macOS

Apart from “subtle differences” like a slightly bigger heatsink and rearranged components, the newest MacBook’s internal layout is about the same as the M3 model’s. iFixit summarizes in a blog post supplementing its video:

Parts pairing and calibration issues remain a major obstacle. Batteries and ports are relatively repair-friendly, but swapping displays or logic boards is a minefield of software locks.

You can now grab iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, macOS 15.1.1, and visionOS 2.1.1, though all of the updates appear to be focused just on those security fixes. Apple shared more detail about some of the issues, which may have been actively exploited, in support documents.

Update: Added support documents.

The AI chatbot can now “see” what’s on your screen in VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, and iTerm2, allowing ChatGPT to provide suggestions or answer questions about your code without having to copy and paste it into the app using its “Work with Apps” option that’s currently in beta testing.

Though ChatGPT still can’t write code directly within coding platforms, it seems OpenAI is working on that.

The Resident Evil 2 remake’s Apple App Store release is officially December 10th, Capcom announced. (Before, it was December 31st.)

Like RE4 and Village, RE2 is free to start, but you’ll need to pay to play the whole game. Handily, you only need to buy it on one device (iPhone 15 Pro and up, or M1-and-up iPad / Mac) to play it on your others.

The new Mac Mini’s power button had to go on the bottom because of the Mini’s size, explained Apple’s John Ternus and Greg Joswiak in an ITHome interview.

“You pretty much never use the power button on your Mac,” said one of the execs, according to English text from the article. Touché, but for those who do use it, there are options.

As expected, adding more storage to the new machine isn’t as simple as swapping out the SSD module.

Dosdude runs down the more involved process of replacing the module’s two NAND chips — essentially the same thing he did with a Mac Studio before.

Say what you will about Apple putting the Mac Mini’s power button on the bottom, but it seems to have activated the maker community in some very fun ways, like this one from Mac developer Gijs Raggers.

I do love an over-the-top solution to a design quirk.

Jerrod Hofferth’s 3D printed miniaturized Mac Pro-style enclosure for the new Mac Mini is just adorable — and practical, for those who can’t abide the Mini’s power button placement and want to do something about it.

As a bonus, the wheels don’t cost $700.

It’s been a very busy week for the Mac. Apple gave creators and select media a preview of its latest machines in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Here’s Vjeran’s video roundup on the new Mac Mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro. The more I see that nano-texture coating on the latter, the more I’m sold on it.

Stay tuned for our reviews.

To get a handle on the size of the new Mac Mini, I grabbed my iPhone and tapped the “View in my space” option on Apple’s website.

Here’s how the resulting 3D render looks next to my Mac Studio.

One user on X spotted an “M4 Max” graphic uploaded to Apple’s website. Given that we’ve already seen the M4 iMac and Mac Mini, maybe Apple will close out its week of announcements with an M4 Max-equipped MacBook Pro.

Apple’s smallest computer is about to get way smaller, if all the rumors about an almost Apple TV-sized M4 refresh in the coming week of Mac announcements are to be believed.

It might also be a gaming powerhouse, as the diminutive machine will get ray-tracing capability, according to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg today.