MacBook Pro reviews are in — it’s a monster! (CultCast #672)

The CultCast

This week, reviews are in — and the M4 Macbook Pro performance is absolutely mind blowing. Is it finally time to upgrade from M1? Plus: When to expect the next big MacBook redesign with OLED displays, new features in iOS 18.2, the next big step in Apple silicon… and the Under Review you’ve been waiting for!

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This week’s stories:

M4 MacBook Pro review roundup: Truly pro at every level

• Apple’s latest M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro refresh brings significant improvements to its professional laptop line, with reviewers praising the upgraded base model and impressive performance gains across the board.

M4 Pro and Max benchmarks show M2 Ultra who’s boss

• Early Geekbench 6 benchmark results show impressive performance improvements for the new M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.

The next major MacBook design refresh arrives in 2026

• Mark Gurman, in his latest Power On newsletter, says the big MacBook Pro overhaul will arrive in 2026 rather than 2025, when some people expected it.

iOS 18.2 beta 2: All the new features and changes

• A couple of weeks after releasing the first iOS 18.2 beta with new Apple Intelligence features, Apple seeded the second beta to developers with several new features.

iPhone 17 could use Apple’s new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip

• Apple might switch to in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips starting with next year’s iPhone 17. The company plans to fully transition to its custom Wi-Fi chips within three years after that.

Under Review: Fujifilm X100VI