Apple MacBook Pro (2017) vs Apple MacBook Air: What’s the difference?

Apple hasn’t officially killed the MacBook Air yet, but it hasn’t redesigned it recently either, choosing to give it a slight bump in specs at WWDC in June only, which it also did to the newer MacBook Pros.

There are six Apple MacBook laptops to choose from, but the closest in price to the MacBook Air is the 13-inch MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar. It too saw a processor update at WWDC and it is thinner than the 2015 ultraportable MacBook Air. How else do they compare though?

Here is how the MacBook Air stacks up against the Touch Bar-less 13-inch MacBook Pro.

• Apple MacBook Pro (2016) review: Air apparent

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch vs Apple MacBook Air: Design

• MacBook Pro 13-inch base model is thinner than MacBook Air
• MacBook Pro 13-inch base model is slightly heavier than MacBook Air
• MacBook Air is lighter

The Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch laptop that lacks the Touch Bar features an aluminium casing and an LED-backlit display. It comes in silver or space grey colour options, while the MacBook Air is only available in silver.

The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model weighs 1.37kg and measures 304.1 x 212.4 x 149mm, while the MacBook Air weighs 1.35kg and measures 325 x 227mm with a tapered height from 33mm to 170mm.

In other words, if you’re looking for a portable laptop, the MacBook Pro is the thinner and smaller model of these two laptops, while the MacBook Air just holds on to the title of lightest.

• Which Apple MacBook is right for you?

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch vs Apple MacBook Air: Display

• MacBook Pro 13-inch base model higher resolution display and brighter
• MacBook Air lower resolution and less colour support
• Same size displays

The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model has a 13.3-inch LED-backlit Retina display with IPS technology and a 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution at 227ppi. It offers 500nits of brightness and a P3 wide colour gamut.

The MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with a 1440 x 900 native pixel resolution for a pixel density of 128ppi. It’s therefore not Retina, nor as bright as the MacBook Pro at 300nits.

The MacBook Air also doesn’t support as many colours as the MacBook Pro with a standard RGB screen rather than the wide colour gamut one, though millions are still offered and for most, these will be enough.

In a nutshell however, the new MacBook Pro features a superior display to the MacBook Air.

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch vs Apple MacBook Air: Hardware and power

• The MacBook Air has a longer battery life
• The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model is more powerful on paper
• Better configuration options on MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model features the 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor, Intel Iris Graphics 640, 128GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and a 10-hour battery life. It is configurable to the 2.5GHz Intel Core i7 chip, up to 1TB of flash storage and up to 16GB of RAM. 

The MacBook Air base model features the 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 chip, Intel HD Graphics 6000, 128GB flash storage, 8GB of RAM and a 12-hour battery life. It is configurable to the 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 and up to 512GB SSD.

The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model is therefore more powerful, has more storage and RAM, and comes with better graphics, as you would probably expect. It does however offer two hours less of battery life, which is probably down to the Retina display. Both models feature a 720p FaceTime HD camera.

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch vs Apple MacBook Air: Connections and ports

• The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model has two Thunderbolt 3 ports only
• More ports on the MacBook Air, including SDXC card slot

The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model only features two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports with support for charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, and USB 3.1.

Everything has been streamlined, allowing you to charge and transfer data using the same ports, but there are disadvantages too, such as not being able to plug in an SD card without a dongle.

The MacBook Air has two USB 3 ports, Thunderbolt 2 port, MagSafe 2 power port and a SDXC card slot, meaning it might be the better option for those that don’t want to have to use a dongle to perform tasks they do now without one, like transferring files from their SD card. Both models offer a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch vs Apple MacBook Air: Price

• The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model is more expensive 
• MacBook Air only laptop to start under £1000

The MacBook Pro 13-inch base model starts at £1249, while the MacBook Air (2015) starts at £949, meaning a £300 difference in price. Apple recently lowered the price of the 13-inch MacBook Pro at its WWDC event, reducing the price gap between these two models.

The new MacBook Pro base model without the Touch Bar is thinner, more powerful, and has a Retina display compared to the MacBook Air. Its battery isn’t as long as the MacBook Air though, you lose some handy connections and it’s £300 more expensive so your budget and what you want from your laptop will all come into play in this decision.

• Apple MacBook Pro (2016) with Touch Bar: Thinner, brighter, faster, and very touchy feely

Former Hulu exec’s app aggregates YouTube unboxing vids

There’s something about unboxing videos that’s attracted a ton of attention in recent years, making them wildly popular on YouTube and other platforms. Now, ex-Hulu and Flipboard CTO Eric Feng is trying to cash in on the masses’ obsession with “unboxing porn.” His new startup called “Packagd” has launched Unboxed: an app that aggregates gadget unboxing videos from partner creators and streams them straight from YouTube, ads included. It’s now live on iTunes for iOS devices. While the service won’t be making its own content, Feng hired a few famous unboxing YouTubers, such as Austin Evans and Kevin the Tech Ninja, to produce six hours of live programming per day.

These curators will pick a video, either their own or another YouTuber’s, and host a live chat with users as they play it. The whole experience is supposed to mimic the effect of watching a home TV shopping channel and calling in, because that’s exactly what Feng hopes to achieve. He wants the service to become the online version of QVC or the Home Shopping Network for the new generation.

According to Fast Company, Packagd plans to make money mainly through sponsored videos. Tech giants, for instance, could buy half an hour of airing time to either show their own unboxing video for a new product or to feature other people’s while providing live programming in the background. However, Unboxed will also have in-app buy links of the product featured in the video clips, with all revenue going toward the creators in an effort to entice them to join the platform. The app will sell popular products unrelated to the one being unboxed on cam from time to time, as well.

If the model Feng came up with takes off, he plans to expand his business. He has his sights set on cosmetics and toys, two categories outside of tech that also has viewers who enjoy watching their favorite YouTubers take apart new boxes to get to the prize inside.

Source: Fast Company, Unboxed (iTunes)

Windows 10 preview shows big changes are coming

Microsoft promised big changes to Windows 10 with the Fall Creators Update, and it’s backing that up in spades with a new Insider Preview. Available to brave testers on the “Fast Ring,” the release brings redesigned notifications in the Action Center, much improved handwriting and stylus support, upgrades to Cortana and the Edge browser, improved HDR support and more. The release may be Microsoft’s biggest Insider Preview yet, judging by the massive post explaining all the new features.

The changes begin right from the start menu, which now features the so-called “acrylic” transparent design and easier resizing as part of Microsoft’s new Fluent Design System. That carries through to the Action Center (above), which also gets the Acrylic treatment and easier customization options. On the taskbar, you can pin Microsoft Edge sites, making it easier to access Amazon, Reddit and other sites, assuming you’re not a Chrome or Firefox user. Edge also gets a true full-screen mode via a simpler F11 toggle.

Cortana, Microsoft’s able voice assistant, has suddenly become better at handwriting, too. You can use any active pen, including the Surface model, to lasso onscreen information and trigger Cortana. “Find a website with upcoming event info, or an event poster someone shared in social media,” Microsoft writes.

Handwriting is getting more support beyond Cortana, with new features in the handwriting panel that convert your scrawls to text on the fly, while shifting it when you lift the pen so you can keep writing. You can also select text to edit it, make corrections by overwriting the incorrect text, use ink gestures like strikethough, join and split to fix text, and input emojis via pen. Finally, there’s pen scrolling and a new “where’s my pen” option (above) in case you can’t remember where you put it down last.

Microsoft has improved input in other areas, by adding emojis to any keyboard via Windows key shortcuts, while introducing a new XAML touch keyboard that work betters when Windows 10 is in tablet mode. ePub books get notes and annotations, and local media detection is improved for apps like Photos, Groove and Movies & TV, too. Finally, there’s a new “HDR and Advanced Color Settings” page that’ll make it easier to set up your display, should you be so lucky to have one that supports HDR.

There are numerous other changes that you can see here. Insiders on the Fast Ring should see the new 16215 Insider Preview release now (also dubbed #TacoHat), and for more info, Microsoft plans to do a Windows Insider webcast on its Mixer channel every month.

Source: Microsoft

Samsung’s beastly 49-inch QLED display is built for gaming

It would almost be ridiculous not to buy a 4K TV without HDR, since you can get such sets for under $500 — so it’s weird that we haven’t seen many HDR PC displays yet. Luckily, Samsung has some big news on that front: It’s releasing three new QLED monitors that sound like a dream for gamers. All, including the 27- and 32-inch CHG70s, plus the rather insane 49-inch CHG90 model, offer a 1.07 billion color palette, one millisecond refresh rate, and wraparound 1800R curvature.

Samsung says the QLED tech, which has only been used on large-format TVs so far, “showcases games exactly as developers intended, dramatically improving picture quality and gameplay with crisper colors and sharper contrast.” If you’ve got HDR content, you’ll theoretically see better black levels, a wider color gamut and extra brightness compared to a regular screen.

Specifically, it offers an impressive 95 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 professional color space, a 144 Hz refresh rate and four-channel scanning tech “to deter motion blur throughout the entire screen,” Samsung writes. The monitors are also the first with next-gen Radeon FreeSync 2 support, making setup for games easier (there’s no word on NVIDIA G-Sync support). The displays should be ideal for flight simulation, FPS and action-oriented games, Samsung says.

QLED tech uses LCD panels lit by LEDs, but unlike regular LED displays, Samsung uses “quantum dot” nanoparticles with more precise colors and lighting. While it doesn’t have the same perfect contrast of OLED pixels that produce their own light, it has some other advantages. In theory, it can go brighter, as Samsung’s latest QLED TVs produce between 1,500 and 2,000 nits, and display colors more accurately, with a 100 percent DCI-P3 color volume — something Samsung called a “world first” at CES last year.

Samsung also worked with developers including EA studio Dice and Ghost Games to enable HDR tech for titles like Need for Speed and Star Wars Battlefront II.

All three monitors have identical specs, except that the 27- and 32-inch models are Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) while the 49-inch model features an unusual widescreen UHD (3,840 x 1,080) display and has an extra mini-Display Port. The prices are not too bad, but you’ll still have to suck it up some — the new models run $599, $699 and $1,499 for the 27-inch, 32-inch and 49-inch models, respectively. We’ll get a close look at the 32-inch model at E3, so stay tuned.

Follow all the latest news from E3 2017 here!

Teardowns Confirm 2nd-Gen Butterfly Keyboard on New MacBook, New MacBook Pro Designs Largely Unchanged

iFixit has posted its teardowns of Apple’s new 12-inch MacBook and 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, revealing that apart from the advertised performance boosts the models are largely unchanged from the previous models.

The only really notable change comes in the 12-inch MacBook, which Apple has updated with a second-generation butterfly-mechanism keyboard, as found in the 2016 MacBook Pros, according to iFixit. As some readers will remember, Apple’s 12-inch notebook debuted in 2015 with a redesigned keyboard that some users criticized for a lack of travel that they felt made it harder to type on.

Apple used a tweaked version of the same keyboard design in its 2016 MacBook Pros, which most users felt was an improvement with “better give”, and the same keyboard now adorns the latest MacBook. According to iFixit:

The keyboard trigger looks like a more classic switch this go-around. The plastic butterfly mechanism appears to have thinned out to accommodate the new switch form factor. The keystroke and travel feel about the same to us, so perhaps the real change is reinforcement for repeated use.

Overall, iFixit gave both of Apple’s new notebooks a 1 out of 10 on the repairability scale, owing to their soldered-down RAM, processor, and flash storage, along with glued-down batteries. The scores are in contrast to Apple’s new 4K 21.5-inch iMac, which was awarded a surprising 3 out of 10 for repairability, thanks to Apple’s use of replaceable memory modules and socketed Kaby Lake CPUs.

The refreshed MacBook and MacBook Pro models feature Intel’s seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors, improved Intel and AMD graphics options, with the 12-inch laptop also gaining faster SSD storage. The 12-inch MacBook costs $1,299 for the base model, while the base 13-inch Touch Bar Pro costs $1,799. The 15-inch MacBook Pro pricing begins at $2,399.

Related Roundups: MacBook Pro, MacBook
Tag: iFixit
Buyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now), MacBook (Buy Now)
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Fox Now iOS and tvOS Apps Updated With Combined Content From FX, FXX, and Nat Geo

Fox Networks Group this week announced that Fox Now, its main app for streaming shows like Empire and Prison Break, has gained additional content from the company’s other networks, including FX, FXX, and National Geographic (via Variety). The update arrives first on iOS and tvOS and will continue to roll out on other devices throughout the year.

In total, around 500 hours of TV shows will now be available on Fox Now, which also includes a live TV feature and access to popular films. Users will have to provide a log-in for a paid TV provider in order to gain access to the four channels’ content within the app. On Apple TV, Fox Now does support Single Sign-On, letting users sign into the Apple TV once and access all of the content available to them across devices.

Existing streaming apps for FX and National Geographic — FX Now and Nat Geo TV, respectively — will continue to function as normal. Now, users will simply have Fox’s updated app as a hub experience for the collection of channels to watch a wider variety of shows, including Fox’s 24: Legacy, FX’s The Americans, FXX’s You’re The Worst, and National Geographic’s Genius.

Fox Now has also gained a UI update with the addition of new channels, featuring full-screen video across the app “to emulate the look and feel of linear TV,” as well as the ability to “restart” live TV so users can go back to the beginning of a broadcast if they’re late. There’s also a personalized For You section, and the app will curate shows for users by networks and genres.

The latest Fox Now app update “represents a significant increase in our capabilities and focus, and ensures our viewers will always have the best experience possible when watching our award-winning television brands,” said Brian Sullivan, president and COO of Fox Networks’ Digital Consumer Group.

Each user will be able to access their Fox Profile to see customized favorites, recommendations, notifications, and continue watching the next episode in a series, all of which will sync across devices. The Fox Now app can be downloaded from the iOS App Store [Direct Link] and tvOS App Store for free.

Tags: Fox, Fox Now
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With Pandora’s new AutoPlay feature, your music never has to stop

Why it matters to you

Not only does AutoPlay let you keep listening to music, it’ll also grant you access to content otherwise exclusive to other streaming services.

“Please don’t stop the music” isn’t just a Rihanna lyric — it’s now a command that Pandora has begun to obey. On Thursday, June 8, the streaming service announced a new feature for its Premium customers (which is to say, those who pay to listen to their music ad-free). It’s called AutoPlay, and it “keeps the music playing so the tunes you love never need to stop.” Whether you’re listening on an iOS or Android device, AutoPlay will let you “effortlessly switch from on-demand to lean-back listening that is completely personalized and unique to you.”

Basically, it means that when your selected song, playlist, or album ends on Pandora Premium, the music won’t just stop. Instead, AutoPlay will take over, playing music that is somehow related to what you were just listening to. Really, it’s the bread and butter of Pandora’s functionality — figuring out what you’ll likely enjoy listening to based on what you’re already listening to. “Whether you’re hosting a party, working out at the gym, road tripping, or any other activity, the soundtrack to your life will continue playing,” Pandora says.

But is this really enough to convince folks that it is worth it to pay the $10 a month Premium costs? It could be, if you consider, as Variety has, the fact that AutoPlay effectively allows Pandora to bypass exclusive album deals, and also share music that is supposedly Apple or Tidal exclusive. As Variety explains, “The moment an album ends and Pandora transitions to a personalized radio stream, the licensing terms for that music also change. This allows Pandora to effectively play any song, regardless of whether it has the rights to serve up that song on-demand or not.”

So if you’re a Pandora Premium subscriber, you’re in for a musical treat. You automatically have access to AutoPlay, and you can manage the feature by going to Settings and then clicking on Advanced. Alternatively, you can just manage via a toggle that appears on the bottom of any track, album, and playlist.

Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage goes on sale in India

Galaxy S8+ with more memory and storage is now available in India.

If you haven’t picked up the Galaxy S8+ in India yet, you’re in luck. Samsung has launched an upgraded variant that offers 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage for ₹74,900 ($1,156). As a refresher, the standard model comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage, and retails for ₹64,900.

Whereas the standard variant is available in Coral Blue, Maple Gold, and Midnight Black color options, the 6GB model is sold in just the Midnight Black hue. The ₹10,000 price hike is steep, but you do get more memory and storage, and Samsung is incentivizing the new variant by throwing in a free wireless charger that costs ₹4,499 ($70) with every order.

Read: Galaxy S8+ India review

If you’re picking up the 6GB model directly from Samsung using an ICICI credit card, you’ll receive ₹2,500 in cash back. There are attractive EMI options as well. If you’re interested, head to the link below to take a look.

See at Samsung

New rumor suggests OnePlus 5 will cost ₹32,999 ($510) in India

OnePlus 5 may turn out to be the company’s costliest phone yet.

The OnePlus 5 will be launching in India on June 22, where OnePlus is hosting a major launch event for the first time in the country. A teaser from yesterday showed off the device for the first time, confirming dual rear cameras and a design that’s similar to that of the OPPO R11.

We haven’t heard a lot in terms of pricing, but a new rumor out of True Tech suggests the OnePlus 5 will retail for ₹32,999 ($510) in the country. That’s for the base variant with 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The publication also mentions a model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage that will allegedly be sold for ₹37,999 ($590).

OnePlus has traditionally managed to offer its products at a $30 markup when seen against the U.S. retail price — the OnePlus 3 retailed for ₹27,999 ($430), and the OnePlus 3T was launched for ₹29,999 ($465). Going by that logic, it’s likely the OnePlus 5 will retail at around the $479 mark in the U.S. Thankfully for Indian consumers, the OnePlus 3T will be on sale until later this year.

We’ll have to wait until June 20 to find out more, but for now it looks like the OnePlus 5 will cost around $40 more than its predecessor.

OnePlus 5

• Latest OnePlus 5 rumors
• OnePlus 5 confirmed to have Snapdragon 835
• OnePlus 3T discontinued to make room for OnePlus 5

OnePlus

Google is making it easier for carriers to communicate over RCS

Google “hub” model allows carriers to implement RCS with ease.

RCS is a next-generation communication protocol with read receipts, group chat, support for high-definition images, and more. The goal with RCS is to bring SMS and MMS to feature parity with the likes of Facebook Messenger, and Google has been leading the charge on that front. Earlier this year, the company rebranded Messenger to Android Messages, making it the de facto messaging app for RCS.

Google is also working closely with carriers to make RCS ubiquitous on Android — the platform’s answer to iMessage. There are inherent challenges involved in getting carriers to talk to one another over the protocol — over the years, carriers have built additional features into their own messaging clients as a means of differentiation. For instance, AT&T and T-Mobile both offer RCS, but their version isn’t compatible with Sprint’s implementation, which uses Google’s recommended universal profile.

Rogers is another carrier that uses the standardized universal profile, and earlier this week the Canadian carrier announced that its RCS solution is interoperable with Sprint. To bring further intercompatibility among carriers, Google’s VP of communication products Nick Fox stated that the company is using a “hub” model to get carriers connected to one another over RCS. For instance, a carrier connected to the hub will be able to connect to all the other carriers also connected.

We are deploying a “hub” model, so that carriers can interconnect to the hub once to get access to all other carriers connected to the hub.

— Nick Fox (@RealNickFox) June 5, 2017

The model makes it far less cumbersome for carriers to get set up with RCS as they don’t have to develop individual connections with other carriers, saving resources and time. The move should lead to more carriers adopting the messaging protocol in the future.