Up until now, MacBook users seeking the ultimate browser for top battery life have often used Safari, Apple’s own offering, which has been optimized specifically to work in harmony with the company’s other hardware and software.
However this could all be about to change, with the latest version of Google Chrome promising to match Safari’s level of energy efficiency for simple web browsing tasks.
What’s more, opting to use the recently introduced Energy Saver mode will allow Chrome to even exceed Apple’s battery life predictions.
Chrome laptop battery life
Currently, Apple claims a typical battery life of 17 hours under “wireless web” usage on a 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro, its best performer in terms of battery life. Google’s testing on that same device (without Energy Save mode enabled), and using Chrome 110.0.5481.100, produced an equal prediction.
Additionally, those tests indicate that a user may be able to stream YouTube content for 18 hours, though this doesn’t quite match Apple’s 20-hour prediction for streaming on the Apple TV app.
Google said that to improve Chrome’s power usage, it tuned iframes to reduce short-term memory usage, reduced how often Javascript timers wake as developers turn to more efficient APIs, streamlined data structures, and eliminated unnecessary redraws to avoid wasting energy.
While testing was carried out on the latest Mac hardware, the developers also suggest that similar benefits will be seen on older models. It’s unclear whether this affects previous Intel-based models, or whether it’s a change primarily focused on devices running Apple Silicon. TechRadar Pro has asked Google to confirm this.
Users looking to eke out the most battery life – on any device – can also choose to enable Energy Saver mode which disables some background activity and visual effects, though the most profound effects are likely to be seen on lower-performance models.
Vivid is available for Apple's Macs from today (April 4), where it can double the brightness of your Pro Display XDR or MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021), with no loss in quality of the image.
Apple has been showcasing how bright these products can go, but this level of brightness has only been reserved for certain use cases such as editing videos and watching HDR movies. The maximum brightness has been 500 nits for both the MacBook Pro and Pro Display XDR for its users, with no override on the user's part to enable this higher brightness for other methods.
This is where Vivid comes in. Available to download as a free trial, alongside a one-off fee of $ 15 / £15 / AU$ 17 to remove the split-screen that shows the default brightness, and Vivid's settings.
On the day of its launch, TechRadar spoke to its two developers, Jordi Bruin and Ben Harraway, about how Vivid came to be, and whether there's any risk to leaving the brightness on for longer than needed.
We speak to Vivid's developers
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Having used Vivid before its launch, we were taken aback as to how much of a difference the full brightness made, especially with games. Playing Streets of Rage 4 on macOS through Steam, or Metal Gear Solid 5 through Parallels, really showed off what the display of the MacBook Pro 14-inch is capable of.
We asked Bruin and Halloway what prompted them to create Vivid in the first place. “Back in October of last year I received my new MacBook Pro and was very surprised when I saw the brightness of HDR videos. It made it seem like the rest of my screen was becoming dimmer when in fact the video was just getting brighter.” Bruin explains.
“I like to work from different places throughout the day and often end up outside on a terrace or in a park. I tried watching some HDR videos outside and they were much more visible than the other content on the screen. After spending a few weeks working on different approaches I gave up for a few months until reaching out to Ben, who found a solution that worked great!”
Using the brightness keys on our MacBook Pro 14-inch, once you reach the maximum setting, a further option appears thanks to Vivid, where you can go even brighter, taking advantage of the display.
While there's a small hit on the battery life, it's a hit worth taking once you see how much everything pops with the extra brightness.
However, we asked Bruin and Halloway whether there was any danger to the display, in way of screen burn. “Vivid doesn’t use any hacks or low-level system calls to achieve the higher brightness. We believe that makes it really safe to use,” Halloway explains.
“We don’t make your display do anything it’s not supposed to. Vivid just enables the extra brightness usually reserved for HDR content, so it’s exactly the same as watching an HDR video.” Bruin clarifies.
“Apple claims the following: “Pro Display XDR can sustain 1000 nits of brightness across the full screen. This means that a pro can edit an HDR photograph or video with the entire frame at 1000 nits of brightness, indefinitely.”
The official word from Apple on this topic is here. macOS has built-in protections to dim the screen if it would get too hot as well. But to be clear, we are not changing anything on the display level, we are overlaying an HDR window which triggers the extended brightness mode.”
(Image credit: TechRadar)
While Vivid is a simple app, it gets the job done, and the difference is night and day, especially when you're using it at night. Even though we're at the launch of the app, we wondered if there were already any features in the planning for future versions.
“We wanted to keep the first version tightly integrated with the system and easy to use, so that we could get feedback from users on what they would want to see. We have a version that includes Shortcuts and Widgets, but right now we’re not sure if those features would really add something that our customers would be looking for.” Bruin explains.
“We’ve designed Vivid in a way that you almost forget that it’s an extra app since you just use your normal brightness keys to activate it. Accessibility is important for both of us, which is why we’re using as many native components as possible. After launch, we will be searching for feedback on this front to fix any issues we might have overlooked.”
So far, Vivid is something that can make you look at your MacBook Pro or Display XDR in a different way, especially as you watch videos or play games. As the displays improve and the brightness gets brighter, it looks as though this app will be useful to many Mac users for the next few years at least.
Vivid is available for Apple's Macs from today (April 4), where it can double the brightness of your Pro Display XDR or MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021), with no loss in quality of the image.
Apple has been showcasing how bright these products can go, but this level of brightness has only been reserved for certain use cases such as editing videos and watching HDR movies. The maximum brightness has been 500 nits for both the MacBook Pro and Pro Display XDR for its users, with no override on the user's part to enable this higher brightness for other methods.
This is where Vivid comes in. Available to download as a free trial, alongside a one-off fee of $ 15 / £15 / AU$ 17 to remove the split-screen that shows the default brightness, and Vivid's settings.
On the day of its launch, TechRadar spoke to its two developers, Jordi Bruin and Ben Harraway, about how Vivid came to be, and whether there's any risk to leaving the brightness on for longer than needed.
We speak to Vivid's developers
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Having used Vivid before its launch, we were taken aback as to how much of a difference the full brightness made, especially with games. Playing Streets of Rage 4 on macOS through Steam, or Metal Gear Solid 5 through Parallels, really showed off what the display of the MacBook Pro 14-inch is capable of.
We asked Bruin and Halloway what prompted them to create Vivid in the first place. “Back in October of last year I received my new MacBook Pro and was very surprised when I saw the brightness of HDR videos. It made it seem like the rest of my screen was becoming dimmer when in fact the video was just getting brighter.” Bruin explains.
“I like to work from different places throughout the day and often end up outside on a terrace or in a park. I tried watching some HDR videos outside and they were much more visible than the other content on the screen. After spending a few weeks working on different approaches I gave up for a few months until reaching out to Ben, who found a solution that worked great!”
Using the brightness keys on our MacBook Pro 14-inch, once you reach the maximum setting, a further option appears thanks to Vivid, where you can go even brighter, taking advantage of the display.
While there's a small hit on the battery life, it's a hit worth taking once you see how much everything pops with the extra brightness.
However, we asked Bruin and Halloway whether there was any danger to the display, in way of screen burn. “Vivid doesn’t use any hacks or low-level system calls to achieve the higher brightness. We believe that makes it really safe to use,” Halloway explains.
“We don’t make your display do anything it’s not supposed to. Vivid just enables the extra brightness usually reserved for HDR content, so it’s exactly the same as watching an HDR video.” Bruin clarifies.
“Apple claims the following: “Pro Display XDR can sustain 1000 nits of brightness across the full screen. This means that a pro can edit an HDR photograph or video with the entire frame at 1000 nits of brightness, indefinitely.”
The official word from Apple on this topic is here. macOS has built-in protections to dim the screen if it would get too hot as well. But to be clear, we are not changing anything on the display level, we are overlaying an HDR window which triggers the extended brightness mode.”
(Image credit: TechRadar)
While Vivid is a simple app, it gets the job done, and the difference is night and day, especially when you're using it at night. Even though we're at the launch of the app, we wondered if there were already any features in the planning for future versions.
“We wanted to keep the first version tightly integrated with the system and easy to use, so that we could get feedback from users on what they would want to see. We have a version that includes Shortcuts and Widgets, but right now we’re not sure if those features would really add something that our customers would be looking for.” Bruin explains.
“We’ve designed Vivid in a way that you almost forget that it’s an extra app since you just use your normal brightness keys to activate it. Accessibility is important for both of us, which is why we’re using as many native components as possible. After launch, we will be searching for feedback on this front to fix any issues we might have overlooked.”
So far, Vivid is something that can make you look at your MacBook Pro or Display XDR in a different way, especially as you watch videos or play games. As the displays improve and the brightness gets brighter, it looks as though this app will be useful to many Mac users for the next few years at least.
If you browse forums and news sites, you'll most likely come across concept ideas from users who want to give their vision of how a product from Apple or Microsoft could be.
Back when owning an iPhone was a wish for many in the early noughties, you would see concept images of iPod Videos with a 'Phone' menu, but in the same iPod body, or a design that would look similar to the bondi-blue iMac from 1997.
However, one user has gone beyond this concept idea, and removed the display to a MacBook Pro, but left the keyboard part intact.
This not only harks back to the days of the Amiga with its 2-in-1 design, but gives me the idea that this could be perfect as a replacement to the Mac mini.
An Amiga and Apple hybrid?
The Mac mini has been around since 2006, and Apple mentioned at the time that they could only do this thanks to the PowerPC to Intel CPU transition.
But with another transition in progress, Apple has repeated the same mantra, which is why we've seen a redesigned iMac and MacBook Pro so far.
While there's been efforts by others to prove that a smaller Mac mini could work for the Apple Silicon chips, you still need to have a keyboard and trackpad in order to use it.
This is why the below makes sense in the long run, instead of being an effort to go viral for a day.
More and more people are buying a MacBook Pro without a screen to use as a Mac mini. Not only does it have a trackpad and keyboard, but it also has better speakers, and the main price is particularly affordable. pic.twitter.com/WtxMQk1h8FMarch 7, 2022
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This would reshape how a Mac mini could work, especially if this concept could also run on a battery if needed.
You could take this hybrid on a commute to work, and plug in the HDMI or Thunderbolt cable to start your day. This would cut down the setup you would normally have to do for a Mac mini, as the keyboard and trackpad are already there.
But this also harks back to the days of the Amiga, a PC from the eighties that allowed you to do this in a similar design.
(Image credit: Future)
It's one thing to look at an image, but to see someone use a snapped MacBook as if it's an Amiga 600 in 2022, makes a lot of sense.
The design can work in an age where you can easily find a spare monitor in the office and get going on some work, without also having to find a keyboard and mouse.
If this was to replace how we see the Mac mini in the near future with an M2 chip, it could be the best recommendation from me for family and friends, especially if they're looking for a new device for their bedroom or office.
The macOS Monterey 12.2 update was released on January 26, and some users are already reporting issues, with reports that BlueTooth accessories connected to the device are seemingly causing it to wake from sleep mode, draining battery life that would have otherwise been preserved.
As reported by MacRumors, it's unclear how widespread the issue currently is, but there have been several posts across social media sites like Twitter and Reddit during the last few days that would indicate this isn't an isolated incident.
Here’s what the #macOS #Monterey 12.2 #bluetooth sleep/wake battery-murdering glitch looks like, personified by my keyboard’s capslock light. off=sleep, on=darkwake. Leave ur laptop unplugged & sleeping overnight, 👋🏼buh-bye to its battery! #goodtimes pic.twitter.com/O45y7MYLtlJanuary 31, 2022
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While no official statement has been made from Apple, those affected have claimed that their Mac's battery life drops from 100% to 0% while left in sleep mode overnight, something that wasn't occurring prior to updating to macOS 12.2.
After some investigation, users like @Jpavao found that Bluetooth accessories are apparently causing the Macs to repeatedly wake from sleep mode, which drains the battery over the course of several hours. All fingers point to the latest update being responsible as both older Intel-based Macs and newer M1-powered devices appear to be affected.
Disabling the Bluetooth on the device or disconnecting all accessories connected via Bluetooth prior to placing the Mac into sleep mode seems to work as a quick fix, though this obviously isn't ideal if you have to set up your mouse, keyboard and headset every morning, especially if you use the MacBook for work.
Apple also made the beta version of Monterey 12.3 available to developers last week, though no mentions were made that refer to a fix within the notes, so it's unclear if the issue will be resolved when this update is pushed live for all macOS users or if another solution is in the works. We've reached out to Apple for clarification.
Analysis: keep calm and carry on
It's understandable that you might feel wary regarding upgrades when you see stories like this circulating, but we would always recommend that you keep your device up to date with the latest patches to help with security and app compatibility. Any problems that arise after an update, regardless of a system being Windows or macOS, are usually swiftly corrected.
It's important to remember though, that updates are likely never going to be a universal 'fix-all' for every user. In fact, the patch to fix this Bluetooth issue could just as likely cause problems for a handful of users who were not previously experiencing any. The risks of using an outdated operating system also far outweigh the risks that come with updating to the latest version though, so it isn't worth avoiding the upgrade to Monterey 12.2 if you've been putting it off.
It's not unusual for software updates and patches to cause additional issues that require additional work down the line. It's certainly a nuisance for those affected by the problem, but there are several workarounds that will help tide things over, such as leaving your MacBook charging overnight or disconnecting any Bluetooth accessories, until Apple can officially patch out the battery drain.
Make sure you check out our macOS Monterey problems guide for more advice on fixing issues with Apple's latest operating system.
Apple’s new MacBook Pro models arrived with gorgeous Mini-LED screens, but the displays also carried something that proved more controversial – the notch, of course – but haters of that feature might find this new app lightens their mood around the iPhone-style notch. Briefly. Maybe.
The free ‘Notchmeister’ app, spotted by MacRumors, is essentially a fun and gimmicky piece of software which “spruces up your notch” with a choice of different effects.
That small selection includes a festive option, whereby when the mouse is moved under the notch, sparkly holiday lights drop down to fill your heart with cheer (or at least elicit a smile – hopefully).
Other effects comprise of a Cylon setting with a red ‘scanning’ light that sweeps across from side to side, but sticks to the cursor if it’s moved up to the notch, and a nifty looking ‘plasma leak’ which represents the mouse “breaking down the magnetic containment field that keeps the M1’s power in check.”
Analysis: Even no-notch MacBooks aren’t left out of the festive fun
This is an amusing and nicely tongue-in-cheek application made by The Iconfactory, and as pointed out by the readers of MacRumors, even those who have a MacBook without a notch can use the software.
How? With the Notch Simulation Mode which puts a mock notch (a black block) at the top of the screen, which you can dangle your virtual festive lights from. This is a ‘genuine replacement notch’ as the app calls it, though it doesn’t interact with the mouse the same as with a new MacBook Pro.
Back in the real world, as to the notch debate, while there are still those who dislike it (or even detest it), we’ve observed something of a softening of mood around it. More folks seem to be talking about how the notch might take a bit of initial acclimatization, but it becomes not really noticeable or an issue after you’ve had a little time with your new MacBook Pro.
Gaming through virtualization on an Apple Silicon Mac is getting better with every M1 Mac release from the company.
Back in August, we tested games in Parallels Desktop, a popular virtualization software, on an M1 Mac mini, to see how certain games would run. We were surprised by the results. Many would run at almost a full speed in framerate, while others would run at an unplayable speed.
With the announcement of the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, we were curious to see how the same games we tried back in August, would perform on the new MacBook Pro models.
As I upgraded to an M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch in November, I decided to try the same games from August, to see if there’s been a significant improvement already.
Metal Gear M1 Pro
(Image credit: TechRadar)
As Apple Silicon chips run on a different architecture to Intel and AMD, apps need to be rewritten on macOS in order to take full advantage of the M1 chip. While Apple offers an app called Rosetta 2 to emulate apps that haven’t yet been rewritten, this doesn’t reap the speed and power benefits that a native app can bring.
With Parallels Desktop 17 fully compatible with M1, this means that we can run certain apps on Windows, within the app to see how games can run.
Since our testing in August, Windows 11 has been released, alongside an ARM version, so we installed Steam, Epic Games, Rockstar Launcher, and the Xbox app to see how these would run on the MacBook Pro.
We tested the same games as before:
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Generations
Streets of Rage
Sekiro
DOOM
Grand Theft Auto IV
Quake
Half Life: Source
Half Life 2: Deathmatch
Tomb Raider II (1997)
Golf it!
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Tekken 7
Resident Evil 3 Remake
Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogy
Again, DOOM and Dragon Ball FighterZ refused to work, mainly due to the DirectX framework they’re built on. This is a graphics engine, originally created by Microsoft, that allows developers to run their games on certain machines.
Trying to load up Halo Infinite through the Xbox app also refused because of the same reason. Resident Evil 3 is running worse this time, with more graphical issues, making it unplayable, regardless of everything in graphic settings on ‘low’ or ‘off’.
I tried the same settings with each game as before, in a resolution of 1440×900 at medium settings, and it resulted in full speed across the board. While Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes would run at 40 FPS on medium settings with the m1 Mac mini, it was full speed on high settings here.
Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogy was another surprise. While it would struggle with the Mac mini with graphical glitches everywhere, here there was no issue. This was also the only time where I could hear the fans, while more graphically intensive games wouldn't summon them, so it could be a glitch with Parallels for the fans.
With the games running this well, I decided to go further in my testing with the M1 Pro.
Going the M1 Pro distance
(Image credit: TechRadar)
With every game on medium settings at a 1440×900 resolution running at full speed, I decided to go for a high setting preset, with a higher resolution at 2560×1440 running the same games listed above.
The results surprised me yet again, with almost every game at full speed. However, Sekiro struggled
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes ran at the high settings preset at a constant 60FPS, all within the window of Parallels Desktop.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
The only attribute stopping me from playing more games was storage. But while this was impressive, we reached out to Dmitry Geynisman, Product Manager at Parallels to see what the plans were for the future in gaming for Parallels Desktop on Apple Silicon.
While we had noticed that DirectX 12 wasn’t possible, the team has confirmed that this is in the works. “The priority, for now, is DirectX 12. More games are solely running on this API, so we don’t want our users to be cut off from this, so this is the priority.” Geynisman clarifies. “Eventually down the line, we want to support Vulkan, but that partly depends on Apple as well.”
Some of the big games, such as Halo Infinite and Fortnite, will want to be played on these Macs, and we asked whether support for this will arrive.
“With Halo, that’s up to Microsoft due to the API again, but Fortnite is a different one.” Geynisman explains. “It crashes due to the anti-cheat system that’s built-in, but we’re investigating whether that can be enabled within Parallels.”
With the impressive results, we asked if another tier of Parallels, focused on gaming, would be in the company’s future.
“It’s not something we’re considering for now, but in the meantime, we want to make sure that we can offer the games that people own on their Windows PC, on the Mac. Geynisman continues. “We’re as shocked as you in how well some of these games are performing, and we just want to keep this going.”
As more games improve and Parallels works on more compatibility with M1 Pro and M1 Max, time will tell how the future Macs will run these games.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 still holds bragging rights when it comes to the maximum storage capacity available in a traditional portable laptop.
Apple uses a proprietary approach, plugging memory chips directly into the motherboard to reach a whopping 8TB of storage, while only a handful of vendors even offer 4TB PCIe SSDs.
OWC has recently joined Sabrent as only the second consumer vendor to offer a 4TB NVMe PCIe M2.2280 SSD. OWC's Aurora P12 costs $ 1,149.88, while Sabrent's offering, known as Rocket, is available for only $ 849.99 from Amazon (roughly £690/AU$ 1335).
Why does that matter? Well, because you can plug two into a Windows laptop to match the MacBook Pro's 8TB capacity.
There’s only one laptop vendor worldwide (Eurocom), to our knowledge, that bundles its laptops with these 4TB drives – and they’re neither as cheap nor as portable as Apple’s slim-and-thin mobile workstation.
Apple charges $ 6,099 for the very top of the range 16-inch MacBook Pro, while Dell has, unfortunately, stopped pushing 2TB PCI NVMe SSD with its 64GB XPS 15 laptop.
As for the Sabrent Rocket, it is an x4 model that comes bundled with the Acronis True Image software, Toshiba’s BICS3 flash and Sabrent’s own RKT303 controller. Its performance speeds can reach up to 3450 MB/s (read) and 3000 MB/s (write).
Just bear in mind, this is a Gen 3 rather than a Gen 4 SSD.
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