THIS WEEK’S UPDATE

M5 MacBook Pro vs M4 MacBook Air – Which One Actually Wins?

This week, Apple announced the M5 MacBook Pro. It’s basically the new entry-level 14-inch version, and it sounds incredibly powerful and, once again, will probably be the best MacBook Pro Apple has ever made. I’m not being facetious there, either - it just is.

However, it got me thinking about the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air, which has been my main steed for the last few weeks. I’ve fallen deeply in love with it, to be honest, to the point where I don’t like taking my MacBook Pro anywhere, even though it’s only marginally bigger and slightly heavier, and although it’s considerably more powerful.

In this week’s Tech Diary video, I dig into this conundrum a little more and challenge anyone who thinks they absolutely need a MacBook Pro to convince me why that’s the case. I think we’ve reached a point where the MacBook Air is so capable, and the performance gains from new Apple chips are so firmly in diminishing returns territory, that it’s hard to justify spending any more unless you really need to. And I think the latter camp is an extremely small, niche bunch of power users.

I might be wrong, though (I often am with this stuff), which is why I encourage you to go and watch this week’s diary video and get involved in the comments!

AIRPODS PRO 3 REVIEW

I’ve taken a long time to review the AirPods Pro 3. Well, actually only about a month, but in the tech reviewing space, that is long, considering most people get their thoughts published after a day or two. But it’s given me a much deeper perspective on these excellent but hard to recommend earbuds…

MUST-READ

Apple Targets M1 iPad Users With New iPad M5 Pro

My immediate reaction to the M5 iPad Pro wasn’t the immediate ‘wow’ you usually get because, let’s be honest, not much has changed. But I had a slow realisation that this might be the beginning of a new Apple Silicon era that’s calling time on a predecessor…

YES, THERE’S MORE…

Your New Apple Releases Brief!

If you didn’t know already, Apple dropped a trio of new products this week to fairly limited fanfare. We’ve got all the info you need to get caught up!

M5 MacBook Pro: Everything You Need To Know

It’s no secret that I am more of an Air guy these days, but a new MacBook is exciting no matter the type. But was there actually anything truly new about this? →

M5 iPad Pro: Everything You Need To Know

There’s one big change to the M5 iPad Pro aside from the chip, and it has nothing to do with the display or software. You’ll have to read to find out! →

TIP OF THE WEEK

iPadOS 26 windows 👉
iPadOS 26 adds Mac-style windowed multitasking. Enable it under Settings > Multitasking & Gestures > Windowed Apps. Open an app like Safari, then resize using the bottom-right handle or manage it with the red, yellow, and green buttons.

TOP FINDS

What I Watched On YouTube This Week

😬 REAL vs FAKE Tech (Mrwhosetheboss) - I feature as a brief cameo towards the end of this video, but I need to make it abundantly clear that the website featured in Mrwhosetheboss’s video has used my likeness without permission. We’re working on getting it removed from that website, but if you fancy getting involved in the comments of this video, please do! Just be nice, please - this has nothing to do with Mrwhosetheboss, and I’m glad he’s highlighted it.

🎸 Justin Hawkins Isn't Afraid To Talk Sh*t (Rick Beato) - two titans of music YouTube. I could watch them talk for a lot longer than an hour.

🗞️ Introducing Omnisphere 3 (SpectrasonicsVIDEO) - If you know, you know. This is BIG news, and I can’t wait to get my teeth stuck into it.

ON THE ‘GRAM

You Need To See This Phone

This is the Oppo X9 Pro. Full review on the way, but in the meantime, here's a small selection of snaps from the Hasselblad camera... Let me know what you think in the comments!

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter! You’ll want to stay tuned next week as I’ve got some juicy videos coming…and some even juicier things for you to get involved with. See you then!

~ Mark