Black Friday is our favorite time of the year because when else could you see a brand-new MacBook Air laptop drop to a new best price? The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air is now available for $1,234 at Amazon, a solid $265 off its MSRP and a whopping $465 off the price just a month ago when the base model started with 8GB of RAM.
This is a powerful laptop, especially thanks to the M3 chip, which is great for multitasking, creative work, or just having fun online. The laptop also comes with 16GB of unified memory, which is enough to help you run any app you want or swap from one app to another with ease. The model that’s on sale also features 512GB of storage, which is quite enough for most apps, files, and personal content we usually store.
Our review of the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air concluded with a 4.5-star rating, and our editor praised the laptop’s outstanding performance, fantastic battery life, and balance between price, features, and quality. “Overall, the M3 MacBook Air succeeds in continuing in its role as the laptop for everyone,” the review reads.
This, of course, is even better reflected in the discount we’re seeing ahead of Black Friday. The MacBook Air is perfect for your everyday workload, having fun streaming content, and anything else you want to do. So jump on the chance to get your very own MacBook Air with an M3 chip and 512GB for $1,234 at Amazon ahead of Black Friday.
A 512GB MacBook Air M3 this cheap?While Black Friday doesn’t officially arrive until Friday, November 29 (with Cyber Monday following on Monday, December 2), the shopping season has already begun and it’s a great time to pick up a deal on a new monitor for your Mac. If you’re unsure of which to buy, check out our best monitors for Macs roundup to read more about our favorite picks.
We’ll be updating this page all throughout the Black Friday weekend, but in the meantime, you should also check out our round-up of the best Apple deals that we keep updated all year round.
Apple only sells two monitors–the Studio Display and Pro Display XDR–and they’re not cheap. Deals on the Studio Display are relatively common, but it’s unlikely to find much savings on the very high-end Pro Display XDR. Neither monitor has been updated in years, with the Studio Display arriving in 2022.
It’s possible that Apple includes the Studio Display in its annual Black Friday Shopping Event, which offers gift cards when buying certain products. However, the Studio Display was not included in last year’s sale.
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Since Apple’s monitors are so expensive, you can get far better value by getting a third-party display.
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Check out these roundups for the best Apple deals:
Beta testing for iOS 18.2 is in progress. While iOS 18.1 was the first release with Apple Intelligence features for supported phones, many of the most exciting features are coming in iOS 18.2.
This release includes Visual Intelligence, Genmoji, the Image Playground app, the new Mail app with AI-sorted categories, and integration with ChatGPT. While the AI features of iOS 18.1 might make the average iPhone 16 user say, “Is that it?” the Apple Intelligence features in 18.2 will be a little more sensational. However, while Siri’s interface changed in iOS 18.1, the new smarter Siri still isn’t a part of this release. That will likely be coming in iOS 18.3 or 18.4, due for release around March 2025. We have a list of the Apple Intelligence features coming to iOS 18 along with their expected release timeframes.
Updated November 20: The fourth developer beta of iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 are out now. The public beta is expected within a day or so.
The iOS 18.2 beta release is only available for iPhones that can run Apple Intelligence: iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, or any iPhone 16.
There is also a secondary waiting list to access certain features. If you were on the original waiting list for Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.1 you will get access to ChatGPT integration, Visual Intelligence, and the new Writing Tools features. But you’ll have to hop onto a second waiting list for the image generation features—Genmoji, Image Playground, and the Image Wand tool.
Here’s what’s available in the iOS 18.2 beta so far:
Writing Tools updates: Instead of just choosing to make a selection of text more professional, causal, or concise, you will have a freeform field to describe how you want to transform text. Examples: make this a poem, include a lot of dad jokes, or use a lot of sarcasm.
Genmoji: Create a new emoji right on the system keyboard.
Image Playground: Generate new images based on text prompts. Apple will suggest new costumes, items, or locations, and will make suggestions based on the context of a Messages thread or note in the Notes app. Images can be based on people you know by using identified images in Photos. Images are limited to cartoon or illustrative styles rather than realistic.
Visual Intelligence: For iPhone 16 owners with the Camera Control button. Press and hold Camera Control to get additional information about a location, translate a sign or poster, detect phone numbers and addresses to quickly add to Contacts, and more. You can also tap a button to ask ChatGPT about what’s on screen, or another to perform a Google image search.
Image Wand: An offshoot of Image Playground, this uses Apple’s image generation tools to create an image in an open area on a note in the Notes app, using the context from the surrounding area and the rest of the note. Start with a blank area or a rough sketch you make yourself.
ChatGPT integration: If Siri can’t answer a question, it now has the option to ask ChatGPT. You need to give permission for each request and only limited data is shared. You don’t need to log into ChatGPT, but you are able to if you want to, or have a premium ChatGPT account you wish to use. You can ask Siri to have ChatGPT generate images., and use ChatGPT in the Writing Tools to generate text, too.
In addition to the new user-facing features, there are new developer tools for integrating image generation and writing tools into third-party apps. Apple Intelligence is localized into English for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK in this release.
Default Apps: Users worldwide have a new “Default Apps” section at the top Settings > Apps, where you can choose your default email, messaging, calling, call filtering, browser, password app, and keyboard. The messaging and calling options are new, and the other options have all been brought under a single menu.
EU-specific features: In the EU, third-party browser that use their own custom web engines can now add web apps. EU users will also be able to delete the App Store.
AE/AF Lock: In Settings > Camera, you’ll find a new toggle for a light press on the Camera Control button to lock exposure and focus.
Find My share item location: Find My will let you share the location of an AirTag (or other Find My compatible item) with a trusted person. The link can be opened on a non-Apple device and expires after a week.
Mail app categories: The Mail app gets its AI-powered auto-category feature, splitting your inbox into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions.
Volume limits and lock screen slider: You’ll be able to set volume limits for media playing from the iPhone’s speaker, and can restore the volume bar to the media card on the lock screen.
The iOS 18.2 beta is currently only available for developers, but anyone can get it. Since the introduction of iOS 17, it’s not necessary to be in the $99 per year developer program to access the developer beta, a free developer account will do. You can get one via Xcode or the Apple Developer app in iOS. Here’s how to do it via the Apple Developer app:
Registered developers can choose to get the iOS 18.2 beta instead by going to the Settings app, then General > Software Update, and selecting iOS Developer Beta in the Beta Updates tab. When you return to the main Software Update screen, you’ll Upgrade to iOS 18 at the bottom of the screen under the Also Available heading. Tap that and it’ll take you to the iOS 18.2 beta.
As always, remember to back up your iPhone before you install the beta.
If you want to run the public beta, follow these steps:
The latest version of macOS–Sequoia–arrived on Macs in September 2024, but the beta development continues and if you are a registered developer or registered as a public beta tester, you can continue to get the latest updates and try out new features still not available to the general public.
In this article, we’ll explain what’s in the latest beta, what you need to do to get your hands on a copy, how to install it, and what you should bear in mind if you don’t want to end up in a pickle. If you would prefer to use the latest official release of macOS Sequois here’s how to update macOS on your Mac.
In the past, the developer beta was only available to developers who had paid to join Apple’s Developer Program (which costs $99/£79). However, for a couple of years now, Apple has opened up the developer beta to registered developers with free developer accounts. We explain how to get a free developer account below.
Not that we recommend that you should get the beta if you aren’t a developer. Beta software tends to be buggy and a more stable public beta version is also available.
If you no longer want to run the beta version of macOS read this: How to remove the macOS beta.
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The first version of the Sequoia developer beta of macOS 15 arrived after the WWDC keynote on June 10, 2024. Beta 2 arrived on June 24.
Notable additions to beta 2 were iPhone Mirroring, the ability to directly access an iPhone through the Mac. The Mac and iPhone connect wirelessly and users see the iPhone Home screen on the Mac. Users can click and use iPhone apps, iPhone app notifications can be activated, and the appropriate iPhone app launches. Users can also drag and drop photos and videos from the iPhone to the Mac. The iPhone audio will come through the Mac’s sound output, and iPhone notifications will integrate with the macOS notifications list. iPhone Mirroring works on all M-series Macs and Intel Macs that have a T2 Security chip. The iPhone and Mac need to be signed into the same Apple Account, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi need to be enabled. iPhone Mirroring works on all M-series Macs and Intel Macs that have a T2 Security chip. The iPhone and Mac need to be signed into the same Apple Account, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi need to be enabled.
Developer beta 4 was released on July 23. Developer beta 5 was released on August 5. Apple released the macOS Sequoia 15 developer beta 6 on August 12. Developer beta 7 was released on August 20. On August 28, Apple released the macOS Sequoia 15 beta 8.
There is a second beta running consecutively with the macOS 15.0 beta development. The macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta includes Apple Intelligence features that are only available on M-series Macs.
On July 29, Apple started work on the macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta, which includes some Apple Intelligence features. Beta 2 arrived on August 12. On August 28, beta 3 was released to developers. On September 17, Apple beta 4 to developers. The macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta 5 was released to developers on September 23. Beta 6 was released on October 6. The macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta 7 was released on October 15. The macOS Sequoia 15.1 release candidate was released on October 21. Release candidate 2 was released on October 24.
A July 31 report by 9to5Mac states that Apple Intelligence will not run if the 15.1 beta is running on an external drive. It’s not known if this condition will remain when Apple officially releases 15.1.
On October 23, Apple released the macOS Sequoia 15.2 beta 1 to developers. Version 15.2 is expected to heave the second set of Apple Intelligence features.
On November 20, Apple released the macOS Sequoia beta 4 to developers. The public beta should follow in a few days.
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The first public beta of Sequoia arrived on July 15, 2024. The second public beta of Sequoia arrived on July 23, 2024. The fourth public beta of Sequoia arrived on August 13, 2024. The fifth public beta of Sequoia arrived on August 20, 2024. The sixth public beta of Sequoia arrived on August 28, 2024.
Apple released the macOS Sequoia 15.1 pubic beta on September 19, 2024. This beta includes the first round of Apple Intelligence features. The 15.2 public beta 2 was released on November 6.
Since 2023 the Developer Beta has been available to anyone who registers as a developer, even if they aren’t a paid-up member of Apple’s Developer Program. As a result, people with a basic free developer account are able to download the new macOS developer beta (we show you how to register below).
Whether you should download the developer beta if you aren’t a developer is another question. We don’t recommend you install the developer beta if you aren’t a developer. Instead, our recommendation is to use the public beta (the first verison of which usually arrives in July).
There are a few differences between the public and developer betas. The public beta is not the same as the beta that is released through the developer program.
Developers get updates to their beta first, and possibly more frequently. But you should keep in mind that betas are by nature not stable, and because the public beta comes after the developer beta it could be a little safer to install.
The most significant difference is probably the motive of the testers: Developers usually have the aim of ensuring their apps work when the updated macOS is released to the general public, while public beta testers are essentially helping Apple detect bugs and offering feedback on the features. Because of this developers may get to test new features not available in the public beta.
If you want to get the public beta the first thing you need to do, if you haven’t already, is join Apple’s beta programs read this for more information: How to become an Apple beta tester.
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If you just want a free Apple Developer account so you can access the beta you can get this via Xcode or the Apple Developer app in iOS. Here’s how to do it via the Apple Developer app on an iPhone:
If you wish to actually publish applications to the App Store or receive support, you’ll need to pay $99/£79 per year for a paid account. You can compare the free and paid accounts here.
The Sequoia developer beta should show up on your Mac if you are running macOS Sonoma or macOS Sequoia, have paid $99/£79 to enroll in Apple’s Developer program (here) or if you have a free developer account (follow the instructions above).
When the Public Beta becomes available it will also show up on your Mac, as long as you have signed up for the Public Beta program on Apple’s beta webpage, signed the NDA, and enrolled your Mac.
Before you download a few warnings:
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If you are running macOS Ventura 13.3 or earlier:
Apple changed the way it delivers betas in Ventura 13.4. If you aren’t yet running that version of macOS you will need to download the macOS Developer Beta Access Utility or macOS Public Beta Access Utility.
If you were already running an earlier macOS Public Beta you’ll find the new macOS beta as an upgrade via Software Update. Just click on Upgrade Now. You may have to update to the latest version of your current beta before you can do so, if not follow the steps below to get the beta access utility.
Once you are running the beta the updates will come through to your Mac automatically, you just need to click to install.
That covers how to get the betas, but once you have them what can you do, and what should you do? We’ll cover that below.
By its nature, a beta has the potential to be unstable. Therefore it’s not advised that you install it on a Mac that you rely on. If you have a second Mac that isn’t mission-critical then install it there. We strongly recommend that you don’t risk all by putting the macOS beta on your primary macOS, especially not in the early days of the beta development.
If you don’t have a second Mac there are a couple of ways you could run macOS beta on your Mac without running the risk of losing data or finding your Mac stops working:
We discuss the safety of the macOS beta and the risks you might be taking in more detail in a separate article.
If the stability of the beta worries you then you are probably better off waiting until the final version is out, or at least waiting until testing has been happening for a few months before getting the beta.
Update your software: We recommend you have the latest full version of macOS installed, although Apple says that the macOS Developer Beta Access Utility requires macOS 10.8 or later.
Make space: We’d recommend at least 15GB of available space because the macOS betas tend to be very large. If you end up requiring more space read: How to free up space on Mac. Note that we always recommend that you have at least 10% space free on your Mac at any time, so if you don’t have that expect problems!
Back up: Before you install a beta on your Mac you should make a backup of your data and files. You can find out how to use Time Machine to back up your Mac. We also have a round-up of suitable backup solutions.
Should you come across an error or a bug you should use the Feedback Assistant app to provide feedback to Apple. Launch the app and follow the appropriate steps, selecting the area about which you’re providing feedback and then any specific sub-area. Then describe your issue in a single sentence, before providing a more detailed description, including any specific steps that reproduce the issue. You’ll also be able to attach other files.
You’ll also have to give permission for the Feedback Assistant app to collect diagnostic information from your Mac.
It won’t always be obvious whether something is a bug or just not as easy to use as you might have hoped. Either way, if your feedback is that something appears to work in an illogical way, Apple will want to know that.
If you are having trouble with a third-party app you can let Apple know by reporting it through the 3rd-party Application Compatibility category in the Feedback Assistant. However, we’d suggest that you also provide feedback to the app’s developer who will no doubt be grateful.
Beta users will be able to install the final build of the OS on release day without needing to reformat or reinstall.
According to Apple and the license agreement all beta testers must agree to, the beta is “Apple confidential information”. By accepting those terms, you agree not to discuss your use of the software with anyone who isn’t also in the Beta Software Program. That means you can’t “blog, post screenshots, tweet, or publicly post information about the public beta software.”
However, you can discuss any information that Apple has publicly disclosed; the company says that information is no longer considered confidential.
You can always revert to an earlier version of macOS, though depending on how you back up, it’s not necessarily a painless process.
Start by making sure the data on your drive is backed up, then erase the drive and install the latest public version of macOS. When you first startup your Mac you can use the Migration Assistant to import your data from the backup. Here’s a more detailed tutorial on downgrading from the macOS beta we also have a tutorial on downgrading to an older version of the Mac OS.
Apple’s next big product launch might still be a long way off, but a new report has shed light on powerful new technology coming in the next version of Apple’s flagship Pro Display XDR.
The 2nd-gen model will use state-of-the-art quantum dot technology, according to the respected displays analyst Ross Young (via 9to5Mac). Young had previously reported that the M4 MacBook Pro, which was announced at the end of October, is the first Apple product to use quantum dot tech, but the next-gen tech is far more important for Apple’s high-end display. For one, it’s 32 inches; for another is uses “”state-of-the-art calibration and a sophisticated algorithm” to deliver “the highest-quality color possible.”
Quantum dot is a recent display technology designed to deliver better color and motion performance than is possible with conventional LED, mini-LED and OLED screens. (It’s also where we get the Q in QLED TVs.) As Young explains (login required), the MacBook Pro previously used KSF phosphor, which makes it plausible that other KSF-based Apple products will follow its lead and switch to quantum dot.
“Now that Apple has adopted [quantum dot] in the MacBook Pro,” he writes, “it will be interesting to see if they replace KSF films and KSF phosphors in other Apple products. KSF films are found in previous mini-LED MacBook Pros and the Mac Pro Display XDR. We expect the next version of the Mac Pro Display to adopt it.”
All very pleasing, but the catch is that we’ll likely be waiting a long time for the next version of the Pro Display XDR. The original device came out in 2019 and we’ve been expecting an update ever since the Studio Display was launched in 2022; but Young says it’s unlikely to appear until late 2025 or early 2026. You can keep up with the latest news and rumors with our new Pro Display XDR superguide.
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