Accessory maker 8BitDo has unveiled its second new product in two weeks. After showcasing a latch-on gaming controller for Android phones, the company now has a new version of its Retro Mechanical Keyboard that adds a numpad and new shortcuts. And yes, the $120 accessory still includes those begging-to-be-mashed Super Buttons.
Like its predecessor, the 8BitDo Retro 108 Mechanical Keyboard is inspired by Nintendo’s NES and Famicom consoles. The two variants almost perfectly match the colors of these 1980s gaming machines: white, dark gray and black for the NES-inspired flavor and white and crimson for the Famicom one. Appropriately, the latter has Japanese markings under its English characters.
The keyboard is 22 percent wider than the standard version to accommodate the integrated numpad and other extras. The extended area also includes Windows shortcuts, Calculator, Function Lock and Screen Lock buttons.
Otherwise, the new keyboard retains the features of the 87-key original. That includes using it in wired or wireless modes (including Bluetooth or wireless 2.4G), custom key mapping through 8BitDo Ultimate Software V2 (Windows only), N-key rollover and hot-swappable keys.
8BitDo
The new model includes the same pair of Super Buttons you’ll get with the smaller variant. These programmable macro keys look like giant-sized versions of the A and B buttons on the NES and Famicom. They connect to the keyboard directly via a 3.5mm jack, and you can string up to four sets together. You can also order Super Buttons (in red, blue or yellow) for $30.24 apiece.
Officially, 8BitDo says the keyboard is only supported for Windows and Android, likely because its customization software is only available for the former. But you can still use it with macOS; you’d just miss out on customizing its keys and macros and receiving software updates.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/8bitdo-has-a-new-version-of-the-retro-mechanical-keyboard-with-a-built-in-numpad-201051915.html?src=rss
For many homes, a single router just won't cut it. Unless the device is in a prime position at the center of your home and there are few walls and other obstacles for the signal to deal with, your Wi-Fi network may not reach the outer limits of your house or property. As such, a mesh network might be what you need. A three-pack of Google's Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E is worth considering, especially because it has dropped to its lowest price to date. You can pick up this bundle for $279 at Amazon right now. The three-pack normally retails for $400.
This is our pick for the best mesh Wi-Fi system for folks who are using the tech for the first time. There isn't a great deal of customization here and there are more powerful options out there. But the Nest mesh system is easy to set up and then just let it do its thing.
Together, these three nodes provide up to 6,600 sq. ft. of Wi-Fi coverage and speeds of up to 2,402 Mbps. That's more than enough for most people. Though if you're gaming, you'll probably want to connect to Ethernet if possible to minimize lag.
As you might expect, the Wi-Fi Pro 6E integrates with other Google services. It's compatible with the Matter and Thread smart home standards too.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/google-black-friday-deals-include-the-nest-wi-fi-pro-6e-for-its-lowest-price-ever-191945311.html?src=rss
For many homes, a single router just won't cut it. Unless the device is in a prime position at the center of your home and there are few walls and other obstacles for the signal to deal with, your Wi-Fi network may not reach the outer limits of your house or property. As such, a mesh network might be what you need. A three-pack of Google's Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E is worth considering, especially because it has dropped to its lowest price to date.
You can pick up this bundle for $279 at both Amazon and the Google Store. The three-pack normally retails for $400.
This is our pick for the best mesh Wi-Fi system for folks who are using the tech for the first time. There isn't a great deal of customization here and there are more powerful options out there. But the Nest mesh system is easy to set up and then just let it do its thing.
Together, these three nodes provide up to 6,600 sq. ft. of Wi-Fi coverage and speeds of up to 2,402 Mbps. That's more than enough for most people. Though if you're gaming, you'll probably want to connect to Ethernet if possible to minimize lag.
As you might expect, the Wi-Fi Pro 6E integrates with other Google services. It's compatible with the Matter and Thread smart home standards too.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/googles-nest-wi-fi-pro-6e-is-cheaper-than-ever-in-this-early-black-friday-deal-191945827.html?src=rss
Apple's excellent MacBook Pros are faster than ever with its new M4 chips. That's it, that's the review. Their screens are slightly brighter, and the 14-inch model now starts with 16GB of RAM, but otherwise these are the same laptops that have been around since the M1 Pro redesign in 2021. Really, though, it's not as if Apple had much to improve on. The MacBook Pros have been among our favorite premium laptops for years — now they're just better.
When I last reviewed Apple's MacBook Pros, I concluded by saying, "Just try to save up for 16GB of RAM." Now, thanks to the increasing memory demands of Apple Intelligence, that's not something anyone will have to worry about again. That makes the $1,599 14-inch MacBook Pro a far better deal than before (you previously had to add on another $200 to get to 16GB). The 16-inch model, which starts at $2,499 with 24GB of RAM, is also a better choice for big-screen fans since its M4 Pro chip is a tremendous upgrade over last year's hardware.
What's new in the M4 MacBook Pros?
The star of the show this year are Apple's new M4, M4 Pro chips and M4 Max chips. The M4 features a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, while the Pro bumps up to a 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU. The Max model, as usual, goes even harder: It features a 16-core CPU and a whopping 40-core GPU.
As you'd expected, the prices for those more powerful chips escalate dramatically: The M4 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 ($400 more than the base model), while the M4 Max model starts at $3,199. At least you get slight RAM and storage bumps with those pricier chips, the M4 Pro starts with 24GB of RAM, while the Max model includes 36GB RAM and a 1TB SSD.
Aside from dramatically better chips, all of the new MacBook Pros feature MiniLED Liquid Retina XDR screens that can reach up to 1,000 nits for SDR (standard dynamic range) content. That's a 400-nit increase from before, and it should help make content far more visible in daylight or in very bright rooms. (HDR content, as usual, can push the display even further to a peak of 1,600 nits.) There's also a nano-texture glass option (for a $150 surcharge) that can make the screens more glare resistant, which is useful for working in bright environments. Note, however, that it can also make the screen appear less sharp.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Apple also upgraded the MacBook Pros' webcams to 12-megapixels, a major leap over the previous 1080p camera. (Apple hasn't confirmed the megapixel figure for that camera, but it's likely around 2MP, the bare minimum to reach 1080p). Having a higher resolution camera also opens the door for Center Stage, which can keep you in focus as you move around your room.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
I didn't hate Apple's previous webcams, but mostly that's because I remember how mediocre its older 720p webcams used to be. The new models look far sharper with more accurate colors, and the overall image doesn't look as heavily filtered as the previous cameras. They also support Desk View (above), Apple's helpful feature for showing off objects below your screen.
If you're often dealing with large file transfers, you might also appreciate support for Thunderbolt 5 on the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. It can support up to 120 Gb/s speeds, up from 40 Gb/s in Thunderbolt 4, which the standard M4 chip includes. That could make a huge difference if you're moving terabytes worth of 4K and 8K videos onto external drives – just note you’ll need to invest in similarly equipped Thunderbolt 5 storage. Thunderbolt 5 could potentially allow for external AI accelerators (unfortunately, Apple Silicon doesn't support external GPUs).
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
In use: The best MacBook Pros yet
I didn't really expect much from the new MacBook Pros, especially since the previous M3 models were already very impressive. But, once again, Apple managed to surprise me with its mobile hardware. The M4 chip, which was in our 14-inch review unit, was a solid performer. But the M4 Pro in our 16-inch MacBook Pro was an astonishing leap ahead of its predecessor, and it's also faster than every other computer we've tested this year (aside from the new Mac mini, which also had a M4 Pro chip).
Unfortunately, we didn't have an M4 Max-equipped MacBook Pro to test, but given that it's filled with more M4 CPU and GPU cores, I'd expect another major performance jump.
Computer
Geekbench 6
Geekbench 6 GPU
Cinebench 2024
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4, 2024)
3,797/14,571
37,869
172/979 GPU: 3770
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024)
3,925/22,456
70,197
178/1,689 GPU 9,295
Surface Laptop 7 (Snapdragon X Elite)
2,797/14,400
19,963
123/969 GPU N/A
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max, 2024)
3,202/21,312
92,344
143/1,686 GPU 13,182
In Geekbench 6's CPU benchmark, the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro scored 1,000 to 1,500 points higher than other recent laptops when it came to single-threaded work. Its multi-threaded performance lead was more slim, but it still beat out Intel's new Lunar Lake chips and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite. The M4 Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro scored similarly for single-threaded work, but it blew the competition by 9,000 to 12,500 points. That performance gap alone is equivalent to the multi-threaded Geekbench 6 scores from other laptops this year! (It’s also slightly faster than last year’s M3 Max chip in the 16-inch MacBook Pro, another major achievement.)
Cinebench 2024 scores tell a similar story. Both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro scored well above the competition in the single-threaded test. The M4 system was on-par with the best multi-threaded scores we saw from the Surface Laptop 7 (powered by a Snapdragon X Elite chip) and HP Omnibook Ultra 14 (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375). But the M4 Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro, once again, handily outclassed other systems with its multithreaded score, which was nearly double what we've been seeing throughout the year.
Cinebench's GPU benchmark puts the M4 Pro's graphics performance in line with NVIDIA's RTX 4070 in Dell's XPS 16, while the M4 chip is in line with the Framework Laptop 16's Radeon 7700S. That's all about what I expected after testing the Mac mini with an M4 Pro chip, and it's simply astonishing to see that level of performance from a mobile-focused GPU.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
When it comes to games, the M4 Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro was able to maintain 60fps in Lies of P, Resident Evil 4 and Myst while playing in 1,440p with the graphics settings cranked to the max. 4K was possible, but typically slowed things down to around 30fps, which isn't very playable on a computer. The M4 14-inch MacBook Pro, meanwhile, handled those same games in 1080p at 60fps. We typically wouldn't recommend gaming much on Macs, but Apple's graphics hardware is hard to ignore at this point, and the company is also working to get more high profile titles in the App Store, like Remedy's Control.
To put Apple's Neural Engine to the test, I also used the Whisper Transcription app (AKA MacWhisper) to turn an hour and nine-minute long podcast episode into a transcript. The M4 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and two seconds, while the M4 Pro 16-inch model took two minutes and 11 seconds (similar to what I saw on the M4 Mac mini). In comparison, an M3 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
While the speed upgrades are more than welcome, in my testing I noticed that both of the MacBook Pros' screens were easier to see in bright sunlight. That alone isn't enough to upgrade for if you've already got an M2 or M3 MacBook Pro, but it's definitely something to look forward to. And even though Apple's keyboard and enormous trackpad haven't changed, they're still among the best in the industry. I also still appreciate having a wide variety of ports on these systems: three USB-C connections (Thunderbolt 4 with the M4, Thunderbolt 5 with the M4 Pro), an HDMI port, a headphone jack, a MagSafe power connector and an SD card reader.
Both MacBook Pros also continue to deliver excellent battery life. The 14-inch lasted for 34 hours and 15 minutes while looping an HD video, whereas the 16-inch went for 30 hours and 16 minutes. That's the first time we've seen our video rundown test go beyond 30 hours. In real-world usage, I could typically use both machines for general productivity work for two days without needing a recharge. That's the benefit of relying on power-sipping mobile hardware.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Should you buy the new M4 MacBook Pros?
There's no doubt these new MacBook Pros are compelling, especially if you need the raw power of the M4 Pro (or conceivably, the M4 Max). If you're running an M1 MacBook Pro, or still trucking along with an Intel model, you'll definitely see some notable performance gains from these machines. But if you've got an M2 or M3 MacBook Pro, the M4 hardware is less of a qualitative leap. You're probably better off waiting for the eventual OLED refresh, which is rumored to happen in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-14-inch-and-16-inch-review-2024-brace-yourself-for-m4-speed-140057584.html?src=rss
Apple's excellent MacBook Pros are faster than ever with its new M4 chips. That's it, that's the review. Their screens are slightly brighter, and the 14-inch model now starts with 16GB of RAM, but otherwise these are the same laptops that have been around since the M1 Pro redesign in 2021. Really, though, it's not as if Apple had much to improve on. The MacBook Pros have been among our favorite premium laptops for years — now they're just better.
When I last reviewed Apple's MacBook Pros, I concluded by saying, "Just try to save up for 16GB of RAM." Now, thanks to the increasing memory demands of Apple Intelligence, that's not something anyone will have to worry about again. That makes the $1,599 14-inch MacBook Pro a far better deal than before (you previously had to add on another $200 to get to 16GB). The 16-inch model, which starts at $2,499 with 24GB of RAM, is also a better choice for big-screen fans since its M4 Pro chip is a tremendous upgrade over last year's hardware.
What's new in the M4 MacBook Pros?
The star of the show this year are Apple's new M4, M4 Pro chips and M4 Max chips. The M4 features a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, while the Pro bumps up to a 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU. The Max model, as usual, goes even harder: It features a 16-core CPU and a whopping 40-core GPU.
As you'd expected, the prices for those more powerful chips escalate dramatically: The M4 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 ($400 more than the base model), while the M4 Max model starts at $3,199. At least you get slight RAM and storage bumps with those pricier chips, the M4 Pro starts with 24GB of RAM, while the Max model includes 36GB RAM and a 1TB SSD.
Aside from dramatically better chips, all of the new MacBook Pros feature MiniLED Liquid Retina XDR screens that can reach up to 1,000 nits for SDR (standard dynamic range) content. That's a 400-nit increase from before, and it should help make content far more visible in daylight or in very bright rooms. (HDR content, as usual, can push the display even further to a peak of 1,600 nits.) There's also a nano-texture glass option (for a $150 surcharge) that can make the screens more glare resistant, which is useful for working in bright environments. Note, however, that it can also make the screen appear less sharp.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Apple also upgraded the MacBook Pros' webcams to 12-megapixels, a major leap over the previous 1080p camera. (Apple hasn't confirmed the megapixel figure for that camera, but it's likely around 2MP, the bare minimum to reach 1080p). Having a higher resolution camera also opens the door for Center Stage, which can keep you in focus as you move around your room.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
I didn't hate Apple's previous webcams, but mostly that's because I remember how mediocre its older 720p webcams used to be. The new models look far sharper with more accurate colors, and the overall image doesn't look as heavily filtered as the previous cameras. They also support Desk View (above), Apple's helpful feature for showing off objects below your screen.
If you're often dealing with large file transfers, you might also appreciate support for Thunderbolt 5 on the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. It can support up to 120 Gb/s speeds, up from 40 Gb/s in Thunderbolt 4, which the standard M4 chip includes. That could make a huge difference if you're moving terabytes worth of 4K and 8K videos onto external drives – just note you’ll need to invest in similarly equipped Thunderbolt 5 storage. Thunderbolt 5 could potentially allow for external AI accelerators (unfortunately, Apple Silicon doesn't support external GPUs).
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
In use: The best MacBook Pros yet
I didn't really expect much from the new MacBook Pros, especially since the previous M3 models were already very impressive. But, once again, Apple managed to surprise me with its mobile hardware. The M4 chip, which was in our 14-inch review unit, was a solid performer. But the M4 Pro in our 16-inch MacBook Pro was an astonishing leap ahead of its predecessor, and it's also faster than every other computer we've tested this year (aside from the new Mac mini, which also had a M4 Pro chip).
Unfortunately, we didn't have an M4 Max-equipped MacBook Pro to test, but given that it's filled with more M4 CPU and GPU cores, I'd expect another major performance jump.
Computer
Geekbench 6
Geekbench 6 GPU
Cinebench 2024
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4, 2024)
3,797/14,571
37,869
172/979 GPU: 3770
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024)
3,925/22,456
70,197
178/1,689 GPU 9,295
Surface Laptop 7 (Snapdragon X Elite)
2,797/14,400
19,963
123/969 GPU N/A
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max, 2024)
3,202/21,312
92,344
143/1,686 GPU 13,182
In Geekbench 6's CPU benchmark, the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro scored 1,000 to 1,500 points higher than other recent laptops when it came to single-threaded work. Its multi-threaded performance lead was more slim, but it still beat out Intel's new Lunar Lake chips and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite. The M4 Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro scored similarly for single-threaded work, but it blew the competition by 9,000 to 12,500 points. That performance gap alone is equivalent to the multi-threaded Geekbench 6 scores from other laptops this year! (It’s also slightly faster than last year’s M3 Max chip in the 16-inch MacBook Pro, another major achievement.)
Cinebench 2024 scores tell a similar story. Both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro scored well above the competition in the single-threaded test. The M4 system was on-par with the best multi-threaded scores we saw from the Surface Laptop 7 (powered by a Snapdragon X Elite chip) and HP Omnibook Ultra 14 (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375). But the M4 Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro, once again, handily outclassed other systems with its multithreaded score, which was nearly double what we've been seeing throughout the year.
Cinebench's GPU benchmark puts the M4 Pro's graphics performance in line with NVIDIA's RTX 4070 in Dell's XPS 16, while the M4 chip is in line with the Framework Laptop 16's Radeon 7700S. That's all about what I expected after testing the Mac mini with an M4 Pro chip, and it's simply astonishing to see that level of performance from a mobile-focused GPU.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
When it comes to games, the M4 Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro was able to maintain 60fps in Lies of P, Resident Evil 4 and Myst while playing in 1,440p with the graphics settings cranked to the max. 4K was possible, but typically slowed things down to around 30fps, which isn't very playable on a computer. The M4 14-inch MacBook Pro, meanwhile, handled those same games in 1080p at 60fps. We typically wouldn't recommend gaming much on Macs, but Apple's graphics hardware is hard to ignore at this point, and the company is also working to get more high profile titles in the App Store, like Remedy's Control.
To put Apple's Neural Engine to the test, I also used the Whisper Transcription app (AKA MacWhisper) to turn an hour and nine-minute long podcast episode into a transcript. The M4 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and two seconds, while the M4 Pro 16-inch model took two minutes and 11 seconds (similar to what I saw on the M4 Mac mini). In comparison, an M3 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
While the speed upgrades are more than welcome, in my testing I noticed that both of the MacBook Pros' screens were easier to see in bright sunlight. That alone isn't enough to upgrade for if you've already got an M2 or M3 MacBook Pro, but it's definitely something to look forward to. And even though Apple's keyboard and enormous trackpad haven't changed, they're still among the best in the industry. I also still appreciate having a wide variety of ports on these systems: three USB-C connections (Thunderbolt 4 with the M4, Thunderbolt 5 with the M4 Pro), an HDMI port, a headphone jack, a MagSafe power connector and an SD card reader.
Both MacBook Pros also continue to deliver excellent battery life. The 14-inch lasted for 34 hours and 15 minutes while looping an HD video, whereas the 16-inch went for 30 hours and 16 minutes. That's the first time we've seen our video rundown test go beyond 30 hours. In real-world usage, I could typically use both machines for general productivity work for two days without needing a recharge. That's the benefit of relying on power-sipping mobile hardware.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Should you buy the new M4 MacBook Pros?
There's no doubt these new MacBook Pros are compelling, especially if you need the raw power of the M4 Pro (or conceivably, the M4 Max). If you're running an M1 MacBook Pro, or still trucking along with an Intel model, you'll definitely see some notable performance gains from these machines. But if you've got an M2 or M3 MacBook Pro, the M4 hardware is less of a qualitative leap. You're probably better off waiting for the eventual OLED refresh, which is rumored to happen in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-14-inch-and-16-inch-review-2024-brace-yourself-for-m4-speed-140057584.html?src=rss
"That's a computer?!" My daughter just couldn't believe her eyes when I pulled the new Mac mini out of its box. It measures just five-inches by five-inches across, and it sits a mere two inches tall. The Mac mini is an adorable box that resembles an oversized Apple TV. But what's more impressive is that it's significantly faster than before, thanks to Apple's M4 and M4 Pro chips, and it still starts at $599. Once again, the Mac mini redefines what a desktop can be.
While Apple may have started the tiny PC trend with the original Mac mini in 2005, it's certainly not alone today. Intel's NUC line survived execution and is now being spearheaded by ASUS, but those boxes are still expensive and relatively niche. HP sells "Elite MIni" desktops for businesses, but they mainly exist to make IT workers' lives easier.
The Mac mini, meanwhile, has for years been an affordable gateway into the world of Apple desktops. Now, it's the cheapest way to get a taste of Apple Silicon, especially if you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse. (And if you don't, you can still configure a whole desktop setup for under $1,000.) As I said when it was announced, even if you don't need one, the Mac mini's pint-sized frame and powerful hardware makes it incredibly compelling.
What's new with the Mac mini?
Just look at it! The Mac mini's redesigned case is less than half the size of the previous version, so you won't have to devote as much desk space to it. It also features front connectivity for the first time — two USB-C ports and a headphone jack — something that previously required upgrading to the $1,999 Mac Studio. Most people will likely be better off with the 3.5mm jack up front, but if you’re the rare user who needs to connect speakers, you’re better off relying on a USB-C dongle in the rear, or a high-quality audio interface.
More so than aesthetics, the Mac mini's biggest upgrade this time around is Apple's new M4 hardware, as well as the fact that it – like all new Macs going forward – now comes with 16GB of RAM standard. The M4 sports a 10-core CPU (four high-performance cores and six high-efficiency), a 10-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. For $1,399, you can bump up to the dramatically more powerful M4 Pro chip (which is what's in our review unit), featuring a 14-core CPU (10 high-performance and four high-efficiency) and 20-core GPU.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
The M4 chip includes support for Thunderbolt 4 on its three rear USB-C ports, while the M4 Pro brings Thunderbolt 5 to Macs for the first time, with triple the data transfer speeds (120 Gb/s compared to 40 Gb/s). Every Mac mini also includes a full-sized HDMI connection (supporting up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz), as well as an Ethernet port (gigabit standard, or upgradable to 10GbE). While it lacks the integrated SD card reader of the Mac Studio, the Mac mini is otherwise well-equipped to meet the demands of many creative professionals.
There are some curious design choices, though. For one, the Mac mini's power button is along the bottom of its rear end, which leads to some awkward finger gymnastics whenever you want to turn it on. (Read into that what you will.) That means you probably wouldn't want to hide it in an unreachable corner of your desk. The previous Mac mini also hid the power button along its rear, but at least that was right beside its ports, and it didn't require tipping over the device.
Apple likely doesn't expect its users to be completely turning off their devices very often, but that's also clearly at odds with its sustainability efforts. (The company loudly claims the Mac mini is carbon neutral, for example, as it's mostly built with recycled metals and other materials.)
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
How fast is the Mac mini?
The Mac mini was the fastest computer I've reviewed this year, at least when it comes to CPU benchmarks. I've grown used to being impressed by Apple Silicon, but the M4 Pro in our review unit (which was also equipped with 48GB of RAM) was still a bigger leap ahead than I expected. While running in high power mode, which cranks up performance, the Mac mini’s Geekbench 6 single-threaded score of 3,943 was well above the typical 2,500 to 2,800 point range we've seen in PCs this year. Its multithreaded Geekbench 6 score reached a whopping 22,850 points — the only other systems that cracked 14,00 points this year were the Snapdragon X Elite-powered Surface Laptop 7 and XPS 13.
Computer
Geekbench 6
Geekbench 6 GPU
Cinebench 2024
Apple Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024)
3,934/22,850
69,753
172/1660 GPU:8953
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4, 2024)
3,797/14,571
37,869
172/979 GPU: 3770
Surface Laptop 7 (Snapdragon X Elite)
2,797/14,400
19,963
123/969
Apple iMac (M3, 2023)
3,152/11,892
30n388
138/629 GPU:3711
Naturally, other laptops with dedicated, power-hungry video cards outclassed the Mac mini in the Geekbench 6 GPU test, but Apple's tiny desktop still beat out the RTX 4050 in Dell's XPS 14, as well as the Radeon 7700S in the 16-inch Framework Laptop. That's still a very impressive result for graphics built into a single system-on-a-chip.
Outside of benchmarks, the Mac mini impressed me by running Lies of P in 1,440p with maxed out graphics settings at 60fps. It even managed to run the game in 4K with medium graphics settings, but the frame rate hovered around 30fps, which wasn't very playable. That's not a huge surprise though — what's more important is that I know the GPU is powerful enough to run modern games at more reasonable resolutions. Resident Evil 4 and No Man's Sky also held a steady 60 fps in 1,440p.
To test out the Mac mini's AI capabilities, I used the Whisper Transcription app to transcribe an hour and nine-minute long episode of the Engadget Podcast. That took two minutes and nine seconds, using the small language model. In comparison, the M4-powered 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and three seconds, while an M3 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and thirty-seven seconds. These figures tell us Apple's M4 hardware can help students quickly get notes from lecture recordings, or even transcribe classes in real-time without much effort.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
As I threw benchmarks, games and encoding jobs at the Mac mini, I was constantly impressed by how much it could tackle without making any discernible fan noise. But Apple can’t escape heat. The Mac mini has a large intake fan along its bottom that sucks in cool air and spreads it out throughout the entire system. However, when I started running Cinebench's multithreaded benchmark, the fan kicked into high gear and the Mac mini sounded like it was getting ready to take off.
It's not an unpleasant sound — it's more like a calming white noise machine than the obnoxiously loud Mac fans of yore — but it's certainly noticeable. If you're typically wearing headphones or blasting music, it may not be an issue, but it could make the Mac mini very annoying in a shared office setting. If you're planning to constantly throw heavy workloads at it in high power mode, you might be better off with the larger Mac Studio, which can better handle heat. Apple still hasn't updated the Studio with M4 chips, though — you'll have to wait until next year for that.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Should you buy the Mac mini?
There's no doubt the M4 Pro Mac mini is an absolute beast, but at $1,399 (with 24GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD to start), it's mainly targeted at creative professionals. I didn't have the $599 M4 model to test (which starts with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD), but I benchmarked that exact same chip on the 14-inch MacBook Pro and still found it impressive. Its Geekbench 6 and Cinebench scores still beat out most of the computers we've tested this year, and its GPU is fast enough for solid 1080p 60 fps gameplay.
If you're just looking for a basic and adorably small Mac desktop, the $599 Mac mini will likely be all you need. And if you're looking to do a bit more serious work, and can't justify the $1,999 Mac Studio, the $1,399 model is a decent value compared to PC workstations. Just be prepared to stomach Apple's upgrade prices: You'll have to spend an additional $400 just to get 32GB of RAM on the base Mini, and another $400 to get a 1TB SSD. That's wildly out of step with prices outside of the Apple ecosystem, where you can easily find a decent 1TB NVMe SSD under $100. (That said, unlike a laptop, connecting a cheap but capacious external drive to the mini is a more viable option.)
Apple’s gonna Apple when it comes to upgrade pricing, but at least you can finally buy a $599 Mac mini with 16GB of RAM. That alone is reason to celebrate. The fact that it’s cute enough to impress my kid is a nice bonus.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-mac-mini-review-m4-pro-2024-shockingly-small-incredibly-powerful-140042432.html?src=rss
"That's a computer?!" My daughter just couldn't believe her eyes when I pulled the new Mac mini out of its box. It measures just five-inches by five-inches across, and it sits a mere two inches tall. The Mac mini is an adorable box that resembles an oversized Apple TV. But what's more impressive is that it's significantly faster than before, thanks to Apple's M4 and M4 Pro chips, and it still starts at $599. Once again, the Mac mini redefines what a desktop can be.
While Apple may have started the tiny PC trend with the original Mac mini in 2005, it's certainly not alone today. Intel's NUC line survived execution and is now being spearheaded by ASUS, but those boxes are still expensive and relatively niche. HP sells "Elite MIni" desktops for businesses, but they mainly exist to make IT workers' lives easier.
The Mac mini, meanwhile, has for years been an affordable gateway into the world of Apple desktops. Now, it's the cheapest way to get a taste of Apple Silicon, especially if you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse. (And if you don't, you can still configure a whole desktop setup for under $1,000.) As I said when it was announced, even if you don't need one, the Mac mini's pint-sized frame and powerful hardware makes it incredibly compelling.
What's new with the Mac mini?
Just look at it! The Mac mini's redesigned case is less than half the size of the previous version, so you won't have to devote as much desk space to it. It also features front connectivity for the first time — two USB-C ports and a headphone jack — something that previously required upgrading to the $1,999 Mac Studio. Most people will likely be better off with the 3.5mm jack up front, but if you’re the rare user who needs to connect speakers, you’re better off relying on a USB-C dongle in the rear, or a high-quality audio interface.
More so than aesthetics, the Mac mini's biggest upgrade this time around is Apple's new M4 hardware, as well as the fact that it – like all new Macs going forward – now comes with 16GB of RAM standard. The M4 sports a 10-core CPU (four high-performance cores and six high-efficiency), a 10-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. For $1,399, you can bump up to the dramatically more powerful M4 Pro chip (which is what's in our review unit), featuring a 14-core CPU (10 high-performance and four high-efficiency) and 20-core GPU.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
The M4 chip includes support for Thunderbolt 4 on its three rear USB-C ports, while the M4 Pro brings Thunderbolt 5 to Macs for the first time, with triple the data transfer speeds (120 Gb/s compared to 40 Gb/s). Every Mac mini also includes a full-sized HDMI connection (supporting up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz), as well as an Ethernet port (gigabit standard, or upgradable to 10GbE). While it lacks the integrated SD card reader of the Mac Studio, the Mac mini is otherwise well-equipped to meet the demands of many creative professionals.
There are some curious design choices, though. For one, the Mac mini's power button is along the bottom of its rear end, which leads to some awkward finger gymnastics whenever you want to turn it on. (Read into that what you will.) That means you probably wouldn't want to hide it in an unreachable corner of your desk. The previous Mac mini also hid the power button along its rear, but at least that was right beside its ports, and it didn't require tipping over the device.
Apple likely doesn't expect its users to be completely turning off their devices very often, but that's also clearly at odds with its sustainability efforts. (The company loudly claims the Mac mini is carbon neutral, for example, as it's mostly built with recycled metals and other materials.)
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
How fast is the Mac mini?
The Mac mini was the fastest computer I've reviewed this year, at least when it comes to CPU benchmarks. I've grown used to being impressed by Apple Silicon, but the M4 Pro in our review unit (which was also equipped with 48GB of RAM) was still a bigger leap ahead than I expected. While running in high power mode, which cranks up performance, the Mac mini’s Geekbench 6 single-threaded score of 3,943 was well above the typical 2,500 to 2,800 point range we've seen in PCs this year. Its multithreaded Geekbench 6 score reached a whopping 22,850 points — the only other systems that cracked 14,00 points this year were the Snapdragon X Elite-powered Surface Laptop 7 and XPS 13.
Computer
Geekbench 6
Geekbench 6 GPU
Cinebench 2024
Apple Mac mini (M4 Pro, 2024)
3,934/22,850
69,753
172/1660 GPU:8953
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4, 2024)
3,797/14,571
37,869
172/979 GPU: 3770
Surface Laptop 7 (Snapdragon X Elite)
2,797/14,400
19,963
123/969
Apple iMac (M3, 2023)
3,152/11,892
30n388
138/629 GPU:3711
Naturally, other laptops with dedicated, power-hungry video cards outclassed the Mac mini in the Geekbench 6 GPU test, but Apple's tiny desktop still beat out the RTX 4050 in Dell's XPS 14, as well as the Radeon 7700S in the 16-inch Framework Laptop. That's still a very impressive result for graphics built into a single system-on-a-chip.
Outside of benchmarks, the Mac mini impressed me by running Lies of P in 1,440p with maxed out graphics settings at 60fps. It even managed to run the game in 4K with medium graphics settings, but the frame rate hovered around 30fps, which wasn't very playable. That's not a huge surprise though — what's more important is that I know the GPU is powerful enough to run modern games at more reasonable resolutions. Resident Evil 4 and No Man's Sky also held a steady 60 fps in 1,440p.
To test out the Mac mini's AI capabilities, I used the Whisper Transcription app to transcribe an hour and nine-minute long episode of the Engadget Podcast. That took two minutes and nine seconds, using the small language model. In comparison, the M4-powered 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and three seconds, while an M3 14-inch MacBook Pro took three minutes and thirty-seven seconds. These figures tell us Apple's M4 hardware can help students quickly get notes from lecture recordings, or even transcribe classes in real-time without much effort.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
As I threw benchmarks, games and encoding jobs at the Mac mini, I was constantly impressed by how much it could tackle without making any discernible fan noise. But Apple can’t escape heat. The Mac mini has a large intake fan along its bottom that sucks in cool air and spreads it out throughout the entire system. However, when I started running Cinebench's multithreaded benchmark, the fan kicked into high gear and the Mac mini sounded like it was getting ready to take off.
It's not an unpleasant sound — it's more like a calming white noise machine than the obnoxiously loud Mac fans of yore — but it's certainly noticeable. If you're typically wearing headphones or blasting music, it may not be an issue, but it could make the Mac mini very annoying in a shared office setting. If you're planning to constantly throw heavy workloads at it in high power mode, you might be better off with the larger Mac Studio, which can better handle heat. Apple still hasn't updated the Studio with M4 chips, though — you'll have to wait until next year for that.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Should you buy the Mac mini?
There's no doubt the M4 Pro Mac mini is an absolute beast, but at $1,399 (with 24GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD to start), it's mainly targeted at creative professionals. I didn't have the $599 M4 model to test (which starts with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD), but I benchmarked that exact same chip on the 14-inch MacBook Pro and still found it impressive. Its Geekbench 6 and Cinebench scores still beat out most of the computers we've tested this year, and its GPU is fast enough for solid 1080p 60 fps gameplay.
If you're just looking for a basic and adorably small Mac desktop, the $599 Mac mini will likely be all you need. And if you're looking to do a bit more serious work, and can't justify the $1,999 Mac Studio, the $1,399 model is a decent value compared to PC workstations. Just be prepared to stomach Apple's upgrade prices: You'll have to spend an additional $400 just to get 32GB of RAM on the base Mini, and another $400 to get a 1TB SSD. That's wildly out of step with prices outside of the Apple ecosystem, where you can easily find a decent 1TB NVMe SSD under $100. (That said, unlike a laptop, connecting a cheap but capacious external drive to the mini is a more viable option.)
Apple’s gonna Apple when it comes to upgrade pricing, but at least you can finally buy a $599 Mac mini with 16GB of RAM. That alone is reason to celebrate. The fact that it’s cute enough to impress my kid is a nice bonus.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-mac-mini-review-m4-pro-2024-shockingly-small-incredibly-powerful-140042432.html?src=rss
Jarvis is real. Google’s new AI prototype accidentally found its way to the public through the Chrome Web Store. This isn’t just some AI helper that can tell you the weather or remind you about doctor appointments. The Information reported that the store page describes the Jarvis prototype as “a helpful companion that surfs the web for you” through web browsers to take care of common tasks such as buying groceries, booking flight and research topics
In other words, Google’s new AI has the ability to take control of a computer to complete these simple tasks without manual human input. The prototype that popped up on Google’s extension store wasn’t in full working mode. A reporter tried to use Jarvis but access permissions prevented the app from performing any functions.
Google took down Jarvis’ store page by midafternoon ahead of its planned reveal in December. Jarvis will have some competition from outfits like Anthropic and its Claude AI assistant that started its public beta phase last month. Anthropic’s AI assistant can do more than just basic functions through a web browser. Claude can take over a computer to type text, activate buttons and move the cursor.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-accidentally-leaked-a-preview-of-its-jarvis-ai-that-can-take-over-computers-203125686.html?src=rss
Call of Duty: Mobile has been downloaded over one billion times around the world since it became available, Activision has announced along with the rest of the game's fifth anniversary offerings. The game was released back in 2019 for Android and iOS and reached 270 million downloads within its first year of availability. Despite the game's success, Microsoft told the UK's Competition and Markets Authority in a filing for its Activision Blizzard acquisition that "Call of Duty: Mobile is expected to be phased out over time" with the launch of Warzone Mobile.
In response to fans' concerns after that information came out, Activision said that it plans to continue supporting the game and that it has a "robust roadmap" of new content and updates "for the long haul." It didn't directly address Microsoft's revelation, however, and it didn't say when the game will be phased out. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile rolled out on March 21st.
The Season 10 — 5th Anniversary update for CoD: Mobile is going out today, November 6, at 5PM Pacific time/8PM Eastern time. It will include a new Battle Royale map for a location called Krai, which is described as a "dense urban landscape at the base of the Ural Mountain." Each character gets one respawn in the map, and they drop a scannable dog tag if they're eliminated a second time. Their squad will need to reach it and scan it before they can get back in. Players will also be able to buy new passes to get anniversary-related content, such as new operator skins, weapon blueprints and calling cards.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/call-of-duty-mobile-passes-1-billion-downloads-133012839.html?src=rss
Proton's latest VPN app will be among the first to work natively on Windows ARM PCs, the company announced. The new app was built in collaboration with Microsoft by the same team that developed the encrypted Proton Mail service and promises "best in class security and privacy" on Windows ARM devices, according to Proton.
The ARM app offers the same functionality as the x86 version and natively supports Proton VPN’s core security and privacy features. Normally, native support means it should also load and run a bit quicker than x86 apps running on Windows 11's emulator, but improved security is the main selling point.
As for its claim to be among the first native Windows ARM VPN apps, rival Surfshark launched such an app in August and NordVPN recently said that it's planning to release an ARM-native app "this autumn."
Proton also revealed its upcoming winter 2024 roadmap, promising new apps for iOS and iPadOS. Those will include commonly requested features like sorting servers by load, selecting a server based on its city, hiding free servers and more. Proton also promised IPv6 support in more apps, port forwarding on macOS and Linux plus guest modes for iOS and iPadOS.
Proton's app topped our best VPN services list for 2024, thanks to its overall security, usability and privacy features. It also offers a no-logs policy, an open-source framework and an official vulnerability disclosure program. There's a free version (with access limited to servers in three countries) or a paid version starting at 4.99 euros ($5.44) per month. Proton recently released an Apple TV app that allow customers with a paid plan to stream their media content from any location on Apple's set-top box.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/protons-vpn-app-now-works-natively-on-windows-arm-devices-110054749.html?src=rss