Details on Intel's upcoming 15-watt 6200U - 6600U Skylake processor lineup were shared today by Fanless Tech, giving us a look at what we can expect from the processors that will likely be used in Apple's next MacBook Air update.
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The 2.3GHz i5-6200U and the 2.4GHz i5-6300U chips are appropriate for the lower-end MacBook Air models, while the 2.5GHz i7-6500U and the 2.6GHz i7-6600U would be used in the higher-end MacBook Air models. All four chips include Intel HD 520 graphics. With Skylake, Intel has opted to simplify its graphics naming scheme, adopting 3-digit numbers instead of 4-digit numbers.
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It is not clear when Intel plans to release the Skylake chips appropriate for the MacBook Air, but with full specs now available, it seems launch is imminent, perhaps planned for next week's Intel Developer Forum.
According to the information available, 28-watt chips appropriate for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro will not be launching until 2016. Launch dates are equally unclear for the rest of the Skylake lineup, as today's leak only covers chips that would be used in the MacBook Air.
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Intel's Skylake processors are expected to offer a 10 to 20 percent boost in CPU performance over Broadwell, plus lower power consumption and improved Intel HD integrated graphics performance. Better energy efficiency will also lead to up to 30 percent longer battery life.
Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 9:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the first iOS 26.2 beta last week. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date....
Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose.
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 11:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While it was rumored that Apple planned to release new versions of the HomePod mini, Apple TV, and AirTag this year, it is no longer clear if that will still happen.
Back in January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple planned to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year," while he at one point expected a new AirTag to launch "around the middle of 2025." Yet,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 9:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that iPhone users can now create a Digital ID in the Apple Wallet app based on information from their U.S. passport.
To create and present a Digital ID based on a U.S. passport, you need:
An iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26.1 or later, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later running watchOS 26.1 or later
Face ID or Touch ID and Bluetooth turned on
An Apple Account ...
Tesla is working to add support for Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Tesla vehicles rely on its own infotainment software system, which integrates vehicle functions, navigation, music, web browsing, and more. The automaker has been an outlier in foregoing support for Apple CarPlay, which has otherwise become an industry standard feature, allowing users to...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 3:29 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26.2, which adds a few new features worth knowing about.
Measure App
Apple's Measure app now features a Liquid Glass design for the level, with two Liquid Glass bubbles instead of white circles.
Games App
There's now an option to sort games in the Games app Library by size, in addition to Name and Recent.
CarPlay
The...
Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account.
In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Wednesday November 12, 2025 2:49 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Update: It took a day, but Apple has now corrected its Apple Intelligence device compatibility list to show support for the earliest Apple silicon Macs. The original article follows.
Apple's website is causing some confusion among Mac owners, and for good reason – its device compatibility listing for Apple Intelligence appears to have dropped support for M1 Macs.
The U.S. version...
It's not going to happen, but boy do I wish Intel would do something about their confusing naming schemes.
It was bad enough that we're now up to six generations of "Core i3/5/7" processors, the only way to differentiate between which is a somewhat random part number that means nothing unless you look it up in Intel's Ark, or an arbitrary code name that isn't printed anywhere on the box.
Now they've dropped a zero from the GPU model numbers they've been using for years, which adds additional confusion to anybody who doesn't actively follow these things. "No, no, that's a 520, which is newer and much faster than a 5200."
It's not that the information is impossible to come up with in most cases (apart from computers that come with a "Core i5" CPU without specifying in any way what generation or model it is), but it's needlessly confusing, particularly for the not-wildly technical. "Well, yes, they both say "Core i7" on them, and the GHz number is the same, but this one is way faster because it's actually three generations newer." or "Yes, they both say "i5", but this one has two cores and is a low-power mobile part, while this one has four cores and is a high-power desktop part. And also the generations are completely different."
Even Apple, masters of opaque product names, has a model year associated with each "iMac", has neatly sequentially numbered A-series processors, and their arbitrarily-named OSes have a simple version number to make it clear.
