Apple could expand its Mac portfolio later this year with a high-end MacBook Pro and a Mac mini with M2 silicon. M2 products currently include the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the improved MacBook Air.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, MacBook sales will see a “massive increase.” “Apple will get more momentum later this year with a new Mac mini and a high-end MacBook Pro,” he said late Sunday. Earlier reports mentioned that MacBook Pro models with the M2 Pro and M2 Max will be available in the fall.
Rather than accepting any major shifts, the new Mac models will offer better internal specs. For Macs, Apple generated $7.4 billion in revenue despite supply constraints and a negative impact in the June quarter. Mac revenue fell 10% due to supply chain constraints and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. Apple released a redesigned MacBook Air last month with the company’s M2 chip.
“M2 offers faster CPUs, GPUs and Neural Engines, as well as new features like higher memory bandwidth and Pro Res acceleration. It continues Apple’s tremendous pace of innovation in Mac chips,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. .
Cook acknowledged that the company continues to face supply constraints on Macs, saying “we are encouraged by the strong customer response to our incredible lineup.”
“Like Macs, demand for iPads continued to be strong in the June quarter despite continued supply constraints,” the Apple CEO said.
Apple said Wednesday that it will start taking preorders for its next-generation MacBook Air laptops starting Friday, July 8. And will actually start selling the system on July 15th. The new machines will go on sale globally this month, so time will soon tell if the company has produced enough PCs to meet initial demand.
Apple and its retail partners will offer M2 SoC-based systems in Midnight, Starlight, Silver, and Space Gray, starting at $1,199 for machines with 8GB of LPDDR5 memory and 256GB of solid-state storage.
For users with high performance requirements, the biggest improvement of the new MacBook Air is of course its M2 SoC, which is equipped with 4 high-performance Avalanche cores running up to 3.49GHz and 4 energy-efficient Blizzard cores, and a whopping 10 cluster. The chip can support up to 24GB of RAM with 100GBps of peak bandwidth, which will boost the performance of bandwidth-hungry applications such as graphics-intensive games.
Powered by the octa-core M2 SoC, the new Apple MacBook Air will be the company’s most significant redesign of the machine ever, as it features an all-new chassis with a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display. The new chassis is very different from the wedge-shaped form factor introduced in 2008. The design improves the internal architecture of the machine, enabling higher performance, longer battery life and enhanced durability through improved airflow within the chassis. In addition, the new machine is equipped with a new 2560×16640 resolution display with a brightness of up to 500 nits, supports Display P3 color gamut, and a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The new MacBook Air also supports an external monitor with resolutions up to 6K at 60Hz.
Other changes include a new 1080p webcam, an improved audio subsystem with more speakers and microphones, and a 3.5mm headphone jack that supports high-impedance headphones. As for input/output capabilities, the new MacBook Air features a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0 radio, two Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports, and a MagSafe port for charging. The machine is also equipped with a 52.6Wh battery, which is comparable to the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple says the battery lasts up to 18 hours.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the new MacBook Air is that Apple will start selling it worldwide immediately. Traditionally, Apple launched its systems in the US and parts of Western Europe first, then left the rest of the world for later. This time around, the company has apparently managed to produce enough MBA systems for a global launch, which is great news for those planning to buy.
Apple’s MacBook Pro with the M2 chip is basically the same laptop as its predecessor, the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1, a teardown of the new laptop shows — which isn’t surprising.
The similarities are obvious, of course, and of course from the outside, the two generations of laptops have not changed in terms of design, the only real difference being the upgrade of the M1 SoC to the M2 and the option to choose more system memory. But now with an iFixit teardown, we know that internally, the M2 MacBook Pro is indeed pretty much the same as the M1 version, with the same chassis, display, touch bar, and internal layout, save for a few tweaks.
Essentially, Apple took the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1, removed that SoC, and put in the M2 to replace it, with only minor updates to other smaller internals.
The iFixit video of the teardown clearly shows that all cables, brackets, screws, ground pins, etc. remain the same – just the logic board is different and the heatsink has some tweaks.
So really, hardly anything has changed, although there is a slight difference, which is sadly negative. That said, the M2 MacBook Pro entry-level model actually has slower storage than the M1 MacBook Pro due to the different configuration of the SSD.
In theory, you should be able to fit an M2 board into an M1 MacBook Pro, iFixit has continued and successfully made this swap — except the laptop doesn’t work, or specifically the trackpad, keyboard, and Touch ID sensors no longer Jobs come into play after the exchange.
In short, iFixit concluded that it was Apple’s “blatant attempt to prevent repairs and replacements with a software lock.”
Analysis: Overall overshadowed and missed opportunities?
It’s disappointing that, as iFixit points out, Apple failed to take advantage of the better repairability and design sustainability that the M2 MacBook Pro could have taken advantage of.
As a result, the new 13-inch laptop feels rather bland and noticeably lagging behind, while another laptop recently shown alongside it at WWDC — the M2-powered MacBook Air expected to be available for pre-orders imminently — was greeted by many The eagerly anticipated, represents a complete redesign of portable devices.
Interestingly, at WWDC, Apple listed the 13-inch MacBook Pro as its second-best-selling laptop, behind the MacBook Air as the company’s best-selling laptop — and given that, such a small effort seems like a no-brainer felt rather strange. Already invested in launching a new model here.
Since its unveiling at WWDC 2022, users have been wondering how much battery life has improved for laptops running the new M2 chip — and it’s already impressed testers.
Both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro have been updated with the M2 chip, the successor to Apple’s Silicon program announced two years ago. The speed, power and battery life of the M1 chip and its successor derivatives were impressive, beating out previous Macs with Intel chips. In our early testing of the M2 MacBook Pro, however, its battery life easily lasted a workday, with more than 15 hours of battery life.
Apple’s chip team has been running since it announced the switch from Intel chips to its own. In my own testing while playing in Parallels Desktop, I was blown away by how well Metal Gear Solid V and other games ran at 1440p.
My MacBook Pro has the M1 Pro chip – it looks like a halfway point between M1 and M2. This is mainly due to the fact that my graphics card has extra cores compared to the M1, which is likely the reason for the excellent performance I got from testing.
However, the battery still impresses me. I can run at least five apps and open six tabs in Chrome and Safari without the Mac hitting 10% after seven hours.
With Apple looking to refresh the MacBook Pro lineup with faster speeds and better batteries, it’s inevitable that I’ll see the M2 Pro chip arrive by the end of 2022. We’re not far from seeing a Mac run all day, and the iPhone is getting closer, and the M2 Pro could make that happen.
Put it in the M3 gear
Apple‘s speed of improvement on the M1 chip and above is impressive, and while I can only speculate on the M3 Pro, I’m confident that this is a major upgrade for users who want to play games on their Mac. Especially Announced at WWDC, Metal 3, along with the upcoming Resident Evil Village and No Man’s Sky, has a lot to look forward to.
I can see that playing Metal Gear Solid V again with Parallels Desktop may result in higher frame rates at higher graphics settings, as if the game had been ported to macOS.
Of course, I’m happy with my 14-inch MacBook Pro; it’s the best Mac I’ve had in the 20 years I’ve owned an Apple computer.
However, we’re getting close to the tipping point for these chips, and it’s not impossible to imagine playing Metal Gear on the highest settings. For me, that gets me excited about what my next Mac upgrade might bring when 2024 arrives.
Does your MacBook’s battery stay at 80% even with the charger connected? Do you have such a problem? Apple’s battery-saving “Optimize Battery Charging” feature is the culprit. Here’s how to fully charge your MacBook. Let’s take a look together!
Apple’s macOS Catalina 10.15.5 update introduces new battery health management features for the Mac, inspired by the optimized battery charging feature on the iPhone, but implemented in a slightly different way.
Apple introduced this new feature because it’s not good for lithium-ion batteries to charge to 100% and stay there all the time. If you’re stuck at 80%, that means the new power-saving feature studies your usage patterns and only charges the battery to 80%. This small tweak helps improve the battery aging process.
With the release of macOS Big Sur, Apple renamed this feature Optimize Battery Charging, and it’s enabled by default when you buy a new Apple Silicon MacBook.
If you don’t like this feature and want your Mac to charge to 100% all the time, or just once in a while, you have two options.
1. Quickly force a full charge of your MacBook from the menu bar
The quickest way to force your Mac to charge to 100% is to use the battery option in the menu bar. The operation steps are as follows:
Click the battery icon in the upper right corner of the screen and select the “Full Charge Now” option. If you don’t see it, hold down the Option key while clicking the battery icon in the menu bar. The MacBook will now start charging and the battery menu will show the estimated time to fully charge.
2. Temporarily or permanently disable optimized battery charging
If you want to temporarily or permanently disable optimized battery charging, this is easy to do. If you’re using macOS Catalina on an Intel-based Mac, see the Battery Health Management guide for steps to disable the feature.
If you’re using an Apple Silicon MacBook or Intel MacBook running macOS Big Sur, you can disable Optimized Battery Charging for a day or permanently.
To get started, click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen and select System Preferences.
In System Preferences, go to the “Battery” section.
In the sidebar, click on “Battery” and uncheck the “Optimize battery charging” option.
If you only want to disable the feature today, click “Turn off until tomorrow.” To disable it completely, select Off.
Optimized battery charging feature will now be disabled. Your MacBook will begin charging to 100%.
You can now click the red “Close” button in the upper left corner to safely exit System Preferences.
If you change your mind and want to turn Apple’s automatic battery management back on, revisit System Preferences > Battery, select “Battery” in the sidebar, and place a check next to “Optimize battery charging.”
The latest Apple Silicon MacBook offers incredible all-day battery life in optimal conditions. However, battery health inevitably declines with age, so how do you maintain that performance in the long term? Here are a few things you can do, check them out!
Keep Optimized Charging On
iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks can take advantage of a feature called Optimized Charging to monitor your usage patterns and adjust charging behavior accordingly. The optimal balance point for lithium batteries is between 40% and 80%. Charging to 100% or letting your battery percentage drop too low is considered bad for the battery. A fully charged battery stores a higher voltage, which puts more stress on the battery.
You can find this setting under System Preferences > Battery > Battery. Once your Mac learns your daily habits, it waits for your device to be fully charged so the battery spends less time at 100%.
If you charge your laptop overnight and go to work every day at 8am, your MacBook will wait for the last 20% or so of the top-up. If for some reason you happen to leave an hour early, you may find that your battery is not fully charged. The same applies to iPhone and iPad.
Don’t leave your MacBook plugged in all the time
It’s impossible to “overcharge” a MacBook battery while it’s plugged into a power source. If you keep it plugged in, the battery won’t overheat or damage any other components. The one exception is if you start noticing bulging batteries, a serious problem that can lead to injury.
The aforementioned optimized charging feature can keep your laptop plugged in, but it’s not foolproof. If your laptop never leaves your desk, or your schedule is particularly erratic, macOS may not be able to determine when to delay charging the battery.
That’s why it’s best not to leave the machine on the charger all the time. Ideally, you’ll want to drop the battery down to 40% before charging it to around 80% for best results. This ensures that the battery is not overstressed by the high pressure required to reach 90% or 100%.
Avoid exposing your MacBook to extreme temperatures
Generally speaking, extreme temperatures are bad for your MacBook. Extreme heat is notoriously bad for technology, and researchers have found that extreme cold can crack the metal used in lithium batteries, separating the cathode from the rest of the battery. Storing the cathode at sub-freezing temperatures “caused the battery to lose up to 5% of its capacity after 100 charges compared to batteries stored at higher temperatures.”
The solution is to make sure your laptop isn’t exposed to extreme temperatures. Don’t leave it in the car overnight in winter. MacBooks are not ruggedized laptops and are not designed for extreme weather conditions.
Consider using AlDente Pro to manage charging
If you’re really keen on preserving your MacBook battery for as long as possible, the free app AlDente might be of interest to you. The app allows you to set charging limits so that your MacBook stops falling below maximum capacity at a percentage of your choosing. By default, this is 80%.
The free version only has a charge limiter and discharge mode, allowing the MacBook to run on battery even when plugged in. This allows you to discharge the battery to a “healthier” percentage without removing the power connector.
AlDente only works with macOS Big Sur or later, and works best on most MacBooks produced in 2016 or later. Earlier laptops lost support for some features, but most post-2013 models support the all-important charge limiter feature.
If you want to know the state of your battery, you can go to System Preferences > Battery > Battery and click on “Battery Health…”.
To see a more detailed look, including charge cycle counts, click the Apple logo in the upper-left corner of the screen, then click About This Mac, then click System Report on the Overview tab. Scroll down to “Power” and under “Health Information” you should be able to see the battery’s cycle count.
Batteries occupy so much of our lives that they are now everywhere. Whether it’s a watch worn on the wrist or a computer that most people use for their day-to-day work, the battery is always there.
This is because of the amazing benefits of batteries, such as portable power and extended usage, that make everything around us need batteries. However, in addition to all these amazing benefits, there are some problems.
One of the most common problems is that the battery won’t charge. So here we are going to discuss everything you need to know in this regard.
Small devices such as cell phones can be fully charged in an hour or a few minutes. The same goes for tablets and laptops, which require more free time. However, sometimes things get worse and the fast charging feature may not work properly. Although this can make your life very difficult as these devices take a long time to charge. Here, we’ll discuss some of the reasons and how to deal with it.
If your device supports fast charging and still isn’t fast charging, there is a problem somewhere. Here, we’ll discuss some of the most common problems and how to deal with them:
Charger failure
The first thing to check is the charger. Either you are not using the correct charger or the charger is broken. In both cases, you’ll need to replace the charger to get fast charging
faulty cable
If replacing the charger doesn’t fix the problem, then there’s a problem with the cable, and you can change the charger to fix the problem.
Some problems with your device
There may be some issues with your device, some of which are listed below:
1. Dirty connection ports do not allow proper connection for fast charging.
2. Replacing faulty motherboard components such as controllers may stop the fast charging function.
Whether you have an older or newer model, there may be issues with not being charged. So if this happens to you, you can do it.
Check the apps you’re using on your MacBook Air.
The first thing you need to check is the apps running on your MacBook Air. This is a laptop that’s not designed for high performance, although it still delivers amazing performance. For performance-demanding and time-consuming tasks, the MacBook Pro is the best choice.
So if you’re using some application that requires a lot of hardware, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Here the laptop is using more power than required for charging, so the charging process is not taking place.
Check charger support.
If no apps are breaking, then you need to check the charger. Does your MacBook Air support a charger? Are there issues such as a faulty charger or a faulty connector?
If the charger is fine, then you can try restarting your MacBook Air, as it will reset the hardware inside. This may help restore charging functionality.
Repairing your MacBook would be the best option.
If the problem persists, then you need to service your MacBook Air because there may be a problem with the ports, the motherboard, or the battery itself.
You’re using a MacBook and wondering if it’s possible to calibrate the battery? Most laptop batteries require calibration to help check the battery and understand its condition. You might be using a dying battery, but you didn’t notice it because of the wrong information provided. Your system’s battery reading is often critical to giving you battery usage directions. It is generally recommended that you calibrate the battery twice a month for proper readings.
This article will tell you if and how to calibrate your MacBook battery. Let’s take a look below!
Do you need to calibrate your MacBook Pro battery? The power management system of a notebook battery plays a vital role in the entire battery life. Therefore, after installing a new battery twice a month, the power management system must be calibrated.
Batteries should be calibrated after battery replacement, as it allows the battery to reach its maximum charge capacity, allows the new battery to reach its full useful life, and allows the system to accurately display the battery level. All MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs use batteries with built-in processors to maximize battery performance. The battery and its processor must go through a calibration procedure to accurately predict the remaining battery charge.
Properly calibrating and maintaining your MacBook battery can improve its performance and delay battery replacement as long as possible. Therefore, obtaining accurate information is more important than maintaining the battery.
How do I calibrate my MacBook Pro battery? The battery calibration process has several well-organized steps. Therefore, use the following steps to calibrate your power management system:
1. Plug in your MacBook.
Plug in your MacBook charger and make sure it’s charging. Chargers and computers usually have an indicator light to indicate that the battery is charging.
2. Fully charge the battery.
You must make sure the battery is fully charged and the computer shows 100%. When fully charged, the light on the power adapter will change from orange (charging) to green (fully charged). To do this, you can flip the laptop over and press a button on the battery. If the battery is fully charged, all lights will turn green.
3. Make sure the battery is fully charged for two hours.
You should keep the adapter plugged in the entire time and make sure the adapter light stays green. Works fine on the computer, but don’t shut down the computer at any given time.
4. Disconnect the power adapter.
After two hours have passed, you can disconnect the adapter from your MacBook. This process will give the power management system time to analyze the battery.
5. Fully discharge the battery.
Keep your computer powered on and in normal use, and once the low battery life warning appears, save your work. When the battery is low, it will automatically go to sleep.
6. Leave the computer for 5 hours.
Do not charge the battery immediately. Give it at least 5 hours to release the last remnants of the battery. It also resets the processor to detect absolute zero power.
Charge the battery after 5 hours as it has been recalibrated. Your MacBook will start showing accurate battery status at all times.
This process takes a lot of time, but it’s good for your battery.
How many times can a Mac battery be cycled? Current Macs (i.e. MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros) use batteries that have been rated for 1000 battery cycles. That means this battery is good enough for at least three years of normal use.
Older types of Macs have batteries with 300 battery cycles, which means they have a shorter lifespan. Manufacturers use battery cycles to estimate battery life. Knowing your battery’s life cycle and remaining cycles will help you decide when to replace the battery.
To get more information about your MacBook Pro battery and battery cycles, follow these steps:
Press and hold the Option key, then click the Apple menu. Select the System Information option. Under the Hardware section of the System Information window, select Power. You will see the current cycle count listed under the Battery Information section.
Are you looking to upgrade to a MacBook Pro 14 or 16, or you’re entering desktop territory by pre-ordering the newly released Mac Studio. You can even keep an eye out for the rumored M2 MacBook Pro that may arrive later this year. But before you buy a new MacBook, you can get some money by selling your old Mac to help cover the cost of your new Mac. However, you will need to migrate your data to the new Mac and wipe the old Mac clean first.
Whether you give your Mac to a friend or family member, recycle it, or donate it to an organization, you need to wipe your personal information and files before separating from it.
Here’s how to remove all traces of your data and restore your old Mac to its default factory settings, let’s take a look!
1. Sign out of your account
First, you need to log out of all accounts. Now you have to quit three apps individually – Music, TV and Books. Open any of these applications and go to Account > Authorizations > Deauthorize This Computer. You will need to enter your Apple ID and password, then click the Deauthorize button.
Next, you need to turn off Find My Mac and sign out of iCloud. Go to System Preferences > Apple ID, click iCloud in the left panel, and uncheck Find My Mac. Next, click on Overview in the left panel, then click the Exit button.
Finally, you need to exit Messages. Open the Messages app, go to Messages > Preferences, click the iMessage tab, and then click Sign Out.
2. Bluetooth unpairing
If you’re giving your old Mac to your kids or someone else in the house, it’s a good idea to unpair any of its Bluetooth devices so your mouse or keyboard can control the new Mac without interfering with the old one. Go to System Preferences > Bluetooth, hover over the device you want to unpair, click the X button to the right of its name, then click Remove.
3. Reset NVRAM
NVRAM is the memory your Mac uses to save the settings it needs before loading MacOS: things like screen resolution, time zone, volume, and startup disk selection. Sometimes these files can get corrupted, so give your Mac’s next owner a fresh start by resetting the NVRAM. To do this, turn off your Mac, then turn it on and immediately hold down four keys simultaneously: Option, Command, P, and R. You can release the keys after about 20 seconds. That’s it! Your Mac’s NVRAM has been reset.
4. Factory reset
You will need to put your MacBook into recovery mode to erase all data and reinstall MacOS. To enter Recovery Mode on an Intel-based Mac, restart it and immediately hold Command-R. Once you see the Apple logo, you can release the keys.
Next, you will see the MacOS Utilities window. Select Disk Utility, click Continue and select your startup disk – unless you renamed it, it will most likely be labeled Macintosh HD or something like that. Next, click the Erase button at the top of the Disk Utility window and fill in the following two fields:
Name: Choose a name for the fresh new volume.
Format: Select APFS.
If you’re trying to sell an older Mac with a mechanical hard drive instead of a solid-state drive, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for formatting.
Next, click Erase Volume Group and when Disk Utility finishes, exit Disk Utility. You should return to the MacOS Utilities window. (If not, restart your Mac again, holding down Command-R as it restarts.) From the MacOS Utilities window, select Reinstall MacOS and follow the instructions to install the operating system. After you reinstall MacOS, the Setup Assistant will greet you, and you can log out and shut down your Mac. That’s it!
The laptops in the Apple MacBook line are engineered to last for years of normal use. However, if there was one piece of hardware that might need to be replaced at the time, it was the internal battery.
Your computer’s battery can only last a certain number of cycles, depending on your MacBook model. When these cycles are exhausted and your computer reaches its maximum cycle count, you will start to notice a drop in battery performance. Ultimately, you need to decide whether to keep using the laptop on just wired power, or buy a new battery.
About the number of cycles
Every time you use your MacBook, its battery goes through a charge cycle. A cycle is when you use all the battery power. The important thing to understand is that every time you charge your computer battery, you don’t run out of cycle counts. For example, if your MacBook’s battery is at 40% and you charge it, it’s currently 60% charged. The next day, you charge the battery at 50%, with 10% remaining in the cycle. In this case, you’ve had two days to run out of a cycle. In another example, you charge your MacBook’s battery 50% one day and 50% the next day. Here, it takes a full two days to use up a single charge cycle.
As you continue to use your MacBook, the battery’s charge capacity will slowly decrease. In fact, the charge cycle won’t last that long. When the device reaches its maximum cycle count, it should retain up to 80% of its original charge capacity, and it will drop from there.
Find your battery cycle count and health
To find the cycle count on a MacBook, hold down the Option key while clicking the Apple menu in the upper left corner. Select System Information. Under the Hardware section of the System Information window, select Power. You will see the current cycle count in the “Battery Information” section.
In the same section, you can also find the battery condition and its current maximum capacity percentage. If the battery condition is not “OK”, you should contact Apple Technical Support.
Maximum number of cycles
Apple has a list of maximum cycle count runs for each MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro version. Newer MacBook models have a maximum cycle count of 1000, while earlier models have a cycle count of 300 to 500.
