>THE RUMORS WERE true: Apple is transitioning from Intel processors to its own silicon in Macs. Tim Cook said this will “take the Mac to a whole new level,” giving it “industry–leading performance per watt and higher– performance GPUs,” and bring tech such as the Neural Engine to the Mac. There are also new Intel–based models coming, but Apple plans to ship the first Mac with Apple silicon by the end of this year and complete its transition in about two years. A common architecture will make it easier for developers to write for the ecosystem, and iPhone and iPad apps will run natively on the Mac (but it’s unclear how non–touch inputs will be translated if apps aren’t recompiled). Microsoft Office and Adobe CC apps, as well as Apple’s apps including pro software will run native for Apple silicon in macOS Big Sur, while Rosetta 2 will automatically translate Intel Mac apps to work on Apple chips.
>AIRPODS WILL NOW automatically switch between your Apple devices without you having to manually switch them, for example when you receive an incoming call, and Spatial Audio is coming to AirPods Pro. This delivers an immersive surround–sound experience, compensating for head movements and changes in position of your device so the sound field is anchored to the device and always seems to come from a real source.