We got a teaser in May, and now Apple TV+ has released a full trailer for Foundation season two. The future of humanity looks potentially doomed in the Isaac Asimov adaptation, but it also looks rather gorgeous, confirming that intergalactic war and eye candy are not mutually exclusive. Check it out!
If you were a devoted gamer in the ‘80s, somewhere burned in your brain is the Capcom splash screen, with its descending synth chime sound that welcomed you to classic games like Street Fighter II and Mega Man—games you can now play for free in your browser if you’re already looking for a distraction from work.
Sophie Thatcher has already found her next thriller. Indy goes on the hunt in a new clip from Dial of Destiny. Plus, even more footage from The Witcher season 3 and Marvel’s Secret Invasion. To me, my Spoilers!
Whether you’re looking to replace an aging MacBook or are diving into Apple hardware for the first time, Apple’s laptop lineup is not as simple as it seems. There are just two options, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, but depending on the configuration, a new MacBook can cost between $999 and $6,500, so there’s considerable variation between the two makes. All current models run on the company’s own M-series processors that combine CPU, GPU, unified memory and other functions on a single chip, giving the latest MacBooks longer battery lives, better multitasking performance and faster operating speeds over the previous Intel chips. If you’re not sure which model would work best for you, we’re here to make things a little more clear. Based on our testing, here’s what we think are the best MacBooks for everyone from students to power users.
Our resident laptop expert Devindra Hardawar called the MacBook Air M2 a “near-perfect Mac” in his review, awarding it a high score of 96. It’s the newer of the two Air models Apple still sells, and notably a better buy than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, as the latter is both heavier and more expensive. The Air was built around the new M2 chip and completely refreshed for 2022 with a squared-off design that ditches the wedge shape.
The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina screen hits up to 500 nits, making it both bigger and brighter than the previous generation. The 60Hz refresh rate doesn’t deliver the butter-smooth scrolling you get on Pro models, but it’s lovely nonetheless. The quad speaker array pumps out great sound, filling a room at max volume without distortion, and the three-mic array does a good job of picking up your voice for video calls. The 1080p camera is an improvement over previous generations. It even beats our top Windows laptop, Dell’s XPS 13 Plus which still sports a 720p webcam, but Devindra found the image the Air captures to be drab.
Despite being thinner than ever, the M2 Air manages to hang on to its 3.5mm headphone jack and includes two USB-C Thunderbolt ports and a MagSafe connector. That means you don’t have to block a potential data port while charging. The battery life is ample, lasting 16 hours and 30 minutes in our rundown test, which should be more than enough for a day (or two) of work.
The M2 chip gives the Air enough speed to play games, particularly those from Apple Arcade. Streaming and cloud gaming work well through Safari, and you’ll find a handful of compatible titles on Steam. However, many of the bigger AAA releases still aren’t compatible with Macs – though Apple is looking to change that. Our review unit performed well in benchmark tests, beating the Air M1 and nearly matching the performance of the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2. It’s a fanless system which means it’s quiet, but to keep things cool, the CPU does have to be throttled occasionally.
Overall, it’s an excellent choice for everyday use and can handle most tasks. Of course, if you’re planning on doing intensive video editing, you’ll likely want something more powerful, such as the MacBook Pro M2, but the Air is arguably the best multipurpose, ultraportable laptop that Apple makes.
Our review MacBook Air had an M2 chip with a 10-core GPU, along with 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage. That configuration will run you $1,899. We think the Air is plenty capable without the GPU bump and the terabyte of storage is probably overkill for most casual users. Instead, we recommend the $1,599 setup with an 8-core GPU, 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage.
The 13-inch Air is certainly the way to go for anyone that prizes portability above all else. However, if slightly more screen real estate is tempting to you, don’t sleep on the 15-inch MacBook Air M2. The new laptop does everything that 13-inch model does well, while giving you a larger screen to work with in a still-svelte package. It doesn’t side-step the very Apple issue of having a little less RAM and storage than we’d prefer in its base model (8GB, 256GB SSD), but that doesn’t hold it back. It’s one of the best MacBooks we’ve used recently and it gives fans of the Air lineup a new configuration to consider. And since it’s starting price is only $200 more than that of the 13-inch Air, the jump isn’t as cost-prohibitive as, say, the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at a whopping $2,000.
Read our full review of the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air M2
The MacBook Air M1 may not have the most current Apple silicon, but it gets so much right that it’s still an excellent laptop. It earned a high score of 94 in our review and Devindra declared it one of the fastest ultraportables you could buy at the time. Of course, now that the M2 is on the scene, its numbers are comparatively less impressive – but with a base price of $999 (and often on sale for less), it’s a relatively affordable way for students or those with tight budgets to snag a fast and capable machine.
The Air’s 13.3-inch Retina display looks beautiful and is ideal for binge sessions. The laptop’s sturdy, wedge-shaped unibody case weighs just 2.8 pounds, making it easy to take to class or work. You can even fire it up in the quietest library without making a sound, thanks to a heat sink and passive cooling that eliminate the need for a fan. The keyboard offers a satisfying amount of depth despite its thin profile and the trackpad is smooth.
The performance of the M1 chip really makes the MacBook Air M1 stand out. It’s impressively responsive, launching apps nearly instantly and running them effortlessly. Safari delivers a slick browsing experience, loading complex pages quickly. The M1 chip is also behind the Air’s great battery life. We managed to get 16 hours and 20 minutes during our video rundown test, which should be more than enough to get you through a full-day grind.
Of course, it’s not without drawbacks. The M1 Air houses a 720p webcam, which isn’t as sharp as the M2 Air’s 1080p camera and it only comes with two Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack. If you’re charging your computer, there’s only one available plug for accessories. There’s no SD card slot, either, and since Apple hardware isn’t the easiest to upgrade yourself, you’ll want to buy all the storage you need right out of the gate.
We recommend sticking with the base configuration (8GB RAM/256GB SSD) if you’ll mostly be using web-based programs and cloud-based apps. For an extra $200, you can upgrade to 16GB of memory which is good if you stream heavily, like to have a lot of open tabs or want to run a ton of apps at once. Alternatively, the same amount could get you 512GB of storage if you want to keep a lot of files and photos locally.
Read our full review of the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air M1
The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros came out in January of 2023, both using more powerful versions of the M2 chip: the M2 Pro and the M2 Max. For professional video or music creators, the new machines are a blessing.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with a 19-core GPU M2 Pro chip can easily handle 4K video editing, effects processing and whichever Mac-compatible digital audio workstation you prefer. The 14.2-inch screen is a bright and vibrant MiniLED Liquid Retina XDR display with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling and animations. A six-speaker array produces crisp, punchy sound that’s better than what most laptops can deliver and the built-in mics are great for video calls.
As you’d expect with a Pro model, you get a full complement of ports, including an SD card slot, headphone jack, HDMI port and three Thunderbolt sockets. There’s even a MagSafe power connector dedicated to charging. We got a respectable 15 hours and 10 minutes of battery life out of the 14-inch model and, according to Apple, the 16-inch model can get up to 22 hours on a charge.
If you’re planning on processing a lot of 8K video, complex 3D scenes or more expansive music compositions, you may want the faster M2 Max chip. In that case, we recommend the 16-inch model, as its larger battery can better match the chip’s higher power consumption. As long as cost isn’t a deciding factor, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 Max is the way to go. It’s one of the more powerful MacBooks available, with a 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU, paired with 64GB of memory and 2TB of storage. Those options will run you $4,299, but should serve even the most demanding user well for years.
Read our full review of the Apple MacBook Pro M2
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-macbook-140032524.html?src=rss
“Sorry KC I’m gonna miss tonight’s shows due to a United gate agent who probably hated white chicks,” Wayans said on Twitter.
Large storms are going to hit multiple regions of the U.S. this week, putting more than 10 million Americans throughout the country at risk of experiencing severe weather.
AI-assisted vocals aren’t just for bootleg songs. Paul McCartney has revealed to BBC Radio 4 that he’s using AI to turn a John Lennon demo into one last song for The Beatles. The technology helped extract Lennon’s voice to get a “pure” version that could be mixed into a finished composition. The piece will be released later this year, McCartney says.
McCartney didn’t name the song, but it’s believed to be “Now and Then,” a 1978 love song Lennon put on cassettes meant for the other former Beatle. The Guardian notes the tune was considered for release as a reunion song alongside tracks that did make the cut, such as “Free As A Bird,” but there wasn’t much to it — just a chorus, a crude backing track and the lightest of verses. The Beatles rejected it after George Harrison thought it was bad, and the electrical buzz from Lennon’s apartment didn’t help matters.
The inspiration for the revival came from dialog editor Emile de la Rey’s work on the Peter Jackson documentary Get Back, where AI separated the Beatles’ voices from instruments and other sounds. The tech provides “some sort of leeway” for producing songs, McCartney adds.
To date, music labels typically haven’t been fond of AI due to copyright clashes. Creators have used algorithms to have famous artists “sing” songs they never actually produced, such as a recently pulled fantasy collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd. This, however, is different — McCartney is using AI to salvage a track that otherwise wouldn’t have reached the public. It won’t be surprising if other artists use the technique to recover work that would otherwise sit in an archive.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/paul-mccartney-is-using-ai-to-create-a-final-song-for-the-beatles-133839244.html?src=rss
Mika Westwolf was reportedly killed by a driver who some say was motivated by hate. But two months later, police have yet to file charges in her death.
Nearly two months after AI created a viral hit song featuring (fake) Drake and The Weeknd that shook the music industry, The Beatles are getting ready to possibly do the same by using this advanced technology to release their “final song” with deceased member John Lennon.
After months of teases, Nothing is finally ready to show its second smartphone to the world. The company will hold a Nothing Phone 2 launch event on July 11th at 11AM Eastern, with a livestream available through the official website. The preview image doesn’t show much, although we’d note that the signature Glyph lights aren’t quite the same as on the Phone 1.
The Phone 2 may be more important than its predecessor for one main reason: it’s the first Nothing handset coming to the US. Until now, you’ve had to either participate in a limited beta program or take a chance on an import. If you’ve made that leap, you’ve dealt with gaps in network coverage (such as missing 5G) and no real technical support. An official US release should improve wireless support and reach a wider audience, especially if carriers sell the phone themselves.
Nothing founder Carl Pei has described the Phone 2 as a more premium device than last year’s model, which shipped with a Snapdragon 778G+ chip and other mostly mid-range specs. The company has already confirmed it will use the slightly old (but noticeably faster) Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. That will also deliver improved camera performance, such as RAW HDR photos and 4K video at 60 frames per second. It’s not certain if there are upgrades to the cameras themselves or other key components.
Software may also play an important role. Inverseclaims Nothing OS will be more “distinct” on the Phone 2, with a more polished experience developed in-house rather than outsourced. The phone maker reportedly has a much larger software team that now includes multiple veterans from OnePlus, Pei’s former outfit.
Whether or not Nothing makes a significant dent in the US market is another matter. Apple and Samsung dominate the American phone landscape, with even well-known names like Google and Motorola trailing well behind. OnePlus hasn’t made significant inroads despite the backing of Chinese tech giant Oppo. The Phone 2 won’t necessarily need to be a huge hit to succeed, but Nothing is facing rivals with many more resources at their disposal.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nothing-will-reveal-the-phone-2-on-july-11th-120031997.html?src=rss
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
