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MacBook Neo and The False Vacuum

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

False Vacuum: A theoretical state where space appears stable but actually exists at a higher energy level than the true minimum, meaning it could spontaneously “decay” into a lower energy state.

In March of 2024, Walmart began selling the refurbished MacBook Air M1 for $699 and soon after Best Buy offered the same for $650. This represents what those of us in the enthusiast community consider a screaming deal. And up until last month, it was still a great deal.

Apple September 2025

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 06:59:15 +0000

The team ran out of Apple Park to film and are now mining their flagship stores for backdrop. Intro video calls back to Wonderful Tools.

Impressions:

AirPod Pro 3

2x better ANC compared with AP2 (4x better than AP1) - “Worlds best noise cancellation”
5 sizes of foam infused eartips, smaller body
Live translation (also coming to Pro 2 and AirPods 4) - I feel like silicon valley has been launching this once a year for the past 5 years
IP57 sweat and water resistance
Heart rate sensing, workouts now can be started on iPhone. Integration with third party fitness apps
8 hours with ANC, 10 hours in transparency with hearing aid
$249

Apple Watch Series 11

Apple WWDC 2025

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 03:31:48 +0000

Production value of these intro segments have obviously reached a new peak. This feels like Craig’s fantasy.

Impressions:

New Design

VP of Human Design Alan Dye sits in a room full of colorful glass panes and moves them over each other all day. What do you do for work?
Launching on all platforms
Liquid Glass - Aqua is back!
- Animated transitions and light refraction - combo of dynamic island, iPadOS cursor, and Aqua
- ngl the animations are pretty slick

iOS 26

Apple September 2024 Event

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 07:49:53 +0000

They finally ran out of Apple Park buildings to film so now the video team is burning through San Francisco landmarks

Impressions:

Apple Watch Series 10

Bigger brighter display - 30% more screen area, bigger than the Ultra
Thinner, more rounded design
New polished aluminum jet black color alongside the rose gold and silver in the old aluminum treatment
Faster charging - 30 min to 80%
Introducing polished titanium (natural, gold, and dark) to replace stainless steel as the midrange model. It’s also carbon neutral now
Sleep Apnea Detection - now you can tell your partner they snore and have the data to prove it
Swim - Tides app, depth app, water temperature, custom swim workouts

Apple Watch Ultra

WWDC 2024 Post Event Impressions

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 18:41:47 +0000

Tim Cook is shouting from the roof, Craig and the exec team skydiving, Mike Rockwell in a Vision Pro, Apple video team budget at an all time high. Seat belts on folks, its a big one this year

Impressions:

visionOS 2

2k native apps, 1.5m compatible apps
Photos: ML to turn 2D photos into 3D spatial photos, Shareplay
Quick access hand gesture menu
Mac Virtual Display supports different screen sizes including ultra wide which simulates two 4k monitors side by side
Travel mode adds train support
Cannon will sell a spatial lens for their cameras
Other - rearrange home screen, mouse support, new APIs, available in 8 more countries

iOS 18

Apple May 2024 "Let Loose" Event Post Event Impressions

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 18:40:31 +0000

First, Craig Federighi does a slow motion run at WWDC 2022 and now John Ternus winks at me. Why are the Apple execs trying to rizz me up as the kids say? Also, props to the production team for putting that drone and travel budget to good use this year.

Impressions:

iPad Air

11 and 13 inch model
Cameras on the long edge - finally!
M2, Wifi 6E, Double the bass on the larger model
Apple pencil hover
A keynote so short John Ternus had to record his speaking scenes on his regular BART commute
Starts at 128gb and goes up to 1TB
11in - $599, 13in - $799

iPad Pro

Apple October 30th Scary Fast Event Notes

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 03:29:50 +0000

Tim Cook’s intro went so hard I thought he was going to break into dance. The CGI and set budget for this show must rival some movies

Impressions:

M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max

3nm
Performance cores - 30% faster than M1 - 15% faster than M2
Efficiency cores - 50% faster than M1 - 20% faster than M2
M3 - 8 core CPU - 10 core GPU
M3 Pro - 12 core CPU - 18 core GPU
M3 Max - 16 core CPU - 40 core CPU
Big next gen GPU upgrade
Dynamic caching which increased memory utilization efficiency in GPU
Hardware accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing
2.5x faster rendering performance over M1

MacBook Pro

Apple and Gaming

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 08:14:20 +0000

It’s been a minute since we saw something of a big wildcard strategy play from Apple but it’s become clear that the folks at Apple have renewed their efforts to court gamers to the ecosystem.

Big indicator here was the WWDC announcement of MacOS Gaming emulation that temporarily blew up the tech internet with videos of games like Cyberpunk 2077 running on Mac, a previously unthinkable proposition. And not just running, but running well. However, given Apple’s previous endeavors, it was easy to write this off as a one time thing; a side effect of the capabilities unlocked by the M series era of chips. Recall the M1 was demoed with Tomb Raider; a respectable but undemanding game that proved a point nonetheless that an Apple laptop was capable of gaming at a higher level than had previously been taken for granted by the public.

Apple September Event 2023

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 02:28:01 +0000

Posting this a week late:

Apple video team getting bold about getting Tim Cook wrapped up in their shenanigans.

Impressions:

Apple Watch Series 9

S9 chip, 5.6 billion transistors (60% more), 30% faster GPU
Neural Engine for on device Siri for faster responses even without internet
2000 nit display (2x vs last gen), display goes as dark as 1 nit
Gen 2 ultra wideband chip for precision finding for iPhones
Double Tap feature - Looks like the accessibility feature got promoted to full fledged interaction type. Looks pretty neat
new pink aluminum colorway

Visit from Mother Nature

Post WWDC Thoughts on The Vision Pro

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 02:08:28 +0000

I had some additional thoughts that didn’t quite figure into the impressions model of the previous post. I finally got the chance to rewatch it and there are some tidbits and omissions that I think were very interesting. Sometimes it really is just about what they DON’T tell you. Apple is mysterious like that sometimes…

Rewatching the video, it is suggested that the Vision Pro LightSeal is swappable for different sizes (Link). I wonder how this will work. Of course this being the low yield product it is, the obvious answer is that the Headset may strongly suggest a fitting at an Apple Store.
The headband looks like it will simply be the most comfortable one ever shipped on a stock headset device. Also appearing to come in different sizes or even different variations (Link). Perhaps we will see other first party designs or a third party market will spring up to accommodate different tastes.
Interestingly, there is no overhead strap. It makes sense given the lightness but also to save you from the dreaded reverse mohawk that one often gets from wearing their Quest.
Digital Crown has quietly become one of Apple’s great tactile control interfaces in the vein of the click wheel and mute switch. Its inclusion is always a pleasure and I see signs it is now being adopted in software as well. The new Final Cut for iPad has a half circle software click wheel that pops out to assist with fine tune adjustments.
No specs provided regarding storage size but given that the price is described as ‘starting’ at $3499, I think its safe to say that there will be higher storage configurations.
No field of view (FOV) info either. Although I cant imagine it being bad. If Apple wants us to use this to watch big screen movies or work for hours with our laptop screens, they simply cannot constrain the peripheral vision or it will be worse than just working in real life.
There is no mention of a carrying case or any accessory for that matter. Accessories are alluded to, different straps, different face pads, but none in sight. Even in product shots, the Vision Pro rests on the table open to the elements. I wonder if this is so Apple can focus the energy and attention around pitching the platform
External battery is a unique choice, the connector on the Headset side looks similar to the iMac cable but seems new. I wonder if the cable is detachable on the battery side. On initial inspection I would expect not.
When I first heard the rumors that the battery was going to be a separate unit, I thought that it was the least Apple-like thing I have ever heard. However, after using the Magic Leap at CES which also takes the approach of trying to move as much weight off the head as possible, I am fully on board. The difference in head comfort is night and day.
Notably, one thing Apple did not omit was the price. I had a thought that since this was clearly nowhere near production and with the focus being firmly on the platform, Apple may want to be more mysterious with the price to let hype build a bit. After all, that is what Apple did with the Apple Watch teasing the price announcement out for months.
A release of early next year is quite interesting as rumor was that Apple was hoping to get this in before the holidays. It seems the reality of scaling production on what is likely to be the most complex piece of hardware Apple has ever shipped means that this will likely hit in Q1 of next year instead.

One final thought which may be controversial. I had this thought during the event that there is a philosophical difference between Apple and the rest of the industry. Today, Apple brought a computing platform to a console fight. In comparison, everything we have seen before has been essentially designed and geared to gamers who plug their headset into powerful rigs in their den and immerse themselves. The Vision Pro is a stab at what the future of general computing might look like. To become a real platform, this industry needs to push past gaming into the fields of productivity and communications. My money is on Apple for being the one to convince us.

Apples Big Day

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 20:32:42 +0000

I skipped the last hour of the event. What did I miss?

They used a shimmery effect for the transitions that is super cool. More subtle but no less impressive compared to the drone heavy shots of previous events. Apple events have always the best production value and this event marks a new high point in quality.

Impressions:

MacBook Air 15 inch

Same I/O and design as the 13
$1299 (1199 Education
13 inch M2 Air now $100 cheaper at $1099
Funny to think any other event, a 15 inch MacBook Air would carry the show but this year it feels like something they are trying to get out of the way

Mac Studio