Apple didn’t publicly release MacOS’s next big update alongside the launch of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. But you won’t have to wait for that to experience one of the MacOS Big Sur’s best features: Safari 14. Apple is now rolling out Safari 14 as a standalone update for existing MacOS Catalina and Mojave users.
Unlike other app updates, you can’t download Safari 14 from the App Store on your Mac. Instead, the update will be available under System Preferences > Software Update.
The new Safari update offers a host of both visual and under-the-hood improvements across the board. One of its highlights is a new privacy tool that lets you investigate which websites have tried to keep tabs on you with cross-site trackers. You can access it from the Safari dropbox > Privacy Report.
Safari’s landing page has been redesigned as well. In addition to a visual refresh, you will also find a shortcut for Privacy Report on the homepage and options for setting a custom background image — similar to Google Chrome. Plus, you can now choose to have a number of other sections right on the start page like Siri Suggestions and Reading List.
Further, Safari 14 adds a handful of long-overdue upgrades to the bar which shows all of your open tabs. It now displays favicons by default and a preview of the website when you hover over its active tab. Another notable new feature is the addition of 4K HDR resolution support for YouTube videos.
On top of that, Apple has, at long last, discontinued support for Adobe Flash for better online protection. Flash apps are notorious for their lax security and are often misused to deceive users. Competitors such as Google Chrome have long abandoned Flash. Safari 14 is also expected to let you log in to websites that support Fast Identity Online (FIDO) with Face ID and Touch ID on iOS, iPad OS, and MacOS but it remains unclear whether that is available yet.
MacOS Big Sur is still in its beta phase and Apple has not shared an exact launch date for it, stating a “Fall 2020” release window. It could announce its public launch at its forthcoming event where the company will also unveil its next line of iPhones.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.