Silly season for new phones and gadgets is on us — it feels like we can’t go a week without a major release as the calendar races into the holidays. There are a bunch of new phones out there and we wanted to get an idea about what’s important to you in a phone and in a cellular carrier. Thus, this survey.

We get a little detailed, but that’s because we want to suss out what it is that drives your decisions in purchasing a new phone or picking a new carrier. These are expensive and long-term choices, and your answers will help to influence what we write. This survey is your chance to help guide and inform how we approach answering your most important technology questions for years to come!

And because we love you, one random respondent to this survey will win $600 to buy the new phone of your dreams — or to pay for the next several months of your mobile service!

Hit up the survey below (or click here to open in a new window); it should take about 10-15 minutes to complete.

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Why don’t the new MacBook Pros have a startup chime? So you don’t interrupt an important meeting!

Apple nixed quite a bit of legacy technology at its October Mac event, and apparently that included legacy sound! See, when the brand new late 2016 MacBook Pros power on, they don’t make that familiar startup chime we’ve come to know and love.

Whoa, now! Before you get up in arms over computer nostalgia, you should know there’s a method to the madness.

Quiet, please!

Apple’s new MacBook Pros work a little differently than their older relatives — more specifically, they don’t power on the same way.

You can start up the new MacBook Pro three different ways:

Open the lid of your Mac, even if it’s not connected to power.
Connect it to a power adapter while its lid is open.
Connect it to a power adapter while its lid is closed and it’s connected to an external display.
As you can imagine, it’d be less-than-ideal to open up your MacBook Pro mid-meeting only to have it awkwardly b…

The Touch Bar is great for Mac-based programs, but what about Windows?

By adding the Touch Bar to the latest MacBook Pro, Apple has added a way for Mac users to access all manner of tools without having to click a mouse or trackpad. Everything sits at the top of the keyboard, mere inches from where your fingers already rest. The Touch Bar is specially designed for use with Mac-based programs. But, many of us like to use both Windows and macOS on one computer and the Windows operating system relies on the function keys, which are now folded into the Touch Bar. So, what does the Touch Bar mean for Windows users on the Mac?

What the Touch Bar does when using Boot Camp with Windows

Apple’s built-in utility, Boot Camp, lets you install Windows onto your Mac using a partitioned drive. When you boot up Windows via Boot Camp, the Touch Bar will display the function keys F1 – F12 and an escape key. As soon as you log into Windows, the default setting will be the function keys. It is not cl…

Here’s everything you need to know to design and launch an iMessage sticker pack!

If you’ve ever wondered what goes into making a sticker pack for iOS, you’ve got to check out Graham Spencer’s guide over at MacStories. It’s loaded with screenshots, tips, and comprehensive instructions for every step of the sticker-making process.

MacStories Guide: Design and Launch Your Own iMessage Sticker Pack on the App Store

The process of making and publishing these sticker packs was fairly straightforward, but I also encountered some unexpected hurdles. To help others who are excited about making their own sticker packs, I’ve written this guide, which I hope can make the process a little smoother.

I’ve put together a couple sticker packs for iOS; here’s a live shot of me during that process:

And here’s a shot of me if I’d had Graham’s guide at the time:

If you want to design and launch a sticker pack, save yourself the headache (and potential tears) and check out Graham’s guid…

Dive into the specs of Apple’s new MacBook Pros.

Apple has introduced three new versions of its MacBook Pro line, including a 13-inch and 15-inch model with the Touch Bar, a thin, multi-touch strip display that sits above the MacBook Pro’s keyboard. The company has also released a more stripped-down version of the 13-inch model that includes the standard row of function keys instead of the Touch Bar.

Take a peek at the specs of Apple’s latest laptops right here. Note, these are the baseline specifications of each model, and some components can be upgraded when you order from Apple.

Category
13-inch MacBook Pro
13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
Operating System
macOS Sierra
macOS Sierra
macOS Sierra
Touch Bar
No Touch Bar
Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor
Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor
Starting price
$1,499
$1,799
$2,399
Finish
Silver, Space Gray
Silver, Space Gray
Silver, Space Gray
Display resolu…

So long, USB, MagSafe, er — everything else. Hello, Thunderbolt 3!

With the new MacBook Pros, Apple has done away with traditional USB ports and literally every other port in favor of the Thunderbolt 3/USB-C port (and a 3.5mm headphone jack). That’s it, that’s all.

This has spawned many a meme, since folks who still plan on using many of their current peripherals are going to be living in dongle city. So what’s so great about Thunderbolt 3? How does it work? How can it replace everything? Why is the rum gone?

Simple answer: Because it can do everything.

What’s Thunderbolt 3?

Thunderbolt 3 is essentially USB-C (USB 3.1) on ’roids. USB-C is the latest connector technology, which is reversible and can do just about any job — power, HDMI, data transfer, DisplayPort, and more. Standard USB-C can transfer data at a rate of up to 10Gbps. That’s incredibly fast.

Thunderbolt 3 has transfer rates of up to 40Gbps. Yeah. Way faster.

What’s it for on the new MacBook Pro?

The answer …

Want 32 GB of RAM in your next MacBook Pro? You may be waiting a while!

Rene Ritchie has been covering Apple and the personal technology industry for almost a decade. Editorial director for Mobile Nations, analyst for iMore, video and podcast host, you can follow him on Snapchat, Instagram, or Twitter @reneritchie.

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For some, Apple failed to put the ”Pro” in MacBook Pro, and it started with the limitations on RAM: 16 GB tops. Why no option for anything more? Why not 32 GB?

A MacRumors reader wrote Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, and asked. The reply:

To put more than 16GB of fast RAM into a notebook design at this time would require a memory system that consumes much more power and wouldn’t be efficient enough for a notebook.

There’s been some speculation about what Schiller was talking about, one of the more educated guesses has been well encapsulated on Reddit:

The true reason behind the lack of 32gb o…

To me, Apple’s October event had a clear theme: accessibility.

Everything I saw at Town Hall during October’s Mac event had relevance in terms of accessibility. The Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro is the most obvious candidate, but there’s something to be said for the Apple TV’s new TV app, too. Like all of Apple’s products, accessibility will play a big role in telling each’s story. And it’s worth people’s attention.

In a less concrete sense, the video that opened the presentation and the new accessibility page announced for Apple’s website speak volumes about Apple’s commitment in this area. As I’ve written numerous times, Apple leads the industry in creating best-of-breed assistive technology for people with disabilities. They care. That’s why it was great to see the video and hear Tim Cook remind us that accessibility matters to them. It’s part of the design process from the beginning, which is why you see glimmers of potential in everything with an Apple logo on it.

As a person…