verne arase

Zirlin said:

Apple has a huge problem. Their naming and numbering scheme is an absolute mess. Paying double the money for a MacStudio with an M3 instead of an M4 sounds like you're getting something less but paying more. And having to understand the differences between Max and Ultra and Pro is insane. Also, why I'm on a rant, there is literally zero point anymore to upgrading an iPad past an M1 until they allow it to run MacOS simultaneously. All the same hardware is there. If we can figure out how a Nintendo Switch works (portable vs. docked), I'm pretty sure we can figure out the same thing with our iPad doubling as a laptop. Streamline the product line.

Apple's already hinted that not every Apple Silicon line will have a Ultra - they probably just don't sell enough of them to expend the engineering effort for every generation.

I actually have an 11" iPad Pro M4 (binned) just for the single core speed - it was the fastest browser in my quiver simply because of the M4's single core speed.

The Nintendo Switch is just a display/power interface - and the mechanics of getting a USB-C port to blind dock are a bit mind blowing. I believe all the video hardware is inboard on the Switch - and it's not really a super duper performer in any case.

rob53 said:

I agree but there's no M4 Pro iMac of any size and I doubt Apple will make one. Apple seems to be pushing laptops and iPads, not desktops, so the only way we're going to get a 27" or more 5K iMac is if we buy a Mac mini M4 Pro or the Mac Studio combining it with as good of a display as we can find. 

We're looking at $4600 for a fully blown Mac mini M4 Pro. 14/20/16, 64GB/8TB, +$100 for 10G ethernet if desired.

Same specs on the Mac Studio would cost $5099, 14/40/16, 64GB/8TB. Had to go with better SoC to get 64GB memory.
--So these configurations cost about the same but the Studio has a lot more headroom for better specs. Are the M4 Pro mini specs enough for most of you/us? They totally destroy anything Apple made with the Intel chip, including my fully blown 2019 iMac.

The 2020 iMac 5K with core-i9 (10c, 20t) and AMD Radeon 5700/XT with 16 GB VRAM and 10g ethernet - my currently daily driver - was the most powerful intel machine Apple made; heck, I bought it after the M1 was announced to tide me over while Apple smoothed over the Apple Silicon transition.

The Mac Studio with the unbinned M4 Max has over three times the CPU power and over six times the graphics power (and supports ray tracing and Apple Intelligence); combine that with a Studio Display and you have a capable replacement for the 2020 iMac 5K with some granularity - you can replace the Mac Studio without having to rebuy the display - though I can't really see my workload overpowering the M4 Max, except maybe for stuff like Topaz Video AI which will probably always eat as much resources as available.

This is the one I've been waiting for to replace my 2020 iMac 5K which has been glitching lately playing YouTube videos and consuming 100% CPU.

Getting this with a Studio Display, 64 GB RAM, a fully loaded M4 Max, and 4 TB SSD so this is basically a slide-in replacement for my iMac.

The Ultras have way more horsepower and multiprocessing than I need, and the faster M4 performance cores will make this the snappiest Mac yet for normal workloads.

With 4 Thunderbolt 5 ports on the rear, the Studio Display will leave three each with a Thunderbolt controller behind it (unlike the 2020 iMac which shared a single controller between the two ports). A new keyboard will add TouchID support to speed security interruptions.

This should be over 3x faster than my core-i9 iMac (which is still my daily driver due to its superior screen real estate), with six times faster graphics with hardware ray tracing - not to mention support for Apple Intelligence. The 2020 iMac will replace the old 2017 iMac 5K as the family computer (which no longer has current macOS support).

Splitting up the processor and display will make for cheaper and smoother upgrades in the future too - though given the power of this new hardware it's hard to see needing upgrades much in the future.

coolfactor said:

verne arase said:

I've experienced this on my iPhone 16 Pro Max, but I thought it might be related to the super-dumper TORRAS screen protector I'd installed - I've been resorting to doing swipes over the cards in my solitaire game. 

I've finally experienced a totally dust-free bubble-free pristine screen protector installation, and I sure hope this is simply a software bug.

Rip off that screen protector! You don't need it.

I buy a Pro Max every year, and put on a screen protector and case before I even turn on the phone.

This year instead of giving it to a relative, I'm selling my 15 Pro Max to buybacktronics.com - and was able to sell it as flawless despite experiencing a pinhole puncture in the screen protector.

No matter who the next user of my phone will be, I like to keep it as pristine as possible.

sbdude said:

You mean the last four years of a vegetable behind the Resolute Desk? I get it, Trump and Vance aren't anything close to beacons of honesty. But you're deluding yourself if you think the current administration and Kamala are somehow better, and deserving of the office.

I do believe the current administration has respect for the constitution and rule of law - unlike the MAGA crowd attacking election officials, personal human rights, voters, and the judiciary for God's sake.

Seems like everything they touch they corrupt, and will do anything to win - they just have no ethical boundaries.

They are brownshirts pure and simple, and I shudder to think what Trump's hatred of Taylor Swift will bring from his cultish followers - and this for simply endorsing his opponent.

Well that and pointing out that he used a AI deepfake to make it look like she'd endorsed him. Who does that sort of thing anyway, and how distant from an ethical and truthful platform do you have to be to do it?