Mac Power Users 717: The Apple Notes Deep Dive

While it had humble beginnings, Apple Notes has grown into a true competitor over the years. On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I explore its history, features, and where Apple should take it next.

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About the M3 Performance

As the MacBook Pros with M3 are hitting the wild, we are getting more data on their performance. It’s looking like a roughly 20% increase over the M2 generation. The M3 Max chip is clocking about the same speed as the M2 Ultra, which is impressive.

I did not think the succeeding generations of Apple silicon would improve that much year over year. I hope Apple can keep it up.

“Shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max”

Perhaps the biggest news of the Scary Fast Apple event is that Apple shot the whole thing on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. So the Mac event was, at least, kind of about the iPhone. It’s remarkable how far the iPhone has come as a camera.

Apple shared details of how they did it. There’s some really nice equipment in this footage which begs the question, did they use iPhones to shoot the video about using the iPhone to shoot the event?

This Month in the MacSparky Labs

Here’s what took place in the Labs for the month of October 2023:

  • 2023-10-31 – MacSparky Labs “Scary Fast” Meetup (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-30 – An Update on Today’s “Scary Fast” Apple Event (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-27 – The Lab Report – 27 October 2023 (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-27 – Labs FOD: Tim Stringer’s Stream Decks (Labs 2)
  • 2023-11-25 – October Deep Dive – Maker and Manager (Labs 3)
  • 2023-10-25 – The Endor Studios Recording Setup (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-24 – Building Interactive Keynote Presentations (Labs 2)
  • 2023-10-20 – The Lab Report – 20 October 2023 (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-19 – Labs Focus Session (Labs 2)
  • 2023-10-18 – Portable Zoom Station (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-17 – Testing Lex (Labs 3)
  • 2023-10-13 – Lab Report – 13 October 2023 (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-12 – Contextual Email (Labs 2)
  • 2023-10-11 – October Labs Meetup (Labs 2)
  • 2023-10-10 – Exploring Default Folder X 6 (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-06 – Lab Report – October 6 (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-05 – September 2023 Deep Dive – iOS 17 (Video) (Labs 3)
  • 2023-10-05 – September 2023 Deep Dive – iOS 17 (Audio) (Labs 3)
  • 2023-10-04 – MurmurType (Labs 2)
  • 2023-10-03 – Sparky’s Super Action Button (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-02 – Sparky’s Q4 Planning (Labs 1)
  • 2023-10-02 – Labs Focus Session (Labs 2)

If you’d like to be a part of the MacSparky Labs, you can get more information and join right here.

A Few Thoughts on Apple’s “Scary Fast” Event and Announcements

Last night, Apple did a prime-time event where they shared a little news and some new hardware. I’ve got a few thoughts:

  • The 5:00 P.M. Pacific start time was a brain-bender for me. As I went through the day, I kept forgetting there was still an Apple Event later. Is this what it always feels like in Europe?
  • I’ve already heard complaints about the fact the event was only 30 minutes. I liked it. They didn’t have more to say. They didn’t add fluff or silly demos. In. Out. Thank you very much.
  • I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but I’ve always felt Johny Srouji is just kind of scary. It’s those eyes. So, of course, on a Halloween-adjacent announcement, he starts, “Welcome to my lab!”. I love that he leans into it.
  • We got M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max all in one go. I hope that is the way of the future. I’d expect the M3 Ultra sometime next year (along with MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro).
  • The graphics sounds like the big winner here. If you are doing graphics-heavy work, this may be for you.
  • We got M3 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. It appears the 13-inch MacBook Pro is now gone. In its place is a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an entry-level M3 chip. That’s a win. If you loved the Touch Bar, I’m sorry.
  • We also got news of an updated 24” iMac with the M3 chip. Same colors. Same form-factor. Just faster. I sure would have liked them to announce an M3 Pro iMac with a bigger screen to go along with it. I hear from a lot of people that want a Mac like that.
  • I expected the peripherals to all switch over to USB-C. However, it looks like that’s not happening yet.
  • Apple makes the M3 sound like a significant improvement. They are trying to convince remaining Intel chip owners and even leaning a bit on M1 users. If you’re in that second category and your M1 iMac s fine, don’t worry about it. The M1-equipped Macs are still really great computers.

Now, we can say Apple is done for the year. Before you know it, we’ll be in 2024, which will be all about the Vision Pro.