Essential Apple User Magazine February 2021

The M1 CPU Apple is no stranger to designing and manufacturing processors. It has been making chips for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch for years. But the new M1 CPU, Apple’s most powerful chip yet, is its first designed for the MacBook. The M1 is an entire system on a single chip. In the past, a MacBook needed several chips running alongside the CPU. There was a controller for data transfer in and out, and another for the Thunderbolt ports alone. Solid state memory required more chips, as did the Apple T2 for security features. Not any more. The M1 combines all these technologies into a single unit, which is great for efficiency, and therefore, performance. The M1 chip uses five nanometer technology. What this means is an individual transistor, the…

The first Apple Silicon-based Mac that Apple unveiled is the latest 13-inch MacBook Air, the ultra-portable laptop that packs a seriously powerful punch into a small and light package. The M1 CPU makes the new MacBook Air 3.5x faster than the previous generation, with up to 5x faster graphics, the biggest generational leap ever for a MacBook Air. You can play modern, graphically immersive games at significantly higher frame rates; great news for Apple Arcade subscribers. Video editors will also appreciate the new MacBook Air. Before, Apple’s ultra-portable wasn’t considered suitable for such a processor-intensive task, but now you can edit multiple streams of full quality 4K video without dropping a frame. Although the higher-end and the cheaper MacBook Airs use the same M1 processor, the cheapest model only has a seven-core…

Apple also unveiled a new M1-powered MacBook Pro, but only the 13-inch version. If you prefer the extra screen size offered by the 16-inch model, you’ll have to wait. Also, the two more expensive 13-inch MacBook Pros retain Intel chips, presumably for those who need more than 16GB of RAM. The M1 chip makes its appearance in the two cheaper notebooks, which can be configured with 8GB or 16GB of memory and up to 2TB of storage. The M1 eight-core CPU, when paired with the MacBook Pro’s active cooling system, is up to 2.8x faster than the previous generation, delivering improved performance when compiling code, transcoding video, editing high-resolution photos and more. The eight-core GPU is up to 5x faster, allowing users to enjoy super smooth graphics performance for gaming, video…

The new Apple Silicon chips have yet to reach the 16-inch MacBook Pros, but if you need the larger screen or more than 16GB of memory, it’s still a great notebook. It has the largest screen in any MacBook, and a new-style keyboard that’s a pleasure to use. Suitability. If you don’t need to upgrade soon, you might want to wait for 16-inch models with Apple Silicon chips, but we doubt this model will disappoint. Price. Most expensive: £2,799, $2,799, 3.118,35 € Cheapest model: £2,399, $2,399, 2.630,95 € Ports. 1 Four USB C ports* 2 Headphone socket…

So far, only the lower-end Macs have switched to the new Apple Silicon processors. For the 13-inch MacBook Pros, this means the cheaper two models now run on M1 Apple Silicon chips, and the more expensive two are still based on Intel processors. Suitability. If you need a new MacBook and are happy with 16GB or less of memory, this is for you. If you can wait, though, Apple Silicon will come to these Macs soon. Price. Most expensive: £1,999, $1,999, 2.075,30 € Cheapest model: £1,799, $1,799, 2.299,00 € Ports. 1 Two USB C ports* 2 Headphone socket…

Audio In: You can use this port to connect an external audio device to your Mac. This might be an external microphone, a CD player, audio mixer or a musical instrument. Dual Mics: The Mac’s internal microphones are great for FaceTime calls, Siri and more. Dual mics help reduce background noise by focussing on your voice alone. Ethernet Port: All current Macs have built-in Wi-Fi but if you want to use a cabled connection to your router instead, use the Ethernet port and an Ethernet cable. Headphone Socket: This is a standard 3.5mm socket for connecting headphones to your Mac. Alternatively, connect external speakers that use a 3.5mm jack. HDMI Port: This port is used to connect your Mac mini, Mac Pro or older notebook Mac to a monitor or TV, using an HDMI…