M6, Apple’s first 2 nm chip, features a larger, more powerful 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, and Dual 16-core Neural Engine, while M5 Ultra is Apple’s first quad-die architecture and its most powerful chip ever

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today debuted M6 in the new Mac mini and M5 Ultra in the new Mac Studio, providing an extraordinary leap in performance and AI capabilities. M6, Apple’s first state-of-the-art 2-nanometer chip, advances every compute block, delivering gains across every dimension of performance. The chip features a larger 12-core CPU complex with the world’s fastest CPU core, a larger 12-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, and up to 170GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.¹ M5 Ultra, the ultimate powerhouse for pro and AI workloads, uses next-generation UltraFusion technology to form a quad-die architecture for the first time in an M-series system on a chip (SoC). The chip includes an up-to-36-core CPU and up-to-80-core GPU with a massive 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth, 50 percent more than M3 Ultra. With their advanced technologies, these SoCs deliver extraordinary compute with industry-leading power efficiency, empowering users to do even more on a desktop.

“Today, we’re debuting the next giant leap in performance and AI compute for Apple silicon with the incredibly advanced M6 and the most powerful M-series chip yet, M5 Ultra,” said Sri Santhanam, Apple’s vice president of Silicon Engineering Group. “Built using the cutting-edge 2 nm process, M6 combines a new CPU complex, two additional CPU and GPU cores, a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, and more unified memory bandwidth to power through workloads with amazing energy efficiency. And for the ultimate desktop performance and the ability to run massive AI models, M5 Ultra features a massive GPU, now with Neural Accelerators, and more unified memory bandwidth, pushing the boundaries of what a desktop can do.”

M6: Optimized Design and Enhanced Performance

Designed to power the workflows of everyday users, students, developers, AI hobbyists, and enterprises, M6 offers the ideal balance of performance, power efficiency, and on-device AI to effortlessly fly through daily tasks, coding, and creative projects.

M6 is built using cutting-edge 2 nm process technology, packing greater transistor density into a smaller die for a major leap in performance and power efficiency. M6 also introduces a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, providing up to 2x the peak compute over previous generations to make on-device AI workflows run even faster. System frameworks can automatically utilize both engines simultaneously, enabling applications to see faster model execution.

M6 has a brand-new 12-core CPU complex — two more cores than M5 — that consists of 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores. It delivers the world’s fastest single-threaded performance and up to 1.2x faster multithreaded performance as compared to M5, and up to 2.4x faster than M1.² The super cores blaze through single-threaded workloads, the performance cores use less power and join the super cores to run demanding multithreaded workloads, and the efficiency cores handle everyday background tasks — all with industry-leading performance per watt. As a result, demanding CPU tasks such as editing images, compiling code, indexing new files, and running agentic AI workloads are faster than ever.

Accelerated GPU and Faster Memory Bandwidth

M6 features a 12-core GPU — two more cores than M5 — with a Neural Accelerator in each core. This design delivers a nearly 30 percent increase in peak GPU compute for AI compared to M5, and more than 8x compared to M1, enabling significantly faster prompt processing when interacting with on-device LLMs.²

In addition, M6 offers Apple’s latest advanced graphics capabilities, including updates to the shader core architecture, Dynamic Caching, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. These technologies combine to deliver stunning visual realism, faster rendering, and higher frame rates for gaming. M6 also has 50 percent increased geometry rates for complex graphics.

M6 supports up to 32GB of unified memory to multitask across demanding apps and run LLMs on device for secure and private agentic tasks. It also provides up to 170GB/s of unified memory bandwidth — a 10 percent increase over M5 and a 2.5x increase over M1.

M5 Ultra: The Ultimate Powerhouse for Pro Workflows

M5 Ultra, Apple’s most powerful chip ever, is built for pros who need to speed through workloads that demand maximum CPU and GPU performance and unified memory bandwidth, such as complex 3D rendering, visual effects, scientific analysis, and running compute-intensive frontier AI models on device.

M5 Ultra uses UltraFusion to connect two dual-die M5 Max chips to form the quad-die architecture — a first for Apple silicon. UltraFusion increases the inter-die bandwidth to over 4.4TB/s and the connection density by over 6x. Together, these ultra-low-latency, high-bandwidth interconnects allow the four dies to behave as a single unified processor. M5 Ultra also features a large up-to-36-core CPU consisting of 12 super cores and 24 performance cores, delivering up to 1.25x higher single-threaded performance and up to 1.3x higher multithreaded performance than M3 Ultra.³

Unprecedented AI and Graphics, Massive Memory Capacity

M5 Ultra features a next-generation GPU with up to 80 cores, incorporating a Neural Accelerator in each core to offer up to 4.5x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to M3 Ultra and over 6x more than M1 Ultra.³ The GPU includes Apple’s latest shader core with second-generation Dynamic Caching, as well as hardware-accelerated mesh shading and third-generation ray tracing, delivering up to 40 percent faster graphics performance than M3 Ultra.³

M5 Ultra incorporates a more capable Media Engine. Dedicated hardware-enabled H.264, HEVC, four ProRes encode and decode engines, and hardware-accelerated AV1 decode make it the ultimate solution for high-resolution video editing. M5 Ultra also includes a 32-core Neural Engine, driving complex AI tasks and Apple Intelligence features securely on device with industry-leading energy efficiency.⁴

Additionally, M5 Ultra features a massive amount of high-bandwidth unified memory, up to 512GB, and delivers a staggering 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth that is 50 percent higher than M3 Ultra. This lets users store huge datasets entirely in local memory, increase the tokens-per-second speed, and run huge LLMs with hundreds of billions of parameters entirely on device.

Unleashing Power for Developers

Apple’s developer frameworks and tools — including Core AI, Core ML, Metal, and Xcode — tap directly into the advanced hardware of both chips. Developers can leverage the Dual 16-core Neural Engine in M6, and the Neural Accelerators in the GPU with the massive 512GB unified memory pool and faster 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth in M5 Ultra, to provide incredible AI compute capabilities.

With these frameworks and new chips, developers can run and fine-tune large AI models locally on their Mac. Apple’s developer tools and frameworks automatically optimize performance across the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, and give developers the ability to use Apple Foundation Models, App Intents to tap into Apple Intelligence features, or their own proprietary AI models to build and run powerful AI workloads entirely on device.

The post Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra for a big leap in performance and AI compute appeared first on Tech Scene ZA.

Apple’s most powerful Mac raises the bar for local AI with up to 4.3x faster performance, more advanced graphics, up to 512GB of unified memory, and extensive connectivity

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac Studio, featuring M5 Max and the all-new M5 Ultra, delivering a monumental leap in AI performance and even faster graphics for the most demanding pro workflows, all in its signature compact design that lives right on a user’s desk. Now featuring up to 4.3x faster AI performance,¹ up to 2x faster storage,² up to 1.8x faster graphics,¹ and up to 1.3x faster CPU speed,¹ along with higher memory bandwidth, Mac Studio empowers creatives, developers, AI researchers, data scientists, and more to push the boundaries of what they can do. Mac Studio with M5 Max features an 18-core CPU, an up-to-40-core GPU with Neural Accelerators built into each core, and up to 128GB of unified memory, accelerating complex pro and AI workloads. With the powerful M5 Ultra, Mac Studio scales up to a 36-core CPU, up to an 80-core GPU, and a staggering 512GB of unified memory, enabling users to run enormous LLMs entirely on device. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 come to Mac Studio for the first time, while Thunderbolt 5 rounds out its extensive connectivity, so users can take advantage of blazing-fast external storage, PCIe expansion chassis, and powerful hub solutions for the most intense workloads. Thunderbolt 5 also enables multiple Mac Studio systems to be clustered, bringing up to 3x faster performance for distributed AI inference when compared to a single system.¹ Together with Studio Display and Studio Display XDR, it is the ultimate pro desktop. The new Mac Studio is available for pre-order starting today, with availability beginning September 22.

“Mac Studio is the ultimate desktop for on-device AI and the world’s most demanding pro workflows, relied on by users for its tremendous performance and extensive pro connectivity, all in a quiet, compact design that sits right on your desk — and today, we’re pushing the boundaries even further,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer. “With the powerful M5 Max and the incredible capabilities of M5 Ultra, Mac Studio ushers in a new era of desktop computing, delivering huge performance gains for pro workloads and AI inference with frontier-class models. By integrating Neural Accelerators directly into the GPU and offering massive amounts of high-bandwidth unified memory, the new Mac Studio is our most powerful Mac ever.”

A Monumental Step for AI

Mac Studio is at the forefront of high-performance AI computing. Now, with M5 Max and M5 Ultra — Apple’s most powerful silicon ever — it’s turbocharged, putting frontier-class AI models right on a user’s desk. Neural Accelerators in each GPU core deliver dramatically faster matrix multiplication. M5 Max features phenomenal on-device AI compute with up to 3.9x faster AI performance than the prior generation, speeding up prompt processing.¹ With M5 Ultra, Mac Studio achieves up to 4.3x the peak AI compute performance of M3 Ultra and a staggering 9.8x more than M1 Ultra.¹ Combined with up to 512GB of unified memory and 1.2TB/s of memory bandwidth, 50 percent higher than before, Mac Studio lets users run massive models entirely on device with complete privacy — without counting tokens or worrying about rising cloud costs.

AI inference scales to entirely new levels with multiple Mac Studio systems. Users and teams looking to share AI compute can cluster multiple Mac Studio systems together using the built-in support for Thunderbolt 5 and RDMA (remote direct memory access). This creates a vast shared memory pool across systems, allowing users to load the largest and most demanding frontier-class open-weight models available today. A cluster of four Mac Studio systems delivers up to a remarkable 3x faster AI inference than a single system.¹

Mac Studio is also a powerful platform for the rich ecosystem of tools AI researchers and developers rely on every day, utilizing the advanced frameworks in macOS. Core AI is a brand-new framework for building, running, and deploying AI models on Apple silicon. It provides an architecture optimized for Apple silicon, including unified memory, CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, allowing developers to deploy full-scale LLMs locally and bring their own custom models into their apps. MLX, Apple’s open-source machine learning framework optimized for Apple silicon, enables developers to run, train, and fine-tune models with exceptional efficiency on Mac. In addition to these powerful frameworks, combined with Xcode and a robust ecosystem of AI tools and solutions, Mac Studio provides a complete, end-to-end platform for AI development — from experimentation and training to deployment.

• Mac Studio is pictured with a display showing coding in Xcode.
• Mac Studio is pictured with a display showing the app Draw Things.

Mac Studio with M5 Max

Serious Speed and Power for Pro Workloads

Built for users who demand powerful performance in a compact footprint, Mac Studio with M5 Max is ideal for musicians, photographers, software engineers, and designers pushing real-time 3D and motion graphics. Mac Studio with M5 Max delivers a huge boost in performance, featuring an 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores, so developers can compile code even faster. The up-to-40-core GPU with Neural Accelerators is now up to 50 percent faster than the previous generation, boosting graphics-intensive tasks like game development with higher frame rates and more complex scene geometry.¹ With up to 614GB/s of unified memory bandwidth, M5 Max delivers superfast on-device AI compute, enabling users to run LLMs, generate images and video, as well as accelerate complex workflows.

The new Mac Studio also includes third-generation hardware-accelerated ray tracing, delivering faster, more realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows across professional 3D, VFX, and design workflows. Enhanced shader cores boost parallel processing, enabling smoother real-time viewport navigation and faster offline renders in creative workloads. In addition, its powerful Media Engine supports hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and AV1 decode, allowing filmmakers to color-grade uncompressed 8K footage and process multiple concurrent video streams with ease.

Mac Studio with M5 Max enables:¹

• Up to 10.7x faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and 3.9x faster than M4 Max.

• Up to 7.4x faster text-to-image performance when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 3.5x faster than M4 Max.

• Up to 5.3x faster Magic Mask performance in Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 3x faster than M4 Max.

• Up to 3.5x faster basecalling for DNA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 1.9x faster than M4 Max.

Mac Studio with M5 Ultra

A Powerhouse for the Most Demanding Workloads

Engineered for professionals who tackle the most extreme workloads, Mac Studio is the ultimate pro desktop, taking performance to an entirely new level. There is no other chip like M5 Ultra, which delivers the highest levels of performance and massive amounts of unified memory, enabling pros to push the limits of what they can accomplish on a single machine. Filmmakers can color-grade uncompressed 8K footage in real time, VFX artists can render complex simulations, and data scientists can train local AI models on expansive datasets. The new Mac Studio with M5 Ultra features an up-to-36-core CPU with 12 super cores and 24 performance cores, delivering up to 1.3x higher multithreaded performance than M3 Ultra.¹ Its up-to-80-core GPU, the most powerful Apple silicon GPU ever, brings Neural Accelerators to the Ultra chip for the first time, enabling up to 4.3x the peak AI compute performance when compared to M3 Ultra.¹ It also features up to 1.8x faster graphics than the prior generation, providing smoother real-time 3D rendering for VFX workflows.¹

Combined with up to 512GB of unified memory and 1.2TB/s of memory bandwidth, the new Mac Studio is a game changer for AI workloads. AI coding agents process significantly faster, image generation tools can render creations in an instant, and enterprise teams can cluster multiple systems to scale performance to new heights. In addition, with twice the video encode and decode blocks as M5 Max, the Media Engine in M5 Ultra is more capable than ever, empowering pros to simultaneously play up to 33 streams of 8K ProRes 422 at 30 fps on M5 Ultra.¹

• Mac Studio with M5 Ultra shows an Adobe Premiere screen featuring an athlete running in the rain.
• Mac Studio with M5 Ultra running LM Studio Bionic.

Mac Studio with M5 Ultra enables:¹

• Up to 15.4x faster CopyCat ML training performance in Foundry Nuke when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 3.3x faster than M3 Ultra.

• Up to 9.8x faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 4x faster than M3 Ultra.

• Up to 8.2x faster text-to-image performance when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 4.3x faster than M3 Ultra.

• Up to 4.7x faster scene rendering performance in Maxon Redshift when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 1.7x faster than M3 Ultra.

Blazing-Fast Storage and Pro Connectivity

The new Mac Studio also features faster storage and a comprehensive array of pro connectivity. Storage performance is up to twice as fast, with a next-generation SSD architecture, delivering industry-leading read and write speeds for rapid project loading, file transfers, and loading huge LLMs.² Thunderbolt 5 ports deliver transfer speeds up to 120Gb/s of bandwidth, so pros can connect high-performance peripherals, displays, PCIe expansion chassis, and external storage to utilize its remarkable speeds. The Apple-designed N1 chip brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 to Mac Studio for the first time, delivering improved performance and reliability to wireless connections. Mac Studio now enables genlock over USB-C for precise synchronization between a display and professional camera capture like iPhone 17 Pro. It also supports up to eight displays, or up to four Studio Display XDR at full 5K resolution and 120Hz, providing an expansive screen for the most demanding projects.

macOS 27 Golden Gate: An Unrivaled Experience

The new Mac Studio comes to life with the upcoming macOS 27, which includes an expansive set of improvements that make the Mac even more responsive and reliable. Features users already rely on get even better. AirDrop transfers are quicker, network file browsing is faster, and start page content in Safari loads with greater speed. A rebuilt search foundation powers Spotlight, Photos, and Mail with a more comprehensive index of content that stays up to date throughout the day, making it easier than ever for users to find exactly what they are looking for. Refinements to Liquid Glass improve readability and add uniform toolbars, edge-to-edge sidebars, and more detailed app icons, enabling users to further personalize its appearance. macOS 27 also brings improvements to Maps, Notes, and Podcasts.

Mac Studio and the Environment

The new Mac Studio was built with the environment in mind and drives progress toward Apple’s ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by 2030. It is made with 35 percent recycled content overall,³ including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. The new Mac Studio is manufactured with 40 percent renewable energy, like wind and solar, across the supply chain, and meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and safe chemistry. Like all Apple products, its paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled at home.⁴

Pricing and Availability

• Customers can pre-order the new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra starting today, August 25, on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 30 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting September 22. Mac Studio with 512GB of unified memory is coming in late October.

• Mac Studio with M5 Max starts at $2,499 (U.S.) and $2,299 (U.S.) for education. Additional configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/mac-studio.

• Mac Studio with M5 Ultra starts at $5,499 (U.S.) and $5,099 (U.S.) for education. Additional configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/mac-studio.

• With Apple Upgrade, eligible customers in the U.S. can lease a new Mac with low monthly payments and easily upgrade at the end of their lease: apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade.⁵ Lease Mac Studio with M5 Max with Apple Upgrade from $48.99 (U.S.) per month (excluding taxes and any trade-in credit) for a 36-month lease. Lease Mac Studio with M5 Ultra with Apple Upgrade from $110.10 (U.S.) per month (excluding taxes and any trade-in credit) for a 36-month lease. Additional configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/mac-studio.^{^}

• Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options, and information on Studio Display, Studio Display XDR, and Magic accessories are available at apple.com/mac.

• macOS 27 is available for testing in public beta through the Apple Beta Software Program at beta.apple.com, with availability as a free software update this fall. For more information, visit apple.com/macos. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions or in all languages.

• With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new Mac. Customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in to see what their device is worth. Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments,⁶ and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all up front.⁷ More information — including details on eligibility, exclusions, and Apple Card terms — is available at apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments.

• AppleCare delivers exceptional service and support, with flexible options for Apple users. Customers can choose AppleCare+ to cover their new Mac, or, in available markets, AppleCare One to protect multiple products in one simple plan. Both plans include coverage for accidents like drops and spills, battery replacement service, and priority support from Apple Experts. For more information, visit apple.com/applecare.

• Every customer who buys directly from Apple gets access to Personal Setup. In these guided online sessions, a Specialist can walk them through setup or focus on features that will help them make the most of their new device. Customers can also learn more about getting started and going further with their new device with a Today at Apple session at their nearest Apple Store.

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Apple continuously invests in new features and services to help developers succeed and users discover their next favorite app. New App Store capabilities rolling out this year will give developers more flexibility to market their apps, acquire new users, and offer brand-new business models for Apple In-App Purchase.

New Ways to Market Apps and Games

This year, developers will have more ways to showcase their apps on the App Store with Creative Assets, rich images and videos that appear in the product page header and search results. In addition to standard screenshots and previews, these assets can be used to highlight a brand, promote seasonal offerings, or showcase new content. They also work with custom product pages and product page optimization, so developers can test and learn what resonates best. App Store Connect also supports a product page preview so developers can see how their Creative Assets, descriptions, and screenshots appear on iPhone and iPad across languages, in Dark Mode, and in portrait or landscape.

The new Asset Library helps developers move faster across marketing workflows, with one place in App Store Connect to manage all Creative Assets, app preview videos, and screenshots. Developers can reuse assets across custom product pages and In-App Events, eliminating redundant uploads and streamlining their promotional campaigns across the App Store. Developers can also submit assets for App Review approval independent of an app update, ideal for rolling out seasonal imagery or coordinating with an Apple Ads campaign without delay.

Enhanced Discovery and Engagement

To complement these new marketing capabilities, the App Store is getting new ways to connect users with experiences they are looking for. To help more people find apps and games they will love, the App Store will introduce new Personalized Collections based on user interests, along with App Notes that explain why specific apps are recommended. These tailored recommendations can appear on the Apps, Games, and Search tabs, evolving over time based on a user’s app usage and downloads. Personalized Collections and App Notes start rolling out this week in English in the U.S., with additional languages and regions coming soon.

To further boost discovery and monetization, game developers will also be able to showcase special offers to attract and engage players on the Apple Games app, using Featuring Nominations to propose plans for an in-game offer or a limited-time discount to the App Store editorial team.

Scaling Businesses with New Subscription Capabilities

The App Store is a powerful engine for economic growth, and Apple is continuously investing in new ways to help developers scale their businesses and reach new audiences. This year, the App Store will enhance Apple In-App Purchase, providing developers with new ways to offer subscriptions at scale. Powered by StoreKit 2, developers will be able to enable subscriptions for groups and organizations within their app using two new configuration options to easily build multi-user in-app purchase experiences.

Volume purchasing through Apple Business and Apple School Manager allows developers to offer subscriptions to enterprise and education buyers who already procure apps at scale. Seat assignments are managed seamlessly through existing device management workflows, which means apps and subscriptions can be deployed across an organization on infrastructure IT already trusts.

Developers will be able to use group purchases to offer their subscriptions to a range of users, from independent creators working together to full production companies. Group purchases let a subscriber buy seats as a single purchase and then invite others to access the subscription. With Apple-provided invite functionality, it’s seamless for people to invite, accept, and join a subscription. Because each subscriber joins from their own account, it’s easy to see and manage who’s in their group. Developers can conveniently set up both options from one place in App Store Connect. Volume purchasing will be available this fall, with group purchases coming this winter.

To help build long-term value and increase subscriber retention, new App Store Bundles will give developers the ability to partner together and offer users more for less. By expanding beyond a single-developer catalog, these new bundles will allow users to subscribe to multiple favorite apps from different developers at a better price. Developers will also be able to create Suites, offering subscription packages that aren’t available as standalone purchases.

Retention Messaging is rolling out to all developers in App Store Connect. These new tools let developers engage subscribers by allowing them to provide additional value during the cancellation process with tailored communications or special offers.

Streamlined Submissions

App Review plays a vital role in keeping the App Store a safe and trusted place for users, and Apple continuously works to make the submission process more efficient for developers. Updates to Apple In-App Purchase submissions will further simplify app management and boost developer productivity, allowing developers to group multiple In-App Purchases and related items into a single, unified App Review submission.

To further simplify the development and submission process, apps and games on the Mac App Store no longer require Intel support. This allows developers to ship Apple silicon-only binaries, eliminating the need to maintain multiple builds.

Supporting New Time Allowance Features

Once apps and games on the App Store are downloaded to a child’s device, parents can use powerful and intuitive tools, like Screen Time, to help manage when a child can use those apps. New Time Allowances in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 give parents more flexible ways to manage the time their kids and teens spend in apps across categories, including Entertainment, Games, and Social Media. Time Allowances are developed based on expert research and tailored to a child’s age range to give parents a helpful starting point. Parents can adjust these settings based on what they determine is best for their child. And new Schedules let parents choose which apps kids and teens have access to at different times of day, making it easier to help keep them focused when it matters.

Developers will also have new ways to ensure their apps are properly categorized for these features within App Store Connect. To support Time Allowances, the age rating questionnaire will be updated in July, allowing developers to indicate if their app includes social media capabilities, such as interacting with user-generated content through a social feed. Apps will automatically be sorted into the appropriate Time Allowance category: Social Media, Entertainment, Games, or Other. This helps ensure that apps with social media features are accurately categorized and age-rated, providing parents with tools they can use to make informed decisions for their families.

The App Store continues to evolve to support a growing developer community while maintaining high standards for user safety and trust. With these updates, Apple is providing developers with the capabilities and flexibility to connect with a global audience, deliver safe experiences, and build sustainable businesses.

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At WWDC26, Apple unveiled the next generation of Apple Intelligence, Siri AI, powerful parental controls, and an expansive set of software improvements across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS.

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Today, during the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple previewed its upcoming software releases that will deliver the next generation of Apple Intelligence and introduce Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri that is profoundly more intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable. The releases also bring powerful and intuitive new features to help parents create safe digital experiences for kids, as well as improvements that further elevate the software design and performance of Apple products while making them more responsive, delightful, and easier to use with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27.

“Apple products are an essential part of people’s lives, and this year we’re bringing powerful new capabilities to empower our users in even more ways,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “We’re delivering the next generation of Apple Intelligence across our platforms; introducing Siri AI, a profoundly more intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable Siri; expanding child safety features with intuitive new tools for families; and making our software platforms faster, more reliable, and more delightful than ever before.”

Next Generation of Apple Intelligence and an Entirely New Siri Experience

Leveraging a bold new architecture uniquely designed to protect users’ privacy, the next generation of Apple Intelligence powers Siri AI and brings helpful new features to apps users rely on every day.

• iPhone 17 Pro shows a Siri AI screen featuring a description of a cricket ball over a photo of the object.
• iPhone 17 Pro shows a Siri AI screen featuring a suggested itinerary for a day in New York City.
• iPhone 17 Pro shows a Siri AI screen featuring a search of photos from the previous weekend, with subject matter and specific people called out in the search.
• iPhone 17 Pro shows a Siri AI screen featuring Siri mode in the Camera app, with a description of pho and nutrition information over a photo of the dish.
• iPhone 17 Pro shows a Siri AI screen featuring a suggested response over a conversation in Messages.
• iPhone 17 Pro shows a conversation between the user and Siri about Bosque de Chapultepec.

Siri AI is an entirely new version of Siri deeply integrated into iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. It can draw on personal context understanding to search across messages, emails, photos, and more, and get things done across apps with even more systemwide app actions. Additionally, Siri AI can answer questions related to the content on a user’s screen or go out to the web to get up-to-date information using broad world knowledge and generate a helpful answer. A dedicated Siri app allows users to revisit a past conversation or kick off a new one — all in one place — and uses iCloud to privately sync conversational history across a user’s products.

The next generation of Apple Intelligence powers tremendous new features in apps across the system. In Photos, Spatial Reframing enables users to improve the composition of a photo after it’s been taken.

In addition to Siri AI, the next generation of Apple Intelligence powers tremendous new features in apps across the system to simplify the things users do every day, like editing images in Photos, browsing across multiple tabs in Safari, expressing creativity with Image Playground, communicating in Messages and Mail, and so much more.

• An Image Playground screen shows a generated image of two astronauts wearing classic spacesuits and walking across a Martian desert with the option to describe a change.
• A MacBook Pro screen shows a text conversation window as well as a Notify Me message letting the user know there’s an update about when a summer camp’s registration opens.
• iPhone 17 Pro displays a Messages conversation with one-tap suggestions to create a note or reminder about bringing a sweater.

New Parental Controls and Significant Updates to Screen Time

Powerful and intuitive new features that are easy to use help parents manage what their kids can see, who they can talk to, and when they have access to apps. By setting up a child account, parents can immediately enable age-appropriate protections across the system, and with Setup Assistant, parents can choose exactly which apps to make available and stay in control of what gets added over time. With communication safety features, parents can require approval for each new contact their kids connect with and enable automatic interventions if explicit or violent content is being shared.

• iPhone 17 Pro shows the setup page for a child account.
• iPad shows an Ask to Browse prompt that says “You will need a parent or guardian’s permission to browse” above a website.
• iPad shows a screen that says “Allowed Apps” and prompts the user to choose which pre-installed apps a child can use.
• iPhone 17 Pro shows a Communication Safety screen that says, “Are you sure you want to see this image? This image may show blood or a hurt person or a hurt animal.”

New tools aimed at building healthier screen time habits make it easy to set daily total time allowances across Entertainment, Games, and Social Media apps, with a daily time allowance recommendation based on guidance from leading clinical and child development experts that gives parents a helpful starting point. Schedules let parents manage which apps their children have access to at different points in the day, and Screen Time has been redesigned to be more intuitive for parents, offering an at-a-glance view of their kids’ average device usage and top apps.

To help parents stay informed and learn more, Apple has launched a dedicated website that features the latest tools, helpful resources, and answers to common questions — like how to get started.

• iPhone 17 Pro shows a Time Allowances screen with the prompt to set how long a child can use apps and websites within various categories, including Entertainment, Games, and Social Media.
• iPhone 17 Pro shows a screen that prompts the user to set when and for how long a child can use various categories of apps and websites.
• iPhone 17 Pro shows the setup for which categories of apps and websites are allowed during a specific time window labeled “School” and noted as 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

More Responsive, Reliable, and Delightful Experiences Across Software Platforms

The 2027 releases make Apple products even more responsive, reliable, and delightful to use through design refinements, performance improvements, and enhancements to the ways users work, communicate, share memories, enjoy music with AirPods, track their health, and more.

Improvements across platforms push key system capabilities forward so everyday tasks feel faster, smoother, and more enjoyable. For example, iPhone and iPad apps launch up to 30 percent faster,¹ photos load up to 70 percent faster after being taken,² and AirDrop transfers are up to 80 percent faster.³ During network transitions, moving between cellular and Wi-Fi networks is more seamless than ever, and browsing and transferring files between external drives and iPad is up to 5x faster — making it just as fast as Finder on Mac.⁴ In Spotlight, Photos, and Mail, the search experience has been rebuilt to make it more stable and efficient to help users find exactly what they are looking for. And in Mail, a completely new ranking system surfaces even more relevant results in Top Hits.

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A new slider in Settings gives users the option to personalize Liquid Glass, adjusting it anywhere from ultra-clear to fully tinted to match their preference.

Refinements to the software design deliver an even more focused and approachable experience across apps and platforms. A new slider in Settings gives users the option to personalize Liquid Glass, adjusting it anywhere from ultra-clear to fully tinted to match their preference, and app icons have been updated to be sharper and more defined. On Mac, updates reincorporate cornerstones of the macOS design that users have always loved, including a more uniform toolbar across the top of apps, edge-to-edge sidebars, colored sidebar icons, and more.

Additional features coming this fall:

• iCloud Shared Albums introduce cross-platform photo sharing with full-resolution support.

• The Health app brings support for perimenopause and menopause in Cycle Tracking, including notifications about cycle deviations inclusive of perimenopause.⁵

• On Apple Watch, a new dynamic app grid features the icons for five Siri-suggested apps, users can open a widget in the Smart Stack with a new tap gesture, and a new Find My app consolidates Find Devices, Find Items, and Find People.

• AirPods users can now enjoy custom EQ to further personalize how their AirPods sound. And with expanded Apple GymKit functionality, users with AirPods Pro 3 can sync their heart rate data through iPhone while enjoying incredible audio quality.

• Apple Vision Pro users can now turn panoramas into spatial scenes and use them as personal Environments, and connecting to Wi-Fi is up to 3x faster.

• Apple Maps brings an enhanced Flyover experience, which combines aerial imagery with AI, allowing users to enjoy even more detailed visuals.

• iPhone 17 Pro shows an album in Photos called “Aegean Adventure.”
• iPhone 17 Pro shows a Cycle Tracking screen with an alert for irregular periods, while a second iPhone 17 Pro shows a screen asking the user to mark any symptoms they’ve noticed, such as fatigue, hot flashes, or mood changes.
• iPhone 17 Pro is pictured next to AirPods and features an audio customization screen.
• An Apple Vision Pro screen shows a mountain panorama.
• iPad shows an aerial view of buildings in Apple Maps.

Availability

• The new features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. New software features will be available as a free software update this fall. For more information, visit apple.com/ios, apple.com/ipados, apple.com/macos, apple.com/watchos, apple.com/tvos, and apple.com/visionos.

• Users who enable Apple Intelligence on supported products set to a supported language will have access this fall with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.

• Apple Intelligence is available with support for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see apple.com/apple-intelligence.

• Apple Intelligence and Siri AI in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 are available on iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 or later, MacBook Neo (A18 Pro), Mac with M1 or later, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch Series 9 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, and Apple Watch SE 3 when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone nearby.

• Some Apple Intelligence features, including image generation, have daily usage limits because they rely on powerful server models. Increased access is available with most iCloud+ subscription plans, which also include Apple Intelligence support for compatible Home cameras.

• New Siri AI features are available for developer testing starting today across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and visionOS 27. Siri AI will be available for developer testing in a future watchOS 27 beta.

• Siri AI will be available as a beta later this year for users with a supported device set to English, and Apple will quickly expand support for more languages.

• Mac and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to access Siri AI when set to a supported language. Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS.

• Siri AI and the other new Apple Intelligence features will not be available in China while Apple works through regulatory requirements.

• Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.

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Apple has officially entered a new era of affordable computing with the launch of the MacBook Neo. Lightweight, efficient, and designed to make macOS more accessible than ever, the MacBook Neo positions itself as the most affordable gateway into Apple’s ecosystem.

But does cutting the price mean compromising the experience? After taking the MacBook Neo on a real-world journey from Durban to Cape Town, the answer is surprisingly positive.

What Is the MacBook Neo?

The MacBook Neo is Apple’s newest budget-friendly laptop aimed at students, first-time Mac users, casual users, and light content creators. Unlike the traditional M-series MacBooks, this device is powered by the mobile-class Apple A18 Pro chip, the same family of silicon found in modern iPhones.

That decision alone makes the MacBook Neo one of the most interesting Apple laptops in years. Apple has essentially optimized an iPhone-grade processor to run macOS efficiently while keeping costs low and battery life exceptionally high.

Specs

Performance: A18 Pro vs M1 MacBook

Specs are one thing, but real-world performance is another story entirely. The Apple A18 Pro inside the MacBook Neo actually performs a lot better than most people would expect from a mobile-class chip.

When comparing benchmarks, the A18 Pro scores around 3,400 in single-core performance and roughly 8,500 in multi-core. In comparison, the Apple M1 sits closer to 2,300 in single-core while delivering similar multi-core numbers. What that translates to in everyday use is that the MacBook Neo feels extremely quick for normal tasks like browsing, streaming, opening apps, and productivity work.

The A18 Pro also runs at around 4GHz on its performance cores, compared to the M1’s 3.2GHz, although the M1 still has more performance cores overall. The A18 Pro features a 6-core setup with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, while the M1 has an 8-core layout with four performance and four efficiency cores. Because of that, the M1 still has more muscle for sustained workloads and heavier tasks.

GPU performance is also surprisingly strong for a chip this small. In some benchmarks, the A18 Pro can actually match or even beat M1-level graphics performance. AI performance is where the gap becomes much bigger though, with the A18 Pro delivering around 35 to 38 TOPS compared to the M1’s 11 TOPS.

Still, the biggest advantage here is efficiency. Since the A18 Pro is built on a 3-nanometer process, it delivers much better power efficiency and battery life.

In single-core performance, the A18 Pro wins because it feels faster in day-to-day use. For multi-core and general workloads, it’s more or less on par with the M1. However, when it comes to sustained workloads, the M-series is still better overall. The A18 Pro does take the lead in efficiency though, making it more power efficient.

So while this is not MacBook Pro-level performance, it basically gives you iPhone-level speed and efficiency in a laptop, which is exactly what makes the MacBook Neo such an interesting entry point into the Apple ecosystem.

Who Should Buy the MacBook Neo?

The MacBook Neo is best suited for users who want the Apple experience without paying premium MacBook prices. It focuses more on portability, battery life, and everyday performance rather than professional-grade power.

You should consider the MacBook Neo if you are:

• A student looking for a lightweight laptop with excellent battery life
• A first-time Mac user wanting an affordable entry into macOS
• A casual user mainly browsing the web, streaming content, or handling productivity tasks
• A remote worker needing a portable and silent laptop for daily use
• A light content creator doing basic photo editing or simple CapCut projects
• Someone who values portability and efficiency over heavy performance workloads

For its target audience, the MacBook Neo strikes a really solid balance between price, performance, and everyday usability.

Who Should Avoid It?

You may want something more powerful if you:

• Edit professional video
• Use demanding creative software
• Need heavy multitasking
• Want upgradeable RAM
• Need extensive ports

Power users are still better served by the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro lineup.

MacBook Neo Price and Availability

The MacBook Neo starts at approximately:

• R11,999 to R13,999 in South Africa

Color options include: Silver, Space Gray, Starlight

Demand has reportedly been extremely high globally, with stock shortages already appearing in several markets. That alone says a lot about how attractive this laptop is to consumers.

Pros and Cons of the MacBook Neo

Pros

• Most affordable MacBook yet
• Excellent battery life
• Lightweight and portable
• Silent operation
• Premium build quality

Cons

• A18 limits heavy performance
• Limited to 8GB RAM
• Base storage may feel limited
• Only two USB-C ports

Final Verdict: Is the MacBook Neo Worth It?

The MacBook Neo succeeds because it understands exactly what it’s trying to be. It’s not a MacBook Pro killer nor is it designed for professionals. Instead, Apple created an affordable, efficient, and accessible MacBook for everyday users, and honestly, it works. For students, casual users, and anyone wanting to enter the Apple ecosystem without spending brand-level premium money, the MacBook Neo could become one of Apple’s smartest laptops yet. If your workload is lightweight and battery life matters more than raw power, the MacBook Neo is surprisingly good value for money.

The post MacBook Neo Review: Apple’s Cheapest MacBook Is Surprisingly Good appeared first on Tech Scene ZA.

JOHANNESBURG, 12 MAY 2026 — iStore, South Africa’s only Apple Premium Partner, today
announced the launch of iStore Pay, a new business payment solution designed to empower
modern entrepreneurs.

As the first partner to bring Tap to Pay on iPhone to South Africa, iStore enables local
businesses to seamlessly and securely accept all forms of in-person contactless payments
including credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and other digital wallets, using only an iPhone and the
iStore Pay app – no additional hardware or payment terminal needed.

Chris Dodd, CEO of iStore South Africa, said:
“Two decades ago, we set out to bring the very best of Apple to South Africans. With the launch
of iStore Pay, that commitment now extends to entrepreneurs and small businesses. By enabling
Tap to Pay on iPhone locally, we are helping remove traditional barriers to commerce and making
it easier for businesses to accept payments using technology they already have.”

Beyond the Transaction: Designed for Simplicity and Flexibility
iStore Pay is built on the same foundation of empowering Apple users that iStore has championed
for 20 years. Designed to maximise earnings and minimise complexity, iStore Pay offers a marketleading alternative to traditional merchant services:

• No Barrier to Entry, More Flexibility – Accept contactless payments right on your current
  iPhone* with no additional hardware required and no upfront, monthly** or payout fees. Get
  transacting in under 15 minutes.
• Transparent Pricing, More Value – Transaction fees from 2.5%, with a pay-as-you-transact
  model that means businesses only pay when they make a sale.
• Simple Payouts – Merchants pay a flat fee of R2.99 per payout. As part of the launch offer
  merchants will receive free daily payouts until 31 July 2026.***
• Secure and Private by Design – Tap to Pay on iPhone technology uses the built-in security
  and privacy features of iPhone to help protect customer data. When a payment is processed,
  Apple doesn’t store card numbers or transaction information on the device or on Apple servers,
  so businesses can rest assured that their data stays theirs.****
  The iStore Pay App: Your Business Command Centre
  Alongside Tap to Pay on iPhone, the iStore Pay app gives merchants a central place to manage
  payments and business activity instantly. It provides a comprehensive Apple experience for
  business ownership, allowing merchants to track every aspect of their commerce in real-time:
• Monitor Sales: Track transaction history and payment records instantly.
• Manage Funds: View payouts and refunds directly in the app.
• Gain Visibility: Access insights to better understand and scale business performance.

For more information on iStore Pay, visit pay.istore.co.za

*Requires iPhone XS or later running iOS 18 or later.
**R20pm if your turnover is less than R2000pm from 1 August 2026.
***Applicable with a minimum balance of R500 in wallet.
****Encrypted card numbers are temporarily stored on iPhone only for transactions made in Store and Forward mode.

The post iStore Launches iStore Pay: Empowering Local Businesses with a Market Leading Payment Solution appeared first on Tech Scene ZA.

An easy, secure and private way to accept contactless payments with only an iPhone and the iStore
Pay iOS app, no additional hardware needed.

JOHANNESBURG —12 MAY, 2026 — Today, iStore Pay, iStore’s all-new business payment
solution designed to empower the modern entrepreneur, now enables local businesses in South
Africa to seamlessly and securely accept all forms of in-person contactless payments with Tap to
Pay on iPhone, including contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets,
using only an iPhone and the iStore Pay app — no additional hardware or payment terminal needed.

At checkout, the merchant will simply prompt the customer to hold their contactless payment method
near the merchant’s iPhone, and the payment will be securely completed using NFC technology.
Tap to Pay on iPhone also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.

Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone technology uses the built-in security and privacy features of iPhone to
help protect customer data. When a payment is processed, Apple doesn’t store card numbers or
transaction information on the device or on Apple servers, so businesses can rest assured that their
data stays theirs.*

Tap to Pay on iPhone enables iStore Pay customers to use a contactless payment acceptance
solution that is easy to set up and use. Merchants using an iPhone XS or later running iOS 18 or
later, can start accepting contactless payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone within minutes through
the iStore Pay app from the Apple App Store.

For more information on Tap to Pay on iPhone from iStore Pay, please visit pay.istore.co.za

The post iStore Pay Now Offers Tap to Pay on iPhone for Entrepreneurs in South Africa to Accept Contactless Payments appeared first on Tech Scene ZA.

Apple’s all-new MacBook features a durable aluminum design, a stunning 13-inch Liquid Retina display, the power of Apple silicon, and all-day battery life — all for the breakthrough starting price of just $599

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today unveiled MacBook Neo, an all-new laptop that delivers the magic of the Mac at a breakthrough price, making it even more accessible to millions of people around the world. MacBook Neo starts with a beautiful Apple design, featuring a durable aluminum enclosure in an array of gorgeous colors — blush, indigo, silver, and a fresh new citrus. Its stunning 13-inch Liquid Retina display brings websites, photos, videos, and apps to life with high resolution and brightness, and support for 1 billion colors. Powered by A18 Pro, MacBook Neo can fly through everyday tasks, from browsing the web and streaming content, to editing photos, exploring creative hobbies, or using AI capabilities across apps. In fact, it’s up to 50 percent faster for everyday tasks like web browsing,¹ and up to 3x faster when running on-device AI workloads like applying advanced effects to photos,² compared to the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5. Providing up to 16 hours of battery life, MacBook Neo allows users to go all day on a single charge.³ A 1080p FaceTime HD camera and dual mics make it easy to look and sound great, and the dual side-firing speakers with Spatial Audio deliver crisp, immersive sound. MacBook Neo also features Apple’s renowned Magic Keyboard for comfortable and precise typing, and a large Multi-Touch trackpad with support for intuitive gestures, enabling smooth and precise control. Completing the MacBook Neo experience is macOS Tahoe, with powerful built-in apps like Messages, Pages, Calendar, and Safari; seamless integration with iPhone; Apple Intelligence; as well as broad compatibility with third-party apps. And starting at just $599 and $499 for education, MacBook Neo is Apple’s most affordable laptop ever, providing an unprecedented combination of quality and value. MacBook Neo is available to pre-order starting today, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 11.

“We’re incredibly excited to introduce MacBook Neo, which delivers the magic of the Mac at a breakthrough price,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “Built from the ground up to be more affordable for even more people, MacBook Neo is a laptop only Apple could create. It features a durable aluminum design in four beautiful colors; a brilliant Liquid Retina display; Apple silicon-powered performance; all-day battery life; a high-quality camera, mics, and speakers; a Magic Keyboard and Multi-Touch trackpad; and the intuitive and powerful features of macOS. There is simply no other laptop like it.”

MacBook Neo provides an unmatched combination of quality and affordability for students, families, small business owners, new Mac users, and more.

Beautiful and Durable Aluminum Design

MacBook Neo features a beautifully crafted aluminum design that’s built to last. With its soft, rounded corners, MacBook Neo looks elegant while feeling solid and comfortable to hold. At just 2.7 pounds, it’s also easy to carry in a backpack or handbag. Bringing a fun touch of personality and style to everyday computing, MacBook Neo comes in a spectrum of four gorgeous colors: blush, indigo, silver, and citrus. These colors extend to the Magic Keyboard in lighter shades and new wallpapers, creating a cohesive design aesthetic and making MacBook Neo the most colorful MacBook yet.

• A fanned-out array of MacBook Neo models in its four colors: silver, blush, citrus, and indigo.
• MacBook Neo in blush.
• MacBook Neo in indigo.
• MacBook Neo in silver.
• MacBook Neo in citrus.

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Stunning 13-Inch Liquid Retina Display

A gorgeous 13-inch Liquid Retina display features a 2408-by-1506 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and support for 1 billion colors, bringing to life sharp, crystal-clear text and vibrant images. The display is both brighter and higher in resolution than most PC laptops in this price range, putting it in a class of its own. Finally, an anti-reflective coating provides a comfortable viewing experience in a variety of lighting conditions, allowing users to watch movies, edit photos, or take video calls from anywhere.

Apple Silicon-Powered Performance

At the heart of MacBook Neo is A18 Pro, enabling users to power through things they do every day, like browsing the web, creating documents, streaming content, editing photos, and taking advantage of AI. Users can seamlessly work between their favorite apps, like Messages, WhatsApp, Canva, Excel, Safari, and more. MacBook Neo with A18 Pro is up to 50 percent faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5.¹ And for more demanding activities, it’s up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads² and up to 2x faster for tasks like photo editing.⁴ The integrated 5-core GPU brings graphics to life while playing action-packed games or exploring creative hobbies. And a 16-core Neural Engine supports fast on-device Apple Intelligence features and everyday AI tasks like summarizing notes in Bear or using the Clean Up tool in the Photos app, while ensuring user data stays private and secure. MacBook Neo is also fanless, so it runs completely silent.

• A user creates a presentation titled “Sticky Science” on their blush MacBook Neo.
• A user answers emails and browses the web on their citrus MacBook Neo.
• A person uses ChatGPT and Canva on their blush MacBook Neo.
• A person multitasks between apps on their indigo MacBook Neo.

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All-Day Battery Life

Thanks to the incredible power efficiency of Apple silicon, MacBook Neo delivers up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge.³ This makes it a perfect on-the-go companion for work or play, from the classroom to the coffee shop, and everywhere in between.

• A student uses their citrus MacBook Neo in a classroom setting.
• A person lounges in bed using MacBook Neo while listening to music on AirPods Max.
• A person uses their silver MacBook Neo in an auditorium-like setting.
• A person in textile studio works on MacBook Neo.

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Magic Keyboard and New Multi-Touch Trackpad

MacBook Neo features Apple’s much-loved Magic Keyboard, which provides a comfortable, precise typing experience, while a large Multi-Touch trackpad lets users click, scroll, swipe, and pinch anywhere on its surface. The MacBook Neo model with Touch ID enables easy, quick, and secure login authentication, and the ability to conveniently authorize purchases using Apple Pay.

1080p Camera; Dual Speakers and Mics

The 1080p FaceTime HD camera on MacBook Neo has optimized image processing to deliver vibrant video calls. Dual mics with directional beamforming are designed to reduce background noise and isolate a user’s voice, allowing it to come across loud and clear for an excellent video conferencing experience. And dual side-firing speakers with support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos produce immersive sound for watching a movie, listening to music, or using apps like GarageBand.

Essential Connectivity

MacBook Neo features two USB-C ports for connecting accessories or an external display.⁵ Both ports can be used for charging. MacBook Neo also includes a headphone jack for wired audio. Wi-Fi 6E provides fast wireless connectivity, and Bluetooth 6 ensures reliable wireless connections for peripherals and accessories.

Powerful Productivity with macOS

macOS is Apple’s powerful and intuitive operating system for Mac.⁶ With incredible features and built-in apps like Safari, Photos, Messages, and FaceTime, macOS enables users to get started right out of the box. Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools, Live Translation, and more are deeply integrated across macOS, elevating the user experience by bringing intelligence to the apps users rely on every day.⁷ Advanced privacy and security also come standard, featuring industry‑leading encryption, robust virus protections, and automatic free security updates to help keep users protected.

Seamless Integration with iPhone

iPhone users can tap in to Continuity features built in to macOS to make working across iPhone and Mac a breeze. Handoff lets users start a task on MacBook Neo and continue it on iPhone, while Universal Clipboard allows users to copy and paste content between devices. With iPhone Mirroring, users can view and interact with their iPhone directly on MacBook Neo, and users switching to Mac for the first time can use iPhone to conveniently and securely transfer settings, files, photos, passwords, and more.

Built with the Environment in Mind

MacBook Neo was built from the ground up to be Apple’s lowest-carbon MacBook, and brings the company even closer to reaching its ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by 2030. It features 60 percent recycled content — the highest percentage of any Apple product.⁸ This includes 90 percent recycled aluminum overall and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery. The enclosure is manufactured with a material-efficient forming process that uses 50 percent less aluminum compared to traditional machining methods. MacBook Neo is manufactured with 45 percent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, across the supply chain. It also meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and safe chemistry. Additionally, the paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled.⁹

Pricing and Availability

• Customers can pre-order the new MacBook Neo starting today at apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 30 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 11.

• MacBook Neo starts at $599 (U.S.) and $499 (U.S.) for education. It is available in four colors — blush, indigo, silver, and citrus. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options, and accessories are available at apple.com/mac.

• With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new Mac. Customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in to see what their device is worth.

• AppleCare delivers exceptional service and support, with flexible options for Apple users. Customers can choose AppleCare+ to cover their new Mac, or in the U.S., AppleCare One to protect multiple products in one simple plan. Both plans include coverage for accidents like drops and spills, theft and loss protection on eligible products, battery replacement service, and 24/7 support from Apple Experts. For more information, visit apple.com/applecare.

• Every customer who buys directly from Apple Retail gets access to Personal Setup. In these guided online sessions, a Specialist can walk them through setup, or focus on features that help them make the most of their new device. Customers can also learn more about getting started and going further with their new device with a Today at Apple session at their nearest Apple Store.

• Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all up front. More information — including details on eligibility, exclusions, and Apple Card terms — is available at apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments.

The post Say hello to MacBook Neo appeared first on Tech Scene ZA.

The world’s best pro laptop raises the bar again with blazing-fast CPU and GPU performance, plus up to 2x faster SSD speeds and 1TB of starting storage

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the latest 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the all new M5 Pro and M5 Max, bringing game-changing performance and AI capabilities to the world’s best pro laptop. With M5 Pro and M5 Max, MacBook Pro features a new CPU with the world’s fastest CPU core,¹ a next-generation GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, and higher unified memory bandwidth, altogether delivering up to 4x AI performance compared to the previous generation, and up to 8x AI performance compared to M1 models.² This allows developers, researchers, business professionals, and creatives to unlock new AI-enabled workflows right on MacBook Pro. It now comes with up to 2x faster SSD performance² and starts at 1TB of storage for M5 Pro and 2TB for M5 Max. The new MacBook Pro includes N1, an Apple-designed wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, bringing improved performance and reliability to wireless connections. It also offers up to 24 hours of battery life; a gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display with a nano-texture option; a wide array of connectivity, including Thunderbolt 5; a 12MP Center Stage camera; studio-quality mics; an immersive six-speaker sound system; Apple Intelligence features; and the power of macOS Tahoe. The new MacBook Pro comes in space black and silver, and is available to pre-order starting tomorrow, March 4, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 11.

“MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max redefines what’s possible on a pro laptop, now up to 4x faster than the previous generation,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With Neural Accelerators in the GPU, the new MacBook Pro enables professionals to run advanced LLMs on device and unlock capabilities that no other laptop can do — all while maintaining exceptional battery life. Combined with even faster unified memory and storage, it empowers users to take their work even further, unleashing new possibilities and pushing the boundaries of what they can do.”

Blazing Performance with M5 Pro and M5 Max

M5 Pro and M5 Max are built using the new Apple-designed Fusion Architecture and engineered from the ground up for AI. This innovative design combines two dies into a single system on a chip, providing tremendous performance boosts. M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a new up-to-18-core CPU with 6 super cores, the world’s fastest CPU core,¹ and 12 all-new performance cores, optimized for power-efficient, multithreaded pro workloads — altogether delivering up to 30 percent faster performance.³ M5 Pro is designed for users running complex workflows, like coders optimizing algorithms and photographers processing massive image libraries, while M5 Max is for those pushing the absolute limits, such as engineers running rigorous simulations.

• MacBook Pro shows an LM Studio screen.
• MacBook Pro shows a QuPath screen.

Scaling up performance from M5 and offering the same breakthrough GPU architecture with a Neural Accelerator in each core, M5 Pro and M5 Max deliver up to 4x faster LLM prompt processing than M4 Pro and M4 Max, and up to 8x AI image generation than M1 Pro and M1 Max.² This enables AI researchers and developers to train custom models locally, and creative professionals to leverage AI-powered tools for video editing, music production, and design work. Both chips also bring up to a 50 percent increase in graphics performance compared to M4 Pro and M4 Max,^3,4 enabling motion designers to work with complex 3D scenes in real time and VFX artists to preview effects instantly. And with a faster and more power-efficient Neural Engine and higher unified memory bandwidth, the new MacBook Pro delivers incredible on-device AI capabilities. The increase in unified memory bandwidth enables complex workflows like intensive AI model training and massive video projects. M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory with up to 307GB/s of memory bandwidth, while M5 Max supports up to 128GB of unified memory with up to 614GB/s of memory bandwidth.

• MacBook Pro shows a video-editing screen in NukeX.
• MacBook Pro shows a music production screen in Avid Pro Tools.
• MacBook Pro shows a building rendering in Vectorworks.

14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro deliver:²

• Up to 7.8x faster AI image generation performance when compared to MacBook Pro with M1 Pro, and up to 3.7x faster than MacBook Pro with M4 Pro.

• Up to 6.9x faster LLM prompt processing when compared to MacBook Pro with M1 Pro, and up to 3.9x faster than MacBook Pro with M4 Pro.

• Up to 5.2x faster 3D rendering in Maxon Redshift when compared to MacBook Pro with M1 Pro, and up to 1.4x faster than MacBook Pro with M4 Pro.

• Up to 1.6x faster gaming performance with ray tracing in games like Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition when compared to MacBook Pro with M4 Pro.

14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max deliver:²

• Up to 8x faster AI image generation performance when compared to MacBook Pro with M1 Max, and up to 3.8x faster than MacBook Pro with M4 Max.

• Up to 6.7x faster LLM prompt processing when compared to MacBook Pro with M1 Max, and up to 4x faster than MacBook Pro with M4 Max.

• Up to 5.4x faster video effects rendering performance in Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Studio when compared to MacBook Pro with M1 Max, and up to 3x faster than MacBook Pro with M4 Max.

• Up to 3.5x faster AI video-enhancing performance in Topaz Video when compared to MacBook Pro with M4 Max.

Faster Storage Performance and Increased Starting Storage

The new MacBook Pro delivers up to 2x faster read/write performance compared to the previous generation,⁴ reaching speeds of up to 14.5GB/s⁵ and accelerating workflows for professionals working across 4K and 8K video projects, LLMs, and complex datasets. MacBook Pro with M5 Pro now comes standard with 1TB of storage, while MacBook Pro with M5 Max now comes standard with 2TB. And the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 now comes standard with 1TB of storage. With up to 2x faster read/write performance, reaching speeds of up to 14.5GB/s, the new MacBook Pro accelerates workflows for professionals working across 4K and 8K video projects.

Even More Value for Upgraders

The new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max mark a major leap for pro users. There’s never been a better time for customers to upgrade from a previous generation of MacBook Pro with Apple silicon or an Intel-based Mac.

• Enhanced AI performance with Neural Accelerators in the GPU: Users upgrading from M1 models will experience up to 8x faster AI performance.²

• Exceptional battery life: The new MacBook Pro gets up to 24 hours of battery life, giving Intel-based upgraders up to 13 additional hours, and users coming from M1 models will get up to three more hours, so they can get more done on a single charge.² And unlike many PC laptops, MacBook Pro delivers the same incredible performance whether plugged in or on battery. Users will be able to fast-charge up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes using a 96W or higher USB-C power adapter.²

• Best display in a pro laptop: Upgraders will enjoy the Liquid Retina XDR display, which features 1600 nits peak HDR brightness and up to 1000 nits for SDR content, and offers a nano-texture option.

• Comprehensive connectivity: The new MacBook Pro has a wide array of connectivity options, including three Thunderbolt 5 ports for high-speed data transfer, HDMI that supports up to 8K resolution, an SDXC card slot for quick media import, and MagSafe 3 with fast-charge capability. Upgraders can also drive up to two high-resolution external displays with M5 Pro, and up to four high-resolution displays with M5 Max, providing the flexibility to create expansive workspaces.

• Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6: With the Apple N1 chip, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 bring improved performance and reliability to wireless connections.

• Advanced camera, mics, and speakers: Featuring a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View support and studio-quality mics, the new MacBook Pro will allow users to look and sound their best while taking calls. They will also experience an immersive six-speaker sound system with support for Spatial Audio.

• A MacBook Pro user sits outside with a telescope under a starry night’s sky.
• MacBook Pro shows a colorful screen with a crowd of people wearing vibrant clothes.
• A MacBook Pro user works at their desk with two external displays.

An Unrivaled Experience with macOS Tahoe

macOS Tahoe transforms the MacBook Pro experience with powerful capabilities that turbocharge productivity.⁶ Major updates to Spotlight make it easier to find relevant apps and files and immediately take action right from the search bar. Apple Intelligence is even more capable while protecting users’ privacy at every step.⁷ Shortcuts get even more powerful with intelligent actions and the ability to tap directly in to Apple Intelligence models. Integrated into Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app, Live Translation helps users easily communicate across languages, translating text and audio.⁷ Additionally, developers can bring Apple Intelligence capabilities into their applications or tap in to the Foundation Models framework for specialized on-device intelligence tasks. Continuity features include the Phone app on Mac, which lets users relay cellular calls from their nearby iPhone, and with Live Activities from iPhone, they can stay on top of things happening in real time.⁶ macOS Tahoe also features a beautiful new design with Liquid Glass, and users can personalize their Mac in even more ways with an updated Control Center, in addition to new color options for folders, app icons, and widgets.

MacBook Pro and the Environment

MacBook Pro was built with the environment in mind, and brings Apple even closer to reaching its ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by 2030. It is made with 45 percent recycled content,⁸ including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery. It is manufactured with 50 percent renewable electricity, such as wind and solar, across the supply chain. The new MacBook Pro is designed to be durable and repairable, and also offers industry-leading software support, while meeting Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and safer chemistry. The paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled.⁹

Pricing and Availability

• Customers can pre-order the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max starting tomorrow, March 4, on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 33 countries and regions, including the U.S. All models will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 11.

• The 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,199 (U.S.) and $2,049 (U.S.) for education; and the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,699 (U.S.) and $2,499 (U.S.) for education.

• The 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max starts at $3,599 (U.S.) and $3,299 (U.S.) for education; and the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max starts at $3,899 (U.S.) and $3,599 (U.S.) for education. All models are available in space black and silver.

• Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options, and accessories are available at apple.com/mac.

• The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 now comes standard with 1TB of storage, and is available in space black and silver, starting at $1,699 (U.S.) and $1,599 (U.S.) for education.

• With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new Mac. Customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in to see what their device is worth.

• AppleCare delivers exceptional service and support, with flexible options for Apple users. Customers can choose AppleCare+ to cover their new Mac, or in the U.S., AppleCare One to protect multiple products in one simple plan. Both plans include coverage for accidents like drops and spills, theft and loss protection on eligible products, battery replacement service, and 24/7 support from Apple Experts. For more information, visit apple.com/applecare.

• Every customer who buys directly from Apple Retail gets access to Personal Setup. In these guided online sessions, a Specialist can walk them through setup or focus on features that will help them make the most of their new device. Customers can also learn more about getting started and going further with their new device with a Today at Apple session at their nearest Apple Store.

• Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all up front. More information — including details on eligibility, exclusions, and Apple Card terms — is available at apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments.

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Built using the new Apple-designed Fusion Architecture, M5 Pro and M5 Max feature an advanced CPU, a next‑generation GPU with Neural Accelerators, and higher unified memory bandwidth for a massive increase in AI compute

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced M5 Pro and M5 Max, the world’s most advanced chips for pro laptops, powering the new MacBook Pro. The chips are built using a new Apple-designed Fusion Architecture. This innovative design combines two dies into a single system on a chip (SoC), which includes a powerful CPU, scalable GPU, Media Engine, unified memory controller, Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities. M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a new 18-core CPU architecture. It includes six of the highest-performing core design, now called super cores, that are the world’s fastest CPU core.¹ Alongside these cores are 12 all-new performance cores, optimized for power-efficient, multithreaded workloads. Collectively, the CPU significantly boosts performance by up to 30 percent for pro workloads.² The GPU scales up the next-generation architecture introduced in M5 to an up-to-40-core GPU. With a Neural Accelerator in each GPU core and higher unified memory bandwidth, M5 Pro and M5 Max are over 4x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation.² The GPU substantially increases graphics capabilities — now up to 35 percent for apps using ray tracing than M4 Pro and M4 Max — enhancing advanced visual effects and 3D rendering.² With M5 Pro and M5 Max, the new MacBook Pro is the ultimate powerhouse for pros and is available for pre-order starting tomorrow, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 11.

“M5 Pro and M5 Max are a monumental leap forward for Apple silicon, leveraging our new Fusion Architecture to scale the capabilities of Apple silicon while preserving its core tenets of performance, power efficiency, and unified memory architecture,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. “Both chips underscore our relentless pace of innovation, integrating the world’s fastest CPU cores, a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators, a faster Neural Engine, and high-bandwidth, high-capacity memory — resulting in an unparalleled combination of performance, efficiency, and incredible on-device AI capabilities for MacBook Pro.”

All-New Fusion Architecture

M5 Pro and M5 Max introduce the Apple-designed Fusion Architecture, a state-of-the-art design that connects two dies into a single SoC. This brings together two third-generation 3-nanometer dies with high bandwidth and low latency using advanced packaging. The two dies include a powerful new CPU, scalable GPU, Media Engine, unified memory controller, Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities.

Apple’s Fastest, Most Advanced CPU Cores

M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a new 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 all-new performance cores.

The industry-leading super core was first introduced as performance cores in M5, which also adopts the super core name for all M5-based products — MacBook Air, the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro. This core is the highest-performance core design with the world’s fastest single-threaded performance, driven in part by increased front-end bandwidth, a new cache hierarchy, and enhanced branch prediction.¹

M5 Pro and M5 Max also introduce an all-new performance core that is optimized to deliver greater power-efficient, multithreaded performance for pro workloads. Together with the super cores, the chips deliver up to 2.5x higher multithreaded performance than M1 Pro and M1 Max.² The super cores and performance cores give MacBook Pro a huge performance boost to handle the most CPU-intensive pro workloads, like analyzing complex data or running demanding simulations with unparalleled ease.

M5 Pro: Designed to Handle Demanding Workflows

M5 Pro is designed to meet the needs of pro users — like data modelers, post-production sound designers, and STEM students — who require robust processing power and graphics, and ample amounts of unified memory to handle complex projects and workloads.

Scaling up from the M5 chip, M5 Pro pairs the up-to-18-core CPU with a next-generation up-to-20-core GPU featuring a Neural Accelerator in each core. With four additional CPU cores compared to M4 Pro, the new CPU architecture in M5 Pro significantly boosts multithreaded performance by up to 30 percent for pro workloads.² M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory with higher unified memory bandwidth up to 307GB/s. With all these features, M5 Pro delivers over 4x the peak GPU compute compared to M4 Pro, and over 6x the peak GPU compute than M1 Pro for AI performance.²

M5 Pro has an enhanced shader core with second-generation dynamic caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading, delivering significantly increased graphics performance — up to 20 percent higher than M4 Pro and 2.2x higher than M1 Pro.² And with Apple’s third-generation ray-tracing engine, M5 Pro provides up to a 35 percent graphics uplift in apps using this rendering technique as compared to M4 Pro.²

M5 Max: Unmatched Capabilities

M5 Max is designed for pro users — such as 3D animators, app developers, and AI researchers — who run workloads that demand maximum GPU compute and the highest unified memory bandwidth.

With M5 Max, users can explore new creative dimensions thanks to the up-to-40-core GPU and massive unified memory bandwidth to power advanced visual effects and complex simulations with amazing performance.

Featuring the same breakthrough GPU architecture with double the cores as M5 Pro, M5 Max pairs the 18-core CPU with an up-to-40-core GPU. The new CPU architecture offers up to 15 percent higher multithreaded performance when compared to M4 Max.² M5 Max supports up to 128GB of unified memory with higher unified memory bandwidth up to 614GB/s. This bandwidth increase means users achieve incredible results when working with complex scenes, massive datasets, and higher token generation for LLMs. M5 Max offers over 4x the peak GPU compute compared to the previous generation, and over 6x the peak GPU compute than M1 Max for AI performance.²

The graphics performance for M5 Max is up to 20 percent higher than M4 Max and 2.2x higher than M1 Max.² For apps using ray tracing, M5 Max provides a graphics uplift of up to 30 percent more than M4 Max.²

Advanced Technologies Across M5 Pro and M5 Max

M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a number of additional advanced technologies right on the chip, including:

• A faster 16-core Neural Engine with a higher bandwidth connection to memory to accelerate on-device AI features and Apple Intelligence.³

• Apple’s latest Media Engine with support for hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC, AV1 decode, and ProRes encode and decode engines.

• Support for Memory Integrity Enforcement — an industry-first, always-on memory safety protection that does not compromise device performance.

• Thunderbolt 5 ports, each supported by its own custom-designed controller directly on the chip — making this the industry’s most capable implementation of Thunderbolt 5.

Apple Silicon and the Environment

Apple 2030 is the company’s ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by the end of this decade by reducing product emissions from their three biggest sources: materials, electricity, and transportation. The power-efficient performance of M5 Pro and M5 Max helps MacBook Pro meet Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and reduces the total amount of energy consumed over the product’s lifetime.

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