Weekly Review 44: MacBook Pro, brand new Mac mini, 24-inch iMac with M4 chip and more

Last Monday, Apple announced a new generation of 24-inch iMac. Anyone who had hoped for a lot of innovation will be disappointed, the update is limited. The most important adjustment is the M4 chip and USB-C support for the included accessories.

The design is the same as the first generation that was unveiled in the spring of 2021. The M3 chip was added last year, but that was it. This small new update ensures that the 24-inch iMac is up to date again and complies with European legislation.

Last Tuesday, Apple equipped the new generation Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chip. These processors are designed using a 3nm manufacturing process and are now available on the mini. In addition, the design of the smallest Mac has been overhauled and it looks more like a small Mac Studio.

The adjustments make the Mac mini suitable for different users. If you want a more powerful Mac desktop, you can opt for the M4 Pro, while the entry-level model functions well on an M4 processor.

After the introduction of the M4 chip in the Mac mini and 24-inch iMac, it has also been available in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro since Wednesday. From now on, the laptops will be supplied with an M4, M4 Pro or M4 Max processor, making it the most powerful MacBook ever.

In 2021, the MacBooks Pros had an updated design, more ports and MagSafe. This year’s update is minor in the form of improved specifications. For example, Apple has equipped the MacBook Pro with brand new processors and some minor improvements.

Last week, Apple announced the new Mac mini, MacBook Pro and 24-inch iMac. All three of these have something in common: they contain 16 GB of RAM as standard. Finally! And the good news: the MacBook Air has received the same adjustment.

Until now, the memory was always 8 GB for the standard models, but Apple has now finally moved away from that. Although the Cupertino company continued to maintain that 8 GB was more than sufficient, this was not always the case in practice. Fortunately, 16 GB is now the new standard.

Since this week you can download and install various software updates including iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, macOS 15.1 and watchOS 11.1 for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. The updates fix several bugs, but also add new features.

The most important addition is Apple Intelligence in English (US). Unfortunately, you cannot simply use Apple Intelligence in the EU, but fortunately there are other new options. The new software updates include a customizable tab bar for iPad, new controls in the control panel and more. We list all the new options for you.