2026-03-21 05:44:41
iOS 26.4 isn't the major update with new Siri features that we hoped for, but there are some useful quality of life improvements, and a little bit of fun with an AI playlist generator and new emoji characters.
2026-03-21 03:55:45
The special-edition Nike Powerbeats Pro 2 are now available to order on Apple.com in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., and a handful of other countries. These headphones are the same as the regular Powerbeats Pro 2, except they have a two-tone design consisting of black and Nike's signature Volt neon green-yellow color.
Aside from the Nike-focused design, these are the same Powerbeats Pro 2 that were introduced last year, with the signature Powerbeats wraparound earhooks for stability, Active Noise Cancelling with Transparency mode, built-in heart rate monitoring, and up to 45 hours of battery life when tapping into the charging case to recharge.
Powerbeats Pro 2 are essentially a fitness-focused alternative to the AirPods Pro 3.
Nike showed off the headphones in an ad starring NBA superstar LeBron James.
2026-03-21 00:58:45
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss Apple's surprise announcement of the AirPods Max 2 this week.
2026-03-21 00:08:16
Both the MacBook Air and entry-level MacBook Pro now feature the M5 chip, so how do the latest models compare?
While the 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,099 and the 15-inch model at $1,299, moving to the 14-inch MacBook Pro requires spending at least $300 more. For some buyers, the extra cost is unnecessary; for others, the Pro's ability to sustain performance, along with its more advanced display and expanded I/O, meaningfully change the experience in ways the Air cannot match even with higher configurations.
With the introduction of the MacBook Neo as a new entry-level option, the Mac lineup now spans three distinct tiers. As a result, the MacBook Air no longer represents the default choice for most buyers, but instead occupies a middle position between affordability and performance. If you've already ruled out the MacBook Neo, this guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of Apple's other two popular laptops is best for you. The key differences are as follows:
| MacBook Air | MacBook Pro |
|---|---|
| 13.6- or 15.3-inch display | 14.2-inch display |
| Slimmer borders around the display | |
| LCD Liquid Retina display | Mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display |
| 60Hz refresh rate | ProMotion for refresh rates up to 120Hz |
| Up to 500 nits brightness | Up to 1,000 nits brightness and 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness |
| Nano-texture display option | |
| Passive cooling | Active cooling |
| Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports | Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports |
| HDMI 2.1 port with support for multichannel audio output | |
| SDXC card slot | |
|
13-Inch: Four-speaker sound system
15-Inch: Six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers |
High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers |
| Three-mic array with directional beamforming | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming |
| 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB storage |
|
13-Inch: 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
15-Inch: 66.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery |
14-Inch: 72.4-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery |
| 18-hour battery life | 24-hour battery life |
| 30W, 35W, or 70W USB-C Power Adapter | 70W or 96W USB-C Power Adapter |
| Silver, Sky Blue, Starlight, or Midnight color options | Silver or Space Black color options |
|
13-Inch: Starts at $1,099
15-Inch: Starts at $1,299 |
Starts at $1,599 |
| MacBook Air (13-Inch) | MacBook Air (15-Inch) | MacBook Pro (14-Inch) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 0.44 inches (1.13 cm) | 0.45 inch (1.15 cm) | 0.61 inches (1.55 cm) |
| Width | 11.97 inches (30.41 cm) | 13.40 inches (34.04 cm) | 12.31 inches (31.26 cm) |
| Depth | 8.46 inches (21.5 cm) | 9.35 inches (23.76 cm) | 8.71 inches (22.12 cm) |
| Weight | 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg) | 3.3 pounds (1.51 kg) | 3.4 pounds (1.55 kg) |
2026-03-20 23:53:31
While the MacBook Neo is not "fast-charge capable," according to Apple's tech specs, the laptop can still charge faster with certain Apple chargers.
Apple includes its 20W USB-C Power Adapter with the MacBook Neo (except in the UK and the EU, where the laptop does not ship with a charger at all), but a new charging test has revealed that Apple's 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter is a better choice if you want the fastest charging speeds at the lowest additional cost from Apple.
In the video below, ChargerLAB shows that the MacBook Neo reaches a peak charging speed of 18W with the included 20W charger, but this rises to 30W with Apple's 35W adapter, which is available in two sizes for $59 on Apple's online store.
2026-03-20 23:48:08
OpenAI has a Mac "superapp" in development that unifies its ChatGPT app, Codex coding platform, and Atlas browser, reports The Wall Street Journal ($).
The idea behind the all-in-one app is to simplify the user experience, following the launch of several standalone products, some of which haven't resonated with OpenAI's customers. The company is also trying to bounce back after the recent successes of its main rival, Anthropic.
OpenAI executives are said to be looking at areas it can deprioritize while it focuses on creating agentic AI capabilities within the new superapp that can work autonomously on a user's computer to carry out various tasks like writing code and analyzing data.
In an all-hands meeting last week, OpenAI's chief of applications Fidji Simo reportedly told employees they couldn't afford to be distracted by "side quests" given Anthropic's rapid success winning over enterprise and coding customers. From the report:
An OpenAI spokeswoman said the new "superapp" will enable teams inside OpenAI to work more closely together, and help the research division focus its efforts around improving one central product. Over the coming months, the company expects to add new "agentic" capabilities within its Codex app so it can help with productivity-related tasks beyond coding before merging ChatGPT and the Atlas browser into the superapp as well.OpenAI unveiled a series of major initiatives last year, like its Sora video app and the acquisition of Jony Ive's AI hardware venture. Since then, however, Anthropic has gained strong momentum with the success of its Code Claude and Cowork offerings.
