Apple MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max Now Available For Malaysia

Aside from the 3rd generation AirPods, the new MacBook Pro (MBP) with M1 Pro and M1 Max processors are now available from Apple Malaysia’s website as well. All these products were first introduced during the company’s Unleashed event last month.

For those who missed the launch, the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors are available for both MBP 14 and 16. In terms of CPU, the M1 Pro is available with 8 and 10-core options which is also inclusive of 14 and 16-core GPU respectively, alongside up to 32GB of unified memory.

On another hand, the M1 Max comes with a 10-core CPU as standard while you can choose to obtain it with either 24 or 32-core GPU together with up to 64GB unified memory. In addition to that, the chip also has double the memory bandwidth of M1 Pro at 4000GB/s.

Meanwhile, other new elements that Apple has introduced through the latest MBP 14 and 16 are thinner screen bezels as well as a notch on their ProMotion 120Hz displays which houses the new 1080p FaceTime HD. These new models also marked the return of MagSafe charging, SDXC reader, and HDMI 2.0 port although the company has also decided to remove the Touch Bar.

Depending on the exact specs that you choose, the price of M1 Pro-based MBP starts at RM8,799 and can go all the way to RM21,999. As for the M1 Max variants, the price ranges from RM12,399 to RM25,199 and all of them can be obtained through Apple Malaysia’s website right away.

MacBook Pro M1X Rumoured To Have 120Hz Mini-LED Display, 1080p Webcam

With Apple’s recently announced “Unleashed” event coming up soon, rumours and leaks have been flooding out about the speculated MacBook Pro refresh. While we don’t know how accurate these claims are, they’ve set expectations high and even analyst Mark Gurman says that people have been asking about the new MacBook nonstop.

According to leakster @dylandkt, the new lineup will consist of a 14-inch and a 16-inch MacBook Pro, instead of the current 13-inch and 16-inch options. He also claims that the base models will have 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Moreover, the Pro is said to come with a new charging brick as rumours suggest that the USB-C charging port might be replaced by a Magsafe port.

Sticking with his claims from earlier this year, Dylandkt says that the 720p webcam will finally be upgraded to 1080p and the anticipated M1X chip will sport the same ten cores for both MacBook configurations at similar prices. The M1X MacBook Pro variant was expected to be launched back in June during WWDC but it never came to fruition.

As for the screen, display analyst Ross Young tweeted that both MacBook Pros will feature a mini-LED display with 120Hz refresh rate. Similarly, Dylandkt revealed that Apple has been working on a 120Hz display but says he doesn’t know when it will actually be implemented.

If the M1X MacBook Pro does come with a 120Hz display, then Apple will officially have another addition to its list of products that support the high refresh rate, alongside the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPad Pro. The Unleashed launch event will take place on 19 October at 1:00 AM Malaysian time and is expected to unveil the M1X MacBook Pro and Mac Mini, as well as the AirPods 3.

Google Pixel 6 And Pixel 6 Pro Officially Launching On 19 October

Google has just announced the date for the official launch of the long-awaited Pixel 6 phones. Scheduled to take place on 19 October, we should finally be able to know more details about Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro including specs and pricing.

The tech giant unveiled some features of the lineup back in August, such as high refresh rate displays and the use of Google’s mysterious custom Tensor chip, which we expect to find out more about during the launch.  While the details under the hood have been mostly kept under wrap, Google already started airing ads and displaying the phones for public viewing at its physical store in New York City.

At the moment, we are already aware that both phones will feature an in-display fingerprint sensor with the base Pixel 6 lacking the Pro variant’s telephoto lens and 120Hz display. We still don’t know how big the sensors are going to be though but a string of code in Google’s Camera app suggest that the Pixel 6 may be using the 50MP Samsung GN1 sensor for its main shooter.

The launch could also potentially announce the official rollout for Android 12 on Pixel devices. Google released the stable update to the Android Open Source Project earlier this week but said that Pixel phones will only be getting it “in the next few weeks”.

As per most tech events for the past two years, the Pixel Fall Launch will take place virtually on 20 October at 1:00 AM Malaysian time. Stay tuned for more updates as we will keep you posted with all the details from the event next week.

AirPods Pro and AirPods Max Are Finally Getting “Find My” Features

Apple has begun rolling out new firmware updates for the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max that includes a new “Find My” functionality. The feature, which was initially supposed to launch with iOS 15 but was delayed, makes it easier to find your headphones when they go missing.

The update lets the AirPods take advantage of the vast Find My network to locate them if they go missing. Prior to the update, the Find My function could only show you the earphone’s last known location, albeit being limited to the AirPods’ Bluetooth connection.

The update takes it a step further by finding out of range AirPods through the network of other nearby Apple devices. When Lost Mode is turned on, the headphones will send out a continuous Bluetooth beacon and when other people’s Apple devices detect the signal, they will report the location on the network for the owner to see.

The method is similar to how lost AirTags work but the lack of Apple’s U1 chip means that the AirPods won’t have that precise arrow-pointing location feature. It will, however, notify users when the earbuds are left behind or if their location is getting further away. Reported lost items can be attached with a message and contact details and can also be marked as found by the people who stumble upon them.

The new Find My tools are only available with the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, so standard AirPods owners are out of luck. AirPods firmware updates are a bit tricky, as there’s no direct way to download the update.

Users will have to keep their charged AirPods in their case near a connected iPhone and hope that it will randomly transfer the update. You can check your AirPods’ firmware version in your iPhone settings to see if you already have it, the latest update with the new locating tools being version 4A400.

iPhone 13 Pro Supposedly Costs Slightly More To Build Than iPhone 12 Pro

As it turns out, an iPhone 13 Pro teardown has revealed that customers who bought the latest Apple release might be getting more value than those who bought last year’s iPhone. The higher estimated price is attributed to the more expensive A-series processor, NAND flash memory, display subsystem, and main enclosure.

The cost analysis by computer hardware specialist Techinsights estimates that the 13 Pro costs US$570 (~RM2383) for the base 128GB storage model, US$21.50 (~RM89) more than the US$548.50 (~RM2288) build cost for the 12 Pro.

Some of the components highlighted in the report are the A15 processor, the more compact TrueDepth array, and the display subsystem. The 13 Pro uses an LTPO panel used for the 120Hz ProMotion display, which might have added to the build cost when compared to the regular iPhone 13’s OLED panel.

The analysis also found that the A15 silicon found in the 13 and 13 Pro series might be the same processor. While Apple claims that the five GPU cores on the Pro are different than the four GPUs on the base 13, the tech giant might actually be disabling one of the GPU cores for the lower-end 13, as it did with the A12X chip. Techinsights says that both SoCs contained the same TMMU71 die mark and the exact same die size, which is 22.82% bigger than last year’s A14.

The price jump between the 12 Pro and 13 Pro is not as big of a leap as the one between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12, which Counterpoint Research says may have costed 21% more due to the addition of 5G and OLED. The estimates are based on standard market rates so they might not be quite accurate given Apple’s supply chain scale.

The iPhone 13 Pro is launching at the same price as its predecessor, at RM4899. In contrast, the hardware researchers estimate that the Samsung S21+ 5G costs US$508 (~RM2124) to build and was launched in Malaysia for RM3999.

OPPO Officially Unveils Find X3 Pro Photographer Edition

Not long after a live photo of the device was leaked online, OPPO earlier today has officially confirmed the existence of the Find X3 Pro Photographer Edition on Weibo. The limited edition smartphone is slated to launch in China on 16 September 2021.

Other than showcasing the phone’s vintage camera-inspired rear panel design through multiple images, the company did not provide much details regarding its specifications – sans its IP68 waterproof rating. However, it is speculated that the Photographer Edition will only differ in terms of visual appearance but retains the same specs as the original Find X3 Pro that was launched locally in April 2021.

OPPO also revealed that the limited edition smartphone will be packaged together with several different accessories that are decked out in the same colour theme. These include a storage case, lanyard, a near-identical phone cover, a USB-A to USB-C cable, wall plug, SIM ejector pin, and what appears to be wired earphones.

Interestingly enough, the Find X3 Pro Photographer Edition’s unveiling did not make any mention of the rumoured OPPO x Kodak collaboration. It is possible that rumours of the partnership may be inaccurate, or the company is actually saving the reveal as a surprise during the phone’s launch. On that note, other information such as its date of release and pricing is also expected to be announced this Thursday.

Nintendo Denies Reaping More Profit From New Switch Model And Shoots Down Pro Variant Rumour

Nintendo has taken to Twitter to deny allegations of squeezing out more profit from the newly announced Switch model. As you may recall, Bloomberg published a report last Friday suggesting that the Japanese video game giant is marking up the prices of the newly announced variant – earning an estimated US$40 (~RM168) more on each unit sold, where production would only cost the company a mere additional US$10 (~RM42) over the existing model. For your reference, the standard Nintendo Switch retails at US$300 (~RM1,267) while the OLED model is priced at US$350 (~RM1,458).

“A news report on July 15, 2021(JST) claimed that the profit margin of the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) would increase compared to the Nintendo Switch,” the company stated via its official account on Twitter. “To ensure correct understanding among our investors and customers, we want to make clear that the claim is incorrect.”

It is pretty unusual for Nintendo to comment regarding any allegations or even rumours, let alone releasing an official statement intended to assure its investors via social media. Prior to this, the video game giant would often sidestep from commenting or would just provide vague details that neither confirm or deny certain information. Needless to say, this is indeed a rare occasion for the company.

Following the statement, the company also took the opportunity to shoot down rumours suggesting that it is developing or planning to release another variant of the console after releasing the OLED model in October. This is clearly referring to the numerous hearsays of the alleged Nintendo Switch Pro, which has been circulating around for months.

While that may sound disheartening for those looking forward to a beefier and 4K-capable version of the device, keep in mind that this isn’t the first time that the company has denied the development of a new model. In fact, Nintendo previously insisted that it had no plans to introduce a new Switch variant before finally removing the drape off from the recently launched 7-inch OLED model.

Apple Gives New iPad Pro The M1 Chip; Starts From RM3499

Apple is expected to announce a new iPad Pro during its very recent event. And indeed the company did just that. But the new tablet packs something new, the M1 chip. The very same one that it packed in its latest Macs and Macbooks.

The powerful chip allows the iPad Pro to do things you’d usually only associate with desktop systems. And Apple also claims that it can do all that while still maintaining all-day battery life.

But that’s not all, as the iPad Pro has another trick up its sleeve, or rather in its front-facing camera. Apple says this is its new 12MP wide angle camera. And with it, the feature that the company calls Center Stage.

Together, not only can you fit more things into frame, the camera intelligently detects if you are moving out of frame, and tries to pan towards your direction. Or, if someone else comes into frame, it automatically zooms out to fit everyone.

Other improvements Apple has given to the new iPad Pro include Thunderbolt support for the USB-C port, and even an optional 5G variant. And if you go for the larger 12.9-inch variant, you’ll also get it with a miniaturised Pro Display XDR, called the Liquid Retina XDR.

Both iPad Pro sizes come in five storage configurations, which are 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and a whopping 2TB of storage space. For the 11-inch model, these are priced at RM3499, RM3949, RM4849, RM6649 and RM8449, respectively. If you want the 5G model, it will be a RM650 premium on top.

As for the 12.9-inch model, the prices are RM4799, RM5249, RM6149, RM7949 and RM9749, respectively. The same RM650 premium applies here for the 5G models. While Apple Malaysia has announced the prices of the iPad Pro, the company has not announced its availability date just yet.