Tech / Technology

Apple just announced new M3 14-inch- and 16-inch MacBook Pros

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Apple just announced new M3 14-inch- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Here’s everything we know about the new laptops.
MacBook Pro in space black

Apple’s “Scary Fast” event delivered on one major expectation.

Yes, that’s right: We got some new MacBooks in the house. In its livestreamed event on Monday, Apple unveiled a pair of new MacBook Pros with the latest and hopefully greatest in chipsets. M3 Pro and M3 Max are here in MacBook form, nestled inside 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops. The M3 Pro model starts at $1,999 and the M3 Max starts at $3,199.

Here’s everything you need to know about them.

3 new features of the M3 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros

There’s plenty to chew on with the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M3 Pro and M3 Max. Of course, performance is better; M3 Pro is up to 40 percent faster than M1 Pro, while M3 Max is up to 2.5x faster than the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max. The new M3 chips support hardware ray tracing, as well.

But here are some other cool features that you might not have expected:

  1. Up to 22 hours of battery life

  2. Fast remote screen sharing with another Mac device

  3. Game Mode, which enhances frame rates while gaming

  4. And a brand new Space Black color

Aside from those tidbits and the usual performance enhancements, though, this wasn’t an especially earth-shattering announcement. Apple’s stream was almost entirely focused on how these new laptops can do things faster than older laptops. They do get 1,600 nits of peak brightness, which should make things look all nice and fancy even in daylight.

Oh, and they come with the new MacOS Sonoma. That adds iPhone-like widgets to the home screen, profiles in Safari, and the aforementioned screen sharing and game mode features.

Maybe this event should’ve just been a press release.

Tech / Technology

8 FaceTime gestures that trigger cool reactions on iOS 17

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You can trigger cool effects on FaceTime with eight gestures on iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.
Man uses heart sign on FaceTime

Did you know you can trigger cool effects like balloons, fireworks, hearts, and even a rainstorm on FaceTime? As long as you’re running iOS 17 on a compatible iPhone you can set off fun reactions with a handful of gestures.

Try out the following eight gestures to surprise your friends and family during video calls.

1. Use the ‘peace sign’ for balloons

2. Use two peace signs for confetti

3. Make the ‘heart’ sign to get a flurry of red hearts

4. Thumbs down for the ‘dislike’ icon

5. Double thumbs down for a rainy storm

6. Single thumb up for the ‘like’ icon

7. Double thumbs up for fireworks

8. The ‘rock on’ sign for flashing lights

Keep in mind that gestures should also work on other apps including Zoom and Google Meet. In addition to iOS 17, these reactions also support iPadOS 17 and macOS sonoma.