Tag Archives: M3

tip : which Apple devices will support …OS 26 ?

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Question :
At the 2025 WWDC Apple introduced beta versions of the Apple OSes that will be released this fall as …OS 26.

Which devices will support these new versions of Apple OSes ?

Answer :
The latest info of the system requirements of the …OS 26 is as follows :

macOS 26 Tahoe

  • MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (2020) M1 and newer
  • MacBook Pro 16″ (2019)
  • MacBook Pro 13″ (2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
  • MacBook Air with Apple silicon (2020) M1 and newer
  • iMac (2021) M1 and newer
  • iMac 27″ (2020)
  • Mac mini (2020) M1 and newer
  • Mac Studio (2022) M1 and newer
  • Mac Pro (2019) and newer

iOS 26

  • iPhone 11 (2019) and newer : including all Pro/mini/Max/Plus-versions and iPhone 16e
  • iPhone SE 2nd gen (2020) and newer

iPadOS 26

  • iPad Pro 13″ with Apple silicon (2024) M4
  • iPad Pro 12.9″ 3rd gen (2018) and newer
  • iPad Pro 11″ 1st gen (2019) and newer
  • iPad Air with Apple silicon (2022) M1 and newer
  • iPad Air 3rd gen (2019) and newer
  • iPad 8th gen (2020) and newer
  • iPad mini 5th gen (2019) and newer

watchOS 26

  • AppleWatch Series 6 (2020) and newer
  • AppleWatch SE 2nd gen (2022)
  • AppleWatch Ultra (2022) and newer

tvOS 26

  • without Liquid Glass interface support : AppleTV HD (2015)
  • without Liquid Glass interface support : AppleTV 4K 1st gen (2017)
  • including Liquid Glass : AppleTV 4K 2nd gen (2021) and newer

not upgradeable to Apple …OS 26 :

  • MacBooks stuck at macOS 15 Sequoia : MacBook Air 13″ (2020 with Intel Core), MacBook Pro 13″ (2019 with Two Thunderbolt 3 ports & any 2018), MacBook Pro 15″ (2019 & 2018)
  • Macs stuck at macOS 15 Sequoia : Mac mini (2018), iMac Pro (2017) & iMac (2019)
  • iPhones stuck at iOS 18 : iPhone XR (2018) & XS / XS Max (2018)
  • iPads stuck at iPadOS 18 : iPad 7th gen (2019)
  • AppleWatches stuck at watchOS 12 : AppleWatch SE 1st gen (2020)
  • AppleWatches stuck at watchOS 10 : AppleWatch Series 4 (2018) & Series 5 (2019)

fixed : which Macs, iPads and iPhones can Apple Intelligence run on ?

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Question :
As Apple is starting to roll out it’s own version of AI, entitled Apple Intelligence, the most important question seems to be :

Is my current Mac, iPad or iPhone able to run Apple Intelligence ?


Answer :
Apple has published the specs needed for Apple Intelligence :
– OS specs : iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 or macOS 15.3 Sequoia or newer
– software specs : Siri needs to be turned ON
– CPU specs : A17 Pro, A18 or M1 or newer

translating the CPU specs into device specs :

iPhone : iPhone 16 / 16 Plus (2024) and newer
iPhone Pro : iPhone 15 Pro / 15 Pro Max (2023) and newer
iPhone SE : iPhone 16e (2025) and newer
iPad : -none- !! not even the iPad 11 (2025) !!
iPad mini : iPad mini 7th gen. (2024) and newer
iPad Air : iPad Air 5th gen. (2022) and newer
iPad Pro : iPad Pro 3rd gen. [11″] & 5th gen. [12.9″] (2021) and newer
MacBook : -none- !! the latest MacBooks from 2017 were Intel-based !!
MacBook Air : MacBook Air M1 (2020) and newer
MacBook Pro : MacBook Pro M1 (Late 2020) and newer
iMac : iMac M1 (2021) and newer
Mac mini : Mac mini M1 (2020) and newer
Mac Studio : Mac Studio M1 (2022) and newer
Mac Pro : Mac Pro M2 (2023) and newer

At the time of writing (March 2025) Apple Intelligence does come with the current OS versions in beta only… the general release date planned for April 2025 seems to be postponed.
If the official general release has only been postponed for certain regions (e.g. the EU) is not clear. According to Apple, the initial release will only include English, Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese and Korean. Other languages will follow later on, but Dutch will probably not be one of the first to join.



fixed : trackpad moving but not clicking after sleep mode

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Question :
I have a MacBook Air M4 and it works great. But there’s a problem that I’m encountering that I’ve never seen before on any of my Macs : when my MacBook wakes from sleep mode, I can move the cursor without any problems, but clicking the trackpad to do a ‘mouse click’ to activate anything on screen doesn’t work… the only solution I’ve found until now is to reboot my MacBook using the power button, but that is a very annoying solution…

Is my MacBook’s trackpad broken ? Or is this a software problem that I can fix myself ?

Answer :
There is a small chance you have run into a hardware failure (meaning your MacBook’s trackpad is broken), but it’s far more logical that the problem you are encountering is a software problem :
Did you recently use a wireless Magic Mouse with your MacBook maybe ?
If so, just make sure you have your Magic Mouse turned OFF when you’re not using it.
That’s it !

Even if your Magic Mouse is in another room and/or in a bag, it can interfere with your MacBook’s trackpad, especially after waking from sleep your MacBook can automatically connect to the Magic Mouse and if anything is pressing on it, your MacBook will think that you are already clicking the mouse button and therefore it will not register any clicking of the mousepad…
If you manually switch OFF your Magic Mouse if you’re done using it (so before you put it in your laptop case), your problem will be fixed.

The above could also occur if you use another type or brand of bluetooth mouse (or external trackpad, controller or joystick) with your MacBook.

If you have never used a bluetooth mouse or controller with your MacBook and you still encounter this problem, it will usually be fixed by resetting the PRAM (and NVRAM) :
– shut down your MacBook
– restart your MacBook using the power button
– then, immediately (during the first stage of reboot) press and hold this key-combo :
[CMD]+[ALT]+[P]+[R]
– keep holding the key-combo when your MacBook restarts
– release the key-combo when you hear the macOS startup chime (sound) for the second time and wait for your MacBook to start up

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

tip : a more affordable alternative for the Apple Studio Display

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Question :
I used to have an Apple Cinema Display and I loved it… I have had it for about 15 years, but recently it broke down… I tried to find someone or someway to repair it as I thought it could just be something simple, but since it’s so old there isn’t any warranty and no repair parts…
I will have to buy a replacement… but the current Apple Studio Display (from 2022) and the Apple Pro Display XDR are completely over-budget… since they cost at least €1.500…
I understand that some professional users might have a need for something like that, but for me, something a little more basic (and cheaper) would probably do just fine…

Is there any more affordable display that is especially suited for use with my Mac ?


Answer :
Yes, there is.
BenQ has released a display (in 2 different sizes) that is specially developed for allround use with a MacBook (or Mac mini) : MA270U and MA320U.
These are both 4K-screens (both 3840×2160 pixels, so no need for the 32″ if you are within 1m of the screen), and the rest of the specs are equal : tilt-able screen (90º rotation), adjustable stand, anti-reflective screen surface, 2x USB-C, 2x regular USB-A, 2x HDMI2.0, 2x 3W stereo speakers and a headphone-jack. One of the USB-C ports is 90W powered to allow for ‘single cable’ data & charging connection to a MacBook (Pro/Air). And using the FREE BenQ Diplay Pilot 2 software, you can clone, sync & adjust the display (and audio) settings from your MacBook (Pro/Air).

This is the download link for the Display Pilot 2 software.

The regular price of the 27″ version (MA270U) is €500, so check out below if you can get a better price on Amazon [we get a tiny fee if you buy anything using these links, but you will not be paying anything extra] :

BenQ 27″ Monitor for MacBook (MA270U) on Amazon US
BenQ 27″ Monitor for MacBook (MA270U) on Amazon UK
BenQ 27″ Monitor for MacBook (MA270U) on Amazon DE

The regular price of the 32″ version (MA320U) is €600, so check out below if you can get a better price on Amazon [we get a tiny fee if you buy anything using these links, but you will not be paying anything extra] :

BenQ 32″ Monitor for MacBook (MA320U) on Amazon US
BenQ 32″ Monitor for MacBook (MA320U) on Amazon UK
BenQ 32″ Monitor for MacBook (MA320U) on Amazon DE

Note 1 : as mentioned before, both of these screens are 4K, so you will not get more pixels (so no extra screen space), just bigger pixels (which some might even regard as a ‘less sharp’ picture…), so do you really want to pay €100 extra for that ?

Note 2 : using the BenQ DP1310 docking station, you can hook up 3 monitors with 4K-resolution simultaneously to any Silicon (M1/M2/M3) Mac.
(due to hardware limitations only Macs with the M1 Max, M2 Max and M3 Max cpu-versions can directly connect to more than 2 monitors with 4k-resolution simultaneously, find more retails on this here).

The regular price of the DP1310 Dock is ca. €300, so check out below if you can get a better price on Amazon [we get a tiny fee if you buy anything using these links, but you will not be paying anything extra] :

BenQ beCreatus DP1310 dock on Amazon US
BenQ beCreatus DP1310 dock on Amazon UK
BenQ beCreatus DP1310 dock on Amazon DE

Note 3 : the BenQ Display Pilot 2 software can also be used for other BenQ monitors :
EW2790U 
MA320U / MA270U 
RD240Q / RD280U / RD280UA / RD320U / RD320UA
PD3220U / PD2725U / PD3420Q / PD2706U / PD2706UA / PD2705U / PD2705UA / PD3205U / PD3205UA / PD2506Q / PD2705Q / PD3225U / PD3206U / PD2706QN
and the previous version of the Display Pilot software (version 1) is available for these BenQ monitors :
PD2500Q / PD2700Q / PD2700U / PD2720U / PD3200Q / PD3200U

enjoy 😉



fixed : how many 4K screens can my M1/M2/M3/M4 Mac handle simultaneously ?

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Question :
I have an M3 MacBook that I would like to use with 2 external 4K monitors for my work setup, so I bought an extra 4K monitor, but when I tried to connect it to my MacBook, it didn’t work… What is wrong ?

How many displays can I connect to my M3 MacBook simultaneously ?


Answer :
There are hardware limitations to how many additional screens you can connect to a Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) Mac, and they are not the same for the basic M-version, the Pro-version and the Max-version. Actually, it’s quite confusing, because there’s also variation in what you can connect using either Thunderbolt or HDMI. Please find the number of external screens you can connect in the tables below [ warning ! the below may contain typos, do doublecheck on the official Apple website ] :

4K-resolutionover Thunderbolt onlyover Thunderbolt + HDMI
M1+1+1
M1 Pro+3+3
M1 Max+3+4
M2+1+1
M2 Pro+2+2
M2 Max+3+4
M3+2 (but only with lid closed)+2 (but only with lid closed)
M3 Pro+2+2
M3 Max+3+4
M4+2+2
M4 Pro+2+2
M4 Max+4+4
6K-resolutionover Thunderbolt onlyover Thunderbolt + HDMI
M1+1+1
M1 Pro+2+2
M1 Max+3+3
M2+1+1
M2 Pro+2+2 (but HDMI max. 4K)
M2 Max+3+4 (but HDMI max. 4K)
M3+2 (but 2nd max. 5K)+2 (but HDMI max. 4K)
M3 Pro+2+2 (but HDMI max. 4K)
M3 Max+3+4 (but HDMI max. 4K)
M4+2+2 (but HDMI max. 4K)
M4 Pro+2+2 (but HDMI max. 4K)
M4 Max+4 (daisy chaining needed)+4 (but HDMI max. 4K)
8K-resolutionover Thunderboltover Thunderbolt + HDMI
M1not possiblenot possible
M1 Pronot possiblenot possible
M1 Maxnot possiblenot possible
M2not possiblenot possible
M2 Pronot possible+1 (over HDMI only)
M2 Maxnot possible+1 (over HDMI only)
M3not possiblenot possible
M3 Pronot possible+1 (over HDMI only)
M3 Maxnot possible+1 (over HDMI only)
M4+1+1
M4 Pro+1+1
M4 Max+2+2

so… generally, all M1/M2/M3/M4 Macs can support at least one external 4K (or even 6K) screen, but if you want connect multiple external screens to your MacBook, you are probably goning to need a multi-monitor-hub, like the BenQ beCreatus DP1310 docking station.

The BenQ beCreatus DP1310 docking station will enable every silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) MacBook to connect over USB-C to up to 3 external 4K screens (2 over HDMI and the 3rd over DP/DisplayPort).

The regular price of the DP1310 Dock is ca. €300, so check out below if you can get a better price on Amazon [we get a tiny fee if you buy anything using these links, but you will not be paying anything extra] :

BenQ beCreatus DP1310 dock on Amazon US
BenQ beCreatus DP1310 dock on Amazon UK
BenQ beCreatus DP1310 dock on Amazon DE

enjoy 😉

fixed : Power Pete / Mighty Mike game for current macOS

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Question :
My kids asked me which computer games I liked to play when I was their age. I said I was most fond of an arcade game of a cartoonish Rambo-guy in camo clothes who fought dinosaurs trying to rescue little bunnies, using various cartoon-guns like a whipped cream shooter… I think it was called Peter Power or something… I would love to show the game to my kids (and play it myself once again)… but if I remember correctly it was no longer playable when OSX abandoned the Calssic mode…

Is there any way to let my kids play it themselves ?

Answer :
Yes, there is.
The game is called Power Pete (released by MacPlay) and was Best Arcade Game of 1995.
The origanal developer Pangea Software re-released the game in 2001 as Mighty Mike.
And recently, Pangea has granted a developer known as Illiyas Jorio the honours of releasing a FREE version of the game that works on all recent computers running current-day versions of macOS, Windows and Linux.
The current version of Mighty Mike can be found on GitHub. The download link is provided on the Pangea website :

Mighty Mike by Pangea Software

Even though Pangea Software’s website states that Jorio’s version of the game will work on “Mac OS X and 11” (probably refering to all Mac OSX 10.x versions up to macOS 11 Big_Sur from 2020) the latest release on GitHub (Mighty Mike 3.0.2) is even playable on the current version of macOS (macOS 15 Sequoia) and not only on Intel-based Macs, but also on the current Silicon-based M1/M2/M3/M4 Macs.

Just keep in mind that the graphics haven’t been updated, so you will get that pixelated retro-feel also… and you can still adjust the settings to play it with a joypad or game controller instead of your keyboard.

Enjoy 😉