPad T14.

Cloning Your External Drive in macOS

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 18:29:06 +0800

Here’s the scenario: your current external storage is full and naturally you bought a new external storage (HDD or SSD) that has twice (or more) the capacity of your current external. Now, some of your applications like Adobe Lightroom have registered your hard drive so you want to make sure that your hard drive is exactly like the old one, but with a bigger capacity.

This is the guide to cloning and extending your external storage so your application can’t tell the difference.

AGI Explained: Artificial General Intelligence Explained and why pursue it despite the Risks.

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 11:29:05 +0800

OpenAI created a big buzz by releasing ChatGPT to the world, an automated chatbot that gives a very convincing answer. Some argued that this is the beginning where things take off exponentially and we finally will get the holy grail: Artificial General Intelligence.

But what is Artificial General Intelligence or AGI and why some experts are afraid of the potentially deadly consequences of AGI on society, nations, and the human race? Does the work of fiction bring forth the prophecy of future AGI vs humans conflict?

Will Apple Reality Pro Made It? Apple's next product explained

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 10:23:13 +0800

Apple recently announced that the World Wide Developers Conference, an annual event where Apple showcases new software features to be held between June 5 to 9, 2023 at Apple Park. What is intriguing is the poster that is accompanied by the announcement.

Yes, usually there’s no correlation between what is announced at the event itself versus what is implied by the poster promoting the said event. But looking at the poster itself will make people speculate a lot about what Apple is going to unveil: new Virtual Reality Glasses.

Why cPanel Is Best Control Panel for Your Website

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 10:46:42 +0800

When you become a website owner, the work with your website is not limited by its mere creating and uploading to your web hosting server. Instead, there are many more things to solve and much work to do. For this reason, there are various applications that can help you in this regard, a popular one of which is the cPanel control panel. In the following, we are going to look at the advantages of cPanel VPS and why it’s the best control panel for your website.

Should You Get the Macbook Pro M2?

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 12:28:50 +0800

When Apple introduced M2 SOC sometime in mid-2022, it was introduced in their two best-selling laptops: the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air was updated with an all-new design and introduced new technologies. The MacBook Pro, meanwhile, basically had the same design from 2016 and except for the internals, nothing is changed. So why Apple is still selling the MacBook Pro M2 with a price difference of $100 against the MacBook Air?

ChatGPT-4 Explained

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 18:24:11 +0800

OpenAI, the company that take over the world by storm six months ago with the launch of ChatGPT-3 has announced that they have launched the updated version of their chatbot creatively named ChatGPT-4. Here are the things that you should know about the updated ChatGPT-4 and how it could help you (or replace your job).

What is ChatGPT-4

It’s an updated chatbot: As the name suggests, GPT-4 is the fourth version of the automated chatbot developed by OpenAI, which has attracted investment from celebrities in the industry and most recently, $1 billion from Microsoft.
It can accept images: The chatbot now can accept images as input. There’s a reddit going around that this person draws an outline of a jokes website and ChatGPT just spits out the code
It can accept a lot of words as input: You can now put 25,000 words in the input prompt and ChatGPT-4 will analyze and do its magic. In theory, you can put an entire report and ask the bot to analyze it. No guarantees of accuracy though.
It’s more creative: The researchers put some more creative spin on the model. In their example, the chatbot can explain the plot summary of Cinderella using every letter of the alphabet, in order, without repeating. Quite an impressive feat even for a human.
Better reasoning: According to the researchers, the chatbot has less chance to fall for logical gotchas, which is one of the highlighted weaknesses of the chatbot. They also included some examples in their System card report.
Better guardrails: When launching Bing Chat, which Microsoft uses ChatGPT-3, there were reports that reporters asked questions about relationship issues to which ChatGPT suggested the reporter leave his wife. Also stories about how people have misused ChatGPT to increase human biases. OpenAI claims that better guardrails are in place to prevent such situations.
Better informed: ChatGPT-4 has 175 billion parameters compared to 25 million in ChatGPT-3 which OpenAI claims that the chatbot is now more informed. OpenAI demonstrated that ChatGPT has passed the Bar Exam at the 90th percentile, Medical Board Exam, and also university entrance exams.
Plug-ins: On March 23, OpenAI announced availablity of plug-ins for ChatGPT-4. Some of the plug-ins that available are OpenTable, Wolfram and Expedia. In their demo, you can find restaurants and book a table using OpenTable plug-ins and ask the Wolfram plug-in to calculate the calaroies of the food that you are going to eat.

Developing on the iPad Pro

Sat, 11 Mar 2023 10:56:35 +0800

Imagine this scenario: you are on vacation, and you only bought your iPad Pro since you are expecting to “decompress” from your work. Then, your boss is calling in that one of your codes is buggy on production and is affecting user experience and needs to be fixed now. Luckily it is a small fix but you didn’t bring your work laptop. What do you do?

Challenges of Developing on iPad Pro

There are a few things to know when developing on the iPad Pro

What We Know - Mac Pro 2023

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 11:25:19 +0800

As of March 2023, the Mac Pro is the only Apple product that behaves in a very un-Apple way. It is the only product that Apple makes that at the heart does not run on an Apple-designed chip. It is the only Apple product designed to be user-replaceable internal components. It is the only product that Apple designed not for consumers, but as a professional tool.

Despite being the anomaly in the range of Apple products, it is considered to be the pinnacle and ultimate expression of what an Apple product should be. Some might think Apple is going to abandon the professional market, but there are hints that Apple isn’t leaving the Mac Pro anytime soon. Here are what we know about the upcoming Mac Pro, the last man standing in the Apple lineup.

Moonshot Projects Explained

Sat, 25 Feb 2023 17:07:48 +0800

Over the years, we would hear about projects, so big, so consequential, that they are called “moonshot” projects. Projects that company’s said that they bet the farm, in which if they failed, the company that initiated the project might also go under.

We explore where did the term come from and what are corporate-level “moonshot” programs that companies made and what is the effect to their bottom line and technology in general.

Choose the right Mac Mini: Mac Mini M2 vs Mac Mini M2 Pro

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 07:54:39 +0800

The Mac Mini is one of Apple’s best product. Small, value for money, and low barrier to entry. Apple updated the Mac Mini in January 202 and made a lot of improvements. Apple not only spec bump the Mac Mini to include the M2 chip, but also lowered the base price by $100 to $599. If you are a student, you can even get a $100 discount making the Mac Mini a sub $500 computer which can do 8K video editing. Apple also put a “professional” chip the M2 Pro in the Mac Mini chassis replacing the aging 2018 Space Grey Mac Mini.

What Productivity Apps to Install in Your Mac

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 10:13:30 +0800

Thinking about productivity, all apps should be good because they boost it. However, we’re going to list the best productivity software for Mac and Apple in 2023 in general. Hopefully, this list is going to give you something good to work with.

Task Management

Task management software should be a must for anyone’s professional desktop or laptop. It’s not time-efficient when the tasks aren’t managed well. We’re talking about not wasting your time, of course.

M2 Max vs Nvidia 4080 RTX Mobile

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 11:00:00 +0800

Apple and Nvidia updated their latest graphic offerings for 2023 in January. Nvidia has finally released their highly anticipated RTX 40-series graphic chips while Apple has finally spec-bumped their critically acclaimed M2 “professional” chip. Nvidia, the performance crown, has doubled down on making huge leaps of performance at the cost of power consumption while Apple, which has been criticized for having underpowered graphics compared to their peers managed to bump performance while maintaining power consumption.

Mac Studio 2022 vs MacBook Pro 2023

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 09:18:51 +0800

One of Apple’s greatest moves in recent years was Apple’s decision to move away from Intel processors for the Mac and transition to their own solution called Apple Silicon. The masterstroke is not only that we have new powerful Macs, but Apple also manages to streamline their entire technology stack to their own solution, which is uniquely Apple. Now, we are at the final legs of the transition, the Mac technology stack has become clearer than ever, but there are gaps that need to be answered. Say we have a certain amount of budget to buy a Mac, which is the better value proposition: a mobile MacBook Pro or a Mac Studio? What do we lose when we go mobile? What do we give up when we take the Mac Studio path? As we go up with our budget, does the pathway become clearer or even more blurred?

Google Search vs ChatGPT - Why ChatGPT sends Google the chills

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 14:32:33 +0800

In early 2023, OpenAI updated one of their project, ChatGPT, one of their many AI projects that specifically generates text that respond to a human prompt. From there, ChatGPT capture the public imagination. With a single question, ChatGPT can make a sonnet, scripts for a YouTube video or a blockbuster movie, and even write complete codes to make useful programs.

Such is the response, the story goes, that the klaxon alarms in Google headquarters started to ring and the management team has gone into defensive mode. There is talk about this being a “code red” moment and Google has even bought back their semi-retired founders to fend off the “attack”.

Which MacBook Pro: 14 Inch vs 16 Inch (for 2023 MacBook Pro)

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 09:34:51 +0800

For the M1 Pro / M1 Max version of the MacBook Pro, read here

Apple updated the MacBook Pro in early 2023 with the introduction of the new generation of “professional” Apple Silicon: the M2 Pro and M2 Max. Based on our research, the new generation of Apple Silicon basically is a chip that gill up all the gaps that the first generation missed.

Aside from the lower barrier of $1,999, the difference between the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro is just $200 if you match the specs for both sizes. Other than screen size, what extra do you get for that $200? Read on to find out.

Mac Mini M2 Pro vs Mac Studio M1 Max

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:47:16 +0800

When reviewing the Mac Mini, MKBHD, a top Youtube tech review went on record that the Mac Min M2 Pro is faster in both single and multicore performance than the $5,999 Mac Pro. What a time to be alive to how fast things change in tech.

Screen grab from MKBHD where the CPU performance of the M2 Pro outpaces a base Mac Pro.

While the M2 Pro Mac Mini starts at $1,299, you can easily spec the unit to match the $1,999 price of a base Mac Studio featuring a M1 Max. This begs the question, which one is the better at the same price and is the M1 Max is still relevant in this equation? Read on to find out.

Laptop chip shootout: M2 Pro / M2 Max vs Intel 13th generation Core i9

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 01:06:47 +0800

January 2023 was an exciting month for the tech community in general. Intel launched their new 13th generation Core processor, which is expected. And unexpectedly Apple dropped their next generation professional mobile Apple Silicon, the M2 Pro, and M2 Max. Granted, based on analysis, the M2 Pro and M2 Max were scheduled to be released in late 2022, but for various reasons, Apple delayed such a move.

Now, we are at the start of 2023, we have in our hands a brand new generation of mobile chips. Intel proclaims that the 13th generation Core processors are the most powerful mobile processor ever made. In contrast, Apple claims to be best in class for mobile computing. Which one is right?

Apple M2 vs Intel Core i9 13th Gen

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 15:11:21 +0800

For the article on Apple M2 Pro / M2 Max against the latest Intel i9-13980HX, read here.

When Apple released the first Apple Silicon, the M1, way back in 2020, it caught Intel by surprise. Something that was meant to be entry level, and require no more power than a night light has beaten their top of the line laptop processor by a huge margin. Since then, Intel has gone back to work and pulled out all of the stops to ensure performance superiority, at all costs. And in January 2023, during CES 2023, Intel unveiled their latest creation: the 13th generation Core processor with the flagship i9-13980HX which Intel claims to be the most powerful mobile processor in the world.

The Playstation Ecosystem Explained

Sat, 07 Jan 2023 11:49:04 +0800

For many, the Playstation console most fondly known as PS5 in the latest iteration is a device that people come, sit in front of the screen and spend their hours away. For Sony though, it is a platform that is used by over a hundred million users and generates tens of billions of dollars. It changed the game for Sony from being known for their TVs and Walkman to the gaming company that everyone wants to beat.

Apple Silicon M2 Roadmap

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 08:05:45 +0800

Instead of the years, I prefer to count the number of generations of the Apple Silicon and with the introduction of the M2, it is now the second generation of Apple Silicon that Apple currently makes.

Of course, the big question is what will Apple make next. This article aims to answer the questions that matter: When will the M2 Pro/Max/Ultra arrive? What kind of features do we expect to see?

Apple in 2023

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 09:12:39 +0800

This tracks Apple’s major movement and announcements in 2023. To view Apple’s movements in 2022, click here.

December

Apple managed to get a court order to temporary pause the ban that barred Apple from importing and selling Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. - The Verge
CNBC has an exclusive interview with head of silicon, Johny Sirouji, and VP of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus. It was recorded earlier in 1st December by come on Youtube on 24th December
Porsche and Aston Martin will have new “immersive” CarPlay display. Instead of changing the center display, this new system will redesign all displays from the speed gauge to the passenger side display. - The Verge
Due to a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo over SpO2 (glucose) sensor, Apple Watch series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 received an import ban from the ITC in USA. In conclusion, Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 have been pulled from shelves in USA. - The Verge
Apple launched a limited edition Beats Studio. It’s a collabration work with designer Stussy. It’s available in stussy.com and select Stussy stores.
Bloomberg reports that Apple is encouraging artists to create music with spatial audio in mind. This is a feature where using Apple’s product like AirPods, you have the illusion of having multiple speakers. - Bloomberg
Apple announce a few year end awards
- Wiser Than Me - Podcast of the year
- Taylor Swift - Artist of the year
- App Store winners
  - AllTrails - iPhone app of the year
  - Pret-a-Makeup - iPad app of the year
  - Photomator - Mac App of the year
  - MUDI - TV App of the year
  - SmartGym - Watch App of the year
- Gaming
  - Honkai: Star Rail - iPhone game of the year
  - Lost in Play - iPad game of the year
  - Lies of P - Mac game of the year
  - Hello Kitty Island Adventure - Apple Arcade game of the year
- See full list here
CNBC has an exclusive on inside look of the Apple Silicon team
Apple pulls the plug on Goldman Credit Card partnership. According to WSJ, Goldman is reportedly not making money with this arrangement with Apple - Wall Street Journal

November

Apple pull ads from X (formerly Twitter) after Elon Musk, CEO has been found endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory - New York Times

Dude, Where's My Mac Pro?

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 09:35:08 +0800

When Apple announced that they are moving away from Intel to their own solution called Apple Silicon, they promised that the transition will take them around 2 years. The first Apple Silicon hit the streets in December 2020 with the introduction of the M1 on the Mac Mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. As we are closing December (and 2022), Apple managed to update all their Macs to Apple Silicon save for two: the Mac Pro and the space gray Mac Mini.

Apple 2023 Product RoadMap

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 10:20:45 +0800

Apple 2023 Product Roadmap

As 2022 comes to a close, let’s turn the page and look forward to 2023. Although the economic outlook for 2023 doesn’t look good right now, life goes on and work still needs to be done. Although there’s a round of layoff in the tech sector, which to a degree affects companies like Apple, this doesn’t mean that Apple is going to slow down in their product announcements: products need to be updated, research is still being done on the next big thing and and in general, updates are coming.

Apple 2023 Product RoadMap

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 10:20:45 +0800

Apple 2023 Product Roadmap

How to Maintain Your Apple Ecosystem (the Apple Upgrade Guide)

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 15:07:52 +0800

Apple has created the ultimate invisible product: the Ecosystem where the more Apple things that you buy, the more hidden features that you unlock when using your devices. The result: an unparalleled experience and customers keep buying your product year after year. Having an ecosystem is nice because of their features, but how much does one need to spend in a year to maintain the ecosystem? Can you get away from buying the bear minimum? This is the question that we aim to answer.

Apple Ecosystem vs Google Ecosystem

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 21:25:24 +0800

One of the earliest ideas of the internet is having an information superhighway where the greatest commodity in the modern world, information, will be available at your fingertips. Of course, the internet has evolved vastly since we started making computers talk to each other in the 1960s and what started as a military secret, is now what is considered the ultimate fashion statement.

When one thinks of Apple, naturally people will think of Macs, iPhone and lately AirPods and Apple Watches. When one thinks of Google, naturally one would think of The Search Engine, the Android operating system and maybe Gmail. All are valid points. But there’s a bigger hidden product behind these huge tech companies: the Ecosystem

Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2022 Deals

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 09:39:46 +0800

One of the great American traditions is the celebration of Thanksgiving where people are joined at the table, breaking bread, reflecting and thankful for surviving and thriving the past year. Of course, the next great tradition is Black Friday where after stuffing yourself silly, we wake up in the early winter mornings of November and line up (and rush) to get the best deals ever. Of course, time has changed and now everything is online. Deals have come earlier and earlier and we are now unofficially in the shopping season. We scour the Amazon superstore and here are the best electronic deals for you.

Apple's Student Discount: What Products Should You Spend It On?

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 08:10:56 +0800

Apple offers a student discount on many of their products, and it can be tough to know which ones are the best deals. In this blog post, we will break down all of the different discounts that Apple offers students, and tell you which products are the best deals!

What is Apple’s discount program and how do I qualify for it?

iPad 10 vs iPad Air 4

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 08:13:47 +0800

In October 2022, as expected, Apple announced new product updates, just in time for the all important year end shopping season. What is unexpected is the updates (or lack thereof) in the new products that it is announced. While some expect Apple will update their flagship iPad Pro to use the new M2 chips, what is unexpected is the new direction that Apple took with their new “base” iPad.

If you have seens the iPad 10 before, you will be right. From a consumer point of view, Apple took out the iPad Air 4, made a few modifications, slapped a new price and rebranded it as iPad 10. We compare the iPad 10 and the OG iPad Air 4 to see what Apple changed. Spoilers: new is not always good.

Apple A16 vs Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 15:41:06 +0800

Another year, another iPhone is revealed and Apple makes a few hundred billion dollars. But behind a stellar product lies stellar engineering to make the iPhone one of the most beautifully engineered products in human existence. And like every year, Apple reveals a new processor running in the iPhone that makes magic things happen at the palm of your hand.

But how does it fare against the competition? As we all know, you always have to be on the move in the tech industry, otherwise you’ll be left behind. And this goes for the hottest product in the industry: the smartphone. And the contenders are Apple and Android. With the competition heating up, every year we see new products that attempt to leapfrog the leader of the race. And for so long, it’s been a two-way race: Apple A-series chip and Qualcomm SnapDragon series. This time, comes from the two flagship, the A16 Bionic and the SnapDragon 8+ Generation 1.

Apple September 2022 Event Recap

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 09:48:41 +0300

The stage is set, everybody comes in and when the time comes, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple comes in and shouts “GOOD MORNING!!” And the crowd roars. Now the light pops up and the video starts. Yes, the lesson learned from the pandemic is it’s better to do the entire presentation in a pre-recorded video format than a live presentation.

As usual, September is the most important event for Apple because it’s when they reveal their cash cow product and this time is no different. They basically perfected the format and as usual, you can expect high production quality and new dazzling features from Apple “reality distortion field”, also known as marketing.

It is worth it? Buying a Used iPhone 12

Sun, 04 Sep 2022 09:26:09 +0800

The smartphone revolution, which began when Apple unveiled the incredible first iPhone, has bought us a super device which basically became an extension of our lives. Years of stiff competition between Apple and Google (through Android OS and partners) with the occasional disruption by Microsoft has given us the promise that there will be new tricks, more shiny features, and above all, unmatched performance every year.

Now, as we enter the 15th year of the smartphone revolution, we ask the question: have we reached peak smartphone? Have the major players the likes of Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm and Google put everything we could possibly need into a smartphone? To answer that question, we examine this idea: is it worth it to get a used iPhone 12, a “basic” smartphone from Apple released in 2022? Read on to learn why you might want to consider a used iPhone 12, even a year after the iPhone 13 hit the market and among expectations that the new iPhone 14 is expected to drop soon.

Apple September 2022 Event Preview

Sun, 21 Aug 2022 13:00:40 +0800

September is the most important month of the year for Apple and the tech industry. Why? Because it’s the month where Apple invites and unveils Updates to Apple’s most important product to date: the iPhone. Some critics have said that we’re reaching the peak smartphone era, but it still doesn’t stop Apple from making mountains of money. Here’s a preview of what we can expect from Apple in September.

iPhone 14

Of course, the one product that everyone is anticipating is the new iPhone. Truth to be told, on one hand, there’s not been a lot of updates from Apple regarding their online presence for the past several years and one wouldn’t expect any radical change this year. But pushing innovation after innovation in a hand- portable device that runs on batteries and is more powerful than the supercomputers of the early years is no small feat.

Macbook Air M2 vs Base Macbook Pro M1 Pro

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 08:24:13 +0800

When Steve Jobs came back to Apple, he revamp the entire product line. Famously, he went to blackboard and made a 2 by 2 table which the columns would be who will be using the Macs, either consumers or professionals, while the lines would be what kind of Macs it would be, a desktop or a laptop. That table that Steve Jobs drew in the late 90s pretty much guided Apple’s product roadmap for the next 20 years and its strong influence can still be felt today.

Battle of the MacBook Air: 2022 M2 vs 2020 M1

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 11:07:00 +0800

Apple finally updated the MacBook Air for the Apple Silicon in WWDC 2022. With the benefits of Apple Silicon and lesson learned from the new MacBook Pro, the new Macbook Air is thinner, lighter and more capable than the predecessor. Curiously, Apple sell the new MacBook Air at a closer price to the MacBook Pro and still sell the M1 MacBook Air which was first unveiled in early 2020.

Officially, the base M1 MacBook Air is sold at the magic $999 price but you can get as low as $750 from Amazon Renewed, $850 from Apple Refurbished or $900 brand new from Amazon. With prices that low, is the M1 MacBook Air a better deal than the redesigned, brand spanking new M2 MacBook Air? We investigate to find out.

Apple M2 vs 12th Generation Intel i7 and i5 HX

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 10:31:35 +0800

Apple Silicon basically comes in two flavors. The first, the will get everyone excited is the professional version. This is the one that Apple puts on the MacBook Pro, the Mac Studio and one day, the Mac Pro. The one with the most I/O, the best graphic card and usually put in the best Macs Apple offers. The other is the “consumer” Apple Silicon. This is where Apple put in the MacBook Air and the iPad Pro. The one for the casual users.

M2 Macbook Air vs M2 Macbook Pro

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 09:23:07 +0800

Apple is a company not only known for technological innovation and design, but also known for making controversial choices. The insistence of the lighting port when everyone is going USB-C, the deletion of the headphone jack, new computers that do not come with USB-A ports and new devices that do not come with power adapters.

However, the most recent controversial design Apple made in recent memory is introducing the new M2 MacBook Pro with the exact same design and price and the unveiling of the new M2 MacBook Air with pricing difference of just $100, a minuscule sum in the greater scheme of things.

Apple M2 vs Apple M1 Pro: Newer is better?

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 08:57:59 +0800

When Apple unveiled a completely redesigned MacBook Pro in 2022, it also unveiled a brand new SOC dubbed the M1 Pro and M1 Max. There were a few differences between those two “professional” SOC, but they are the most powerful laptop chip that Apple had at the time.

The redesigned MacBook Pro debuts the M1 Pro and also M1 Max

Apple recently unveiled the 2nd generation Apple Silicon creatively named M2 together with a redesigned MacBook Air and a repurposed MacBook Pro. A lot of the features that were first introduced in the M1 Pro SOC made its way in the M2 SOC. With improvements and features made in the M2, how close is the gap between a M2 SOC and a M1 Pro SOC? Can the M2 outperform the M1 Pro?

Apple M2 vs Intel Core i9 12th Generation

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 11:18:58 +0800

When Apple announced in WWDC 2020 that they are moving away from Intel to their own solution called Apple Silicon, there were doubters about how good the new chips will be. Sure, the iPhone and iPads are pretty good, but to take on the master at their own game, which is Intel in laptops and desktops, that is a tall order.

M1 came and actually “beat” the flagship at that time, the Core i9-10900HK which surprised the industry. Intel has been kicked in the nether regions and they have to scramble. Intel cannot afford any more fumbles as it did with the move to 7nm process. Intel eventually recovered with the Core i9-12900HK which showcased Intel’s great departure from the dogma. Now Apple has come full circle with the transition with the introduction of the 2nd generation Apple Silicon: the M2. Can Apple repeat the miracle and beat the goliath which is Intel?

Apple M2 vs Apple M1: Deep Dive And the Battle of the Apple Silicon

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 09:55:20 +0800

When Apple release the first Apple Silicon, the M1, in the wild on November 2020, it erases all doubt about Apple’s ability to not only switch architecture (which is a tall order by itself) but Apple’s ability to create magic. The magic is to create a processor that is both low in power consumption but high in performance. The M1 chip, the first of Apple Silicon manage to outclass the best mobile chip of the day, the Intel i9-10900HK.

WWDC 2022 Recap

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 16:36:36 +0800

Normally, WWDC would not generate a lot of buzz in the typical news cycle. Usually there is no new hardware announcement. It is a showcase of new software that will come to users in the next 3 months. But for Apple, WWDC is arguably the most important event for Apple, possibly only next to a new iPhone launch (which now the novelty has weaned off). Millions of people might buy a new MacBook Air or the new iPhone, but billions will use the new software to update the Apple showcase in WWDC. That’s how important WWDC is to Apple.

Microsoft ARM Efforts

Mon, 30 May 2022 07:54:31 +0800

Microsoft is a global software company that found its fortune in making operating systems and productivity software. Of course later it branched out into gaming and cloud computing, but there is no doubt that Microsoft’s most famous products are Windows and Office. And for the longest time, it supported only a single kind of hardware, X86 primarily made by Intel. Such a strong symbiotic relationship that they had, they have an unofficial name: Wintel.

WWDC 2022 Preview

Fri, 20 May 2022 10:35:59 +0800

WorldWide Developers Conference is an Apple event primarily directed at developers that work on Apple’s platform. It’s an event for Apple to showcase and market its upcoming features, their software direction for the next 12 months and also a place where Apple developers can talk directly with Apple engineers itself on how best to use Apple APIs. Traditionally it is held in the early June every year, at the midpoint of Apple events.

Google I/O 2022 Recap

Sat, 14 May 2022 18:19:08 +0800

Every year, Google will have an event which will focus on developers that are using the Google platform. Traditionally, the event will be focused heavily on the software side of Google, but this year is a little different where almost half of the time spent is focused on new hardware. And the hardware that is presented ranges from something that is coming out in weeks ahead to something that is coming in 2023.

Shopping Apple Devices and others on a Budget

Mon, 09 May 2022 11:55:05 +0800

If you are reading the news in the United States in mid 2020, there is a lot to be concerned about: high-inflation which leads to high prices. There’s a war on the edge of Europe which allegedly makes gas prices higher, which in turn leads to higher prices of goods. Businesses are laying off people to cut costs.

However, in any crisis like this recession, there are a lot of opportunities. Opportunities like businesses cutting prices to clear out stocks or close sales. This is the best time to get things at a discount. And we take a look at things that available at discounted prices.

Apple Self Service Repair Review

Sun, 01 May 2022 09:45:00 +0800

In 2021, in the face of the right-to-repair movement that is gaining momentum in the USA and around the world, Apple announced that they will introduce self-service sometime next year. Now, it’s 2022, and right on the heels of Earth Day, Apple finally but quietly announced the Self Service Repair program without much further ado. But, what it is that Apple has actually announced and what devices that Apple covers in the Self Service Repair (SSR) program? Here is what we investigate.

Mac Studio Compared: M1 Ultra vs M1 Max

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:21:49 +0800

The M1 Ultra, to date, represents the pinnacle of Apple’s effort to carve their own way in the chips department for the Macs, vis-a-vis Apple Silicon. But the barrier for entry is quite high at the moment. The M1 Ultra is only available for their desktop offering with a “base” level specs that sets you back for $4,000. The Mac Studio however, has a cheaper version that features the binned version of the M1 Max, starting at only half the price. If we customize the Mac Studio to have the maximum amount of graphic cores and the same amount of memory and storage as the base M1 Ultra, that Mac Studio will only come at $2,700. Far below the asking price of a base M1 Ultra Mac Studio that only has 48 out of the 64 graphic cores activated.

Mac Studio vs Macbook Pro

Sun, 10 Apr 2022 09:18:51 +0800

One of Apple’s greatest moves in recent years was Apple’s decision to move away from Intel processors for the Mac and transition to their own solution called Apple Silicon. The masterstroke is not only that we have new powerful Macs, Apple manages to streamline their entire technology stack to their own solution, which is uniquely Apple. Now, we are at the final legs of the transition, the Mac technology stack has become clearer than ever, but there are gaps that need to be answered. Say we have a certain amount of budget to buy a Mac, which is the better value proposition: a mobile MacBook Pro or a Mac Studio? What do we lose when we go mobile. What do we give up when we take the Mac Studio path? As we go up with our budget, does the pathway become clearer or even more blurred?

Mac Studios Setup Guide

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 10:32:26 +0800

With much fanfare, Apple unveiled a new Mac at Apple’s March “Peek Performance” event: the all-new Mac Studio. As everyone would know, the potential specs are quite impressive: a brand new Apple Silicon called M1 Ultra which essentially stitches two M1 Max and act as a single die with double of everything, up to 128 GB memory support, 8 TB storage, 10 Gigabit ethernet as standard, up to 6 Thunderbolt 4 ports which means each port has a bandwidth of 40 gigabit per second, and a HDMI 2.0 port which support up to 4K60 video. What is more intriguing is it occupies the exact same footprint as the Mac Mini but significantly taller. So the theory goes, anywhere that the Mac Mini goes, the Mac Studio can also go. The Mac Studio also fills the gap in the desktop Macs: users who wanted more from their Mac Mini but were unable or unwilling to purchase the expensive but versatile Mac Pro.

M1 Ultra vs Nvidia RTX 3090

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 10:34:37 +0800

In Apple’s March “Peek Performance” Event, Apple revealed to the world their latest and greatest Apple Silicon to date: the M1 Ultra in, for the first time in over a decade, a brand new Mac, the Mac Studio. During the presentations, Apple made many bold claims such as astounding 800 MB/s memory bandwidth and performance that may beat top of the line cards like the Nvidia’s GTX 3090. As Arthur C. Clarke would say: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. Many are skeptical that an integrated SOC that is focused on laptops can beat out full power-no-limits desktop components like the GTX 3090. We investigate such claims.

M1 Ultra: Everything we know and the NeXTSTEP for Apple

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 10:00:12 +0800

The March surprise Apple bought in their March “Peek Performance” event is the introduction of M1 Ultra and the Mac Studio that goes along with it. It is a surprise because one would expect such a chip and machine to be presented during the developer’s conference in June and many were expecting a new M2 SOC to be presented. It is, however, a pleasant surprise since Apple is releasing their most powerful SOC to date. But the question still remains, how does it work and it is as good as the competition?

Apple March 2022 Event Recap

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 17:56:23 +0800

The neon lights start flashing in a dazzle of colors, the background hipster music blares giving an upbeat mood. More dazzle of neon colors goes around and the camera zooms out to reveal the Apple logo and a figure appears dress in bright blue with a yellow Apple Watch band. That person is the CEO, Tim Cook, and he as always, begins with his signature move: “Good Morning !!”. “Peek Performance” show has started and it is the first Apple event of the year.

Apple M1 vs Intel i9-12900K: Comparison between M1 Family (base to Ultra) against Intel's best

Sat, 12 Mar 2022 09:19:42 +0800

In the spring Apple Event in March 2022, Apple lifted the shroud and unveiled the M1 Ultra and together with it a brand new Mac: the Mac Studio. Maybe it is too early to tell at this point, but the unveiling is not only changing Apple Mac and future product lineup, but potentially changing the entire personal computing game in a very significant way. So we now know that M1 Ultra is the most powerful Apple Silicon yet from Apple, but is it enough to challenge the major players like Intel and AMD on the CPU front as well as Nvidia on the discrete graphics front? We shall find out.

Apple M1 vs Intel i9-12900K: Comparison between M1 Family (base to Ultra) against Intel's best

Sat, 12 Mar 2022 09:19:42 +0800

iMessage Alternatives

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 09:52:58 +0800

Humans are social animals. We gather around the campfire and swap stories of the day. Then, when we created civilization and we started to spread out the earth, we sent messages across long distances using sheets of paper. Then we send them using wires and the wires later are replaced with radio waves. And the content has changed, from sending fine crafted messages to snippets and now videos and intelligent signals. But the trends are the same, we yearn for connections and we send messages through time and distance. How we do it is now different, but the purpose is the same: the connection.

Apple March 2022 Event Preview

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 09:59:05 +0800

It starts with the picture of the sky, or a scene of the apple orchard in Apple Park. With impressive technical special effects wizardry, we are transported into the Steve Jobs theater where the hall is dimmed and the stage is lighted up. Tim Cook comes to the stage with rigor, shouts “Good Morning!”. And the show officially starts.

Apple would hold an event every season to showcase their latest and greatest product or service. For the spring season, it is highly anticipated that Apple will held an event in early March (speculation says March 8). We explore what to expect in Apple’s March Event 2022.

Google Ecosystem Explained

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 09:45:05 +0800

For the past few years, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) has been quietly building up the Android and ChromeOS software to have some ecosystem features. Google saw what Apple did and found out that the Ecosystem ™ is a very effective tool to keep users locked in with all the conveniences that the ecosystem provides. We explored what Google bought into their ecosystem play and do they match up against the king of ecosystem: the Apple Ecosystem.

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Apple iPhone 13

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 13:57:29 +0800

On February 2022, Samsung has unveiled their latest flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy series S22. Just like last year, they come in three guise: the regular S22, the S22+ and the high end S22 Ultra. And just like last year, they bought in new chips and features that aim to compete with Apple and other android phones to be the best smartphone on the market. Let’s see how they fare against their ultimate opponent: the iPhone 13 series.

Home Networking Guide

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 11:57:43 +0800

Back in the early days of the internet, your personal computer or Mac was the only thing that was connected to the internet. Things were simple, you have a modem (internal or external), connected to your phone line, dial up the ISP server and you are on. Then comes cable which means your computer is connected to the internet 24/7. Then the cable company gives you a router because there’s multiple computers in a single household. Then Wi-Fi happened, more people were on laptops. It exploded when Smartphones with Wi-Fi came into the scene. Now you have your laptop, and smartphone. Later, we put smartphone OS on TVs, a new device called tablets and our watches. They all have Wi-Fi and they all connect to the internet.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Apple A15 and Apple M1

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 19:25:26 +0800

Qualcomm updated their mobile chip offering for 2022 in late November 2021. Unlike previous iterations, the new chip has a new naming convention, dubbed SnapDragon 8 Generation 1. The name change signifies a paradigm shift for Qualcomm as the manufacturer uses a brand new architecture for the SnapDragon 8 Gen 1. Since then, the SnapDragon 8 Gen has appeared on the usual suspects of flagship phones: the Xiaomi 12, Samsung Galaxy S22 series, Motorola Edge 20 Ultra and the Oneplus 11 Pro.

NFTs: How to create, mint and sell them

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 12:08:16 +0800

Another day in the metaverse, another person is selling an NFT of a picture of a rock for another $1.7 million. Now you are wondering how you get into the game to make that first million dollars? Well, you come to the right place because this guide is telling you exactly how you can make your first NFT today and start selling it for a quick dollar.

Concepts

A big overview of NFTs: it’s a digital rights to a picture. Which gives ownership of a digital asset, thus, making it something non-fungible. So in this case, the digital assets, be it a picture, music or anything programmable, is tied to a blockchain, which in this example is Ethereum.

Keychron Q1 Knob Review

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 15:27:21 +0800

Keychron is a Hong Kong based (but registered in France) custom mechanical keyboard manufacturer formed in 2017. Although the company is relatively new, it rises together with the popularity of custom mechanical keyboards.

In the world of custom keyboards, you can go as low as $20 or splurge yourself to $800. The Keychron sit at the mid-tier of keyboard manufacturers but with the Q1, they are now punching above what they are used to. The Q1, as of writing, is the flagship product in their line up. The original Q1 started shipping to customers in August 2021 and now, it comes up with a knob version which also fixes all the faults found in the original Q1.

Apple M1 Series vs Intel Xeon W-series

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 18:58:21 +0800

Intel Xeon processors are Intel’s top of the line product. They might not be a best seller in terms of sales volume, but they tend to have huge profit margins because they are mostly catered for businesses that seek the ultimate in computing power at almost any cost. And at this level of performance, you will find chips that will cost $4,000 to $5,000 and in some cases where it’s meant for a mission-critical data center server, each chip can be in the range of $8,000 to $9,000.

iPhone: 15 years later. a Retrospective

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 11:41:22 +0800

On January 9th 2007, during an Apple event, Steve Job talked about Apple introducing three new devices: a new iPod, an telephone and internet communication device. In fact, it was actually one device and it was called the iPhone. It was one of a kind device and it captured the world’s imagination. 15 years since then, the iPhone has not only transformed Apple from a company that just came back to life support to an unstoppable technological behemoth, it also changed the modern world, for better or worse.

Mac Pro Setup Guide: The Bests are All In

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 15:31:47 +0800

One of the most anticipated Mac transitions from Intel to Apple Silicon would be Apple’s ultimate expression of the Mac: the Mac Pro. Since the introduction in WWDC 2019 to its release in late 2019 to today, there are many supporters and detractors of the Mac Pro. Some say that it is unnecessary, expensive and over engineered. Others lauded for its expandability and usefulness.

Rack mounted Mac Pro

We are here to support the notion that while the Mac Pro is a niche and expensive product, it is a necessary tool for professionals to do the work. We will also show you that despite that it can go up to $50,000, that price tag is quite a bargain for the tools that actual professionals would use.

Apple in 2022

Sun, 02 Jan 2022 09:49:57 +0800

2021 was both a year that bring great challenges and great hope. New COVID-19 Delta variant that is both more transmissible and deadly, a new Administration in the USA, introduction of MacBook Pro and the world finally turns again as they finally find a way to live with the virus. Just like in our last article, we would chronicle all the Apple moments in 2022, so this page will grow as the year progresses.

Web3 Explained

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 11:05:57 +0800

There’s a new movement that is going around on social media and tech websites. It is on everyone’s lips but there’s no clear indication of what it is. It is called web3. The term web3 has been thrown around for some time but there is no clear indication of what it actually is. So, what is web3? How do we access this web3? What does it mean for the future of the internet? We answer the question and explain all that to you.

Macbook Air vs Macbook Pro 2021

Sun, 26 Dec 2021 14:40:50 +0800

With the MacBook Pro updated in late October 2021, Apple has finally updated all it’s mobile Macs to Apple Silicon. In Apple’s line up, you have three distinct tiers to choose from: the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro with M1 and the newly refreshed MacBook Pro. So now, the question is, which one is the right one for you?

We tested and looked at each of the laptops and laid down which is best for you. Read in the TLDR session to go straight into our conclusion and read on if you want the details like the upcoming M2 chip.

Apple M1 Max Duo and M1 Max Quad Predictions

Sun, 19 Dec 2021 09:54:34 +0800

As of the end of 2021, and one year on in Apple’s Mac transition to Apple Silicon, we are now only left with 3 final Macs that are still sold new and still running on Intel. By sales volume, most of the Macs are now running on Apple Silicon. Most popular Macs are the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, while the starter 24” iMac is a solid all-in-one desktop solution. However, the final 3 Macs might be the most powerful statement by Apple to show that it had made the right choice to go to their own solution.

The Scramble for Meta - Why Tech Companies jumping in head first for Virtual Reality in 2022

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 11:21:46 +0800

Virtual Reality, the new frontier, according to people in Silicon Valley. So high the importance of Virtual Reality (VR), that Facebook, the largest social media company in history decided to rename their company to Meta, and pivot the entire company to their new VR world, called the Metaverse. Mark Zuckernberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, splend a good one hour explaining the pivot and the implementation details on their new major product, the Metaverse.

Christmas 2021 Gift Guide

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 11:45:26 +0800

It’s that time of the year where we exchange presents. Sometimes walking into the store you will be facing a mountain of choices and got lost on everything that you see. We’re here to help.

Disclaimer

all links shown here are amazon affilate links.
A portion of the sale will go to me, it would not cost you extra.
Prices are correct when i wrote it.
Daily update until Boxing Day.

For the Techie Dad

Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling Earbuds - $200 - Amazon - A good competitor to the king of all wireless earbuds - The AirPods. Plus this works for both Android and iPhones, something that the AirPods does not do well.

PVO Mini Projector - $70 - Amazon - Having a projector in your room means that you’ll have a 100-inch 4K TV watching anime before going to sleep.

JBL FLIP 5 - $130 - Amazon - Improve your workout situation by adding some live music.

Echo Dot (3rd Gen) Charcoal with Mandalorian The Child stand - $42 - Amazon - Cute pet for your desk.

Baxter of California Exfoliating Body Bar Soap for Men - $17 - Amazon - A clean, good smelling men is a turn on for the ladies.

SOMA Double Wall Glass Tea and Coffee Cold Brew Bottle - $40 - Amazon - Hydrate yourself all day with a bottle that keeps the water tempretaure as it should be.

Mosiyeef Minimalist Wallet for Men - $19 - Amazon - Now everything is done electronically, there’s no need to cash unless for a certain discreet transaction.

Tovolo Sphere Ice Molds - $11 - Amazon - Making the perfect ice balls is never easier with these tools. Perfect to make your drink looks awesome.

For the Bella Mom

Wake Up Light Sunrise Alarm Clock - $46 - Amazon - Start your day with the sun shining in your face.

RevitaLash Cosmetics, RevitaLash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner, Lash Enhancing Serum - $98 - Amazon - Keep thing mysterious with the enchanced eyelash.

Hydro Flask 21 oz. Water Bottle - $30.70 - Amazon - Hydrate yourself with the hydro flask.

Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones - Amazon - These headphones does not only looks good, the sounds good too.

Kitsch Jade Roller for Face - $14 - Amazon - Keep your face soft by rolling it everyday.

The Marc Jacobs Women’s Snapshot Bag, New Rose - $285 - Amazon - One of the best selling and iconic Marc Jacobs bag.

For the Grand Parents

Dragon Glassware Diamond Whiskey Glasses - $35 - Amazon - Enjoy the twilight years by looking back and drinking that single malt scotch.

Marquis By Waterford Sparkle 9 Vase Crystal - $43 - Amazon - Studies has shown the having fresh flowers everyday will brighten up your mood.

For the Lover

Facial Cleansing Brush by Olay Regenerist - $21 - Amazon - Keep your face free from dirt by cleaning it up everyday.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 Instant Camera - $99 - Amazon - Digital photos are one thing, but a instant film has that analog feeling that digital simply does not have.

Best Friend Bracelets for 2 Matching Yin Yang - $7 - Amazon - Nothing shows how you need each other by showing your friendship braclet.

LIUANAN She Believed She Could So She Did Expandable Bangle Birthstone Charm - $13 - Amazon - Motivational bracelt to keep things in check.

For Children

VTech KidiZoom Creator Cam - $45 - Amazon - Let your kids in the game early.

Kids Headphones, Riwbox CT-7S Cat Ear Bluetooth Headphones - $32 - Amazon - They look nice but functional too, having volume limiter.

Night Lights for Kids Room - $26 - Amazon - Put the kids in the mood to sleep by having a projection night light.

adidas Unisex-Child Grand Court Tennis Shoe - From $26 - Amazon - Stylish classic from adidas, for kids.

Banana Neon Signs - $36 - Amazon - Lighten up the desk / room by having a funny neon sign.

Amazfit Band 5 Fitness Tracker - $40 - Amazon - Get your kids in the healthy lifestyle of diet and exercise with the health tracker.

For Friends

Marshall Stanmore II Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - $310 - Amazon - Rock your world with Marshall amp inspired bluetooth speaker.

What Do You Meme? Core Game - $25 - Amazon - Being freinds means having some nice moments with them, including playing some games.

Relative Insanity – Hilarious Party Game - $11 - Amazon - More games to create more memories.

The Cocktail Box Co. Premium Cocktail Kits - $23 - Amazon - Being friends means having a drinking session. And perfect your mixology game by having the right tools.

Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition - $20 - Family friendly version of cards against humanity.

Apple 2022 Product Roadmap

Sun, 28 Nov 2021 11:11:16 +0800

For the 2023 Product Roadmap, please refer to the link here

As 2021 is coming to close, we take a look back at what is happening in the computing world in general and Apple in particular. So far, 2021 brings us ups and downs for everything ranging from a contested election, the emergence of a variant of COVID-19 that partially stops the world again to people adjusting to a new normal of working in new ways.

Macbook Pro Setup Guide: From Noob To Pro-Pro

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 15:26:31 +0800

The new 2021 MacBook Pro is Apple’s return to form and a game changer. Not only is it the most powerful laptop on the market at launch, it retains the same power even when being on batteries, some feat that the competitors could not match at the time. The battery life extension was second to none, and for a lot of people, it was basically a brand new technology. Adding ports back means that the MacBook Pro is as versatile as it should be.

Amazon Black Friday 2021 offers

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 14:06:52 +0800

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States every fourth Thursday of November and this year it falls on 25th November. It’s a time where the entire population moves around to go back to their hometown and gather around being thankful for the past year and hoping for the best for the next year.

Traditionally, there’s a Black Friday event in the morning after which everybody wakes up in the small hours of the day, lining up at big box stores to get the best deals of the year. Now the event has moved online and we can get the deals early, no need to wake up so darn early, get dressed, line up in the cold and fight for the best TV deals.

Google Tensor vs Apple A15 and Others

Sat, 13 Nov 2021 14:59:10 +0800

Before we start, I would like to share two stories. When Google acquired Android way back in 2005, Google had the foresight that the next era of computing which started with mainframe, then minicomputers, then personal desktop and later desktop would be miniaturized to the smartphone. Google had a product ready only to be stopped by the first iPhone launch in 2007, which proved to be so ground breaking that Google had to go back to the drawing board and redesign Android to be more like iOS. Because of that, the first Android phone was released almost 1 year after the first iPhone came out.

Apple M1 Series vs Intel 12th Generation Core i9

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 08:25:43 +0800

In a market system where there is healthy and equal competition, the consumer in the end would benefit from the innovation that is forced upon the producers to win and maintain market share. In the case of Intel, the company has been in a dominant position for quite some time and in the end, their product line stagnated and competitors caught up with their innovation. First came AMD with their Rayzen and Epyc line of CPUs. Then came Apple with their mobile and later, Apple Silicon offerings. The M1, the first of Apple Silicon, captures the imagination of what is possible. Intel, reeling from the mismanagement, production problems and uncompetitive product seems to be taking a hit.

Apple M1 Series vs Intel 12th Generation Core i9

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 08:25:43 +0800

Which Macbook Pro: 14 Inch vs 16 Inch

Sun, 07 Nov 2021 09:34:51 +0800

Since the 3rd generation of the Intel MacBook Pro in 2006 (before that it was the PowerBook), the smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro was the middle child laptop in Apple’s entire laptop lineup. The MacBook or MacBook Air was aimed at office productivity workers who just needed enough power to write emails, make presentations or occasionally watch some videos, while the larger 15 inch (later 16 inch) have the heavy duty stuff like large memory, discrete powerful graphics, better speaker and mic array. The smaller MacBook Pro was closer to a beefier MacBook Air than a miniature MacBook Pro.

M1 Pro vs M1 Max: Is It Worth It?

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 09:31:32 +0800

When Apple updated the MacBook Pro in the October “Unleashed” 2021 event, Apple introduced two new chips that powers the new laptop: the M1 Pro and M1 Max. While the M1 Pro is designed to be a beefed up version of the M1 chip that is found in base consumer-level Macs, the M1 Max is an all out performance SOC that challenges the best laptop on the market with discrete mobile graphics. Basically, it’s Apple against the world, again.

Apple M1 & Pro M1 Max Vs Nvidia GTX 30-series and AMD Radeon Rx 6000-series

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 09:23:03 +0800

Since the early days of 3D graphics in computers way back in the 1990s (that’s basically three centuries ago), there were two major players in the field: Nvidia and ATI. There was a major player called 3dfx but later due to some missteps and maybe mismanagement, 3dfx was bought over by Nvidia and ATI was bought over by AMD. Together Nvidia and AMD own 99% of discrete GPU market share with Nvidia being the king of the hill with 83% of market share.

Apple M1 Pro & M1 Max vs Intel 11th Gen Core i9 and AMD Ryzen 9

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 15:03:39 +0800

Update: We also make a comparison between Intel’s 12th Generation “Alder Lake” Core CPU against the M1-series, from base to M1 Max. Read about it here

In the “Unleashed” October event, Apple has updated their best selling workhorse laptop, the MacBook Pro. It not only has an all new design, Apple also debuted two new Apple Silicon dubbed M1 Pro and M1 Max. Apple has bold claims about performance, and more importantly, performance per watt which is paramount for a mobile workstation like the MacBook Pro.

M1 Pro and M1: Everything That We Know

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 18:33:00 +0800

According to Tim Cook, Apple is at the end of the 1st year in their two year transition period from Intel to their own chip solution, the Apple Silicon. And to celebrate the end of the first year, they will finally expand the M1 family to launch a System-on-Chip (SOC) that is fit for professionals. Thus, the M1 Pro and M1 Max are unveiled. Apple spent a good chunk of the presentation explaining the features and benefits of the Pro and Max chip. After all, it will be the beating heart of their future professional Macs.

Apple October Event Recap

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 18:11:19 +0800

The set begins with a guy in a garage, that looks like a homage to Apple first office. Placing a first0generation iMac, adjust the microphone, hit record and turn on the iMac. The recognizable hum glared and the microphone caputre it. And using Logic Pro, the sound is synthized and turn into a C major key. More items are recorded: the HomePod Mini, the click of an AirPods case, MagSafe 1 click, the iPhone keyboard, the iPod click wheel and many more. Everything sound is turn into music, a shot of A.G. Cook and we move to Apple Park where Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple welcomes you.

Techtober 2021: Apple October 2021 Preview

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 12:16:16 +0800

Apple dropped the invite on 12th October for an October event with the tagline “Unleashed”. The poster shows that you are about to go into hyperspace like in Star Wars or Star Trek and jumping off to another part of the galaxy. The invite has a lot of things that is different about Apple. The event is on a Monday (usually they do it on Tuesdays or Wednesdays), the turnaround time is just around 6 days (usually around 2 weeks) and they do it, relatively speaking, quitely (the Apple webpage is barely changed, still trying to promote the iPhone 13). So what will Apple show us in this event? Read on to find out.

iPhone 13 vs Older iPhones

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 09:23:51 +0800

The iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the most technologically advanced smartphone that Apple ever make to date. The technologies that is packed in the Pro lines are class leading and in some cases, ahead of the competition. That being said, let’s not discount the “base” iPhone models. While Apple does not release sales figure by model types, but it is safe to assume that being at the lower price point than the Pro models, it’s a sales leader in Apple’s line up.

iPhone 13 Setup Guide

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 10:25:52 +0800

The iPhone 13 has just come out and the next thing you want to do after buying it is to accessorize your phone. Some might opt for a case and call it a day, but the iPhone can be more than just a smartphone. It can be your professional tool, an extension of you or your life recorder. Find out how to make the best of your brand new iPhone 13.

Snapdragon 888 vs A15 Bionic Comparison: Architecture, Benchmark and Ecosystem

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 08:36:36 +0800

Apple just updated their iPhone and iPad line up to the iPhone 13 and the introduction of the new iPad and iPad Mini. Just like every phone that Apple updates every year, it comes with a new processor that powers the phone. As always, Apple claims that this year is faster by a wide margin than last year’s processors and you will be able to do a lot more with all that power. Is it really?

iPad Mini vs iPhone Pro Max

Sat, 18 Sep 2021 09:40:55 +0800

California Streaming, Apple September event came and went. In its wake, Apple unveil 4 product updates, the iPhone 13 line up, Apple Watch Series 7 line up, an updated iPad and redesigned iPad Mini. What is most curious is that the iPad Mini has been redesigned to be a closer iPad Air and sports the same chip that runs the iPhone 13 Pro.

Now, it is curious to see, how does the iPad Mini compare with iPhone 13 Pro Max. The pocket rocket iPad Mini compared to the most technologically advanced phone Apple makes. Can the lack of certain features on the iPad Mini overcome the iPhone’s tour de force? Read on to find out.

iMovie in iPad vs Macs: Differences that will make your head scratch

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 10:07:15 +0800

One of the selling points and key features of Apple ecosystem is that they have a slew of common apps in every device they have sold. And if you register all your devices in iCloud, the apps can be synched up with every device you have and act in a certain way. This is pretty much true for Apple’s utility apps like Messages (with iMessage), photos, Shortcuts (coming to Monterey Bay), FaceTime, Stocks and others.

Techtember 2021: Apple September 2021 Events Preview

Sat, 04 Sep 2021 17:00:38 +0800

Update: Apple has sent out invitation to the September event with the tagline “California Streaming”. The online-only event is scheduled at 10am PDT, 14th September 2021. Apple logo is in neon white and color themes indicates dark blue, sunset red / pink.

Update: Apple has updated their website to the event. If you have an iPhone, you can click on the event page and it will launch an AR page.

iPhone 13 Rumors Round Up

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 23:02:32 +0800

September is a very busy month for the tech communicy. This is the time where every major tech company will announce and release new product to be shipped globally before Christmas shopping season begins. Except for 2020 because of COVID-19, Apple has announced the new iPhone for the past 10 years. It is expect 2021 Apple will continue on this tradition.

The hall darkens, the stage lit up, Tim Cook walks up and shouts 'Good Morning!!' and the show begins.

So as the launch date approaches, social media is a buzz with rumors about the next iPhone. What will it look like? What new features they will bring? What colors will it come in? Here’s a collection of rumors that we found out on the internet for you to enjoy.

Apple and the Great CSAM Debate

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 10:24:55 +0800

Update: The Verge has reported that Apple delays the deployment of the CSAM detection feature after pushback from customers, advocacy groups and researchers.

Apple has marketed themselves over the years that they are a privacy first company. They have tried to built up a company image that Apple would never collect data about you, sell data about you to a 3rd party or track your usage throughout your online presence. In a world where the ads that you see on social network, Youtube and websites that you visit are especially tailored to you, and in some cases, in a creepy way, Apple selling point about privacy is well received.

Mac Mini Setup Guide from Noob to Pro

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 18:05:39 +0800

When Steve Job first unveiled the Mac Mini, one of the byline that he presents is the BYODKM (Bring Your Own Display Keyboard and Mouse) Mac. Unlike every other Mac that is usable right out of the box, this is a headless unit aimed at customizers and those who wanted a taste of Mac. The original launch price was $499. When counted for inflation, the original Mac Mini was $697 in 2021 dollars and today, you can basically get the base spec Mac Mini at $699 (before discounts).

Mac Mini vs iMac: Which one is the right one for you?

Sat, 07 Aug 2021 10:21:10 +0800

At the glance, the M1 Mac Mini and the newly redesigned M1 iMac 24" looked they are two completely different product that cater to two different Apple user demographics. In most cases, you will be right, but now both the Mac Mini and iMac is pretty much running with the same hardware but with different accessories, one would wonder how similar or different the Mac Mini and the iMac if both of them are similarly priced?

MagSafe Battery Pack vs Alternatives

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 14:06:26 +0800

Apple without any fanfare, release the MagSafe Battery Pack for the iPhone 12 in July 2021. It a new kind of battery pack from Apple, the first the use Wireless Charging and MagSafe connection for the battery pack. The MagSafe Battery Pack is a unique product at the moment because only Apple sell a MagSafe Battery Pack, but it is good enough against the competition? Read on to find out.

MagSafe Battery Pack

The MagSafe Battery Pack - Get at Amazon was released in July 2021 without any fanfare. One day, you just find out Apple release it. BAMM! The pricing is set at $99, which is expensive for normal battery pack, but it was not out of typical pricing point for battery packs made by Apple. Apple previously released a silicon case battery pack at around the same price.

Apple M1 vs AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 15:57:12 +0800

Update: We also make a comparison between Intel’s latest Alder Lake CPU against the M1-series, from base to M1 Max. Read about it here

Imagine having the most powerful microprocessor in your hand. It has multilude of cores on a single die and each core can run two threads at the same. In some version of the same processor, it also has an integrated graphics so you can also run 3D software or even gaming on it. This is the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X processor, which is AMD’s flagship processor that is meant for gaming and high performance consumer computing.

ARM vs RISC-V

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 15:02:48 +0800

Since 2007, a different kind of computer chip has taken the world by storm. What happened in 2007, was the launch of the first iPhone by Steve Jobs where he unveiled a new iPod, a new internet device and a telecommunication device. Since then, Google jumped on the bandwagon by sponsoring the development of the Android OS which made 2010s the Age of the Smartphone. With the rise of the smartphone, the chip that powers it also rose to prominence. That chip is called ARM. Although both Android and Apple iPhone use different kinds of chips that are incompatible, both use the same ARM instruction sets to run their software.

Snapdragon 888+

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 08:14:24 +0800

Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ is the updated version of 888. It is basically an improved version of the 888 with a slightly faster base clock speed of 3.0 GHz instead of 2.84GHz in the base 888. There is no new cores introduced in the SOC but any code compiled for 888 will works seamlessly for 888+.

The 888+ was unveiled in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in 2021. As mentioned earlier, the 888+ is basically a higher speed version of the 888. Everything else is basically the same. The graphic, AI and image processing core are of the same design.

Apple Ecosystem Explained

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 10:08:34 +0800

At WWDC 2021, Apple showcased new features and updates for the upcoming iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS and macOS which is scheduled to be released in fall 2021. What is not shown nor mentioned is that the features that are demoed are available, one form or another, for the entire Apple Ecosystem. What is the Apple Ecosystem? It is something that Apple makes but does not directly market it, feature it or even mention it by name.

Lossless Audio in Apple Music: Join the Revolution

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:53:13 +0800

On May 2021, Apple shake the music streaming game by announcing that the entire catalog will have two new major features: Dolby Atmos and Lossless for free. Lossless streaming has been available to competitors like Tidal for an extra fee but spatial audio is a brand new feature without any competition at the moment. Apple moves has change the game because competitors like Tidal and Spotify charge extra for ‘premium’ feature which forces them to rewrote their game plan. Spatial Audio is a completely new feature which at the moment there’s no answer from Apple Music competitors, although that will change soon since it is just a new recording standard which is very portable.

What Happened in WWDC 2021

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 09:31:09 +0800

WWDC 2021 keynote come and went and wow, there’s a lot to unpack. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a new 16-inch MacBook but there is tons of software update in store for us in the future. Since there’s a lot to cover, each feature will be as brief and concise as possible.

If you do not want to go through the laundry list of features and updates, the key takeaway from this WWDC is that Apple is building features for ecosystem-wide usage instead of for a specific devise. Now the hardware level is getting streamlined, Apple’s focus is being the best ecosystem out there, not just being a one-device company.

What to Expect in WWDC 2021

Sun, 30 May 2021 15:15:50 +0800

WWDC will be held from June 7 to 11. Just like last year, WWDC 2021 will be a fully digital affair. It will kick off with a keynote presentation at 10am PT where there will be anticipation of new products and of course, new releases for Apple software. Here is what we are expecting from this year’s WWDC 2021.

Plug: Wondershare Filmora video editor for the Mac allows you to tell your story to the world.

US Digital Dollar Explained

Mon, 24 May 2021 11:29:28 +0800

There are some ideas, once introduced, will never idea because it is so endearing. Ideas like peer to peer distribution, prime numbers, streaming services and the latest, Cryptocurrency are some that will never idea no matter what. Some might argue that cryptocurrencies like BitCoin is not really money, block chain is a fad and other new inventions that are laden with techno babble are really snake oil in disguise. However that maybe, cryptocurrency has now attracted the attention of the United States government and they might join the bandwagon, but just not in the way that you would think. This article explores the United States government involvement in money, commerce and their current and future endeavors with cryptocurrency.

How Apple Can Make iPadOS Better

Sun, 16 May 2021 10:55:11 +0800

The iPad was first introduced in 2010 which featured Apple’s first custom chip: the A4 which later grew into a powerhouse of performance and efficiency. After 9 years of development under the shadow of iOS, the iPad finally got its own operating system in 2019 when the iPadOS debuted in WWDC 2019 as a fork of the iOS development tree. Despite Apple attempts to make the iPad more ‘productive’ since the introduction of iPad Pro in 2015, there are consistent complaints from users about how the iPad is too crippled to be use as a serious laptop replacement.

2021 iMac vs 2017 iMac Pro

Fri, 07 May 2021 13:03:29 +0800

When the iMac Pro was released in 2017, it was a stop gap measure between updating the trash can Mac Pro (released in 2013 and never updated) and the arrival of the newest Mac Pro (released in 2019). Now the iMac Pro has not been updated since it’s release and Apple announced that it is moving towards their own Apple Silicon starting from Nov 2020. Is the iMac Pro still a relevant machine and how does it stack up with Apple latest consumer PC, the new iMac?

AirTags vs the Competition

Mon, 03 May 2021 06:22:59 +0800

Apple launched the new AirTags during the April 2021 special event. It was one of the three new products that it presented and Apple spend around 20 minutes talking about it. For Apple, it is a brand new product category, something to make their ecosystem lusher, but for others, it is the new kid on the block. bluetooth tracker has been on the market at least since 2013 and Apple just entered an already established market. New competitors also has been making them since there are rumors that Apple is making them, so let’s compare what does every company brings to the table.

iPad Pro vs MacBook Pro

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 11:02:05 +0800

On April 2021 special event, Apple surprised everyone by updating their new iPad Pro not only with their first MiniLED screen which rivals their top of the line display, but by putting a chip that was meant for laptops and desktop on a tablet. Enter the iPad Pro M1. The previous version of the iPad Pro was known as a powerhouse, and yet, Apple decided to up the ante to stratospheric levels by putting a laptop chip on a tablet. One wonders what is Apple grand strategy in this and how will it compete with the current MacBook Pro M1? We will dissect both issues in this article.

Apple April 2021 Event Predictions vs Actual (Updated)

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 12:30:54 +0800

No matter how exotic human civilization becomes, no matter the developments of life and society nor the complexity of human/machine interface, there always come interludes of lonely power when the course of humankind, the very future of humankind, depends upon the relatively simple actions of single individuals.

from the Tleilaxu Godbuk

Predicting the future is a tough business especially when the outcome of the future we are talking about depends on actions of a single company. But, it is fun to see what the company, which has been traditionally rising the bar and shaping the industry, brings out in their latest show and tell. Of course, the company that we are talking about is Apple and the newest event will be out in April 20th, with the theme ‘Spring Loaded’

Apple Find My Network Explained

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 15:25:11 +0800

On April 2021, Apple has open up their Find My app for 3rd party manufacturers and developers. This allows them to use ‘Find My’ network, which in turn, allows the devices to be discoverable in Find My app. The Find My Network is a part of a larger initiative by Apple called ‘Made for iPhone’ where Apple certifies 3rd party product to be used with Apple product. This includes Lighting cable (a standard which Apple creates and controls), HomeKit, Apple CarPlay and AirPlay Audio.

Imagining the new iMac 2021

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 14:55:21 +0800

Apple first unveil the current slim unibody design in a October 2012 event. This design has more or less stay the same for 9 years, which means around 100 years in the IT world. Since those 9 years, the iPhone has gone around 8 iterations, the camera system has been improved by leaps and bounds, networking and processing power has managed to grow geometrically while the design has gotten more and more sleek. All these while, the design in 2012 is pretty much similar to the one in 2021. While the internals has been updated at least every year or every other year, it does not have the same amount of improvement like the iPhone does with their A-series chipsets and Apple own care and attention to detail.

State of Crypto Currency 2021

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 13:54:04 +0800

Supporters of cryptocurrency (crypto for short) will say crypto is not only the future of money, but the entire human civilization. Money no longer controlled by any government, which is the case since the first civilizations, so the true value of money will be finally unlocked. Meanwhile, professional economist, which some of the won actual Nobel prizes dismiss such notion about crypto, specifically Bitcoin will be the accepted form of money in the future.

Is Apple in the Software Business?

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 14:52:14 +0800

Apple is deep in the software business … to prop up their hardware business. Apple makes one of the best well designed and thought out software in the world, the only catch is that is mostly run on their own platform which they make the fat profit margins. But that does not mean that they tried to put some on other platforms too.

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Unsung Heroes of Open Source

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 16:08:39 +0800

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizen can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has - Magaret Mead

I was inspired by this XCKD comic where almost a lot of modern web infrastructure is built upon free and open sourced software which some are maintained by a single person for years without any payment or support. In this scenario, if the maintainer decided to quit and a bug is found and not fixed, the consequences could be catastrophic. Because of that, I got curious and decided to see how many technologies are built upon a person who decided to just build something and distribute it for free.

Apple M1 vs Intel 11th Gen Core i9

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 10:57:48 +0800

Update: We also make a comparison between Intel’s latest Alder Lake CPU against the M1-series, from base to M1 Max. Read about it here

The M1 chip, the first Apple Silicon, was released in November 2020 with much fan fare. It immediately blow people minds away as it is not only have lower power consumption, but higher performance than a lot of more expensive and more powerful chips offered by their competitors. What’s surprising is that the chip that was designed to be put in a fan-less laptop can compete with a desktop chip that is geared for gaming.

MacBook Air vs Pro: Which M1 Laptops Should You Buy?

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 11:41:50 +0800

On WWDC 2020, Tim Cook announced to the world that Apple is making major changes on their Macs. They announced that they Macs will moving away from Intel CPU to their own CPU dubbed Apple Silicon. Couple months later and they introduce the M1 chip which ship on the lower end Macs namely the Mac Mini, MacBook Air and the lower end MacBook Pro 13".

People are mind-blown by the M1 performance. It beats out Intel best CPU, even after Intel updates it a year later and able to keep up with AMD best CPU. And it does all that using 1/10th of the power that needed to run Intel’s and AMD’s best. So far so good, but now, we have a dilemma, since the M1 powers both the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, which one should you buy? Read on to find out.

Apple M1 vs Intel i7 11th Gen

Sun, 14 Mar 2021 10:11:50 +0800

On June 2020, during WWDC, Apple announced that the will move their entire platform away from Intel to their own Apple Silicon with the first product coming before the end of 2020. By November 2020, Apple launched their first Apple Silicon for Mac with updated versions of their lowest end offerings: the base Mac Mini, the base MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. Everybody mind was blown away by the performance not only in terms of raw power but also battery life. It as though Apple has found new technology that never has seen before.

MagSafe: Past, Present and Future

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 14:42:41 +0800

MagSafe is Apple elegant solution to the charging problem. It an epitome of Apple design and attention to detail. Attacking even the smallest and banest solution to the everyday problem to make life and the experience of using their devices better, which in the end, give the best possible experience for their device.

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Adobe Alternatives

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 12:08:15 +0800

In design world, Adobe is basically the lingua franca of the trade. It is not by luck but because they are that good. However, over the years, Adobe products become extremely mature that it is hard to justify the monthly cost of maintaining it. Here are some alternatives for your consideration

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Pixelmator Pro - Adobe Photoshop

Pixelmator Pro is one of the best editing tool I ever use. The most impressive feature that the liberal use of Machine Learning to fix photos. Magic eraser for example, making the task of removing unwanted object extremly trivial. Another is the smart sizing, where it uses ML to better introplate images when you resize them. Useful for assets that started small, and you need to resize them to a bigger size.

NFTs: What is Non-Fungible Tokens? Explained and dissected.

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 08:52:15 +0800

Jack Dorsey, CEO and co-founder of Twitter put up his earliest xs for sale. It is handled by a platform called “Valuables by Cent”. This x, shown below, now is open for bidding as of 8-Mar-2021, the highest bid is $2.5 million. What?

A drawn picture of a rock can be bought for 10,000 ETH tokens or $31.4 million dollars as of January 2021. Why? Because of NFT.

The x itself is available publicly, even after the sale, but what is the person buying? Enter NFTs of Non-Fungible Tokens which is a new method of claiming digital art.

eGPU on MacOS: A Good Idea or Bad?

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 23:02:04 +0800

Update: Since the introduction of Apple Silicon beginning with M1, eGPUs are no longer being supported on Macs. However, they eGPU are supported on Intel Macs. As of press time, Apple shows no indication of supporting eGPU on Apple Silicon.

Imagine that you have your laptop. It can be bought everywhere. Imagining having a special box that contains the latest graphic card. Connect a cable to a card and you have the power of a full blown graphic card at your disposal. Unplug, and you have the mobility of a laptop to take your work everywhere. That is the idea of the eGPU.

French Repairability Index Explained

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 11:37:35 +0800

French began required smartphone makers to include repairability index on their devices to be displayed on January 2021. The importance and impact of this move can not be understated to consumer who wish to keep their devices for a long time. It is hoped that the momentum of this law will gain EU-wide recognition and move on to other large, well developed markets like US, Japan and China. We explore what this law requires and how it will impact future iPhones in particular and consumer electronics in general.

What to Expect in Apple March 2021 Event

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 14:20:25 +0800

Spring is approaching in the Northern hemisphere and things are beginning to thaw. Out from winter, we expects things will grow out from the ground. Of the them is Apple products from the Steve Jobs Theather in Cupertino. Historically, Apple does not send out invitations until 1 week before the event happens. You’ll get more hint based on the event card that Apple send out. But since there’s no card at press time, here are the rumors that are circulating:-

Where Are the Smartglasses?

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 23:10:11 +0800

Google first announced the smart glasses in 2013. The project started in mid-2011 by Google X, an out of box think tank by Google to explore far out ideas without worrying too much about R&D cost. The computer would project images on your eyes, and transfer sound through your bone. It was a really breaking technology. That being said, it was a spectacular failure and Google kill the project in early 2015, around 2 years after launch. It remains as a business tool for enterprises.

Why Apple Don't Build Their Own Stuff

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 15:17:33 +0800

It is the paradox of Apple. Apple is one of the largest seller of smartphones in the world, but Apple does not directly own any factory that makes. A few people wondered why Apple buys it screens from Samsung, LG and Sharp which are competing in the smartphone space. This is because Apple is in business of selling iPhone and the Apple ecosystem, not screens.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max could have around 1000 individual components that are built from a dozen vendors and manufactured by a single vendor. This plus the logistics of distributing it around the globe. This is the magic of globalization.

Apple sells over 200 million iPhone per year. They do come in various sizes but it’s just around 2–3 sizes. When you are selling 200 million iPhones, you need to make 200 million iPhones. You can either own the factory that build the phones like how Dell does with their computers or get a third party to do the manufacturing for you.

Macbook Alternatives

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 22:23:04 +0800

It might because of work reason. Or personal reason. Or you just prefer Windows over a Mac. It might because you love to game on the laptop and Windows is simply the better choice. Whatever, the reasons, it’s good to know that there are good Apple MacBook alternatives out there available for purchase. Here are my three favorite laptops that runs Windows.

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Things Apple Should Bring Back

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 22:28:02 +0800

Apple is known for some beautiful industry design that were trend setting at the time of introduction. The Mac which sets the way all-in-ones should be designed. The iMac which sets how computers should be viewed at, a work of art instead of just a tool. The iPhone designed, despite being mocked by competitors, sets the tone for the rest of the industry. There were some times that Apple has outdo everyone else and decided to cut off the products for various reasons, mostly economics or technological advancements. These are the products that we wish Apple would bring back from the dead.

Bitcoin, block chain and other cryptocurrency explained

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 14:57:57 +0800

On February 16 2021, Bitcoin hit $50,000 in cryptocurrency exchange. This means, one unit of Bitcoin is worth more than a shiny new BMW 3-series in the USA. But what this really means? What is Bitcoin? Why people says that it is the future of currency? We explore in details the technical aspect of bitcoin, why it is worth $50k in the market and what it means to you.

Disclaimer: This is article is for information purpose only. Please do not make any financial decisions based on this article. I will not be held responsible if you make or lose money from taking any perceived advise(s) in this article.

Snapdragon 888 vs A14 Bionic Comparison: Architecture, Benchmark and Ecosystem

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 22:13:47 +0800

Update: We added coverage on the new A15 chip and compared it to the SnapDragon 888. You can read about it here.

Since the dawn of the smartphone age, Apple has been the company that everyone wants to beat. And for good reason: despite having only having arond 30% of the smartphone market share, it holds over 60% of smartphone profit share. Apple chip devision which powers the iPhone helps in this regard. One of the biggest challenger is Qualcomm, a little San Diego company that powers over 30% of all smartphones.

Are Apple Products Expensive?

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 22:52:11 +0800

Go ask anybody, a lot of people will agree that Apple products are expensive. Yet, we go down every place, there’s a lot of people using Apple products like AirPods, iPhone, Apple Watch (100 million people and counting) and iPhones (1 billion and counting). So naturally, we think to say Apple products are expensive is misleading because most people compare their products with lower quality products, which in turn costs less. If you look at products with similar build quality and polish, the prices are quite competitive.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max vs Samsung S21 Ultra

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:36:40 +0800

It’s the age old question, iPhone or Android? 12 Pro or S21 Ultra? Freedom or Ecosystem? England or France? It’s hard to answer these despite both of them are going to celebrate 15 years helping running the world together next year. Take a look at what the best Cupertino and Seoul has to offer.

Executive Summary:

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is Apple’s flagship phone of 2020

Samsung S22 Ultra is Samsung flagship phone of 2021

Samsung S22 Ultra has a larger and brighter display

Apple iPhone 13 has a better software / ecosystem, and is smaller

The iPhone 12 Pro Max

Apple flagship that was just released in Oct 2020, delayed to their typical timeline because of that weird way 2020 happen. Despite that, Apple managed to make a record breaking over $100 billion in a span of just 3 months. That’s more than a billion a day in all thanks to the new iPhone 12.

Airpods Max vs Airpods Pro

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 10:11:01 +0800

AirPods Pro and AirPods Max is two different products aimed at two different market. Most of the functions between the Pro and Max do overlap, but there is certain segments that each product occupy.

Common themes

Both are active noise cancelling headphones. It uses the a series of microphones to create a ‘negative’ sound wave to produce the active noise cancelation. Of course, with the biggest size, the Max is able to produce a better noise cancellation experience.

World Wide Azure Part 2: Of platforms and services

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 14:32:17 +0800

Cloud computing has changed the IT world on its head. Today, to create an online business via a website or an app you no longer need to get a server, network equipments or even pay anything to get your venture started. It turns enterprise IT on it heads as there is an opportunity not to maintain any servers at their premise. Intro about cloud computing. Howver, looking at the product page of any establish cloud provider like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, each with around 200+ products available and more popping up every omonth can be daunting. However, if you know the foundations and build upon that, everything make sense.

What Does the iPhone 13 Is Going to Look Like?

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 22:33:34 +0800

The iPhone 12 despite being delayed, launched with great fanfare. New design! New colors! 5G! LiDAR! But after the dust has settled, curiousity about the new iPhone has surface. First, will it be iPhone 12s or 13? What will it look like? Most likely what the iPhone 12 is going to look but in different color. Most likely, the colors will be blue and yellow. How do I know this? Trends.

World Wide Azure (Part 1)

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 08:54:05 +0800

Cloud computing has gone a long way from hosting website in Geocities to help run fully online Fortune 500 internet companies like Netlix, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Cloud computing has existed in some form by providing some patchwork services since the first days of internet and took a sudden turn when Amazon decided to sell server time and storage space online in 2006. And the rest is basically history.

Azure growth up to 2019

Azure is Microsoft entry into the cloud computing business. Although late into the party in 2010 and has to fight large incumbents like Amazon and Google, Azure business has grown leaps and bound and furthermore than their competitors. It has been the leading competitor against the king of the hill Amazon with their AWS offering.

How Big Is Apple?

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:45:45 +0800

In terms of revenue, Apple is the 4th largest company in the USA only trailed by Wal-Mart, Amazon and Exxon-Mobil. Such numbers is mind boggling huge. The problem with trying to figure out how big a large company like Apple is that they are everywhere. Maybe if they have private military, they would become countries on their own. So let’s go through the list how large they are:-

If Apple has guns, it would be like the Dutch East India Company, has the ability to rule a large country. The modern day equivalent would be the Saudi Aramco Company.

First public company to hit 1 trillion dollars in market capitalization

First public company to hit $2 trillion.

If hitting $1 trillion is mind boggling, how about hitting $2 trillion dollars?? Apple is the first company to hit $2 trillion valuation on 19 August 2020[2], almost 2 years after hit the first trillion dollar mark.

Why iPhone Ships With Ultra Wide Lens

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 11:55:09 +0800

Making ultra wide is a higher technical hurdle than making telephotos lens and artistically, it gets better photos than telephone lens. It is more apparent on small sensor cameras like phone cameras than on full size camera like DSLRs.

Technical challenges

iPhone 12 7-element ultra wide lens.

First, the technical challenges. One would think that if you slap a few lens and you’ll get an ultra wide right? Wrong! The problem with ultra wide lens or any lens construction is making a sharp, color consistent picture and it’s get harder the wider you go. You going to have issues like distortion, color fringing, chromatic aberration, focus breathing and many more.

Great macOS Exclusive Apps

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 09:27:20 +0800

Apple is known for their industrial and timeless design. The original Mac that was shown in 1984 will still look good in today’s living room. The iPod in the 2000s would still look good in your hands. And who can forget the greatest phone ever designed: the iPhone 4. But behind every best designed hardware, there is a better designed software. Afterall, you might hold the hardware in your hand, but the software is what you hold with your mind.

The Evolution of the iPad

Sat, 30 Jan 2021 10:59:29 +0800

Back in 1983 Steve Job was giving a speech at Center for Design Innovation. Back then, Apple has just released Lisa and working on an all-in-one which later be the Macintosh. He had a vision of what the computers of the future will be:-

Apple’s strategy is really simple. What we want to do is we want to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you and learn how to use in 20 minutes. That’s what we want to do and we want to do it this decade,” … “And we really want to do it with a radio link in it so you don’t have to hook up to anything and you’re in communication with all of these larger databases and other computers.

iPhone 12 Mini vs iPhone SE

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 10:42:07 +0800

iPhone SE is the “budget” starter iPhone. It has been updated in early-2020 and expected to be on the market for the next 4 years. iPhone 12 Mini is the miniaturized version of the iPhone 12.

For the iPhone 12 Mini

The iPhone 12 Mini was launched because there was a perceived demand that users wanted something that is more compact in size as flagship phones grow larger and larger over the years. So Apple released the iPhone 12 Mini. Other than the smaller screen size and battery, everything that the iPhone 12 has and can do, the iPhone 12 Mini can do it also. Reviewers praised the iPhone 12 Mini for the size and usability, but common complaints that the battery life is far limited than the normal iPhone 12. This is because of the size limitation, Apple can only put a XXmAh batter instead of the YYmAh battery in the iPhone 12.

iPadOS Shortcut and Window Control

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 10:50:42 +0800

iPadOS was introduced in 2019 as Apple wanted to branch out the iPad into its own platform and bring it closer to the macOS. One of the key features it brings is some windowing control and a slew of keyboard shortcuts to make the iPadOS experience closer to a laptop experience. Apple later added trackpad and mouse support as an accessibility feature. With the introduction of the Magic keyboard that actually comes with a trackpad, the iPadOS is becoming a viable laptop replacement for most users except for developers at this point.

The $1000 Laptop Challenge

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:32:57 +0800

So you have $1000 to spend and you need a portable computer and accessories.

MacBook Air - Default Laptop

The MacBook Air is the laptop of choice for people who want a solid platform which they can count on. Versatile, powerful and highly customizeble, it is a weapon of choice for creators and consumer a like. The MacBook Air has recently been upgrade with M1 series chip and the review has been stupendous. Tech reviewers are stumped how Apple make their laptops more powerful than the Intel counterpart while having longer batter like. Like Arthur C. Clake one said, technology that is sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic and the MacBoook Air almost fits that bill.

Why Multi Socket Cpu Is Still Here

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 09:58:06 +0800

Just 15 years ago, AMD and Intel released their first dual-core CPU for the consumer market. Today, you can get 10-core CPU for the consumer market. With hyper threading, you can get around 20-threads of computing power in a single CPU die. In the enterprise market, you can get a 28-core, 56-thread CPU. Despite having so much CPU power per die, multi-socket solution is not going away.

Data, Data everywhere

Every minute in the internet in 2018. By 2021, those numbers just going up.

Every minute on the internet, there’s millions and millions of photos are beng uploaded, messages sent, orders received, people reacting to a post, videos watched, looking for something at some website or some database. These avalanche of data that keeps coming from everywhere needs to be processed, categorized, analyzed and stored in a database somewhere.

MagSafe Stands

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 09:30:46 +0800

MagSafe is making a comeback through the iPhone lineup. It is Qi standard compatible, but added around 12 thin magnets around the charging coil to ensure a good and precise fit. Apple does not make an official MagSafe stand, but there are a few 3rd party vendors that makes them. Here are a few that we found on Amazon.

Wallshell is a decent stand with rubber bottom and TPU (plastic) body. Around $15 on Amazon

Why Apple Moved to ARM

Sat, 23 Jan 2021 10:27:54 +0800

The reason why Apple moved from Intel to Apple Silicon is the same reason why Apple left Power PC for Intel back in 2005. Let me count the ways.

Performance factor

The Apple A12X is now quite as powerful as most notebooks in the market. It’s amazing that you can edit a few streams of 4K video on fanless thin tablet. So performance per watt on the A12 is much more than on Intel chips. Imagine all this on 15w TDP and scale up on 45w like the one used in a MacBook Pro.

Apple M1 vs Snapdragon 888

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 15:14:23 +0800

Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (888 from here on) and Apple M1 (M1 from here on) processors are CPU designed by respective companies that implements the ARM v8.0 ISA. While both implement the same instruction set, the internal design is totally different to suit their particular needs. One might say that comparing a mobile chip and a laptop chip is not fair, remember that the Snapdragon will be on a Samsung Galaxy Tablet S8 and the M1 is on the new 2021 iPad Pro. Get ready for a bloodbath.

Apple Acquisitions in 2020

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 22:24:42 +0800

Predicting the future is a very tough business and Apple is a large company with war chest that rivals nations. They regularly buy companies every year, some for the technology and some for the talent. Some of the acquisition will make billions for Apple, some might just fizzle out as the talent and technology is not compatible to Apple. Here are the acquisitions Apple made in 2020 and what we think will happen:-

Macbook Air vs Iphone Pro Max

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 09:35:56 +0800

This is an interesting idea since flagship phones are now at default laptop level prices. It used to have a distinction between phones and computers, and now with capabilities and usability are closer between them, it’s a legit good question. We take what once a ridiculous comparison into an investigation.

iPhone 12 Pro Max. The Pocket Rocket.

For this study, we take both the flagship iPhone, the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the default laptop, the Apple Macbook Air M1. For the iPhone we take the maxed out 12 Pro Max with 512 GB of storage which costs $1,399. For the MacBook Air, we take the one with 512 GB of storage and 8-core graphics and upgrade the RAM to 16GB, which brings us the total to $1,449, which just a $50 difference.

Running iOS on Android Phones

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 17:42:32 +0800

While it would be nice to see iOS on a Samsung or Xiaomi phones, don’t expect that will happen anytime soon or even in your lifetime. There are several reasons why, but it boils down to Apple is not Microsoft and iOS would not be as great on Android as it would be on iPhone.

Would be nice, but not going to happen.

Apple is not Microsoft

Apple to phone is totally different from Google’s approach. You can think as Google is the Microsoft of phone OSes. Apple has vertical integration on the phone and the vision dictates the hardware which dictates the software. Apple competitive advantage is that Apple has complete control in the hardware and the software of the phone. While the disadvantage of such control is that you don’t have much freedom in what you can do, the advantage is that the hardware and software is a highly optimized version of the smartphone.

Is Intel Dying?

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 22:24:20 +0800

After years of bad news, competitors begining to catch up and Apple announced that they are moving away from Intel to their own chip, it is very easy to think that Intel is a sinking ship that needs to be abandon. But Intel is a very big ship and it will take a while for Intel to be truly dead.

This is Intel chart detailing revenue by segment since 2016 until 2020 and the dark blue bars is the client computing group, basically most consumer products like desktops and laptop. Despite being battered by vulnerabilities like RowHammer, competitors like AMD catching up and beating Intel on performance and price offerings and big customer like Intel moving away from Core chips, the quarterly sales seems to be stable.

Why Apple Made Their Own CPU

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 11:39:21 +0800

This is a very interesting question because making your own CPU and other chip is a very tough endeavor hence why there is no mass-produced PC maker does this. But Apple is not like other PC maker. “Think Different” and “Here’s to the crazy ones” was not just a marketing slogan, it is Steve Jobs (the founder of Apple Incorporate) fundamental approach to living and making a dent in the universe.

Apple in 2021

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 19:19:42 +0800

2020 will be a year remembered for decades and stories will be there for a long time. This page will attempt to chronicle everything that Apple did or happen to Apple in the year 2021. We will record product announcement and initiatives that we heard around the internet. The list will be in reverse chronological order.

You can read our sister article, What To Expect from Apple in 2021 to read our predictions for the year 2021.

Is iPhone 6s Relevant in 2021?

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 10:41:44 +0800

I still using the iPhone 6s as my children’s gaming phone. Slap a new battery and I believe I can still use the phone for daily use. What’s amazing is that it still support the latest iOS update (iOS 14) despite it was released in 2016. I cannot think of any andriod phones that was released in 2016 what is still being supported by the manufacturer, let alone being relevant. That all being said, I believe that are better alternatives on the market if one is looking for a new budget iPhone.

Apple in the Gaming Industry

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 11:13:41 +0800

Apple has already entered the gaming market since the first day of the Macs. Apple went big in gaming sice it allowed 3rd party developers to hawk their apps on the App Store in 2008. Since Angry Birds came into the scene, mobile gaming has exploded into it’s own solar system. In fact, Apple is now the 4th largest gaming platform on the planet. We explore how the mobile gaming has turn the gaming world upside down.

Best Note Taking App

Sat, 09 Jan 2021 12:01:29 +0800

One of the main abilities that separate humans and other living organisms is record keeping to keep our thoughts in our oversized brain organized. We cannot remember everything so we write them down, and writing things down clarifies our thought process and brings us ideas that were not there in the first place. A good note-taking app is as useful as a knife in the woods or a saw in a workshop.

Will Apple Release Foldable iPhone?

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 09:46:53 +0800

Since September 2019, Samsung has released a smartphone with a foldable screen called the Galaxy Fold. Competitors like Motorola with their RAZR fold and Levono with their X1 Fold. Apple has been conspicuously silent on this product segment. But that does not mean that Apple is not looking into foldable displays. In fact, Apple has been thinking and playing with foldable display for almost 10 years now. Based on the patent filing tracked by Patently Apple, we do know that Apple has been working on foldable display for a long time.

Why M1 Macs Need Less Ram

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 22:38:14 +0800

Apple M1 macs has shown that with only 8GB, it can out perform PCs with double or even quadruple the RAM size. The answer to the mystery of how this is possible is Apple stance to optimize the marriage of software and hardware to reach the common goal: process as much I/O as possible. However, there is a limit to all the optimization in large dataset, but for most common tasks a typical user will face, it is surprising what Apple M1 macs can do away with just 8GB of RAM.

Enter the Keyboard: macOS Keyboard Shortcuts

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 08:27:12 +0800

Mastery of keyboard shortcuts will cut you time spent looking for commands to do what you need to do in macOS. The keyboard shortcuts will allow you to work more efficiently by removing the need of moving you hand to reach for the mouse and navigate around. It also another way to impress your peers by moving around macOS without using a mouse.

All keyboard shortcuts is the combinations of the modifiers keys and the normal keys. Some of the modifier keys are:-

Best Stylus for iPad

Mon, 04 Jan 2021 23:09:11 +0800

Since Apple introduce the iPhone, there were concentrated effort to put stylus on the device. There are a few use cases where a stylus is more desirable. One of them is drawing. Finger drawing while possible, does put a strain on those flangers whereas a stylus is more precise and refined to draw. Apple later introduced the iPad which makes a serious competitor to the drawing block. Artist has been using the iPad to draw on even before Apple entered the game with the Apple Pencil on 2015.

Why Apple Products Are Expensive

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 22:49:02 +0800

It is a fine assumption that Apple is selling the same products and services as everyone else so most people would not understand the “Apple Tax” that was imposed on their product. This has a silver lining of the truth, but the whole truth is much more than that. Just like why people buy expensive tools when there are cheaper alternatives, there’s a reason why people buy Apple’s “expensive” products.

What to Expect From Apple 2021

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 12:44:35 +0800

As 2020 comes to a close and we put that challenging year in the rear view mirror, 2021 is filled with hope that things will be back to what we consider normal. The expectation that people will go back to travel, having events and going back filling up restaurants and bar without fear of getting infected. The tech world moves on and Apple is no different. These are the things that we expect Apple will come and release in 2020:-

How to Afford Apple Products

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 12:22:20 +0800

There’s a few ways that a lot of People can afford Apple laptops despite commanding a premium price. And no, you do not need to sell your kidney to get any Apple products. You just have to be smart about it.

Executive Summary:

Apple product are always on the premium side of things, but there is ways to own it without breaking the bank

The best way to own the latest and greatest Apple product is to use the Apple products as tools. The Mac Pro and Mac Studio are expensive, but if you are in the working environment where you use the them to earn a living, the Apple products is an investment which you can get back your returns in a matter of months

If you are looking for extra value, do not discount Apple products that are around 2-3 years old. With the typical computing power that is way above what people need in daily use, do not discount that iPhone 11, or the M1 MacBook Air. They are a good buy in the refurbished department.

Sometimes, broken things can be bought for the cheap and repaired as good as new. A headless MacBook Pro can be bought at $100 - $200 and all you need is a $100 monitor to be in a decent Mac Ecosystem.

The Professional

Video Editing Suite

A professional is a person who earns a living from doing a certain vocation. A professional photographer for example, earns his or her living through taking pictures of objects, people and events. The professional will charge a certain amount that will compensate not only for her work, but to cover the cost of equipment that is significantly more expensive than a normal consumer equipment.

Why There Is No Apple Foldable Screen Phones?

Thu, 31 Dec 2020 22:23:56 +0800

Samsung is one of the first companies to release a phone with a foldable screen with their Galaxy Fold. A few companies have fielded their foldable screen phones. The technology has been on the market for over two years now and Apple has been totally absent from the scene. Is Apple behind the curve?

However that is not the case. Apple is focusing on best-in-class, not first-in-class. Another reason is foldable phones is nice and cool technology but has many drawbacks and what it is worth.

How to Take Screenshots on Your Apple Devices

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 10:22:42 +0800

Screenshots and screen recordings can help record point in time moments on your iPhone, Mac and other Apple devices for record keeping or to share the recordings to someone else. This is a guide to help you to take a screenshot on your iPhone, iPad, Mac and other Apple devices.

Executive Summary:

macOS: command + shift + 4 or 5

iPhone: press the home and side button together or volume up and side button together

iPad: same as iPhone

Apple Watch: you must enable screenshot in settings. Press digital crown and side button together

Apple TV: record the screen from a Mac using the QuickTime Player.

Screen Shots

Taking a screenshot is like taking a camera and pointing straight at the screen of your device. With certain keystrokes, you can immediately take the state of your Apple Devices screen.

Is Apple Tv Worth It?

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:33:05 +0800

Discussing the merits of Apple TV. It's worth it to some people but for most, it's a overpowered streaming box.

Durability in Electronics

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:20:56 +0800

The question that i got is how Apple cannot make iPhone maintenance cost cheaper or less prone to damage in other words, more durable. Apple is making the iPhone more durable but in doing so, cost of replacing said item would be more expensive. And exchanging the iPhone has the added benefit of being recycled instead of ending up in a landfill.

Progress

Above is the video that launched Unbox Therapy. Lewis Hilsenteger bends the iPhone 6 Plus using his bare hands.

How to Take Better Pictures With Your iPhone

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 08:30:51 +0800

The iPhone camera is one of the most capable phone camera ever. It has essentially replaced the compact camera market. Now, more than 3 billion people carrying their cameras everywhere they go because the smartphone is basically the camera.

Everyone takes snapshots with their camera. But with a little more knowledge, practice and insight, one of the best photos will be taken by iPhone. As a photographer’s adage goes, “The best camera is the one you take it with you”.

iPad Mini vs iPhone Pro Max

Fri, 25 Dec 2020 23:13:21 +0800

Update: In light of iPhone 13 and iPad Mini 6 update, we have updated our comparison to reflect the new changes. You can read the comparison between the new generation iPhone and iPad Mini here

They both has almost the same screen size, iPad Mini is 7.9" and iPhone 12 Pro Max is 6.7". Just around 1.2" of difference or 3.05 cm for those in SI units. But yet they both like live in different planet. One is a base iPad and the other is the flagship iPhone. You can almost buy 3 iPad Mini for the price of one iPhone Pro Max. With each at a different spectrum, which one is the right one for you?

Apple Ecosystem Explained in 2020

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 10:11:43 +0800

Apple is well known for very well designed electronic devices like the iPhone and the AirPods. It also known for is how well and polished the user interface and software that runs those devices. But what makes the Apple devices more pleasant to use than the competition is how each of the devices works together in unison. This is the Apple Ecosystem and this article will explains it.

What is the Apple ecosystem

The Apple Ecosystem is a nickname given by people regarding how Apple devices work very well with other Apple devices. It is a combination of services, software configurations and hardware capabilities that makes each Apple devices works very well with every other Apple devices.

Is Apple Car a Threat to Tesla Et Al?

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 17:51:37 +0800

As of December 2020, the rumors and state of the industry are as follows:- Apple is rumored to deliver an electric car in 2024; Tesla has the highest evaluation of any car maker in the world at over 600 Billion US dollars, larger than the next top 5 car manufacturer by market cap combined; Elon Musk said that he offered Tesla at $60 billion evaluation; many car makers are jumping to the electric bandwagon since gas powered car will be banned in major markets by 2030.

How to Backup and Reset Your Iphone

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 23:52:23 +0800

Your iPhone is one of the most important and personal tools that you have in your possesion. Usually it will contains your photos of all the special events in your life, your personal and business contacts, your schedules, your business plans and notes and in many occasions, it is how you entertain yourself. Keeping a backup copy is important as keeping your personal data.

How to back up your phone

Using iCloud

The easiest way to backup your iPhone is using iCloud. While it is true that iCloud free account has only 5GB and may not be enough to completely back up your phone, you can select which data that you would like the phone to be backed up to. For around $1 to $10, you can upgrade your iCloud plan from 50GB to 2TB. You can also have a family plan to share that upgraded plan.

Most Popular iPhone Color

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 18:23:02 +0800

Black and White will be the default choice for everyone getting any iPhone in the past, present and future. Why? Because black and white is the safest choice in choosing color.

Disclaimer: I don’t have first hand iPhone sales data and Apple never release them, so my answer is based on pure speculation.

iPhone now is a tool for business and businesses buy phones for their employees. What color does business like to choose? Black and White. Take for example like cars. Below is the color palette for Mercedes S-class and Lexus LS, both are business cars. Shades of black and white and grey. Colors is a rarity.

Is Macbook Air M1 Good for Programing and Normal Use?

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 15:59:29 +0800

I used a 2011 MacBook Air in 2016 to launch my first start up. The start up failed not because the engineering doesn’t work, we don’t have enough budget for marketing and didn’t get traction for people to get on our platform.

I also started a second project for a company using that same MacBook Air. The product is basically finished and at the last minute, the company decided to pull out from my venture.

Is Apple ProRAW Worth It?

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 08:51:00 +0800

Apple ProRAW is file format by Apple that contains minimally processed data from the sensor of the camera. Current supported camera is the iPhone 12. There were some third party apps that do capture RAW data from the iPhone camera. The difference is ProRAW include computational info like depth field, tone map and such.

ProRAW contains more information like 12-bit depth for dynamic range instead of 10-bit for HEIF and 8-bit for normal jpeg. Because of additional information that it capture, the files will be large.

Apple M1 vs Intel Core i9: A Deeper Look

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 13:14:36 +0800

It seems pitting Apple’s entry level CPU against Intel strongest is an unfair fight, like putting a small boy David vs the giant Goliath, but remember, David essentially bought a gun to a sword fight and Apple M1 is basically just that: the gun in a sword fight.

Mindset Differences

The architectural reflects the differences in the mindsets of both companies in developing their computing solution. Apple is an integrated systems developer that sells the final product directly to the customer. It controls all aspect of the product experience from the screen, keyboard and all the way to their CPU that runs the software that they also designed. Meanwhile, Intel is a chip merchant that have thousands of customer in which sells their product to the end consumer. You can think that Intel is the middleman of the computing world. While yes Intel do sell directly to consumer but the biggest customer is the PC-builders like Dell and Levono and server-builders like HP. Cloud providers like Amazon and Google counts as their biggest customer. Hence, Intel solution is more modular catering to different customer segments with different needs. Intel also needs to be open enough that anybody can create their own OS and run their machine code on it. Apple chip division only has one customer: Apple Inc.

Throttling Your Network in macOS

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 15:00:45 +0800

You can throttle your network speed on your macOS. Some situation may call for this, such as for testing purposes or you want to preverse speed for your entire home network. You will need Xcode and a Apple developers account for this (it is free and you can just use your icloud account for this).

First, download Xcode. Each macOS has their own version of Xcode and the current one for Big Sur is Xcode 12

How M1 Gets High Performance

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 09:17:53 +0800

The M1 speed up is not an overnight success story or concentrated efforts of a few engineers over a course of a year. It was over 10 years of research and development efforts by Apple because they see they are being held back by Intel. That cumulative efforts for 10 years results in a ultra portable laptop (Macbook Air) which can edit 3 streams of 4k video without a single fan onboard. How did this happen? It’s a long story …

How Long Macbook Air M1 Can Last?

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 09:28:51 +0800

The M1 Macbook Air might be the longest lasting laptop because the only moving parts in that laptop would be the hinge and the keyboard. And the electronic components might last even longer since they are not being stressed at all.

Now fans does not have a high failure rate since I got my MacBook Air and Mac Mini going into their 9th year and still running along. Hard drives usually have high failure rate after 100,000 hours (10 years) but now it’s all SSD, that failure rate is even higher. If that fails, it’s actually be a problem since everything is soldered on the board and the Touch ID is tied with the hard drive and the M1 chip (you cannot simply replace the Touch ID sensor).

Booting Linux on M1 and Beyond Challenge

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 19:17:29 +0800

If you referring to run in virtual environment? Yes, it does and Linux does have binaries compiled can you can pretty much run on virtual environment pretty much right now. If you thinking of replacing macOS with Linux, it is possible but hacky. If you thinking replacing macOS with Linux and everything works like the Touch Bar, Touch ID, power management and the camera, it won’t and it’s not coming for a long time.

Choosing Between the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13-inch

Sat, 12 Dec 2020 14:58:55 +0800

The new Macbook Air with M1 Macbook Pro with M1 where launched at the same time and with basically the same specs that one would have a hard time determine which one to get. So the TLDR version is, the get MacBook Pro if you want a longer battery life, you need the Touch Bar, and if you are doing a lot of sustained heavy loads (like making a lot of music videos on 4K or color correcting thousand of 50MP photos after an event).

Is Airpods Max Worth It?

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 22:35:49 +0800

Here’s what differs the AirPods Max and other $500 wireless headphones on the market:-

It has two H1 chips on each side of the ear. Imagine this is a “smart” headphones. Each H1 handles 6 microphones on each side of the headsets, process that signal so it can produce a negative waveform for a better noise canceling. It also allow microphone beam forming to be a better microphone when taking calls or saying “Hey, Siri”

PANTONE Color of the Year 2021

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 13:25:17 +0800

PANTONE has announced the color(s) of the year for 2021. Apparently we have two colors instead of one for 2021 because 2020 does not count. They are Ultimate Gray (PANTONE 17-5104) and Illuminating (PANTONE 13-0647). The two colors are both independent and uplifting one another, something the design feel that everybody needs for 2021: being independent and uplifting each other through what happened in 2020.

“The Pantone Color of the Year reflects what is taking place in our global culture, expressing what people are looking for that color can hope to answer,” says Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute. “As society continues to recognize color as a critical form of communication, and a way to symbolize thoughts and ideas, many designers and brands are embracing the language of color to engage and connect.”

The drawbacks of Apple M1

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 12:21:28 +0800

Drawbacks of the Apple M1 is there, but there’s a few at this point. For most people, it’s not really that important, but for some, it’s a deal breaker.

It’s a first gen product. This will be the slowest, least powerful M-series chip that Apple is going to make. Things will get a lot faster when they optimize the chip and the software exclusively to Apple Silicon. Right now, Apple needs to maintain two separate build for its software: Intel and Apple Silicon

Apple M1 Roadmap

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 17:38:02 +0800

Update

Cpu-monkey has reported the emergence of ‘M1X’ chip that featured 12-core CPU and 16-core GPU.

Original story:

In WWDC 2020, Apple announced that it is transitioning from Intel to their own Apple Silicon. On the November 2020 event that featured the new M1 chip, it had been said that M1 will be the first of many in a family of SOC that will powers the future Macs. Now, predicting the future is a tough business since predictions can easily go wrong, but you can guess what Apple is working on based on the current line up.

M1 the Game Changer

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 16:15:10 +0800

The M1 chip is a game changer for the desktop / server segment for the PC industry as a whole, but it is just the last bastion for Intel and x86 in a world where RISC / ARM reign supreme.

The war on x86

The secret ‘war’ on x86 platform has been going on for years. The war has change considerably since 2007 when a guy named Steve Jobs shows this small communication device called the iPhone.

Extending Spotlight

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 14:44:53 +0800

This short guide will show you the amazing capabilities of one of macOS underated features: Spotlight.

What is Spotlight?

Spotlight is a desktop search feature on the built-in on the macOS. It indexes all the local files in your system and present an app to you to quickly search all the files in your system. However, Spotlight has grown to be more powerful than a simple desktop search application. Spotlight has been integrated into the macOS and allow snippet with other macOS first-party apps. In a way, you can use other macOS apps by just using Spotlight

The War on x86

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 15:20:54 +0800

The “war” on Intel has been going on longer than most people think and 2020 is the year when the war on desktop computing begins. The war has actually has been won on other fronts but the PC / Server market will remain the last bastion of Intel dominance, which will contested starting 2021.

Phone / Tablet space

The year is 2005 and Steve Jobs, CEO and Founder of Apple at that time was embarking on a secret project that will eventually be the first iPhone. It was a handheld computer that needed a low-power, but high performance processor to run the iPhone. Apple was making money but do not have the muscle and influence that it has today.

Upgrading Your Old PC With SSD

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 14:50:18 +0800

The question if an SSD upgrade is worth it? If you are coming from a conventional disk platter hard disk, then the answer is yes, absolutely. Do it now.

I have a Lenovo T410 (like the one above) that I’ve about from corporate fire sale which cost $50. Yes, this laptop is from 10-years ago where Intel started to market their processor by i3, i5 and i7 cores. Spent another $50 for a 512GB SSD and install Linux on it, the computer is blazing fast. It won’t win benchmark awards but it’s more than enough for youtube, google classroom (I’m using it for as additional laptop for my kids online class because 2020) and general website browsing.

Pros and Cons of Apple Running ARM on Macs

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 10:42:47 +0800

Apple announced that they are moving away from Intel to their own Apple silicon in WWDC 2020 (mid-2020) with great fan fare.

Now, it’s end-2020, Apple has released it’s 3 entry-level macs with their first M1 chips. They are the base Mac Mini, Macbook Air, and the base Macbook Pro 13″. Reviewers is astounded by how it performs especially on the Macbook Air where it’d handily beat out a full desktop iMac despite that Macbook Air doesn’t have a fan.

macOS Is Now Available on AWS

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 16:15:44 +0800

Amazon Web Services launched their first macOS instance available on their EC2 cloud computing platform today. The instances are available at select locations in USA, Europe and South East Asia.

To launch the instance, you need to have a AWS account (registration is free) and create the instance at the AWS console here.

The machines can be accessed via remote desktop (VNC) or secure shell (SSH). At this moment you’ll have access to the entire machine (32GB, Intel Core i7 CPU), so the price will be significant. Not sure if they will further virtualize the Mac like they did with other instances.

Apple M1 vs Intel Core i9 10th Gen

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 22:35:54 +0800

It will sound ridiculous, but it will be very interesting to see how a $699 system vs a $600 processor.

You can buy the microprocessor, just the Intel chip which is the Intel Core i9–10900k at Amazon for over $600. It comes with 10 cores, and has hyper threading to make it look like 20 cores. Remember, this is just the processor without hard drive, motherboard, memory, chassis, the power supply to make a base PC. Don’t forget to add Windows if you want to play games with.

Why Apple Stopped Using Intel Chips

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 08:55:21 +0800

The same reason why Apple left Power PC for Intel back in 2005.

the Apple A12X is now quite as powerful as most notebooks in the market. It’s amazing that you can edit a few streams of 4K video on fanless thin tablet. So performance per watt on the A12 is much more than on intel chips. Imagine all this on 15w TDP and scale up on 45w like the one used in a MacBook Pro.

Impact of M1 Chip to Intel / x86

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 08:15:16 +0800

If what Apple is doing works, it will change the industry like how the iPhone changed the telco industry.

A little history

Some little back story. Back in the 80s, there is a young kid from Seattle, Washington started a company in a strip mall in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his best friend. That kid’s name is Bill Gates and that company is called Microsoft.

Microsoft first HQ.

The genius move that Microsoft did was to license DOS from IBM and recognizing a need and a trend: Computers need be in every home and every office. From that point onward, with the genius of Microsoft marketing and engineering, Windows and Intel x86 instructions set is in every home and office of the world.

Why Apple M1 Is Faster Than Intel

Sat, 28 Nov 2020 09:32:41 +0800

Here’s a current 2020 Apple Macbook Air

Apple sells them new, in two version. One is up to the Intel i7 Core Processor and and the other is using the Apple M1 chip. Other than the M1 has a nicer screen and the processor, everything about both Macbook Air is identical.

And here’s some youtubers reviewing the Macbook Air:-

Even Linus ‘I hate Apple’ Techtips was impressed by the laptop. If even the greatest critics praise your product, it says a lot about the product:-