Monthly Mini-Bytes - November 2020

 

The Apple M1 Chip is the Real Deal We have been waiting for Apple to be Apple and come out with a game changing new thing. Well they have, and it's the all new M1 chip. Apple is switching their processors from Intel to their own chips, the first of which is the M1. What's so exciting about it? Well, a base $1299 13-Inch MacBook Pro outperforms a $4500 loaded 16-Inch MacBook Pro with the Intel i9 processor. And that's a machine with only 8 GB of RAM up against one with 64 GB. It's just crazy! The only three Macs that currently have the new chip are the MacBook Air, 13-Inch MacBook Pro, and the Mac Mini. The chip that will be placed in the refreshed iMacs and 16-Inch MacBook Pro promises to be even more powerful. Our advice: If you are in the market for a new Mac, only get one with one of Apple's new chips. Do not buy an Intel Mac at this point. The last time Apple made a switch like this, the old Macs were sunsetted rather quickly. To learn more about the M1 Chip visit: https://www.apple.com/mac/m1/ To see a full review and speed test, watch Brian Tong at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJqk2SMJmXc

macOS Big Sur is Out! Don't Upgrade Just Yet Apple launched it's newest version of macOS this month -- Big Sur. It is much better than the last two releases for initial stability, but we would recommend upgrading until at least January so that software developers can do what they do and work out the bugs. The biggest annoyance with Big Sur is the gray on gray theme that will have you running to the Accessibility preference pane in System Preferences to darken the contrast. Also, familiar menu items have been moved around and tweaked. It will take some time to learn how to re-navigate. To learn more about macOS Big Sur visit: https://www.apple.com/macos/big-sur/

Optimize Battery: The Latest iOS Annoyance

iOS 14, along with its equivalent on the Apple Watch, has been out for a while now. When we first installed it both Wendy and I noticed that our battery was draining quickly. Our phones and watches did not make it through the day. Then we found it! Apple added something back in iOS 13 called "Optimized Battery Charging." Basically it only charges the battery to 80% to reduce battery aging. What!?!?!? Sorry Apple... I want my whole battery charged. Even though this "feature" was introduced in iOS 13, it seems impossible to turn off in iOS 14. You can attempt to turn it off on the iPhone and Watch under Settings->Battery->Battery Health. You will see an option to shut it down for 24 hours or permanently, although whatever you choose it will turn itself back on. Very annyoying! Hopefully this will get fixed in an upcoming release. I hate that Apple won't let us turn it off. I guess they know what's best for us.... Nutz! To find out more this, visit: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210512