Pixel owners using Google’s subscription who expected “a phone upgrade after two years” will have to get that upgrade somewhere else — Pixel Pass is dead.
ByRichard Lawler, a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
In October 2021, Google launched a new Pixel Pass subscription program alongside the Pixel 6 series of phones that promised three things for one monthly payment ($45 for a Pixel 6 or $55 for a 6 Pro): “Google’s best mobile services, device protection, and regular device upgrades.”
However, on Tuesday, Google emailed Pixel Pass customers to say: “We are writing to you to inform you that starting today, we are no longer offering new Pixel Pass subscriptions or renewals.”
They’re not losing out on special paid-for privileges (the fee covered the cost of the phone and a discounted rate for the bundled services over its two-year timeframe). Still, disappointed customers in the Google Pixel subreddit mention things like losing a grandfathered-in lower rate from Google Play Music to join the Play Pass and losing access to bundled services they’d enjoyed as a part of the package.
Snagging a Pixel 6 subscription package in 2021 was supposed to set up a no-brainer upgrade process two years later, and now that option is considerably murkier for loyal Pixel customers, just as Google starts touting the new Pixel 8 lineup launch on October 4th.
The advertised “regular device upgrades” will never happen for anyone as part of Pixel Pass, even customers who battled Google’s servers to order a Pixel 6 the moment they became available (it’s me; I’m one of those people) because there’s still more than a month to go before the very first customers in would cross the two-year mark and be eligible to upgrade. It’s not surprising that Google added Pixel Pass to its ever-growing graveyard of canceled products and services, but the timing of the news is incredible.
The Pixel Pass offer stuck around through the launch of last year’s Pixel 7 series, but by May of this year, its Twitter account told a potential Pixel Fold owner that the package would not be available for that device, using language echoed in the explanation given to current subscribers this week.
Hi Chris, we are not offering Pixel Pass for Pixel Fold. There is no impact on current subscribers. We are focused on offering the best value of our hardware product while giving users the flexibility to purchase their favorite services. Hope this info helps. ^Mark
We offer the best value of our hardware products and give users the flexibility to purchase their favorite services. We continue to evaluate offers based on customer feedback and provide different ways for them to access the best of Google.
In the FAQ, Google argues that, actually, “you can still upgrade your Pixel device after 24 months,” with 0 percent APR financing available through either Google Fi or the Google Store and the same partner used for Pixel Pass, Synchrony Bank. You just can’t do it and maintain the Pixel Pass package once that expires.
That’s also why, according to the FAQ, Google isn’t offering a refund:
Refunds aren’t issued because we’re committed to fulfilling our promise for the full 2 year term on the Pixel Pass subscription. However, a $100 loyalty reward credit is issued to all active subscribers.
Subscribers, who subscribed through Google Store receive $100 Google Store credit to their account which can be used towards any Google Store purchase.
Subscribers, who subscribed through Google Fi Wireless receive a $100 coupon code which can be used towards a Pixel device purchase on Google Fi Wireless
A $100 credit isn’t exactly nothing, but it still stings since it’s only accessible by signing up for another go-round with the company that ran 22 months off the two-year clock before suddenly altering the deal.
If you enjoyed Baldur’s Gate 3, chances are you’ll also love these games. Here are seven games like Baldur’s Gate 3 that you have to play.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a triumph, but it’s not the only game in the genre. While we could simply recommend Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, there are various other games that bear a resemblance to Baldur’s Gate 3, be it in style, storytelling, or combat. Each of the below entries has something in common with the game, and chances are, if you’ve had an epic time in fantasy gaming’s most celebrated city, then you’ll also have a blast in one of the below games.
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Here are seven games like Baldur’s Gate 3 that we recommend you give a try. Some have stark differences, but all capture the spirit of the series and have lots of fans in common.
Pillars of Eternity (1 and 2)
ObsidianPillars of Eternity 2 let’s you embrace your inner pirate!
Pillars of Eternity and its sequel are both heavily inspired by the original Baldur’s Gate games, so much so that they were considered spiritual successors to the series – and may be the reason why Baldur’s Gate 3 was even greenlit. The Pillars games proved there was still a hunger for the series and this may well have sparked its return.
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The second game is especially fun, allowing players to crew their own ship and sail it around the world having adventures and smiting enemies with addictive turn-based combat. While both games are superb on any platform, we especially enjoyed the Switch ports which allowed us to carry on swashbuckling even when on the move!
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Divinity: Original Sin (1 and 2)
Larian StudiosDivinity Original Sin has a lot in common with Baldur’s Gate.
Divinity: Original Sin and its follow-up are both prequels to 2002’s Divine Divinity, a game that resembled Diablo in a lot of ways. However, both Divinity: Original Sin games take their inspiration more from Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 than Diablo.
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The games put you in the role of two early humans looking for the source of all Sin in an effort to save the world, as well as some excellent turn-based combat that is incredibly hard to put down. Both games also break new ground in how they allow you to customize the world around you, both in single-player and multiplayer, even letting you publish your edited worlds online for others to enjoy.
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Disco Elysium
ZA/UMDisco Elysium lets you approach the case in whichever way you think is best.
Disco Elysium combined elements of Baldur’s Gate, Fallout, and even Planescape: Torment into one single adventure set in a crumbling seaside resort that’s slowly recovering from an invasion several years ago.
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The player takes on the role of an amnesic detective who’s trying to solve a murder, while things get increasingly weird around them. The game doesn’t feature much in the way of combat, it’s mostly geared around the people you talk to and the choices you make. Those who enjoy this aspect of Baldur’s Gate will find a lot to love in Disco Elysium.
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Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (1 and 2)
Black Isle StudiosDark Alliance 2 is great for those looking for something similar to Diablo or early Baldur’s Gate games.
While a spinoff to the original two Baldur’s Gate games, the Dark Alliance series emulated Blizzard’s Diablo series by switching out the turn-based combat for some hack-and-slash action. It also worked remarkably well, the Dungeons and Dragons setting feeling like an ideal backdrop for such addictive loot-chasing action.
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Each game is a must-play for Baldur’s Gate fans and it’s worth pointing out that both have also been remastered on current systems. 2021’s Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance was considered a spiritual sequel but sadly didn’t live up to the legacy of the first two games.
Diablo 4
Blizzard EntertainmentDiablo 4 is the pinnacle of hack-and-slash combat.
If you fancy more hack-and-slash action in a similar vein to Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, then Diablo 4 is the game for you. Diablo and Baldur’s Gate have always been two games with a similar fan base, despite the obvious differences between both franchises, especially relating to combat. One being turn-based and the other hack-and-slash.
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Yet both games seem to occupy a similar space when it comes to top-down adventures with lots of rich lore, exploration, and enemies to destroy. Diablo 4 is the most recent entry in the series, taking a darker tone than Diablo 3, and pitting players against a more complicated enemy than just Diablo himself. Those who adore Baldur’s Gate 3 owe it to themselves to check out Diablo 4.
Octopath Traveller (1 and 2)
Square EnixOctopath Traveller 2 features a night-and-day system that changes the world around you.
Like Baldur’s Gate 3, both Octopath Traveller games tell a deep interconnected fantasy story with lots of characters whose destinies are linked. Each game features eight protagonists all on their own individual quests before each character becomes embroiled in a wider story that affects them all.
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In many ways, Octopath Traveller 1 and 2 are both tributes to the early 8-bit Final Fantasy games featuring a similar art style, but they stand on their own due to how replayable and deep each ‘Octopath’ ends up being. Baldur’s Gate 3 reminded us of these adventures, just as Octopath Traveller reminded us of Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2.
Elden Ring
FromSoftwareElden Ring brought Dark Souls into the light.
2022 belonged to Elden Ring and fantasy RPG fans who haven’t played it yet really need to finish reading this list and give it a try. A Souls game at its heart, Elden Ring is set in a vast open world where player choice is everything, breaking the mold from what had been previously expected from From Software games.
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Like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Diablo 4, Elden Ring is one of the most celebrated fantasy adventures of the current era and its influence can be felt all over BG4. While it features free-flowing combat rather than the turn-based battles of Baldur’s Gate, this is another game where the simplest choice could have gigantic ramifications on the story and world you’re in – if you can handle the difficulty.
Why not take a look at some of our other Baldur’s Gate 3 guides and content:
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is expanding availability of the generative AI-powered version of its search engine, dubbed Search Generative Experience (SGE), outside of the US. The software, which the company says is still an experiment, will soon be available in India and Japan.
SGE serves as a testbed for a future in which Google Search is intertwined with the conversational interface of a generative AI chatbot. India and Japan will allow Google to better gauge how SGE works at scale in different languages.
In India, the app will offer support for both Hindi and English, as well as voice search and audio responses. Users in both Japan and India will have to opt into using SGE.
In addition to growing the software's presence outside of the US, Google says it’s improving the way links to web pages appear in generative AI responses. Now, the company explained, generative AI answers will feature arrows next to them indicating drop down menus that, when clicked, show the websites where the search engine grabbed its information from.
Google is bringing generative AI to its search engine. But it's just a test for now. (Image: Google)
Google also offered a handful of insights into how early users are receiving SGE. According to Hema Budaraju, senior director of product management for Search, Google is seeing the highest rate of satisfaction among users between the ages of 18- and 24-years-old. In particular, Budaraju explained in a blog post, those users like being able to ask follow-up questions to their initial search queries.
“People tell us they find the suggested follow-up questions beneficial to see examples of how to refine their search, and they’re asking longer and more conversational questions in full sentences because generative AI in Search can help them quickly find what they're looking for,” Budaraju said.
“Overall, we’re seeing people try queries that they never may have thought they could search for before, creating new opportunities for Google to be helpful.”
Importantly, for Google’s business, Budaraju says that users are finding ads either above or below the large SGE box on the screen. Google earns the bulk of its revenue from ad sales, and reinventing the search engine experience meant having to figure out how ads would live alongside the SGE box. By acknowledging that users are still finding ads in SGE, Google is looking to assuage any concerns that change would be a negative for its ad business.
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SGE isn’t the only generative AI-powered search engine in town, though. Microsoft (MSFT) has been offering its generative AI-powered version of Bing search for months, giving it a sizable lead over Google, which is still testing SGE.
Microsoft is intent on stealing market share from Google bit by bit by keeping ahead in the generative AI space. In February, the Windows maker said that just 1% of market share in Search is worth $2 billion.
The two companies are locked in a back-and-forth over which will run away with the AI crown. Microsoft has been adding generative AI capabilities to both its consumer and enterprise products, including its Microsoft 365 productivity software.
On Tuesday, Google responded with its Duet AI in Workspace and Duet AI in Google Cloud. Adding to the competitive showdown, Google priced Duet AI in Workspace at $30 per month per user, the same amount Microsoft is charging for its Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Daniel Howleyis the tech editor at Yahoo Finance. He's been covering the tech industry since 2011. You can follow him on Twitter@DanielHowley.
WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Facebook parent company Meta, has just launched an app for Maccomputers.
In a continuing bid to compete with business video calling giant Zoom, the WhatsApp Mac app includes group audio and video calls for multiple people.
"Launching a new WhatsApp app for Mac. Group calls up to 8 people on video and 32 on audio," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted on his Instagram broadcast channel Tuesday morning.
WhatsApp had earlier launched a desktop app for Windows. Both desktop apps include end-to-end encryption of your calls and chats across your devices.
How to download WhatsApp for Mac
The app will be available on Apple's App Store soon, but for now here's how to download it onto your Mac:
SHENZHEN, China/SHANGHAI, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Chinese chip stocks rallied on Wednesday following Huawei Technologies' (HWT.UL) launch of its new Mate 60 Pro phone, as investors speculated it could be using a 5G capable chip which, if true, would be a win for China's local semiconductor sector.
Since 2019, Washington has restricted Huawei from buying advanced chips and software from U.S. companies, which has decimated its consumer electronics business and left it only able to launch limited batches of 5G models using stockpiled chips.
But research firms told Reuters last month that they believed Huawei was plotting a return to the 5G smartphone industry by procuring chips domestically, using its own advances in semiconductor design tools along with chipmaking from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (SMIC). Huawei declined to comment at the time.
On Tuesday, the company began selling its Mate 60 Pro around midday for 6,999 yuan ($960) in an unusually low-key fashion, having given no advance notice or conducted advertising. Staff at Huawei and sales personnel at stores in Beijing and Shenzhen also told Reuters they were caught off-guard.
The specifications provided for the Mate 60 advertised its ability to make satellite calls, but provided no information on the power of the chipset inside.
Still, online users who managed to purchase the phone began posting videos of themselves conducting tests that they said showed it could match the network speeds of 5G chipset phones as well as screenshots saying it used a Kirin 9000s chip. Reuters was unable to verify these claims.
The phone's launch also rose to be the number one most searched subject on Weibo, China's version of X, on Wednesday with excited netizens saying the launch marked the overcoming of U.S. restrictions.
In an indication that the phones were selling fast, by the afternoon Huawei's website said buyers would only be able to receive their phones earliest on Sept. 17.
Huawei, whose woes with Washington have become a key flashpoint in U.S.-China relations, declined to comment on whether the phone was 5G capable but said in a statement the Mate 60 series was its most powerful Mate model ever.
The launch of the Mate 60 Pro also coincided with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's visit to China. On Tuesday, she said the U.S. had rejected a Chinese request to reduce export controls on technology.
CHIP SHARES JUMP
China's semiconductor sector (.CSIH30184) jumped more than 2.5% on Wednesday, sending weekly gains to roughly 8%. China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp is up roughly 10% for the week.
Retail investor Lu Deyong said he bought shares in semiconductor firm Sai MicroElectronics Inc (300456.SZ), which has business connections with Huawei, and the tech-focused STAR 50 Index (.STAR50), following the launch of the new Huawei phone.
"Shares rose and I saw that large sums of money flowed in, which showed very good attitude toward the launch and the technology behind it," Lu said. "I cannot confirm if the technology is authentic, but I hope it is."
Nicole Peng, Senior VP of Mobility at Canalys, said it would be crucial for Huawei to provide clarification on its technology, given the high level of market interest.
"If it is indeed true that Huawei is able to develop own 5G SoC (system-on-chip) that exceeds industry current development timeline, it signals a significant leap in its R&D capabilities. It creates huge disruption to the semi industry especially to its competitors," she said.
"On the other hand, the doubt surrounding Huawei's ability to develop 5G SoC and its vagueness about the product and launch could harm its credibility in the long run. It could turn south if the claims are false."
($1 = 7.2897 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by David Kirton in Shenzhen, Jason Xue in Shanghai and Mo Yelin in Beijing; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Sharon Singleton
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praćenje prekida rada i zaštitu od neželjenog sadržaja, prijevara i zloupotrebe
mjerenje angažmana publike i prikupljanje statističkih podataka o web-lokacijama da bismo razumjeli kako se upotrebljavaju naše usluge i da bismo poboljšali kvalitetu tih usluga.
Ako odaberete Prihvati sve, kolačiće i podatke koristit ćemo i za sljedeće:
razvoj i poboljšanje novih usluga
isporuku oglasa i mjerenje njihove učinkovitosti
prikazivanje prilagođenog sadržaja, ovisno o vašim postavkama
prikazivanje prilagođenih oglasa, ovisno o vašim postavkama.
Ako odaberete Odbij sve, nećemo upotrebljavati kolačiće u te dodatne svrhe.
Na neprilagođeni sadržaj i oglase utječu čimbenici kao što su sadržaj koji trenutačno gledate i vaša lokacija (posluživanje oglasa temelji se na općoj lokaciji). Prilagođeni sadržaj i oglasi mogu uključivati i stvari kao što su preporuke videozapisa, prilagođena YouTubeova početna stranica i prilagođeni oglasi na temelju prethodne aktivnosti, primjerice videozapisa koje gledate i sadržaja koje tražite na YouTubeu. Kolačiće i podatke upotrebljavamo i kako bismo prilagodili dobnu primjerenost doživljaja, ako je to relevantno.
Odaberite Više opcija da biste vidjeli dodatne informacije, uključujući pojedinosti o upravljanju postavkama privatnosti. Možete posjetiti i g.co/privacytools kad god želite.
Dolby Laboratories today announced Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, a feature with the potential to add flexibility and simplicity to home theater audio setups. The company says FlexConnect allows supporting TVs to optimize Dolby Atmos audio output among the TV's speakers and paired wireless speakers. Currently, Dolby is only announcing the feature with upcoming TCL TVs, but it could expand elsewhere.
FlexConnect, which will work with Atmos, 5.1, and stereo sound, is about adapting to people's audio setups, with considerations for things like speaker count and placement. The upcoming feature aims to bolster Atmos audio in situations where speaker placement is limited due to obstacles like room size, furniture, or outlet locations.
According to Dolby, FlexConnect will mean users can hear the same experience regardless of where they're sitting in the room, and that audio is tweaked based on each speaker's location and capabilities.
Ars Technica asked Dolby to elaborate on this, and a company spokesperson told us:
After each speaker is placed, the TV will undergo an automatic calibration using acoustic mapping, [using TV microphones], to understand the location of each speaker. The TV then intelligently and seamlessly optimizes the sound image after analyzing this data combined with information the TV can gather on each speaker’s acoustic capabilities. Together, this information allows the TV to adjust the rendering of each speaker to optimize the sound to ensure listeners are enjoying a great audio experience.
An example of how FlexConnect could adapt audio based on speaker capabilities is with low frequencies, which many TVs struggle with. If there's a more capable speaker connected, the TV's speakers could "offload the bass to these speakers, which frees up power to allocate to other parts of the frequency spectrum," Dolby's spokesperson said.
"This could allow the TV speakers to allocate more power to dialogue, ensuring the best combination of bass and intelligibility," the rep said.
Dolby also provided an example of how FlexConnect could adapt audio based on speaker location. If a user puts two wireless speakers in the back of the room, FlexConnect "will put more of the audio load onto the TV speakers so that the TV speakers cover the front soundstage and the dialogue." But if the wireless speakers were in the front of the room, the TV/center speakers would focus on dialogue.
Currently, Dolby's refraining from saying that FlexConnect will work with all brands of wireless speakers. We asked Dolby about which speaker brands the feature will support and will update you if we hear back. However, platform-agnosticism would make FlexConnect much more valuable. There are already similar TV features that lock you into a certain brand, such as Samsung Q-Symphony, which synchronizes audio with supporting Samsung TV speakers and Samsung soundbars, and LG Wow Orchestra, which synchronizes audio with supporting LG TVs and LG soundbars, or Sony's Acoustic Center Sync, which (I think you know where we're going with this) synchronizes supporting Sony TV speakers with an external Sony soundbar or audio system and claims to help sound to "match exactly what's displayed on the screen, exactly where the character is standing in the scene." Unlike some of those features, like Q-Symphony, FlexConnect doesn't require an HDMI or optical cable-connected soundbar, though.
If Dolby manages to get FlexConnect shared across many TV brands, it could eventually streamline home theater audio setups for mainstream users. At present, though, only TCL's 2024 TV lineup has committed to supporting FlexConnect. Unless other TV brands implement FlexConnect, its reach is limited. The feature also relies on central TV speakers, which could have varying quality among models, though you could supplement that with external speakers.
Dolby said it will demo FlexConnect at the IFA 2023 trade show in Berlin that starts this Friday.
Correction: This article previously stated the FlexConnect only works with Atmos content, but it also works with stereo and 5.1 channel sound. Dolby also reached out to inform us that it can't confirm the feature will work with wireless speakers of any brand.
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Apple's next-generation iPad Pro will launch alongside a redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory that makes the device more laptop-like, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the next-generation iPad Pro will be the first major update to the product since 2018, introducing "fundamental changes." The new models, apparently codenamed "J717," "J718," "J720," and "J721," will feature the M3 Apple silicon chip, OLED displays, and 11- and 13-inch size options.
Along with the significant overhaul of the tablet itself, the updated version of the Magic Keyboard for iPad will offer a larger trackpad, addressing criticisms of the current model, and "makes the iPad Pro look even more like a laptop than the current setup."
The new iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard are not expected to debut until the spring or early summer of 2024, and anything other than minor updates to the other iPad models are not anticipated to arrive before then. The significant refresh to the product line could boost Apple's sluggish tablet sales next year.
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Once considered an important gaming platform—Bungie revealed Halo at the 1999 MacWorld conference, believe it or not—the Mac’s gaming popularity shrunk alongside Mac sales at the turn of the millennium. Windows grew to dominate computer gaming and has ruled ever since.
But Apple’s release of faster, more efficient Apple Silicon chips, as well as improvements to the company’s Metal API and a new Game Porting Toolkit meant to make Windows ports to the Mac less difficult, have set the stage for a new era of Mac gaming.
So, what’s the best Mac for gaming?
Apple Mac Studio
The Best Mac for Gaming
This question has a clear answer. The Apple Mac Studio is the best Mac for gaming and, frankly, it’s not even close.
The key to the Mac Studio’s performance is Apple’s M2 Ultra. It’s a 24-core CPU with 38-core Neural Engine (though this is largely irrelevant to gaming). The base M2 Ultra also has 60 GPU cores, 64GB of memory, and 1TB of storage, all priced at $3,999. A 76-core GPU upgrade is available for an extra $1,000, bumping the price up to $4,999.
This represents the absolute pinnacle of modern Mac performance. Even the Mac Pro, a full-sized desktop tower, provides the same Apple M2 Ultra chips with equivalent GPU core counts. The bulk of the Mac Pro’s size is devoted to space add-in cards, which are unnecessary for modern Mac gaming (the Mac Pro’s internal slots aren’t compatible with graphics cards).
Are you on a more modest budget? The least expensive Mac Studio is a good choice. It has Apple’s M2 Max (instead of the M2 Ultra) with a 12-core CPU and 30-core GPU. Gamers can upgrade to a 38-core GPU for a mere $200 which, I think, is a great value. Gamers should be fine with the basic Mac Studio’s 32GB of unified system memory but should upgrade the standard 512GB solid state drive to a 1TB drive. These upgrades put the retail price at $2,399 which, though expensive, is $1,100 less than an equivalent MacBook Pro 16.
Put simply, the Mac Studio offers the most potent CPU and GPU available in any modern Mac, and also provides the best bang-for-your-buck of any modern Mac. That makes it the obvious choice for Mac gamers.
Apple MacBook Pro 16
The Best MacBook for Gaming
There’s just one problem with the Mac Studio. It’s a desktop.
We recommend buying a gaming desktop over a gaming laptop whenever possible, but laptops excel when gaming isn’t the only thing you’re trying to accomplish with your computer—which is likely true if you’re buying a Mac for gaming.
The MacBook Pro 16 has absurdly good battery life, a great keyboard and touchpad, strong speakers, and excellent wired and wireless connectivity. It also has a 16-inch Mini-LED with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and HDR support.
Performance isn’t bad, either. The base MacBook Pro 16 ships with an Apple M2 Pro that has 12 CPU cores and 19 GPU cores, but gamers can upgrade to an M2 Max with up to 12 CPU cores and 38 GPU cores. The full-fat Pro 16 will perform roughly the same as the mid-range Mac Studio, though the Studio’s superior cooling may help it outperform in long gaming sessions.
You’ll pay nearly for the MacBook Pro 16’s portability, however. As mentioned earlier, a top-tier Apple MacBook Pro 16 with Apple M2 Pro, 38-core GPU, and 1TB solid state drive is $1,100 more expensive than Mac Studio with the same hardware. That’s a big gap.
What about the MacBook Pro 14? Actually, it’s more viable than you might think. Gamers can equip it with the same Apple M2 Pro with 38-core GPU. However, reviews of the MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 have consistently found the smaller Pro 14, which has less room for internal cooling, is roughly 5 to 10 percent slower in benchmarks. I recommend sticking to the Pro 16, but the Pro 14 could make sense if you travel frequently and prefer a smaller machine.
Apple Mac Mini
The Best Budget Mac for Gaming
Apple Mac mini
Powered by Apple’s M2 Pro chip with a 10-Core CPU, a 16-Core GPU, and a 16-Core Neural Engine, this tiny computer breezes through heavy tasks like video editing.
The price of the recommendations I’ve made so far may leave you disheartened. All of them ring up well above $2,000, and the best Macs for gaming easily exceed $3,000. That’s a lot of money. So, what’s a budget-conscious Mac gamer to do?
Just buy the Mac Mini.
You can snag a Mac Mini for as little as $599. That model only has an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, however, so it’s rather slow. Gamers should upgrade to the Mac Mini with Apple M2 Pro, which comes in two flavors. The $1,299 Mac Mini with M2 Pro has a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, and a $300 upgrade boosts that to a 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU.
Going this route has its issues. The M2 Pro isn’t bad, but it’s far less powerful than the Mac Studio or MacBook Pro 16. You’ll want to stick to gaming at 1080p in most titles. The Mac Mini with M2 Pro also has 16GB of unified memory and a small 512GB solid state drive. Further upgrades are available but prohibitively expensive, so I don’t recommend them.
Still, the Mac Mini is more than capable of handling titles with native Apple Silicon support at 1080p and 30 to 60 frames per second (and sometimes more). And, as you might expect, it should fly through translated or ported versions of older 3D and 2D titles. Emulation is quite good, with good performance in titles up to the PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 era, as well as some Wii U and Switch games.
Should You Really Buy a Mac for Gaming?
Now you know which Mac is best for gaming. But does Mac gaming really make sense in 2023? Should you buy a Mac or a PC?
Well, that depends.
No Man’s Sky, which recently received a high-profile port to the Mac, plays beautifully on the Mac Studio. Setting the game to maximum detail at 4K resolution results in roughly 120 frames per second (FPS) on a Mac Studio with M2 Ultra and up to 60 FPS on a Mac Studio with M2 Max. Resident Evil Village also runs well at 4K and maximum detail, achieving 80 to 100 FPS on the M2 Ultra and 40 to 50 FPS on the M2 Max.
That’s plenty playable, but way behind similarly priced Windows desktops. $2,000 will snag you a potent desktop with Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7000-series processor alongside an Nvidia RTX 4070/4080 or AMD RX 7900XT graphics card. Hardware like that easily exceeds 120 FPS in both games.
The Mac’s bang-for-your-buck further sours when considering games that lack a native Apple Silicon port. Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit is so simple that individual players can port a game with a few clicks, but performance frequently disappoints. The Mac Studio with M2 Ultra, for example, averages less than 60 FPS in Diablo 4 at 4K resolution and medium detail. That’s similar to a Windows desktop with an Nvidia RTX 2070 or AMD RX 6600XT.
While the Mac’s performance generally falls short of Windows alternatives, the Mac does offer one exciting perk: MetalFX, an upscaling solution similar to Intel’s XeSS and AMD’s FSR. It’s an impressive, effective solution that improves performance by rendering games at a lower-than-native resolution and algorithmically upscaling the image back to the target resolution. It’s so effective, in fact, that there’s little reason to ever turn it off. MetalFX doesn’t offer AI frame generation like that of Nvidia’s DLSS3, but Apple Silicon chips include a Neural Engine that’s left twiddling its thumbs in games. Perhaps Apple will someday tap into that hardware to further improve game performance.
So, should you buy a Mac for gaming? That depends on whether you’d normally buy a Mac at all. Choosing a Mac with a capable GPU makes sense if you prefer MacOS and would never buy a WIndows alternative. If you’re fine with Windows, however, it still offers a better gaming experience.
What About a Mac With Intel inside?
Savvy Mac gamers might turn their attention towards a potential loophole: a Mac with Intel inside?
An Intel-powered Mac offers an important feature not found on any Mac with Apple Silicon: support for external GPUs. In theory, you could upgrade any Intel-powered Mac with a Thunderbolt port with a powerful Nvidia or AMD graphics card. This arguably offers benefits for game support, too, because older Mac ports were designed for Intel-powered Macs, not Apple Silicon.
There’s a few problems with this idea.
Apple no longer sells Intel Macs (the Mac Pro with Intel, last of its line, was discontinued in June of 2023), Intel-powered Macs can be obtained through third-party sellers, but pricing varies wildly and finding a trustworthy seller can be difficult.
Buying an Intel Mac also means buying into a dead hardware ecosystem. MacOS Sonoma, the latest version of MacOS set for release in late 2023, will drop support for a wide swath of Intel-powered Macs sold as recently as 2017. This trend is likely to continue, and may even accelerate, as Apple focuses on Macs with Apple Silicon.
And then there’s the killing blow: Apple’s external GPU support was always rather terrible. Apple only provides support for some AMD graphics cards and a handful of external GPU enclosures. Other AMD cards and enclosures might work, but it’s not guaranteed. High-end external GPUs can suffer performance limitations, as well, since Thunderbolt’s maximum bandwidth can’t match an internal PCIe Gen 4 x16 connection.
A New Era for Mac Gaming
The Mac hasn’t dethroned Windows yet and, if we’re real, it’s unlikely to do so any time soon. Still, the performance of new Mac desktops and laptops armed with Apple Silicon is impressive, and Apple’s efforts to make Mac ports easier suggest a new era of high-performance Mac ports is on the horizon. The best Macs for gaming—including the Mac Studio, MacBook Pro 16, and Mac Mini—are impressive machines that handle many modern 3D games with ease.
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