Thanks to intel gathered by popular tipster Jon Prosser, we may have an early glimpse at Apple’s next Mac mini. What you’re seeing are preliminary renders based on rumors.
The standalone computer will be much smaller thanks to the use of the next-generation Apple Silicon chipset – the M1X (working title, could very well be the M2 or something altogether different).
Ports-wise the new Mac mini will be well-equipped with four USB 4.0/ Thunderbolt 3 type-C ports, two USB-A ports, ethernet, full-size HDMI and the magnetic power connector Apple introduced with the M1-powered iMac.
Interestingly the next Mac mini could lose the all metal build and feature a plexiglass-like top panel. The reasons for the change are unknown, but Prosser points that it could be to allow for new two-toned colorful models, like the new iMac’s.
Apple is expected to announce the new Mac mini at its WWDC conference, starting on June 7, alongside the redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro’s. All three machines are expected to be powered by Apple’s new chip – M1X/M2 – with 8 high-performance cores, 2 efficiency cores and up to 64GB of RAM.
The current M1-powered Mac mini will then replace the outdated Intel-powered Mac mini that’s currently on offer as the lowest-tier device in the lineup.
Anyway, here’s the whole tale straight from the horse’s mouth.
Owners of Amazon’s Eero 6 and Pro 6 routers will now be able to isolate their HomeKit IoT devices from the rest of their home network and the wider internet, thanks to a new integration with Apple’s HomeKit that’s now rolling out (via MacRumors). The new feature is coming as part of a firmware update, and makes the routers some of the first Wi-Fi 6 systems that support Apple’s integration.
The added feature may be welcome, but it’s probably not a surprise for those who have been paying attention: Eero’s other, cheaper routers were updated to support it in February, 2020, and an Eero Support account mentioned in November that the router was going through Apple’s certification process.
Setting up your Eero (or any other supported routers) with HomeKit lets you manage how much data your other HomeKit devices are allowed to share over the network. If, for example, you had some smart window blinds that were a bit shady, you could use HomeKit to only allow them to talk to your local HomeKit Hub, and not connect to the internet (or other apps). It’s a niche benefit, to be sure, but if you were holding off on an Eero 6 purchase until it was available, it looks like the time has finally come.
It’s worth noting that, to use the feature, a separate HomeKit Hub is required: this can be either an Apple TV, HomePod (regular or Mini), or iPad that stays in the house. If you want to activate HomeKit on your Eero router, the company has a support page laying out all the details.
More than 500 Amazon employees have signed an internal letter to Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy calling for the company to acknowledge the plight of the Palestinian people. The move comes after Israeli airstrikes devastated Palestinians in Gaza, leaving 248 people dead. Hamas and Israel have since agreed to a ceasefire.
“We ask Amazon leadership to acknowledge the continued assault upon Palestinians’ basic human rights under an illegal occupation… without using language that implies a power symmetry or situational equivalency, which minimizes and misrepresents the disruption, destruction, and death that has disproportionately been inflicted upon the Palestinians in recent days and over several decades,” employees wrote. “Amazon employs Palestinians in Tel Aviv and Haifa offices and around the world. Ignoring the suffering faced by Palestinians and their families at home erases our Palestinian coworkers.”
Employees want the company to terminate business contracts with organizations that are complicit in human rights violations, like the Israeli Defense Forces. In April, Amazon and Google signed a $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with the Israeli government.
The note echoes similar petitions from workers at Apple and Google. On May 18th, Jewish employees at Google penned a letter to Sundar Pichai calling for the company to “reject any definition of antisemitism that holds that criticism of Israel or Zionism is antisemitic.” Two days later, The Verge published a note from Muslim employees at Apple.
Muslim tech workers say executives have been slow to voice support for Palestinians, or condemn the violence in Gaza. Many feel their CEOs are choosing to ignore Israeli human rights abuses because the situation is fraught. The result, according to multiple sources, is that Muslims in tech feel undervalued and ignored.
Read the entire letter from Amazon employees below:
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge.
iFixit has published a detailed teardown of Apple’s newly redesigned M1 processor-equipped iMac, and it contains bad news about how easy the new all-in-one is to repair. Whether it’s the fans, USB ports, headphone jack, power button, or speakers, iFixit says virtually any repairs to the new desktop require battling through Apple’s adhesives.
Like the other M1 Macs, everything is soldered together now — so there’s no upgrading RAM or internal storage even if you do crack it open. The good news is if you do go through the effort of cracking it open, iFixit says most of the other internal parts (including the ports, webcam, and speakers) are relatively easy to swap out with replacements.
Photo: iFixit
These problems might not matter right now while the iMacs are shiny, new, and generally excellent, but they could make a world of difference in a few years when their components start to wear out and fail. iFixit has long been critical of the repairability of Apple’s devices, but it’s arguably much more important for a device like the iMac, which tends to get replaced less often than a phone or tablet. In our review, we called it “the computer to get if you just want to buy it and not think about it for the next five to ten years.”
If you thought the new iMac looks a lot like a massive iPad on a stand, then you might not be surprised to hear that much of what makes the iPad difficult to repair has been inherited by the new iMac. iFixit has awarded the machine a total score of 2/10 for repairability.
Apple’s M1 processors haven’t even been around for a year yet, so we don’t yet know how they’re going to hold up over time. But if any issues do crop up, this design could make it harder and more expensive for users to fix the machines they’re powering.
Photo: iFixit
This is far from the first time that iFixit has criticized the repairability of an iMac. In 2015, for example, it awarded Apple’s 21.5-inch iMac a low score of 1/10 for its repairability for design elements like having its RAM and CPU soldered onto the motherboard, preventing easy replacements or upgrades. Other iMacs like the 27-inch 5K iMac from 2014 or the 2018 iMac Pro fared better, thanks to their replaceable CPUs and RAM, but these are absent from the new machine.
“Apple’s newest iMac follows the other M1 machines down an interesting, but even-less-repairable path,” the teardown concludes — an expected, albeit slightly disappointing direction that Apple’s ever-thinner hardware has been trending in for years.
Netflix might be the world’s largest subscription streaming service with more than 180 million paid subscribers worldwide, but it seems it’s not resting on its laurels. Growing evidence – collected by TheVerge – suggests that Netflix itself wants to become the Netflix of games.
The rumours started last Friday when The Informationreported that Netflix was looking to expand beyond film and TV content. The article revealed that the streaming giant was on the hunt for a top executive to oversee a major push into gaming.
Then, on Monday, Axios followed up by quoting an anonymous source who tipped the upcoming service to be “a smaller Apple Arcade” bundle, featuring a mix of Netflix-developed games and indie titles. The source claimed ‘Netflix Arcade’ could launch as soon as 2022.
Other outlets have since suggested that Netflix had already approached several high-flying games industry veterans with a view to offering subscribers both streamed and downloadable games.
If the rumours are true, ‘Netflix Arcade’ will be the company’s second significant foray into button-bashing. Back in 2019, Netflix teamed up with Finnish studio Next Games to create a puzzle role-player based on the hit 80s-themed horror series, Stranger Things.
Netflix is yet to comment, but in the past, in a statement issued to GameSpot, it has hinted that interactive experiences are very much on its radar:
“Members… enjoy engaging more directly with stories they love – through interactive shows like Bandersnatch and You v. Wild, or games based on Stranger Things, La Casa de Papel and To All the Boys. So we’re excited to do more with interactive entertainment.”
In the past 20 years we’ve seen many a video game franchises, from Tomb Raider to Resident Evil, adapted for the big screen. Netflix is currently showing four series of Castlevania, a TV show based on the hit 90s platformer, while Paramount+ is expected to launch its Xbox-inspired Halo TV series in February 2022.
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Eight of the artist’s favorite sketches from the three-week court proceeding
On Monday, lawyers gave final statements in the Epic v. Apple case, finishing up just over three weeks of in-court proceedings that gave an unprecedented look at how Apple manages the iOS App Store. Both images and audio from the proceedings were tightly controlled (as is often the case in federal courtrooms), so the only images came from courtroom artist Vicki Behringer, who saw much of the trial from an assigned seat to the right of the jury box. We invited Behringer to share eight of her favorite sketches from the trial, showing off both her skill as an artist and her unique perspective on the case. -Russell Brandom, policy editor
Image courtesy of Vicki Behringer
This shows opening statements by Epic Games attorney Katherine Forrest. It was my first day at the trial and my first sketch. There were plexiglass barriers all around the courtroom as a COVID precaution, and the attorneys wore plastic shields covering their faces. When I saw this graphic, showing a wall being built around the iPhone, I started to understand what was at stake in this trial.
Image courtesy of Vicki Behringer
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is the one that started this whole case, so I knew his testimony was going to be interesting. I just loved listening to how he started the company and what the game Fortnite is all about. I had no idea. Once again, I realize there is another entire world that I know nothing about. The programming, creativity, and talent it takes to create these games absolutely amazes me.
I try to finish all my sketches within one to one and a half hours. Some take longer. I have to budget my time while I am sketching in the courtroom. I have very strict deadlines and since the news is now a 24-hour cycle with the internet, my media clients need their sketches as soon as possible to go with their stories.
Image courtesy of Vicki Behringer
I’ve sketched Phil Schiller two or three times now in the Apple v. Samsung trials, so his face feels like an old friend. I always love hearing him talk about the history of Apple. I took my time here and decided to sketch the entire courtroom. Obviously it is not to scale. The number of people allowed in the courtroom was severely reduced, but there were still many, many attorneys to sketch, and every time a witness changed, they would play musical chairs.
Image courtesy of Vicki Behringer
This is Mike Schmid, the head of Apple’s gaming department, questioned by Apple attorney Jay Srinivasan. Seeing as I am not a gamer, all of the wonderful artwork that goes into the games is quite delightful for me, but I had to move so fast that there wasn’t time to sketch it. Schmid was grilled pretty hard on the cross-examination by Epic’s attorney, but at the break they both relaxed and seemed to be happy to see each other. Maybe they were just happy to have gotten through it.
Image courtesy of Vicki Behringer
Craig Federighi was a wonderful subject with his perfect white hair and dark eyebrows. People with subtle features are far more difficult, but Craig was a joy. He discussed the precautions that Apple takes to prevent its users from malware, viruses, and the like. I make a mental note to always update my software!
Drawn by Vicki Behringer
I like this sketch because not only did I get a different angle on Tim Cook’s face (which is fantastic), but it was an important moment in his testimony. Judge Gonzalez Rogers was asking some really interesting questions of him which didn’t sound very favorable toward Apple. His confidence seemed to waver just a bit, but he answered the questions clearly and did his best to justify Apple‘s position. It felt like a pivotal point in the trial.
I wanted to put in a gesture with the judge’s hand, but didn’t feel I had enough time. Sometimes hands can take as long as drawing the face.
Image courtesy of Vicki Behringer
The second week was mostly expert witnesses. I like the sketch because this professor had some interesting things to say about how safe Apple devices were. I know he is an Apple witness, but if his statistics are correct, it’s quite amazing! In the sketch, I added a couple of other people in the courtroom that I usually don’t have time to include. The court reporter and the judge’s deputy. When I am doing an actual trial, I try to make sure I get a sketch of everyone in the courtroom at some point. Everyone is important, even if they are not one of the main attorneys or witnesses.
Image courtesy of Vicki Behringer
This is when Tim Cook first took the stand, being questioned on direct by Apple attorney Veronica Moyé. I was so nervous while sketching him because I knew it had to look exactly like him; everyone knows what Tim Cook looks like. I had studied some photographs of him and thought I was ready. Unfortunately, when he took the stand there was a huge reflection on his face shield. I could not see some of the important details. I kept peering through my binoculars waiting for him to turn his head. Finally he did and I was able to get a good view of his face. That was such a relief!
I had heard this was his first time taking the stand, but I would never know it. He was quite calm, confident, and charismatic. He said so many positive things about Apple it was easy to like him. Later, I had the opportunity while finishing a sketch of him in the hallway to meet him. He seems to be a very nice man. I was shocked to see he has beautiful blue eyes. I did not realize that while sketching him — between the shadow from the light above, the reflection of his visor, and his glasses, his eyes were obscured. Something tells me I will be sketching him again since there could be more Apple trials in my future.
Music streaming service Tidal is now available on the Apple Watch, allowing subscribers to stream music directly to Apple’s wearable or download it for offline listening. Instructions on how to get set up can be found on Tidal’s site. Spotify and Deezer both announced similar offline listening features for the Apple Watch last week. Subscription prices for Tidal start at $9.99 a month.
Tidal has historically sold itself on the quality of its audio streaming, offering features like lossless playback and even hi-res streaming before many of its bigger rivals. But this year, some of its biggest competitors are starting to catch up. Spotify’s lossless HiFi tier is set to launch later this year, and Apple Music will introduce support for lossless and hi-res streaming next month. Tidal’s high audio quality won’t translate to its Apple Watch app however. The music service has confirmed audio will be limited to 96Kbps on the wearable, like Spotify.
The service’s other major selling point is the amount it pays artists in royalties to stream their music. Analysis from Digital Music News puts Tidal’s rates ahead of Spotify, Apple, and Deezer, and it looks like this artist-supporting trend is set to continue after Jack Dorsey’s financial services company Square recently acquired a majority stake in the streaming service for $297 million. Dorsey specifically cited wanting to find “new ways for artists to support their work” as the reason for the acquisition.
“Square created ecosystems of tools for sellers & individuals and we’ll do the same for artists,” the CEO tweeted at the time, “We’ll work on entirely new listening experiences to bring fans closer together, simple integrations for merch sales, modern collaboration tools, and new complementary revenue streams.”
Tidal’s Apple Watch support requires a Series 3 model or later running watchOS 7.1.
If you’re a Nintendo Switch owner, you’re probably already familiar with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It remains one of the most ambitious and charming Zelda titles to date. But like most first-party Nintendo games, it’s one that rarely receives a sizeable discount. Right now, though, you can purchase a physical edition of the beloved title at GameStop for $40, with free shipping. The popular retailer is also offering a host of other first- and third-party games at a discount as part of its ongoing Memorial Day sale, including standouts such as Persona V Strikers, Splatoon 2, and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. Now, if only Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate wouldmake the cut.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
$40
$60
34% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Four years after launch, TheLegend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild remains a masterpiece. The first-party title offers all of the hallmarks of a traditional Zelda title, including challenging combat and puzzles, but within a gorgeous, open-ended design.
$40
at GameStop
If you’re more of an Xbox gamer looking for something to let you play games while on the go, Microsoft just updated its Cloud Gaming app on the Surface Duo to let you use one of the screens as a virtual controller. Conveniently, Amazon has both the 128GB and 256GB versions of the Surface Duo on sale for $619 and $656, respectively, once you clip the 25 percent coupon. These models are locked to AT&T, however, so you’ll need to have an AT&T SIM card and service to use them when outside of a Wi-Fi network.
If gaming isn’t your thing, but you’re still in the market for a professional monitor, the Dell 27-inch U2719DX is worth consideration. Currently on sale at Best Buy for $250 — an all-time low — the QHD 1440p peripheral offers color-accurate visuals and a thin profile, one that looks as sturdy as it is ergonomic. It tops out at 60Hz and lacks the USB-C connectivity found on pricier displays such as the like-minded U2719DC. But given it’s currently more than $100 off, the lack of futureproofing is a bit more understandable.
Dell 27-inch U2719DX monitor
$250
$350
29% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Dell’s 27-inch U2719DX Monitor is built for simplicity. It sports a sturdy, swivel-reliant design and 60Hz refresh rate, along with a three-warranty, accurate colors, and a healthy port selection that, sadly, doesn’t include USB-C.
$250
at Best Buy
If you have no intention of making the jump to iPad Pro with the M1 processor, picking up a keyboard is a great way to make the most of the last-gen iPad Pro. Luckily, Amazon is offering the biggest discount we’ve seen in recent months on Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio Case for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The protective fabric-lined case magnetically attaches to the back of either the 2018 or 2020 iPad Pro, provides two viewing angles, and is a joy to type on, though, we still wouldn’t recommend it as your primary writing device. For a limited time, you can pick it up for more than $100 off the initial list price at Amazon.
Apple has announced that this year’s WorldWide Developers Conference will take place from the 7th to the 11th June. Like last year’s WWDC, the event will go ahead online.
The big news is typically revealed at the keynote speech on day one. Apple CEO Tim Cook will get the ball rolling from 6pm BST / 10am PDT this year, live from the tech giant’s Apple Park HQ. Fans will be able to stream the event via Apple.com and the company’s YouTube channel.
“WWDC21 kicks off with the unveiling of exciting new updates coming to all Apple platforms later this year”, reads Apple’s schedule. That likely means previews of Apple’s new iOS 15, iPadOS 14, MacOS 12, WatchOS 8 and tvOS 15 software.
As for hardware, we could see the latest ‘Pro’ Macs featuring Apple’s processors (the company ditched Intel’s processors last year). There’s also a (slim) chance we could see the company showcase the rumoured AirPods 3 wireless earbuds.
Following the keynote, WWDC21 will serve up “200 in-depth sessions, one-on-one labs, and more”, so that developers can learn about the latest tools to help rustle up the next generation of iOS apps.
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Still waiting for the Sonos wireless headphones to appear? They’re expected by the end of 2021, but it seems the Californian tech giant might have another surprise up its sleeve.
A recent US patent filing (spotted by zatznotfunny) appears to depict Sonos’ first ever pair of wireless earbuds. The drawings are rudimentary but appear to show a couple of different designs, including a wedge-shaped pair that slot into either end of a USB-C charging case.
Interestingly, it looks like Sonos is also planning to extend the play time of its buds using tiny, detachable battery plates (Sonos calls them “charging adaptors”). The plates look to be roughly the size of a thumbnail and attach (possibly magnetically?) to the outer body of each bud. The drawings even reveal how the plates would be powered up using the charging case. Ingenious, but is it realistic?
The filing doesn’t give too much else away, other than to confirm the purported Sonos buds would feature voice control, media playback, and the ability to sync with “Multiple Network Devices” (Sonos’ increasingly broad range of wireless multi-room audio products, we presume).
Major tech firms file hundreds of patents every year and many come to naught, so today’s development is no guarantee that Sonos will launch a pair of true wireless earbuds. That said, somebody at Sonos has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about developing an Apple AirPods (2019) rival.
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Netflix has dipped a toe in gaming on occasion, with perhaps the hugely-successful “choose your own adventure”-style film Black Mirror: Bandersnatchas the most prominent example. But the streaming giant may be expanding further into gaming with a new bundle for Netflix subscribers, according to several reports over the past few days.
The Information had the first report on Friday, writing that Netflix wants to hire an executive to oversee new gaming efforts, and that the company is considering a bundle of games similar to Apple Arcade. (Hours later, Reuters corroborated that a gaming exec is a planned hire at Netflix.) The company has also chosen not to include ads in the games, according to The Information. But The Information also said that Netflix’s plans are still “very much in flux.”
In a report published Monday, however, Axios shared more details from its own reporting. An Axios source said to think of the upcoming service, which would be offered to Netflix subscribers, as “a smaller Apple Arcade” bundle that would include both licensed Netflix IP and games commissioned from indie studios. The service could be a ways out, though, “possibly launching in 2022.”
While Netflix hasn’t publicly confirmed the potential expansion of its gaming efforts, in a statement published by both The Information and Polygon, the company left the door open to the idea that it is indeed planning to do more with gaming:
Our members value the variety and quality of our content. It’s why we’ve continually expanded our offering — from series to documentaries, film, local language originals and reality TV. Members also enjoy engaging more directly with stories they love — through interactive shows like Bandersnatch and You v. Wild, or games based on Stranger Things, LaCasa de Papel and To All the Boys. So we’re excited to do more with interactive entertainment.
Netflix has a lot of titles based on popular video games that are out now or in the works, such as Castlevania, Resident Evil, and The Witcher (which is one of Netflix’s biggest shows), so the company clearly sees the value of video games as IP. It’s not outlandish to think that the company would want to market its series through new games, or, in the ultimate ouroboros, make a new game that eventually becomes a new Netflix show in the future.
Netflix seemed to be on its way in 2019 — it had partnered with Telltale Games on a secret Stranger Things game that died before it was announced, with a source telling The Verge that “Netflix was just getting into the space and didn’t really have a games group in place yet.” Telltale’s Minecraft: Story Mode did survive, though, and is still at least partially playable on Netflix now.
Many companies are trying to build a service that’s “Netflix, but for games.” Apple Arcade and Xbox Game Pass are just two that come to mind. But these reports and Netflix’s curious non-denial suggest Netflix might like to eat its own lunch this time around.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is a man who says what’s on his mind, even if it’ll ruffle a few feathers. And apparently the first thing on his mind, following today’s closing remarks in the Epic v. Apple trial, was chicken dinner.
The Epic vs Apple trial has now concluded! I won’t be commenting before the verdict is delivered. Thanks to everyone whose efforts made this possible, and to Popeyes for building a fine restaurant next door to the Oakland federal courthouse. pic.twitter.com/xma2xyRBtW
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) May 24, 2021
Winner winner, wishful thinking? Perhaps. After all, Fortnite competitor PUBG does love its chicken, and there’s been plentyof time for Apple’s subliminal messaging to kick in!
Besides:
Never trust your meal choices to a man who leaves his plasma globe on bare carpet, that’s all I’m saying.
Apple is releasing its latest iOS 14.6 update today, and it’s largely focused on audio improvements. This new OS update will allow Apple Music subscribers to enable lossless audio or Dolby Atmos once it’s available next month, and it also debuts Apple Podcasts subscriptions.
Podcasts users can now subscribe to content in the app for extra perks like ad-free and bonus content, as well as early access. Apple is also improving the Podcasts app with the ability to mark all episodes as played, recover old episodes, and remove downloads.
iOS 14.6 includes a number of other quality-of-life improvements. If you’re an AirTag owner, iOS 14.6 includes the option to add an email address as a contact method for when the item tracker is in lost mode. There’s also Apple Card Family sharing, with support for up to five people to share an Apple Card for purchases.
As always, this latest version of iOS also includes some fixes and security improvements. Apple has fixed an issue with the Apple Watch not unlocking an iPhone correctly, problems with reminders as blank lines, call blocking extensions not appearing in settings, reduced iPhone performance during startup, and Bluetooth issues during calls.
Qualcomm has announced a second-generation Snapdragon 7c Arm-powered processor that’s designed to be used inside entry-level Windows PCs and Chromebooks. The biggest change to the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 (the official name) appears to be a clock speed bump, which Anandtech reports is a jump from 2.4GHz to 2.55GHz. And like the original Snapdragon 7c, it offers integrated LTE connectivity so you can connect to cellular networks, and Qualcomm promises it will support “multi-day battery life.”
The first device with the chip is set to arrive “this summer,” Qualcomm said in a press release, and Lenovo has already promised to release new devices using the 7c Gen 2 “later this year.”
More chipmakers are increasingly making Arm-based chips, which promise better performance and power efficiency. The first Snapdragon 7c was only used in a handful of Chromebooks, so we’ll have to see if this new chip offers enough to get more device-makers on board, but Lenovo’s commitment to make devices with the chip this year is a promising sign.
Qualcomm is also going up against Apple and its powerful M1 chip, which you can now find in MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, Mac Minis, iMacs, and iPad Pros. Those devices are all more expensive than the type of machine the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 is targeted for, however, and it’s possible Qualcomm’s new chip could bring some of the benefits of Arm-based processors to lower-cost (and non-Apple) devices.
Anker’s GaN (gallium nitride) chargers are some of the best around, offering tiny sizes but powerful charging capabilities. Now, the company is introducing its second-generation GaN-based chargers: the Anker Nano II lineup.
The new Nano II chargers use what Anker calls its “GaN II” technology, the company’s second-generation version of the gallium nitride-based components, which Anker says offer a 20 percent increase in working efficiency,” which translates to less heat and even smaller chargers than before.
Image: Anker
Gallium nitride is an increasingly popular replacement for silicon components in electrical devices, thanks to a wider band gap than silicon. That means it can sustain higher voltages at higher temperatures with faster electrical current than the traditional material. Those properties make it perfect for things like ultra-small chargers.
The original Anker PowerPort Atom PD 1 helped usher in the first wave of GaN chargers when it was first released in 2019, packing enough power to charge a small laptop in a brick the size of Apple’s now-defunct (but laughably underpowered) 5W iPhone bricks. Since then, we’ve seen ultra-small GaN chargers offer even more powerful wattage specs: it’s easy and affordable to get a 65W brick that can power a decent-sized computer that fits in your pocket now.
The new Nano II chargers will come in three models: a 30W model for $29.99, a 45W charger for $35.99, and a 65W for $39.99. All three chargers feature a single USB-C port (with the larger 45W and 65W models also featuring flip-down plugs) and come with Anker’s PowerIQ 3.0 technology for managing charging wattages.
The 30W is the smallest of the bunch, measuring in at 1.24 x 1.20 x 1.49 inches — making it marginally smaller than the original 30W PowerPort Atom PD 1, which is 1.6 x 1.4 x 1.5 inches.
The three chargers are available to preorder from both Amazon and Anker’s website, and they will ship in June.
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