Apple is ramping up testing of M3 chips which means testing with third-party apps, offering a window into the next-gen chipset’s specs. Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News: So what does the M3 look like? Well, at least one version in testing has 12 CPU cores, 18 graphics cores and 36 gigabytes of memory… The CPU, the chip’s main processor, is made up of six high-performance cores that handle the most intensive tasks and six efficiency cores that kick in for operations that need less power. The chip itself in this particular test is running in a future high-end MacBook Pro with the upcoming macOS 14.0 and likely is the base-level version of what will be the M3 Pro coming next…

Macworld Portable power banks that charge your phone are popular, but wireless battery packs using Apple’s MagSafe technology offer a simpler and smarter cable-free solution for iPhone 12, 13 and 14 users. Phone batteries are prone to run dry just when you’re heading away from a power source, so having a portable charging source is one of today’s necessities. Annoyingly, most power banks require you to carry around a cable, too. Wireless power banks do away with cables but come with their own major limitation–the inefficiency of wireless charging means you need a high-capacity power bank to fully charge a drained iPhone. I use one as a quick bedside iPhone charger so I can charge and use the phone at…

At WWDC 2023, on June 5th, Apple is expected to unveil what is perhaps the most experimental, unconventional product in its history: a mixed-reality (AR/VR) headset that resembles a pair of ski goggles and comes with an external, tethered battery pack. Designer Marcus Kane’s conception Apple’s mixed reality headset (via Yanko Design) Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie for The Wall Street Journal: Apple’s launch plans break many of its traditions and rules about new products that have become the industry gold standard. Unlike other Apple products, the device is debuting in a still-experimental mode. Apple predicts slower adoption for the headset compared with the Apple Watch or the iPhone, both of which quickly became consumer must-haves. Taking seven years in…

Macworld The Apple Watch has been a huge success for the company, pretty much tying up the wearables sector at the first attempt. With 2023 underway, we’re looking forward to seeing what Apple will do with the next generation of its digital timepiece. So, here’s all the news, rumors we’ve discovered so far about the Apple Watch Series 9 as well as our expectations for the new device. Apple Watch Series 9: Release date Apple has a release schedule for its Watches that, if you’ll pardon the pun, runs like clockwork. For years now, its latest iterations have made their debut in the second or third week of September, usually alongside the new iPhones, with on-sale dates about a week…

Macworld Google wrapped up another I/O keynote and we heard a lot of what we expected to: there are several new Pixel devices, a dig at Apple for not supporting RCS (can’t say we disagree there), and a massive focus on AI. It wasn’t just AI taking the stage at Google’s event, but generative AI. It’s an annoying name but an important distinction. Generative AI is that which creates new stuff, rather than simply analyzing and adjusting what already exists. DALL·E and Stable Diffusion create new artwork from a text prompt, they don’t just tweak the exposure and sharpen up an image you supply. Chatbots such as ChatGPT and Bard answer questions and perform tasks by making new text. There…

Macworld The next version of the Apple Watch could enjoy a substantial boost in speed and battery performance after news broke that it’s likely to get a new processor based on the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14. Leaker-analyst Mark Gurman made the prediction, spotted by MacRumors, in a conversation on the Discord channel he hosts for subscribers. He began by saying the Apple Watch Series 9 would get a “new processor” and clarified that this meant a truly new component as opposed to the merely rebranded chips that Apple has included in the past two generations of its smartwatch. The Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra both have an S8 chip, while the Series 7 has…