THE MACSPARKY DISPATCH

Hello friend,

Apple gave us plenty to think about this week with several new hardware announcements:

• A redesigned iPad mini with an 8.5-inch OLED screen, A20 Pro, and optional nano-texture glass.
• The iMac with M6, adding a faster chip, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6 to the familiar 24-inch design.
• A 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6, updating the model with the Liquid Retina XDR display.
• New 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros with PROLED XDR displays, bringing tandem OLED touchscreens and thinner designs, powered by M5 Pro or M5 Max.
• The previously announced M5 Ultra Mac Studio can now be ordered with 512GB of unified memory.

I'm hearing from a lot of folks contemplating upgrades. These days those questions are not taken on lightly. With the arrival of RAMageddon, upgrading is no trivial thing. You can actually buy a Mac Studio now specc'd up to 512 GB that will set you back $30K. There are very nice cars on the market that cost less than that.

So when thinking about upgrades, I like to ask myself the question, "What problem am I trying to solve? What would this actually change?"

Take the new touchscreen MacBook Pro. After spending time on an iPad, I’ve caught myself reaching up to touch my Mac’s screen, so I understand the appeal. But touch isn’t a feature I’d buy a new computer for. But if I were someone who did art or professional video, that better screen (for $400 more) could make a difference.

The big-memory Mac Studio raises a different version of the same question. I’ve spent the last couple of months testing local AI on my MacBook Pro. I’d love to keep more of my data on my own computer. But the models I’ve tried still need too much management and make too many mistakes for the work I want to give them. Buying a much more expensive computer isn’t the answer to the difficulties I’m having. The local models need to get better. They will, but they are not there yet. So even if I did buy a Buick-priced Mac Studio, I don’t think I’d be able to do much more with it than I can with my MacBook Pro.

I wrote a post this week about the inflection point with the new iPad mini versus the iPhone Duo. In short, I think it comes down to how often you would want a bigger screen in your pocket and the trade-offs you're willing to make for that. The answer to that equation is different for everyone, but I think the operative question needs to be: How would this change my workflows, and how would it improve my life? We have real trade-offs between the upper-end iPhones, and there is no clear winner.

So if you're on the fence with this new spectacular (but expensive) hardware, try to name the moment when the new device would help. I think I have one for the Duo. For the MacBook Pro and the big Studio, I’m content to sit this round out.

Your pal,
David
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This Week in the MacSparky-Verse

Here's what ran at MacSparky.com this week.

• ​Jeff Richardson Cancels His iPhone Duo Order offers another perspective on this year's iPhone trade-offs.
• In You Can't Buy Your Way Out of the Local AI Problem, I explain why more RAM won't fix the local AI problems I'm running into.
• ​The iPad mini and the iPhone Duo comes down to how often you'd use a bigger screen in your pocket.
• Before Apple opened orders, My 512GB Mac Studio Bet put a number on the memory upgrade.
• ​Stephen's iPhone Duo App Directory collects hundreds of apps ready for the new phone.
• On Mac Power Users 872: The Mighty Mac mini, Stephen and I explored what an always-on Mac can do.

In the MacSparky Labs, we covered a lot:

• I published written posts on preparing an old Mac for its next owner and keeping a Big List in Obsidian alongside an active list on paper.
• John Chandler joined me for a Friends of Dave video on connecting his reMarkable to his Mac with AI-written scripts.
• I made a Comet X setup video showing how I control and restart a Mac from my iPad.
• Our book-club selection was Oliver Burkeman's Meditations for Mortals, on living with our limits.
• The Lab Report podcast covers touchscreen MacBook Pros, the new iPad mini, and the first week of iPhone Duo reviews.

Next week, we're getting together for the November meetup.

That was a single week, and the Labs run like this every week. If that sounds like your kind of place, come join us.

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