Back in November, Apple quietly published a research article about the Neural Accelerators in the M5 chip. The numbers are wild.
The base M5 MacBook Pro already delivers up to 4x faster time-to-first-token compared to the M4 when running large language models through MLX. Image generation with FLUX is 3.8x faster. This is on the base chip with 24GB of unified memory.
Think about what happens when the M5 Pro and M5 Max show up with more memory bandwidth and more Neural Accelerators. And eventually the M5 Ultra in the Mac Studio.
Right now, people serious about running local AI often look at expensive PC builds with dedicated GPUs. The M5 generation might change that math entirely. A well-configured M5 Max MacBook Pro or Mac Studio could become the machine for people who want to run models locally, privately, on their own hardware.
Apple’s unified memory architecture was always a theoretical advantage for AI workloads. With the M5’s Neural Accelerators, that advantage is becoming very real. If you’re interested in local AI and you’re on an M3 or earlier, I’d wait for these announcements before buying anything.
Anthropic has recently released a Claude update that lets it do actual work for you in the background. In this example I have it take a folder full of scans and rename them with the internal date and document description based on Claude’s review of the file content.
… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? If you’re already a member, you can log in here.
Three weeks ago, Rivian started supporting Apple Wallet car keys. I set it up immediately. (I made a video on it in the MacSparky Labs)
Before this, unlocking my car required pulling out my phone and waiting for a Bluetooth connection. It worked, but it wasn’t great. Sometimes I’d be standing at the door like an idiot while my phone figured things out.
One out of fifteen times, it just didn’t work, and I had to pull out the credit-card style key from my wallet and tap it against the door.
The Wallet car key is different. I walk up, and when I’m about five feet away, the car unlocks. Every damn time. Three weeks in, it hasn’t failed once.
I still carry the credit card backup key in my wallet. Old habits. But if this streak continues for another few weeks, that backup is coming out. One less thing to carry.
I hope this goes wide. Every car manufacturer should be on board with this.
I recently discovered this clever little widget app that lets you create classy looking time left widgets on your devices. [Left](https://left-time.app) is a well-made app with a lot of potential use cases.… This is a post for the MacSparky Labs Pathfinder and Insider members. Care to join? If you’re already a member, you can log in here.
I think I first bought OmniOutliner at version 2. I remember it came in shrink wrap at a computer store.
Regardless, I’ve been using the application for a long time. I’ve used it to outline countless contracts, depositions, trial examinations, MacSparky videos, books, and podcasts ever since. In my opinion, it is the best-in-class outliner for the Mac.
And now version 6 just dropped.
OmniOutliner 6 brings some welcome changes. The interface got a modernization pass, with Liquid Glass design elements that look great on current Apple hardware. There are also new Dynamic Themes that adjust automatically based on your system settings.
The big news for me is Omni Links. These let you create connections between documents and specific rows within outlines. If you’re the kind of person who builds complex, interconnected projects (and if you’re using OmniOutliner seriously, you probably are), this is going to matter.
The Omni Group also added support for querying Apple Intelligence through their Omni Automation system. I’m still exploring what this means in practice, but the ability to bring AI queries into your outlining workflow has potential.
For the first time, OmniOutliner is now truly universal across Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro. Same features everywhere. That’s been a long time coming.
If you’ve been on the fence about OmniOutliner, or if you’ve let your outlining practice slip, version 6 is a good reason to take another look. The Omni Group continues to make serious software for people who want to think clearly and organize their ideas.
I’ve simplified my Home Screen setup and automation. In this video, I walk you through the changes I’ve made.
… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? If you’re already a member, you can log in here.
Indulge me with this one as I share a brilliant little tool to make custom tool storage using AI, CAD software, and a 3D Printer.… This is a post for the MacSparky Labs Pathfinder and Insider members. Care to join? If you’re already a member, you can log in here.
Apple announced Creator Studio this week, bundling Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage along with enhanced versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote into a $130/year subscription.
My feelings are mixed. Every time Apple rolls out a new subscription, I get a little leery. The company’s increasing focus on services revenue feels like a slow drift away from the traditional model: make great hardware, sell it, move on. I understand the business logic. I just notice the shift.
That said, I’m genuinely relieved about Pixelmator Pro. When Apple acquired it, I feared the app would get thrown into a wood chipper and turned into new features for Photos. Instead, it survives intact and gains an iPad version. For someone who uses and loves Pixelmator Pro, this is good news.
The creator tools lineup is impressive. I use Final Cut and Pixelmator often. Compressor renders my MacSparky Labs deliverables. MainStage is part of my music practice routine. I fire up Logic occasionally. These are serious applications, and $130/year to keep them current feels reasonable to me.
I also appreciate that Apple preserved the option to buy these apps outright. You’re not forced into a subscription. If you prefer a one-time purchase, that path remains open. This flexibility acknowledges that different users have different preferences, and it’s a smart move.
So what’s the problem?
The iWork suite.
Pages, Numbers, and Keynote have been free for years. They’ll stay free. But now there’s a separate tier within Creator Studio that adds new templates and Apple Intelligence features to these apps. If you want those extras, you need the $130 subscription.
From conversations with MacSparky Labs members, this isn’t landing well. Many of them have zero interest in Final Cut or Logic. They just want the latest iWork features. Asking them to pay $130 for that feels unreasonable.
Could Apple offer a cheaper iWork-only tier? Maybe $30/year? Possibly, but that starts to feel like nickel-and-diming. Apple is a multi-trillion dollar company in the middle of a major push to make Apple Intelligence central to everything they do. The better answer is simpler: make those iWork features free for everyone.
If I had a magic wand, I’d remove the iWork suite from Creator Studio entirely. The new templates and AI features would roll out as free updates to apps that are already free. The Creator Studio subscription would focus on what it should focus on: professional creative tools for people who actually use them.
By trying to sweeten the Creator Studio deal with iWork additions, Apple ended up frustrating users who don’t need video editing or music production software but do want the best version of Pages or Keynote. It’s a bundle that serves almost nobody perfectly.
I suspect the ship has sailed on this one. But I hope Apple course corrects.
