This week Apple's AirTag 4-Pack hit an all-time low price at $34 off, and we're still tracking this great deal today, along with big discounts on AirPods, charging accessories on Amazon, and the 11th generation iPad.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

AirPods

• What's the deal? Take up to $69 off AirPods Max and AirPods Pro 2


• Where can I get it? Amazon


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

The AirPods Pro 2 are at a solid $79 discount this week on Amazon, available for $169.99, down from $249.00. You can also get the AirPods Max for $479.99, down from $549.00.

AirTag

• What's the deal? Get $34 off AirTag 4-Pack


• Where can I get it? Amazon


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon has the AirTag 4-Pack for the all-time low price of $64.99, down from $99.00. You can also get a 1-Pack for $24.99, which is a second-best price.

Amazon Sale

• What's the deal? Save on popular brands like Anker, Jackery, and Ecovacs


• Where can I get it? Amazon


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon this week has a few notable sales from popular brands like Satechi, Jackery, Anker, and Ecovacs. These include discounts on everything from MagSafe-compatible car chargers to portable power stations, Find My compatible wallets, and robot vacuums. You can find every deal in our original post.

• Nano USB-C 30W Foldable Charger - $15.99, down from $19.99


• 10,000 mAh Magnetic Power Bank - $34.99, down from $49.99


• Soundcore V40i Open-Ear Headphones - $49.99, down from $79.99


• 10,000 mAh MagGo Qi2 Power Bank - $56.99, down from $89.99


• 140W 4-Port USB-C Charger - $79.99, down from $99.99


• Power Station with Lantern - $79.99, down from $149.99

iPad

• What's the deal? Get $50 off 11th gen iPad


• Where can I get it? Amazon


• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon this week is taking $50 off Wi-Fi models of Apple's 11th generation iPad. Prices start at $299.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi iPad, down from $349.00, a second-best price on this model.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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This article, "Best Apple Deals of the Week: AirTag 4-Pack Hits $64.99 All-Time Low Price Alongside Sales on AirPods and iPad" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.


In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in search.

The system is said to be similar to Search Ads in the App Store, which allows developers to pay to have their software appear in a promoted slot above other results for relevant queries. Apple's approach reportedly leverages AI to deliver relevant and useful results, in a better interface than similar offerings from Google and other companies. Gurman warned that the move risks some amount of consumer backlash.


This article, "Apple Reportedly Moving Ahead With Ads in Maps App" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is considering bringing advertising to Apple Maps search beginning in 2026, according to the Power On newsletter from Mark Gurman. This is part of a larger effort for the company to bring more advertising to iOS.

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Apple is planning to bring an iPhone 17 Pro-style vapor chamber to the iPad Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that with increasingly powerful chips, Apple is planning to bring vapor chamber cooling to the ‌iPad Pro‌. The new feature could arrive as soon as with the next generation, which will likely feature the "M6" chip made with TSMC's 2-nanometer process. The liquid cooling system would help mitigate throttling, especially as the ‌iPad Pro‌ becomes more capable at handling intense workflows.

If the move to bring a vapor chamber to the iPhone and ‌iPad Pro‌ prove successful, Apple could turn its attention to bringing the technology to other passively cooled devices like the MacBook Air. Apple is now seemingly operating an approximate 18-month refresh cycle for the ‌iPad Pro‌, so next-generation model should arrive in the spring of 2027, according to Gurman.


This article, "M6 iPad Pro Likely to Feature Vapor Chamber Cooling" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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According to iPad Pro models stay performant whilst still being fanless and incredibly thin.

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Apple used the launch week of the M5 Vision Pro this week to run a two-day "Meet with Apple" program for developers, with a focus on building immersive media and interactive apps for visionOS 26.


Apple invited developers to its Developer Center in Cupertino, hosting sessions on how to create Apple Immersive Video, design spatial interactions, and use features such as SharePlay and spatial Personas.

During this Day 1 livestream, we'll show how visionOS 26 can help you tell impactful immersive and interactive stories. You'll learn how to frame your creative ideas for formats like Apple Immersive Video and explore real-world examples from past productions. You'll discover how to design for spatial interaction and tell stories that make the audience part of your experience. And you'll find out how to use SharePlay and spatial Personas to help people connect over your ideas.

On Day 2, we'll dive deep into Apple Immersive Video and Apple Spatial Audio. You'll discover how to create entirely new media experiences, get started with Apple Immersive Video, explore new production workflows, and dig into previous Apple Immersive productions.

Full recordings of both day one and day two are available for replay on the Apple Developer YouTube channel. Apple announced the M5 Vision Pro on October 15 and in-store availability began on October 22.
This article, "Apple Hosts Special Vision Pro Event for Developers" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android.


The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming language would be officially extended to support Android app development through the establishment of a dedicated Android Working Group within the Swift open-source project.

Android interoperability is handled by swift-java, which can automatically generate bindings between Java and Swift so developers can use Swift code alongside existing Android APIs and Java code. The Swift Package Index now marks packages with Android support and says over 25% of all packages already build on Android, giving developers a base of reusable code.

The Swift SDK for Android is already available in nightly preview form bundled with the Swift for Windows installer or as a separate download for Linux and macOS users. A new Getting Started guide with end-to-end setup instructions and a set of example Android projects written in Swift to illustrate complete workflows is also available.

The group is preparing a vision document to set future priorities and is tracking progress on a public project board.
This article, "Developers Can Now Make Android Apps With Apple's Swift" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Once again, Apple has dropped a limited edition Apple Card offer for new users who choose to sign up. Typically, the Apple Card does not offer a sign up bonus, so this is worth looking into.

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Foxconn, Apple’s primary manufacturing partner, will double monthly production of new AirPods at their facility in Hyderabad, India.

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Just as the iPhone 17 lineup hit stores last month, iMazing 3.4 rolled out with full support for iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and the new devices.

The update features multiple enhancements to the tools that give superpowers to iPhone users of any level, and 9to5Mac readers can get a limited-time 20% discount on all licenses with the code 9to5mac-20off. Here’s what’s new.

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Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

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Everyone, at least in the United States, likely feels a need to improve their fitness and health – but doesn’t quite know how to. Or, if they have, they end up losing motivation and then give up because they don’t want to feel bad. I’m sure we’ve all heard the stat that most New Years resolutions are to go to the gym more, and most people give up after just a couple weeks. FitWoody flips the script.

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I have an AirTag on my keychain to keep track of my keys, but obviously an AirTag is too big and bulky to fit inside a wallet. That’s what the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is for, currently discounted to just $17.99 each (Disclosure: Affiliate links are used in this article in cooperation with SwitchBot.).

Disguised inside a thin, credit-card form factor, the SwitchBot Wallet Finder connects to the Find My app on your iPhone, so you can follow its location, and it even houses a speaker so you can make it beep to help you find your wallet when it inevitably gets lost somewhere in your home. Read on for my review …

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Yesterday we started tracking notable discounts on Apple's new M5 iPad Pro, with deals mostly focused on 13-inch models. Today, Amazon has now introduced a new all-time low price on the entry-level 11-inch M5 iPad Pro, available for $949.00, down from $999.00.

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.

In terms of the 11-inch M5 iPad Pro, this is still one of the only steeper discounts, with others sitting around $25 off. If you're shopping for the 13-inch M5 iPad Pro, you'll find the 256GB Wi-Fi model for $1,249.00 ($50 off), the 512GB Wi-Fi model for $1,449.00 ($50 off), and the 2TB Wi-Fi Nano-Texture Glass model for $2,299.00 ($100 off).



The M5 iPad Pro launched this week, and features the new M5 chip, faster SSDs, N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and more. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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This article, "Apple's 11-Inch M5 iPad Pro Hits New Low Price of $949 on Amazon" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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9to5Mac Security Bite is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Making Apple devices work-ready and enterprise-safe is all we do. Our unique integrated approach to management and security combines state-of-the-art Apple-specific security solutions for fully automated Hardening & Compliance, Next Generation EDR, AI-powered Zero Trust, and exclusive Privilege Management with the most powerful and modern Apple MDM on the market. The result is a totally automated Apple Unified Platform currently trusted by over 45,000 organizations to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.

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When Apple dropped App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompts in iOS 14.5 back in 2021, it was a watershed moment for user privacy within third-party applications. Nothing like it had existed prior. The initiative gave iPhone users control over whether their in-app data could be aggregated and shared with third parties for advertising or other various purposes.

Still, today, I often find comments online from people who don’t really know what it does and find the wording very taboo. Like, why “Ask” the app? And is it still effective? Let’s briefly look at App Tracking Transparency in 2025…

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With the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro lineup, Apple shipped a major upgrade alongside the A19 Pro chip – 12GB of unified memory. That’s 50% more than the iPhones that directly preceded it, and double what iPhones offered just a couple years ago.

However, the base iPhone 17 with its A19 chip missed out on this upgrade – still sticking with 8GB of unified memory. According to one report from The Bell (via MacRumors), though, that might change with the next model.

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As the house’s tech dad, I’m responsible for ensuring we have everything we need whenever we head out, whether it’s a weekend away, a park day, or just a long afternoon running errands. At the center of it all sits my iPad mini 7. It’s the device that does everything: work, content, notes, games, and even kid-friendly apps. Around that, I’ve built my perfect everyday-carry setup to keep my whole family powered, connected, and ready for anything. Here are some of my go to accessories!

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Roughly a month after the release of the latest flagship iPhone models, it's looking the new iPhone Air isn't selling as well as Apple had hoped for, and that's leading to significant production cuts as Apple seeks to balance supply to meet demand.


This week also saw a new round of betas for iOS 26.1 and related updates with a significant tweak for Liquid Glass, while we heard more rumors about Apple's plans for future iPhone models, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!

Top Stories

Apple's iPhone Air Experiment Fails as Supply Chain Cuts Production by 80%

A number of supply chain reports in recent days have indicated that Apple's new ultra-thin iPhone Air is not selling well overall, and Apple has reportedly dramatically scaled back production to meet the current levels of demand.


Analysts at Mizuho Securities indicated last week Friday that Apple was planning to cut iPhone Air production amid underwhelming sales, and this week another analyst survey revealed "virtually no demand" for iPhone Air while noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that iPhone Air suppliers are expected to reduce capacity by more than 80%.

Reports of dire overall sales of iPhone Air come just as the device sold out upon launch in China last week, although it's unclear what the sustained levels of demand will be there. The eSIM-only iPhone Air saw a delayed launch in China due to required approvals for the technology.

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Apple made a big change to its new Liquid Glass design in the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 released this week, introducing a toggle that allows users to choose between a more glass-like Clear look and a more opaque Tinted look.


We went hands-on with the new option to see how the two looks differ, with the Clear one emphasizing the glassy aspects of the new design and the Tinted one making buttons and other user interface elements more readable in some circumstances.

The fourth beta of iOS 26.1 features a few other changes, including an option to turn off the Lock Screen swipe gesture that normally opens the Camera app, an option to turn off haptic feedback when phone calls are connected or dropped, and more.

Apple's Plan to Launch Three New iPhone Designs Allegedly Revealed

We've been hearing rumors about Apple introducing several new phones in the coming years, and a new report corroborates details on Apple's plans.


Apple will reportedly be launching its first foldable iPhone in 2026, featuring a book style similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold, although some analysts have concerns that work on the crucial hinge of the device could push a release back to 2027.

After the first foldable, Apple is expected to release a special 20th-anniversary iPhone with "zero" bezels around the display with the OLED display bending around all four sides of the device. And in 2028, Apple will reportedly release a clamshell-style foldable iPhone similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip.

M4 vs. M5 Chip Buyer's Guide: How Much Better Really Is M5?

Apple debuted its new M5 chip last week in the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro, but just how much better is it than the previous-generation M4 chip?


Apple emphasizes strong improvements in graphics and AI capabilities, with more modest gains in CPU performance, although it still features the highest single-core CPU performance score ever seen in Geekbench benchmark testing.

GM to Remove CarPlay from All Future Vehicles, Including Gas Cars

Back in 2023, General Motors made waves for its decision to end support for CarPlay and Android Auto in its electric vehicles, forcing users toward what it claimed was a more integrated experience in the native infotainment system.


While the decision didn't sit well with many potential car buyers, GM not only didn't back down but has now revealed that it will be making the same move in its gas-powered lineup as those vehicles get major refreshes.

Calling it "a very Jobsian approach to things," GM likened its decision to Steve Jobs' efforts to phase out the disk drive and other technologies in favor of more modern solutions. GM didn't give a timeline for the transition and told MacRumors that existing gas-powered vehicles will continue to offer CarPlay for the "foreseeable future," but that they will "gradually move to a better, more deeply integrated experience."

Former Apple Employee Sam Sung Changed His Name to Avoid Attention

Apple fans who have followed the company for a while may remember the story of Sam Sung, an Apple retail employee from Vancouver, Canada, who drew attention for his name's similarity to that of one of Apple's primary competitors.


Business Insider recently caught up with him, learning about the stress he endured due to the publicity. Sung left Apple in 2013 amid a desire to move on from retail, and he later changed his name because he "didn't want to be known for being an internet joke."

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!
This article, "Top Stories: iPhone Air Flops?, New Liquid Glass Toggle, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.

It began in 2020, and since then, Apple has steadily gone from the computer employees begging IT to support to a platform CIOs now consider as mission-critical. A new CIO survey shows Apple makes up 63% of endpoints in the enterprise today. 95% of IT leaders plan to grow their Mac purchases over the next two years. 73% are already running AI workloads on Apple devices. Apple Silicon, combined with end-to-end hardware and software, and strong price-to-performance, has led to an incredible run for Apple in the enterprise.

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Foxconn's facility in Hyderabad, India is preparing to double monthly AirPods output and more than double its workforce as Apple accelerates accessory manufacturing in the country, the Economic Times reports.


Foxconn will apparently raise capacity at its Kongara Kalan plant from more than 100,000 units per month to 200,000 units per month by overhauling five existing assembly lines and installing additional equipment that is being transferred from facilities in Vietnam. The site began production of AirPods in April after machinery and tooling were relocated.

The workforce of around 2,000 employees is also likely to rise to 5,000 in the next six to eight months. The current assembly mix at the plant includes the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3.

The step-up in Hyderabad follows a temporary constraint in July, when AirPods production was hampered by a shortage of dysprosium after China tightened export controls on rare earth metals. The expansion of AirPods production in India is part of a broader strategic production shift in Apple's supply chain as it diversifies its manufacturing across different countries.
This article, "Apple Preparing to Make More AirPods in India" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The Windows 10 end-of-support deadline is driving the largest coordinated PC replacement cycle in years across the industry, and Apple is emerging as one of the main beneficiaries as Mac shipments accelerate.


Counterpoint Research this week reported that nearly 40% of the global installed PC base was still running Windows 10 ahead of the October 2025 cutoff, triggering early fleet renewals across both commercial and consumer channels. This pressure lifted shipments for most large brands, and the Mac is among the strongest gainers. According to Counterpoint, Apple's global Mac shipments grew 14.9% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, supported by demand for new MacBook models and rising enterprise adoption of Apple hardware.

Lenovo remained the largest PC vendor and had the highest annual growth at 17.4% year-over-year. Asus saw 14.1% year-over-year growth. HP followed with a 10.3% increase, driven by commercial penetration. Dell shipments declined 0.9% year-over-year. Counterpoint said that the top five vendors together controlled nearly three-quarters of the global PC market in the period, while smaller brands were flat or down.

Counterpoint noted that computer companies have started marketing systems with neural processing units and integrated AI features. While these features have not yet converted into a primary sales driver at scale, enterprise buyers are beginning to incorporate AI capability requirements into forward procurement so as not to retire devices before emerging AI workflows arrive.
This article, "Windows 10 Deadline Boosts Mac Sales" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 could feature 50% more memory than its predecessor, according to Korea's The Bell.


With its latest iPhone lineup, the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max feature 12GB of memory. This is a significant increase of 4GB more their predecessors, largely driven by the demands of on-device artificial intelligence processing.

The iPhone 17 is the only new model to continue to feature 8GB of memory. It looks like that will change with the ‌iPhone 18‌, with Apple reportedly seeking memory parity across all four models. Apple has apparently asked Samsung, a key supplier of RAM for the ‌iPhone‌, to increase its supply of LPDDR5X chips for the next ‌iPhone‌ lineup.

Samsung's high-performance LPDDR5X launched in 2024 is only available in 12GB and 16GB configurations, making another standard ‌iPhone‌ with 8GB of memory unlikely. Apple is also said to be in talks with SK Hynix and Micron for additional mobile DRAM supply.

The ‌iPhone Air‌ 2, ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro, ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro Max, and foldable ‌iPhone‌ are expected to launch in the fall of 2026, with the ‌iPhone 18‌ and ‌iPhone‌ 18e following in the first half of 2027.
This article, "iPhone 18 Rumored to Feature 50% More RAM" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple has refreshed both tiers of its MacBook lineup in 2025, first updating the MacBook Air with the M4 chip and now introducing the MacBook Pro with the new M5 chip, so how do the latest models compare?


While the 13- and 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ continue to start at $999 and $1,199 respectively, moving to the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ requires spending at least $400 more. For some buyers, the extra cost is unnecessary; for others, the Pro's hardware advantages meaningfully change the experience in ways the Air cannot match even with higher configurations. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two popular laptops is best for you. Beyond their chips, 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
256GB, 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 $999 15-Inch: Starts at $1,199	Starts at $1,599

Dimensions are also a key area of difference between the ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌. The ‌MacBook Pro‌ is noticeably thicker and heavier than both ‌MacBook Air‌ models:

	‌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)

With the latest version of the ‌MacBook Pro‌, Apple is touting the power of the M5 chip. Compared to the M4, it says the M5 is:

• Up to 15% faster multithreaded CPU performance


• Up to 30% faster overall graphics performance


• Up to 45% faster ray tracing performance


• 27.5% higher unified memory bandwidth

In addition to general performance claims, Apple published a set of specific real-world workload results showing measurable gains in AI-driven applications:

• 4×+ peak GPU compute performance for AI


• 3.6× faster time to first token (LLM)


• 1.8× faster Topaz Video Enhance AI processing


• 1.7× faster Blender ray-traced rendering


• 2.9× faster AI speech enhancement in Premiere Pro

Other notable changes compared to the M4 chip in the ‌MacBook Air‌ include:

M4 Chip	M5 Chip
Made with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process (N3E)	Made TSMC's third-generation ‌3nm‌ process (N3P)
Based on A18 Pro chip from iPhone 16 Pro	Based on A19 Pro chip from iPhone 17 Pro
No integrated Neural Accelerators	Integrated Neural Accelerator in every GPU core
Metal 3 developer APIs	Metal 4 developer APIs with Tensor APIs to program GPU Neural Accelerators
Second-generation ray tracing engine	Third-generation ray tracing engine
First-generation dynamic caching	Second-generation dynamic caching
Shader cores	Enhanced shader cores
120 GB/s unified memory bandwidth	153 GB/s unified memory bandwidth

Taken as a whole, the M4 ‌MacBook Air‌ continues to represent the most suitable choice for users whose workloads are light to moderate and who value portability and an affordable price over sustained performance. Its starting price of $999, which is frequently reduced further through Apple education pricing and third-party promotions, places it within reach for the majority of buyers. For daily tasks like email, light productivity, browsing, and media consumption, it delivers performance that is effectively indistinguishable from more expensive models. Its thinner chassis, lower weight, and selection of color options also remain important advantages for many.

• M4 vs. M5 Chip Buyer's Guide: How Much Better Really Is M5?

By contrast, the M5 ‌MacBook Pro‌ exists for those whose work or expected longevity justifies the premium. The combination of a more advanced chip, mini-LED XDR display with ProMotion, active cooling for sustained performance headroom, a dedicated HDMI port with multichannel audio support, an SDXC card slot, a third Thunderbolt port, higher memory ceilings, larger storage options, improved speakers and microphones, and materially longer battery life produces a machine with materially different capabilities. If you expect to perform extended tasks in video editing, 3D workloads, software development, or AI-driven tasks, the ‌MacBook Pro‌ is designed to avoid the thermal and bandwidth constraints that the Air will encounter.

A notable exception arises at the upper end of the Air's pricing. The 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌ at $1,299, and especially when configured to 512GB of storage at $1,399, approaches the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌'s $1,599 entry point closely enough that the trade-off changes. For an increment of $200–300, the Pro substitutes a significantly more advanced display, active cooling, six additional hours of battery life, superior speakers and microphones, an additional Thunderbolt port, and integrated HDMI and SDXC. In that specific pricing band, the Pro will likely constitute the stronger long-term purchase for the majority of buyers unless screen size or minimal weight are the overriding priorities.
This article, "M4 MacBook Air vs. M5 MacBook Pro Buyer's Guide" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Following the announcement of the Android Workgroup earlier this year, the first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was just rolled out. Here are the details.

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Apple is working on a new framework that will allow third-party photo apps to back up images more reliably. Here are the details.

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