In January 2023, Apple released a HomePod 16.3 software update that adds humidity and temperature sensing to the second-generation HomePod and all HomePod mini models. This article explains how to use the features.
In January 2023, Apple announced a second-generation full-size HomePod featuring temperature and humidity sensors that can be used to measure the indoor climate, but it also released a software update that brought the same functionality to existing HomePod mini models.
Apple's HomePod mini was known to have unused temperature and humidity sensors, but now Apple has updated the software, these sensors are available features on the smaller smart speaker, too. Sadly, these sensors are not included in the first-generation HomePod.
To get a readout from the sensors, make sure you have updated your iPhone or iPad to 16.3 or later, which should allow you to update the HomePod software to 16.3, then follow these steps.
Open the Home app on your iPhone or iPad.
Select your home, and then the room in which the HomePod is located. Alternatively, tap the Climate button at the top of the main screen for your home.
Look for the Temperature and Humidity readings at the top of the screen. If you have multiple temperature sensors in the room, it will display an average of them. (If you've just updated your HomePod, the sensors may need a few minutes to calibrate.)
Tap the readout, then tap the sensor button again to access more options.
In the menu card that appears, you can change the name of the sensor, change which room it is linked to, check its status, and add an automation.
That's all there is to it. Note that you can also tap the Climate button in the main Home app screen to get a readout Be sure to check out the automation options, which can be handy for activating other devices in the room based on a rise or drop in temperature/humidity.
Apple with the iOS 16.2 update introduced an updated underlying architecture for HomeKit and the Home app, but it was pulled a week after launch because of bugs and installation issues. At the time, Apple said the removal was temporary and that the upgrade option would "return soon."
It appears that Apple is nearly ready to reintroduce the updated Home architecture, as backend code indicates that Apple is preparing a "version 2" and testing it internally.
Other than stating that the architecture would be made available "soon," Apple has provided no timing. We are expecting an iOS 16.4 beta to follow the iOS 16.3 launch, and it is likely that the architecture update will appear in that beta. As of now, we don't know when the beta is coming, but it could be as soon as this week.
With the launch of the second-generation HomePod, Apple did mention that the Sound Recognition feature coming in a spring update would require the revamped Home architecture, but we could see the architecture update ahead of when Sound Recognition is released.
Apple says that the update improves the reliability and efficiency of communication between smart home accessories and Apple devices, and it is something that Apple has been working on since iOS 16 was announced at WWDC in June 2022.
The first release of the new Home architecture caused some HomeKit devices to go missing from HomeKit setups or to be stuck with a "configuring/updating" status. It also resulted in invitations to share the Home with others failing, and it broke HomeKit Secure video recording for some.
The new M2-series MacBook Pro and Mac mini models launched today, marking the debut of the first M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. We have the M2 Pro Mac mini on hand, and thought we'd take a look at the machine and do a series of benchmarks to see how it fits into Apple's lineup.
Base model Mac mini machines come with either an M2 or M2 Pro chip, and like the now-discontinued Intel model, the M2 Pro has four Thunderbolt 4 ports while the M2 version has just two. Other than that distinction, the two Mac mini models are identical externally, offering two USB-A ports, an Ethernet port, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Because Apple transitioned from an older Intel chip to an Apple silicon chip with the high-end M2 Pro Mac mini, there is no direct comparison that we can make. Other M-series chips already outperformed the prior-generation Intel Mac mini, but to give some perspective, we thought we'd share some benchmarks comparing the M2 Pro Mac mini to the M1 Max MacBook Pro.
The M1 Max MacBook Pro features a 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU, and the higher-end base Mac mini with M2 Pro chip features a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU.
Here are our test results:
Speedometer(Web Responsiveness)
M2 Pro Mac Mini - 383
M1 Max MacBook - 319
Cinebench
M2 Pro Mac Mini:
Multi-core - 11696
Single-core - 1642
M1 Max MacBook Pro:
Multi-core - 12240
Single-core - 1528
Geekbench
M2 Pro Mac mini:
Single-core - 1886
Multi-core 11862
OpenCL - 38712
Metal - 45831
M1 Max MacBook Pro:
Single-core - 1787
Multi-core - 12721
OpenCL - 55866
Metal - 67403
Obviously the M1 Max is outperforming the M2 Pro when it comes to the GPU because it has twice the GPU cores, but the performance isn't doubled. The M2 Pro Mac mini is closer in performance to the M1 Max than you might expect.
The M2 Pro Mac mini is priced starting at $1299, a solid price for the performance that it's providing. If you're looking for a desktop machine that's affordable but still able to be used for video editing, 3D rendering, and similar tasks, it's worth looking into. Make sure to watch our video up above to see our full suite of benchmarks, and we'll have an M2 Max MacBook Pro video coming tomorrow.
While the new Mac mini with the M2 chip has a lower $599 starting price, the base model with 256GB of storage has slower SSD read and write speeds compared to the previous-generation model with the M1 chip and 256GB of storage.
A teardown of the new Mac mini shared by YouTube channel Brandon Geekabit reveals that the 256GB model is equipped with only a single 256GB storage chip, while the same configuration with the M1 chip has two 128GB chips. This difference explains why the new model has a slower SSD, as multiple NAND chips allow for faster speeds.
We have confirmed with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test benchmarking app that SSD read and write speeds for the new 256GB Mac mini are each around 1,500 MB/s, which is anywhere from 30% to 50% slower than read and write speeds for the equivalent previous-generation model, although benchmark results and real-world performance can vary.
Customers who are looking for the fastest SSD speeds should ensure they configure their M2 Mac mini with at least 512GB of storage to avoid this issue. A slower SSD can impact file transfer speeds, and overall performance can also take a slight hit since Macs temporarily use SSD space as virtual memory when physical RAM is fully used.
As for the higher-end Mac mini with the M2 Pro chip, the base model with 512GB of storage appears to have two fewer NAND chips than the Intel-based model it replaced, according to a teardown shared by MacStadium's Brian Stucki.
13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with the M2 chip and 256GB of storage also have slower SSD speeds due to a single NAND chip, and evidently Apple has not decided to change course with the new Mac mini.
In a statement shared with The Verge last year, Apple claimed that M2-based Macs have "even faster" performance for real-world activities, but it's unclear if the statement was referring to SSD performance or overall system performance:
Thanks to the performance increases of M2, the new MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro are incredibly fast, even compared to Mac laptops with the powerful M1 chip. These new systems use a new higher density NAND that delivers 256GB storage using a single chip. While benchmarks of the 256GB SSD may show a difference compared to the previous generation, the performance of these M2 based systems for real world activities are even faster.
We have reached out to an Apple spokesperson for additional comment on the matter and will update this story if we hear back.
Update: As noted by 9to5Mac, the new MacBook Pro also has slower SSD speeds when configured with 512GB of storage due to a reduction in NAND chips.
Tapbots, the company behind now-defunct Twitter client Tweetbot, today launched Ivory, an app that is designed to be used with the Mastodon social network.
Available for the iPhone and the iPad, Ivory has been in testing with a limited number of beta testers since late November, but with Twitter officially ending API access for third-party Twitter apps, Tapbots accelerated development and opted to launch an early version of Ivory.
Ivory has a Tweetbot-like layout that will be immediately familiar to Tweetbot users, offering the same general interface with tabs for a home timeline view, mentions, notifications, profile, lists, and more. There's support for multiple accounts, content warnings, muting, and polls, along with bookmarks, trending posts, post statistics, gif access, and options to view local and federated timelines.
Ivory includes different theme and app icons like Tweetbot, and now that it is the sole social network that Tapbots is focusing on, improvements will be able to be implemented at a rapid pace. As of right now, the app is not as full featured as Tweetbot was, but there is a development roadmap available on the Tapbots website.
Profile editing, post editing, improved hashtags, improved notifications, and an improved navigation bar are all on the horizon.
Ivory is free to download, but all features can be unlocked for a $1.99 per month/$14.99 per year subscription fee. [Direct Link]
Following the iOS 16.3, iPadOS 16.3, tvOS 16.3, watchOS 9.3, and macOS Ventura 13.2 updates that came out yesterday, Apple today released new 16.3 software created for the HomePod, second-generation HomePod, and HomePod mini.
According to Apple's release notes, HomePod software version 16.3 adds a number of new features. It activates temperature and humidity sensing for both the second-generation HomePod and the HomePod mini, allowing those readings to be used for home automation.
Ambient sounds have been remastered to be more immersive and can be added to scenes, automations, and alarms in the Home app, and recurring Home automations can be set up using Siri commands. Apple has also added a unique confirmation tone that will play when smart home requests are enacted for accessories that are located in a different room or that do not show a visible change. Find My integration for HomePod also lets you ask Siri for the location of friends and family.
For the first and second-generation larger HomePod models, optimized audio tuning provides improved clarity for spoken content like podcasts and audiobooks, and on the first-generation HomePod, there are updated volume controls for more granular adjustments at lower volumes. Apple's full release notes for the update are below.
HomePod software version 16.3 includes support for new features for your HomePod. This update also includes bug fixes and stability improvements.
- Temperature and humidity sensing measures your indoor climate with HomePod (2nd generation) and HomePod mini - Remastered ambient sounds are more immersive and can now be added to scenes, automations, and alarms in the Home app - Find My on HomePod now enables you to ask Siri for the location of friends and family, if they have shared it with you - Recurring Home automations can be set up using just your voice - Siri confirmation tone will now play to indicate when smart home requests are completed for accessories that may not visibly show a change or are located in a different room - Audio tuning optimizes spoken content such as podcasts for even greater clarity on HomePod (2nd generation) and HomePod (1st generation) - Updated volume controls on HomePod (1st generation) give you more granular adjustments at lower volumes
HomePod software is installed automatically on the HomePod unless the feature is disabled, but the HomePod can also be manually updated in the Home app by following the instructions in our HomePod update how to.
Apple today released tvOS 16.3, the third major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that originally came out in September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.3 comes six weeks after tvOS 16.2, an update that added Apple Music Sing.
The tvOS 16.3 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System > Software Update. Apple TV owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to tvOS 16.3 automatically.
tvOS updates are usually minor in scale, focusing on internal bug fixes and improvements rather than notable outward-facing changes. There is no word as of yet what's included in the tvOS 16.3 update, and no features were found during the beta testing process.
Apple shares information on tvOS releases in its tvOS support document, which is updated after each tvOS launch.
In celebration of Data Privacy Day on January 28, Apple has shared a short film in which actor Nick Mohammed from the hit Apple TV+ comedy series "Ted Lasso" learns about iPhone privacy features. Mohammed is accompanied by Von, who is an actual Specialist at Apple's Tower Theatre store in Los Angeles, according to Apple.
In particular, the video highlights privacy features such as Mail Privacy Protection, Intelligent Tracking Prevention, and App Tracking Transparency.
A new Today at Apple session called "Taking Charge of Your Privacy with iPhone" will help users better understand Apple's privacy features and how they can protect their data. The free session will be available at all Apple Store locations around the world starting January 28, with registration now open on Apple's website. Features covered will include Mail Privacy Protection, Safety Check, Location Services, and more.
"At Apple, we're focused on designing devices, features, and services that keep users in control of their personal data," said Erik Neuenschwander, Apple's director of user privacy. "Over the years we've integrated powerful privacy controls into our operating systems. This film and our new Today at Apple sessions will show users how they can take advantage of some of the features we offer, and understand how privacy is at the center of everything we do."
In its announcement, Apple reiterated its belief that privacy is a "fundamental human right," with more details available on Apple's privacy website.
In 2020, Apple unveiled the HomePod mini as the first addition to the HomePod lineup, with a new spherical design and the S5 chip. With a more affordable price tag of just $99, HomePod mini is a much more accessible and versatile version of Apple's smart speaker in a compact design.
Apple recently reintroduced the full-size HomePod, meaning that there are once again two HomePods to choose from. At three times the price of HomePod mini, should you buy the full-size HomePod, or choose its junior sibling? Our guide outlines the differences between the two HomePods and helps to answer the question of how to decide which may be best for you.
Similarities
Design with acoustically transparent mesh fabric and backlit touch surface that illuminates from edge to edge
Intercom, Find My, Siri Shortcuts, Ambient sounds, Music alarms, Sound Recognition, Home Theater with Apple TV 4K, and Lossless audio
Differences
HomePod mini
Compact, spherical design
3.3 inches tall
S5 chip from 2019's Apple Watch Series 5
Full‑range driver
Dual force-cancelling passive radiators
Three-microphone array
Available in White, Space Gray, Orange, Yellow, and Blue
$99
HomePod
Large, capsule design
6.6 inches tall
S7 chip from 2021's Apple Watch Series 7
High-excursion woofer
Five horn-loaded beamforming tweeter array
Four far-field beamforming microphones
Room-sensing
Support for Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Available in White and Midnight
$299
Design
At just 3.3-inches tall, the HomePod mini is much smaller than the full-size HomePod, which is just under seven inches tall. The HomePod mini also has a compact spherical design, while the original HomePod has a bulkier, capsule-like design. The HomePod is larger than the HomePod mini to accommodate additional audio hardware for a fuller sound.
Both devices are covered in Apple's audio-conductive mesh material and have a backlit touch surface that illuminates from edge to edge. The HomePod and HomePod mini share the Siri waveform that appears on the top display to indicate when Siri is engaged, and integrated touch controls for volume. Both HomePods are also dependent on a wired power cable, meaning that neither is portable.
The HomePod mini's compact spherical design is more discreet than its larger sibling, and will be the preferred device for tables and surfaces where you have limited space or don't want it to stand out. Likewise, the larger HomePod will be more appropriate on TV units and areas with more space.
The larger HomePod is only available in White and Midnight, while the HomePod mini is available in White, Space Gray, Orange, Yellow, and Blue – which might be an important consideration when buying to go with your interior decor.
Audio Hardware
Audio hardware is the most important area of difference between the two HomePods. HomePod mini offers a single full-range driver, powered by a neodymium magnet and a pair of force-canceling passive radiators, which enables deep bass and crisp high frequencies.
On the other hand, HomePod features a large, Apple-designed woofer for deep, clean bass, and a custom array of five beam-forming tweeters that provide pure high-frequency acoustics, each with its own amplifier and with directional control.
Both devices use an Apple-designed acoustic waveguide to direct the flow of sound down and out toward the bottom of the speaker for an immersive 360-degree audio experience. This allows users to place HomePod almost anywhere in a room and hear consistent sound.
The HomePod's larger size allows it to achieve a wider, deeper, and more spacious soundstage. It delivers richer, fuller, and louder sound compared to the HomePod mini. The HomePod mini still delivers clean, functional, and surprisingly good sound, but there is no doubt that the added size and audio components in the larger HomePod overshadows it significantly.
Microphones
HomePod mini uses a three-microphone array to listen for "Hey Siri," and a fourth inward-facing microphone helps isolate sound coming from the speaker to improve voice detection when music is playing. The larger HomePod uses an array of four microphones for the same reason.
These microphones help to cancel echo and enable Siri to understand people whether they are near the device or standing across the room, even while loud music is playing. It is unclear if the added microphones on the HomePod are to counteract its louder, larger sound profile, while the HomePod mini simply doesn't need a four-microphone array due to its smaller size, or if it is a point of material difference between the two models when it comes to sound isolation.
Processor and Software
The HomePod uses the S7 chip from the Apple Watch Series 7, while the HomePod mini uses the S5 chip from the Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE. The HomePod's processor allows it to use advanced software for real-time acoustic modeling, audio beam-forming, and echo cancelation.
HomePod mini uses its processor to maximize the performance of its less capable audio hardware. In an attempt to achieve big sound out of a compact design, the Apple S5 chip in HomePod mini works with advanced software to analyze the unique characteristics of the music and apply complex tuning models to optimize loudness, adjust the dynamic range, and control the movement of the driver and passive radiators in real-time.
The S7 chip in the larger HomePod likewise performs some unique functions, such as bass management through real-time software modeling that ensures the speaker delivers the deepest and cleanest bass possible, with low distortion.
Ultimately, the HomePod's processor is not a very important consideration when it comes to choosing between the two models. The S5 is an older chip, but the S7 is only marginally more powerful. The S7 is functionally the same as the S6 chip, meaning that it is only one generation newer than the S5 chip in practice. Both S-series chips run the same operating system and deliver computational audio with a comparable level of performance.
Many of the HomePod's operations are not processed locally, so a newer chip does not necessarily guarantee better real-world performance. Nevertheless, for locally processed tasks, the full-size HomePod is likely to perform marginally better, but not to the extent that it is worth choosing one over the other.
Spatial Awareness
The larger HomePod uses spatial awareness to sense its location in the room. This allows it to automatically adjust and optimize the audio based on its location in the room for improved sound quality. The HomePod can detect walls and corners, and uses this information with its directional tweeters to deliver sound evenly across the room, while reducing distortion and echo. Only the original HomePod has spatial awareness, and the HomePod mini does not have this feature.
Stereo Sound
Adding a second HomePod to your setup enables stereo sound to create a wider soundstage for richer, more enveloping sound. Each HomePod is able to play its own channel of either left or right sound, while separating out both the ambient and direct energy. Both devices can perform automatic detection and balance of two speakers using both direct and reflected audio. Even though the two speakers act as one, each HomePod communicates with each other to ensure that only one speaker responds to Siri requests.
While both HomePod and HomePod mini support this stereo pair capability, you cannot pair a HomePod mini and a full-size HomePod together. Instead, you can only pair two HomePods or two HomePod minis as stereo speakers. Both HomePods support multiroom audio and can be mixed together using that functionality, but not to achieve stereo sound.
The soundstage of the HomePod is much more impressive in stereo owing to its larger size, so while the HomePod mini is competent for stereo audio, the experience is undoubtedly much better with the full-size model.
Spatial Audio
Only the full-size HomePod supports Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, a feature that was added via the iOS 15.1 software update in 2021. If you plan to listen to a lot of Dolby Atmos audio, such as via Apple Music or in a home theatre setup, the full-size HomePod is your only option.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it is clear that the HomePod and HomePod mini are products that have different purposes. The HomePod is a more full-featured, high-end speaker focused on outstanding sound quality, while the HomePod mini is intended to be more accessible and versatile.
This is reflected in the HomePod mini's more affordable price. The HomePod mini may be better suited to areas such as hallways or kitchens, while the original HomePod seems to be better suited to larger rooms where audio content is consumed more regularly, such as living rooms.
The main reason to buy the larger HomePod is its better audio fidelity. If you want to use your HomePods to enjoy Spatial Audio, the larger HomePod is the only option, but the stereo experience and home theatre is also much better than with the HomePod mini. With its directional audio and spatial awareness, on top of its added audio hardware, the full-size HomePod is the device for when immersive sound is important and worth an additional $200.
In locations where the device may be used for Siri commands or podcasts more than music or TV audio, HomePod mini seems to be the better option. The HomePod mini is better when something more discreet is needed or in areas where it is used in passing. The HomePod mini still performs well in multiroom audio mode and its more affordable price tag allows users to acquire more of them for use around the home.
Apple this week shared a support document with details about its new Security Keys for Apple ID feature, available starting with iOS 16.3, iPadOS 16.3, and macOS 13.2. The document provides an overview of the feature and explains how to use it.
Apple says the optional security feature is designed for individuals who want "extra protection from targeted attacks, such as phishing or social engineering scams." When it is enabled, signing into an Apple ID requires entering your account's password and then using a FIDO Certified security key to complete two-factor authentication, instead of a traditional six-digit verification code from another Apple device.
Those who enable the feature must be very careful not to lose their security keys, as this could result in losing access to your Apple ID account permanently. For this reason, you must set up at least two security keys, with up to six supported in total.
Apple recommends keeping security keys in more than one place. For example, you could hide a key somewhere at home as a backup solution.
"Keep your security keys in a safe place, and consider keeping a security key in more than one place," the document says. "For example, keep one key at home and one key at work. If you're traveling, you might want to leave one of your security keys at home."
To enable Security Keys for Apple ID on an iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app, tap your name, tap "Password & Security," select "Add Security Keys" and follow the on-screen instructions. On the Mac, open the System Settings app, click on your name, click "Password & Security," click "Add" next to "Security Keys," and follow the steps.
Security keys can be removed at any time by repeating the steps outlined above and tapping or clicking on "Remove All Security Keys," at which point your Apple ID reverts to using a six-digit verification code for two-factor authentication.
Many security keys look similar to a USB thumb drive, with some options available with NFC for wireless use and others equipped with Lightning, USB-C, and/or USB-A ports for direct connectivity with iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Apple recommends a few security keys in the document, such as the YubiKey 5Ci with both Lightning and USB-C.
Apple's document provides some other important details, so it is worth reviewing before enabling the feature. For example, you can't sign in to iCloud for Windows when the feature is enabled, and some types of Apple ID accounts are not supported.
Amazon today has a collection of discounts on Apple's M2 iPad Pro, offering $200 discounts that mainly focus on the models with higher storage of 1TB and above. Across the board, all of the deals shared below are all-time low prices on the 2022 iPad Pro.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
11-Inch iPad Pro
Starting with the 11-inch M2 iPad Pro, you can get three models at a discount this week on Amazon. There's only one Wi-Fi model at a notable discount, and it's the 2TB Wi-Fi model for $1,699.00, down from $1,899.00.
If you want cellular, you can get the 1TB cellular tablet for $1,499.00, down from $1,699.00. The 2TB cellular model is discounted to $1,899.00, down from $2,099.00. All three of these sales represent all-time low prices on the 11-inch iPad Pro.
For the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, there are four models seeing all-time low prices right now on Amazon. You can get the 1TB Wi-Fi tablet for $1,599.00, down from $1,799.00; and the 2TB Wi-Fi tablet for $1,999.00, down from $2,199.00.
For cellular devices, Amazon has the 1TB cellular model for $1,799.00, down from $1,999.00. You can also get the 2TB cellular model for $2,199.00, down from $2,399.00.
Samsung says it is set to begin mass producing OLED laptop displays that integrate touch sensors directly into the panel, with the technology expected to make a debut in new Galaxy Book models next week (via ZDNet).
The panels use OCTA, or on-cell touch AMOLED technology, to achieve the feat, which allows them to be thinner than solutions that use a separate touchscreen panel film. Samsung claims that it is the world's first laptop OLED panel with an integrated touchscreen.
Previously only used in smartphones like the Galaxy S series and Apple's iPhones, the panels are expected to come in 13-inch and 16-inch sizes, and are capable of supporting 3K resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rates.
The Korean company did not say which laptop would debut the technology, but it is expected to unveil updated Galaxy Book laptops with OLED touchscreens at its Unpacked media on February 3. Samsung also plans to mass produce the OLED touchscreen panels for other laptop brands and partners as more makers transition to them.
Samsung has been supplying Apple with OLED displays for high-end iPhone models since 2017, and its latest announcement comes on the back of recent rumors that Apple is planning to launch its first MacBook with an OLED display in the next couple of years, potentially followed by an OLED touchscreen MacBook. Samsung is also said to be prioritizing the development of specific types of OLED displays that Apple plans to use in upcoming iPad Pro models.
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple could release the first OLED MacBook as early as next year. Kuo did not specify whether the OLED MacBook would be a Pro or Air model, but last month display industry analyst Ross Young said Apple plans to introduce a new 13-inch MacBook Air with an OLED display in 2024.
All existing MacBooks have LCD panels, with the latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro featuring mini-LED backlighting and ProMotion. Unlike LCDs with mini-LEDs, OLED displays have self-emitting pixels and do not require backlighting, which would give MacBooks even better contrast ratio and allow for longer battery life.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is also working on adding touchscreens to Macs, beginning with a MacBook Pro with an OLED display in 2025. The first MacBook Pro with a touchscreen would retain a traditional laptop design with a trackpad and a keyboard, but the display would gain support for touch input like an iPhone or iPad.
For years now, Apple has maintained that adding touchscreen technology to laptops results in a poor user experience ergonomically, so if Apple does go ahead with the plans it would be a major reversal for the company. The launch of a touchscreen OLED MacBook could arguably help consolidate Apple's Mac sales, which have been particularly strong since the transition to Apple silicon, but face a challenging couple of years ahead as demand for consumer electronics drops amid the global economic downturn.
Despite both being MacBook Pros, the M2 model and the high-end models are very different machines, so should you consider purchasing the lower-cost MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,299, to save money, or do you need the higher-end 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro, which costs at least $700 more? Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two Apple silicon MacBook Pros is best for you.
Comparing the 13-Inch MacBook Pro and 14- and 16-Inch MacBook Pro
The 13-inch MacBook Pro and high-end MacBook Pro share a large number of important features such as an Apple silicon chip, wide stereo sound, and Touch ID. Apple lists these same features of the two devices:
Similarities
Display with P3 wide color and True Tone
Apple silicon System on Chip (SoC)
Media engine with hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW, video encode and decode engines, and ProRes encode and decode engines
16-core Neural Engine
16GB unified memory option
512GB, 1TB, and 2TB storage options
Ambient light sensor
FaceTime HD camera with advanced image signal processor with computational video
Wide stereo sound
Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming
Touch ID
Backlit Magic Keyboard
Force Touch trackpad
3.5mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
At least two Thunderbolt 4 ports
Available in Space Gray and Silver
Apple's breakdown shows that the two MacBooks share a large number of key features. Even so, there are some meaningful differences between the M2 MacBook Pro and the 14- and 16-inch models that are worth highlighting, including design, chip options, battery life, and display brightness.
Up to 1,000 nits sustained (full-screen) brightness, 1,600 nits peak brightness
M2 chip
M2 Pro or M2 Max chip
8-core CPU
Up to 12-core CPU with eight performance cores and four efficiency cores
10-core GPU
Up to 19-core GPU with M2 Pro and up to 38-core GPU with M2 Max
100GB/s memory bandwidth
Up to 400GB/s memory bandwidth
8GB, 16GB, or 24GB of unified memory
16GB or 32GB unified memory with M2 Pro and 32GB, 64GB, or 96GB unified memory with M2 Max
256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage
512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB of storage
720p FaceTime HD camera
1080p FaceTime HD camera
Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers
Support for Dolby Atmos playback
Support for spatial audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers
Two Thunderbolt 4 ports
Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI 2.1 port, and SDXC card slot
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.3
Supports one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
Supports two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz (M2 Pro) or three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz (M2 Max)
Touch Bar
Full-size function keys
Integrated 58.2-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
Integrated 70 or 100-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
Up to 20 hours battery life when playing back video
Up to 18 or 22 hours battery life when playing back video
Both the entry-level and high-end MacBook Pro models are available in Silver and Space Gray, but their designs vary. Although the machines are around the same thickness, the 14-inch and 16-inch models do not feature tapered edges, making them appear thicker and bulkier. The keyboard area of the high-end MacBook Pro is also all-black. The dimensions of the three machines are listed below:
The 13-inch and 14-inch MacBook Pro are very similar in size, so the dimensions of these two machines should not heavily influence your decision. Instead, you may wish to consider that the 13-inch MacBook Pro features a much older design with a tapered look, compared to the rounder appearance of the high-end models. The high-end MacBook Pro's design has since spread to the M2 MacBook Air and offers a more modern look, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro uses a design from 2016.
Touch Bar
The Touch Bar is an OLED Retina multi-touch display strip built into the keyboard where the function keys traditionally go. It is contextual and can perform a range of different functions on the Mac depending on which app is in use.
The Touch Bar is a matte-style display that blends in with the rest of the keys on the keyboard and it supports True Tone, allowing the white balance to be adjusted to match the ambient lighting conditions. Interacting with the Touch Bar is done through taps, swipes, and other multi-touch gestures, with support for up to 10 fingers at a time.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro features the Touch Bar, while the 14- and 16-inch models simply have full-sized function keys. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is now the only remaining device with the feature, but if you enjoy the experience of the Touch Bar, you may prefer the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Ports and Connectivity
The selection of available ports is an area of major difference between the two machines. The 13-inch MacBook Pro features just two Thunderbolt 3 ports. The 14-inch and 16-inch models have three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and an SDXC card slot.
Both machines feature a 3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones, but the 13-inch MacBook Pro can support only one external display, while the high-end model can support up to four displays in total with the M2 Max chip. This all makes the high-end models much more versatile in terms of connectivity, and will be of particular value to professionals who use digital cameras or need to connect to external displays.
Display Size
The entry-level MacBook Pro's display is exactly 13.3 inches in size, which is considerably smaller than the 14.2 inches and 16.2 inches of the high-end models. 13.3 inches is still bigger than the largest iPad Pro model, which comes in at 12.9 inches, and will be adequate for most users.
The 16.2-inch display will be a better replacement for a desktop machine and provide much more screen space to arrange multiple windows and use professional applications that benefit from additional display area. The 14.2-inch display is still larger than the 13.3-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models from recent years, but still adds to the overall size of the machine. The larger MacBook Pros also feature slimmer bezels, a notch, and rounded top corners.
While the notch containing the webcam does eat into the display space very slightly, both high-end MacBook Pro displays are larger than previous models, so there is still more display area overall. In addition, the display area below the notch has an aspect ratio of exactly 16:10, just like previous MacBook Pro models, to ensure that the notch does not impede normal display views or watching media.
On this basis, if you are concerned about the notch, you should not necessarily feel obliged to get the larger, 16-inch MacBook Pro. That being said, since the notch is the same size on both models, it may be slightly less noticeable on the 16-inch model. If you strongly dislike the notch, it may simply be easier to opt for the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Display Technology
The display technologies of both machines are also significantly different. Like most MacBooks in recent years, the 13-inch model has an LCD Retina display. The 14- and 16-inch models feature Apple's newer mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR technology for deeper blacks, better dynamic range, and improved color accuracy.
The XDR display can get much brighter, reaching as high as 1,600 nits of brightness at its peak when showing HDR content. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models also have ProMotion displays, allowing them to vary their refresh rate up to 120Hz. The 13-inch model does not have a display with a variable refresh rate.
It will be worth getting the high-end MacBook Pro models for viewing and editing HDR content, as well as watching high-framerate video such as sports. The display of the 13-inch MacBook Pro will still be more than adequate for normal daily use, but the high-end model, offering deeper blacks and smoother on-screen motion, simply offers a better experience.
Chips
The 13-inch MacBook Pro has the M2 chip, while with the 14-inch and 16-inch models, you can choose between the M2 Pro or M2 Max chips. The M2 Pro and M2 Max are scaled-up versions of the M2 chip.
Single-Core Scores
M2: ~2,000
M2 Pro: ~2,000
M2 Max: ~2,000
Metal GPU Scores
M2: ~30,500
M2 Pro: ~52,700
M2 Max: ~87,000
Multi-Core Scores
M2: ~9,000
M2 Pro: ~15,000
M2 Max: ~15,000
The M2 Pro and M2 Max allow for a CPU with up to four additional CPU cores, 28 additional GPU cores, 80GB more memory, and 6TB more storage, compared to the M2 chip. The M2 chip is just as powerful as the M2 Pro and M2 Max in single-core tasks, but the M2 Pro and M2 Max are considerably better in multi-core and graphics tasks.
With significantly more transistors, performance CPU cores, and GPU cores, not to mention larger quantities of unified memory and higher memory bandwidth, the M2 Pro and M2 Max are powerful chips for professionals with demanding workflows. The M2, on the other hand, is more of a consumer-oriented chip focused on delivering impressive performance for day-to-day tasks and excellent efficiency to keep temperatures down and prolong battery life.
Camera
The high-end MacBook Pro has a considerably better 1080p webcam compared to the 13-inch model's 720p camera. If you frequently use the built-in webcam for video calls, you will have a noticeably better experience with the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Speakers
The 13-inch MacBook Pro has high dynamic range stereo speakers. With the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, Apple completely redesigned its speakers with a new six-speaker system that supports spatial audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos.
Both speaker setups are very capable for a laptop, but if you rely heavily on the built-in speakers, you will have a better experience with the high-end MacBook Pro models.
Battery Life
The 13-inch MacBook Pro offers two extra hours of battery life over the 14-inch MacBook Pro, but two hours less than the 16-inch MacBook Pro. According to Apple, the 13-inch MacBook Pro can deliver up to 20 hours of battery life during video playback. One the other hand, the 14-inch MacBook Pro can deliver 18 hours of battery life and the 16-inch model can deliver 22 hours of battery life.
Charging
The high-end MacBook Pros feature MagSafe 3 for easily connecting and disconnecting the charging cable from the machine using magnets. The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros are also capable of fast charging.
Other MacBook Options
If you are looking for a more affordable Apple silicon MacBook, there is the M1 MacBook Air, which sports the same processor as the M1 MacBook Pro, a 13.3-inch display, Touch ID, and ports, as well as most other hardware features, for a price starting at $999. For casual users, this means that the additional $300 to get the M1 MacBook Pro may be difficult to justify. It is a more consumer-oriented and slightly less capable machine compared to the MacBook Pro, but is more than adequate for most users.
M2 MacBook Pro still has a number of improvements over the MacBook Air, offering slightly better performance, a brighter display, the Touch Bar, improved microphone and speaker quality, two extra hours of battery life, and an active cooling system. If you want slightly better performance than the M1 MacBook Air, as well as better battery life, display brightness, and speaker and microphone quality, the MacBook Pro is the better option.
Likewise, users who intend to perform a lot of graphics-based tasks should skip the MacBook Air entirely and buy the M2 MacBook Pro because the eight-core GPU MacBook Air configuration is only $50 less than the MacBook Pro, which offers ten GPU cores, but this is only the case if you don't need more than 256GB of storage, because a storage upgrade would further push up the MacBook Pro's price.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is the best option for normal consumers. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is actually more akin to a MacBook Air than its high-end siblings, being more than good enough for the needs of casual users. It is lighter, smaller, and more portable than the 14-inch MacBook Pro. Starting at $1,299, the 13-inch MacBook Pro should be the default choice for the average consumer who is looking for something that is a little more than the MacBook Air.
Professionals who require larger and more accurate displays, additional ports, more memory and storage, and a very high level of performance should look to the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the $1,999 and $2,499 price points of these machines reflects this. These high-end MacBook Pros are not targeted at everyday consumers, being clearly tailored to creatives and professionals who rely heavily on the capabilities of their machines.
If you want the best possible performance, connectivity, display technology, and speakers, the high-end MacBook Pro is the best option. The 16-inch MacBook Pro in particular is also potentially a good desktop replacement machine due to its large display.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, which is $700 more than the $1,299 starting price of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. That being said, if you are looking to configure the 13-inch MacBook Pro with 16GB of memory and at least 512GB of storage, which brings it closer to parity with the 14-inch base-level model, it costs $1,699. For the additional $300, it will be worthwhile for these users to get the 14-inch MacBook Pro instead.
Starting today, the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini are available for pickup at Apple Stores in the U.S. and select other countries, with no pre-order required. Online orders will also begin arriving to customers today.
To order a product with Apple Store pickup, add the product to your bag on Apple.com or in the Apple Store app, proceed to checkout, select the "I'll pick it up" option, enter your ZIP or postal code, choose an available Apple Store location, select a pickup date, and select a 15-minute check-in window. Payment is completed online, and a valid government-issued photo ID and the order number may be required upon pickup.
Pickup dates for many standard configurations are showing as January 26 as of writing, with custom configurations not available until at least February 10. Some standard configurations may also be available for walk-in purchase today, but availability will vary.
Powered by Apple's latest M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, the new MacBook Pros offer up to 20% faster CPU performance and up to 30% faster graphics compared to the previous-generation models. The laptops can be configured with up to 96GB of RAM, compared to a max of 64GB previously. Other improvements include Wi-Fi 6E, an upgraded HDMI 2.1 port with support for up to an 8K external display, and an extra hour of battery life.
The new Mac mini is available with M2 and M2 Pro chip options. The desktop computer has no major design changes, but M2 Pro configurations are equipped with four Thunderbolt 4 ports and an HDMI 2.1 port, compared to two Thunderbolt 4 ports and HDMI 2.0 on the M2 model. Other upgraded specs include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
The new MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch model and at $2,499 for the 16-inch model, while the new Mac mini starts at $599.
Apple has been accused of "hypocrisy" and "cynicism" over its iPhone anti-tracking policy by an ad industry trade group that includes Meta and Google as members.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is an organization that develops standards to be used across the industry to control and regulate online advertising. It has Google, Meta, Adobe, and many other companies as members. This week, IAB CEO David Cohen had a few things to say about Apple's approach to iPhone policy and privacy.
Speaking at IAB's annual leadership meeting (via Ad Age), Cohen accused Apple of "attacking" the ad industry from the inside, saying Apple represents "cynicism and hypocrisy." Cohen said "while there are no shortage of extremists attacking our industry from the outside, there are some attacking it from the inside out. Most notably, Apple exemplifies the cynicism and hypocrisy that underpins the prevailing extremist view."
Cohen explains that while Apple requires apps to ask users for permission before tracking them across apps and websites owned by other companies, the company can track its own users without accountability. Cohen refers to a feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT), launched in April 2021, that forces apps to ask users for explicit consent before tracking them. "It can't be that 'personalization' in the Apple ecosystem equals 'tracking' outside of it," Cohen said. "That's not really a fair fight."
App Tracking Transparency pop-up required for apps
Apple requires third-party apps to ask users for permission before tracking them, but the company's stock apps do not since they don't track users, according to Apple's senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in April 2021 about ATT, Federighi explained that no Apple app would have the ATT pop-up since "there's no Apple app or service that tracks users." Federighi added that if Apple launched an app or service that tracked users, it would comply with its own App Store policy.
Apple is currently facing a class action lawsuit that alleges it records users' mobile activity without their consent, despite Apple's privacy assurances. The lawsuit accuses Apple of providing "utterly false" assurances that iPhone users are in control of their data. "Apple records, tracks, collects and monetizes analytics data — including browsing history and activity information — regardless of what safeguards or 'privacy settings' consumers undertake to protect their privacy," the lawsuit reads.
Apple's App Store policy and approach to privacy have been an increasingly more prominent concern for international organizations and companies, from the EU to Meta, Google, and Spotify. This week, Spotify and others penned a letter to the EU calling Apple's policy "anti-competitive" and "harmful" for companies.
The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros powered by the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips feature faster SSD write speeds compared to their predecessors, according to tests and reviews of the new laptops.
This week, select reviewers and media outlets had the chance to review the new MacBook Pros ahead of their availability starting Tuesday, January 24. As part of their reviews, Macworld and Tom's Guide tested the SSD read and write speeds of the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in Apple's latest laptops.
When Macworld tested with the Blackmagic disk speed app, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro in a 2TB storage configuration achieved a read speed of 5,372 MB/s and a write speed of 6,491 MB/s. The previous-generation 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip and 1TB of storage scored a slightly higher 5,797 MB/s read speed than the 16-inch M2 Pro; however, it scored a lower write speed of 5,321 MB/s.
Blackmagic disk speed results according to tests by Tom's Guide (read/write)
Test results published by Tom's Guide also show that the new M2 Pro has faster write speeds than the M1 Pro, but slightly slower read speeds. Testing the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max, the laptop scored similarly to the 16-inch M2 Pro, achieving a read speed of 5,319 MB/s and a write speed of 6,402 MB/s.
Although the new MacBook Pros have slightly slower read speeds according to these tests, users are unlikely to notice a difference in everyday performance unless they work with significantly large files. Storage speed and performance is also affected by other factors, such as the storage capacity.
Last year, it emerged that Apple significantly cut SSD speeds for the M2 base model MacBook Air by including one less SSD chip in the laptop. With 256GB of storage capacity, the MacBook Air features a single 256GB NAND chip, leading to up to 50% slower read speeds and up to 30% slower write speeds compared to the previous MacBook Air with two 128GB NAND chips. Apple argued in a statement that the MacBook Air has "even faster" real-world performance.
Reviews of the latest M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in the updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros praised the fast performance of the new chips, even longer battery life, and an upgraded HDMI 2.1 port. Thanks to the efficiency of the new chips, the updated 16-inch MacBook Pro features the longest battery life ever in a Mac, lasting up to 22 hours.
The new second-generation HomePod appears to have a significant backlog of pre-orders, delaying shipping dates by up to seven weeks in certain markets for Apple's latest smart speaker.
Last week, Apple announced a new HomePod with a slightly updated design, an S7 chip for faster performance and "more advanced" computational audio, a larger backlit touch surface, and other new features. Pre-orders for the new HomePod have been open for less than a week since its announcement on Tuesday, January 18.
In the United States, the midnight HomePod is estimated to ship in three to four weeks, much later than the HomePod's launch date of Friday, February 3. The white HomePod, however, is listed as having no delay. In the United Kingdom, the midnight HomePod faces a five- to six-week delay in shipping. In other markets, such as Germany, both colors of the new HomePod face more than a month delay.
The updated HomePod comes approximately two years after Apple discontinued the original smart speaker. The original HomePod was not the market success Apple was hoping for due to several factors, including the speaker's $349 price at launch and limited features. Apple's new HomePod is its latest attempt to grow its presence in the smart home market, which Google and Amazon have dominated for several years.
WhatsApp has been working on an updated Mac app that features native Apple silicon support since the summer, and a beta version of the app is now available to all WhatsApp users who want to try it out.
The beta was previously available to a limited number of people with WhatsApp TestFlight access, but WhatsApp is expanding testing ahead of an official release. Note that this is still a beta, so some features might not be functioning as expected.
Apple silicon Macs have access to the Electron-based Intel version of WhatsApp for Mac through Rosetta 2, but this is the first time that a native version has been made widely available. The Apple silicon-optimized Universal app will run faster and use less resources on machines with the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Max chips.
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