Technologies

Apple Silicon Is the Mac Pro Upgrade You’ve Been Waiting For

The company’s power pro desktop goes to the top of the Apple silicon heap with the new M2 Ultra chip.

Apple’s serious modular pro desktop gets its first real update since 2019, incorporating the new M2 Ultra chip announced at WWDC 2023. The move finally completes Apple’s transition of its hardware to its own CPUs, which not only brings the system into line with the rest of its laptops and desktops, but seems to make significant cost savings possible as well.

See the Mac Pro at Apple $6,999 at Apple

The system starts at $6,999 — $1,000 higher than the former Intel Xeon model’s base price was at launch — but the top configuration maxes out at around $12,000, far lower than the Xeon’s top configuration had been. Not having to pay for Intel’s CPU or AMD’s Radeon graphics cards, as well as removing the necessity of one or more Afterburner cards at $2,000 a pop (for accelerating ProRes and ProRes Raw video transcoding), probably helps cuts a lot from the cost of upgraded configurations.

Watch this: Apple Upgrades the Mac Pro with Silicon

02:45

The Ultra is a pair of M2 Max chips tied together, delivering a 24-core CPU, 60- or 76-core GPU and 32-core neural engine. But there’s also a $1,000 difference between the 60- and 76-GPU core versions of the M2 Ultra chips Apple offers for its configuration options. In practice, that’s a lot more performance over the antiquated Xeon in the old version and means support for more high-res displays. It also means support for more modern standards, like PCI Gen 4, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Finally moving to Apple silicon from the out-of-date (circa 2019) Xeon chips also means Apple could integrate two HDMI 2.1 ports — HDMI 2.1 first arrived for Apple in the MacBook Pro 16. The system can support up to 192GB of unified memory and has eight Thunderbolt 4 ports.

More from WWDC 2023

One irony of the M2 Ultra upgrade, though, is that Apple has essentially made the Mac Pro less modular, which was the reason everyone clamored for it to begin with. Apple has integrated all the options that traditionally were added via the PCI bus (an Apple I/O card still comes in the four-channel PCI 3 slot). It doesn’t look like you can use a discrete AMD GPU or the GPU MPX modules of the old model; being able to upgrade the GPU is one of the big reasons why modularity is important.

That’s not to say you won’t ever be able to do it. For all we know, Apple is just pretending you can’t for now (or waiting for someone to try it before admitting it’s possible), or plans to enable GPU add-on cards or modules via a firmware upgrade at some point. Because no matter how powerful a GPU is, the type of tasks you perform on a workstation can always benefit from more — if not right now, then in a couple years.

You can read the play-by-play of the announcement in the archive of our live blog.

Technologies

Episode 3 of the VERUM AI Mini-Series Is Now Available

Verum Messenger has released the third episode of its AI mini-series, SHADOWS, created using Verum AI.

The new episode, titled «Ghost Money,» continues the story of the conflict between a team of heroes and the Omega corporation, which seeks to take control of digital communications. This time, the focus shifts to anonymous payments and financial freedom, revealing how privacy can extend beyond messaging.

Like the previous episodes, the new release not only advances the storyline but also showcases the capabilities of the Verum ecosystem, highlighting technologies designed for secure communication and digital privacy.

The mini-series consists of seven episodes, released gradually across Verum Messenger’s social media channels.

Episode 3 is now available. Stay tuned for the next chapter.

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Technologies

Verum Finance Now Available for Mac, Expanding the Verum Ecosystem on Desktop

Verum has officially released Verum Finance for macOS, bringing its financial platform to the Mac and expanding access to the Verum ecosystem across Apple’s devices. The launch allows users to manage their finances from desktop while enjoying the same secure and seamless experience available on iPhone and iPad.

The new Mac version includes the full range of Verum Finance features, including balance management, instant transfers to other Verum users, debit card management, Apple Pay support, asset exchange, and transaction history — all optimized for the macOS experience.

Verum Finance can be used as a standalone application or alongside Verum Messenger. Users who sign in with their Verum Messenger account automatically synchronize their balances, settings, and account data across devices, ensuring a consistent experience throughout the Verum ecosystem.

The macOS release further strengthens Verum’s vision of creating an integrated digital platform where communication and financial services work together. Verum Messenger, which is also available for Mac, complements the ecosystem with encrypted messaging, voice and video calls, VPN, eSIM, anonymous email, AI-powered tools, offline communication capabilities, and cryptocurrency features.

With both Verum Messenger and Verum Finance now available across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, users can access secure communication and financial services wherever they work.

Verum Finance for Mac is available now through the Mac App Store.

Verum Finance for macOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/verum-finance/id6774245148
Verum Finance: https://finance.verum.im
Verum Messenger: https://verum.im

Technologies

Why Travelers Are Switching to Verum E-SIM This Summer

Summer Travel, Freedom, and Seamless Connectivity: Why Verum E-SIM Is Becoming the New Standard for Travelers

Summer is the peak season for vacations, long-distance trips, and new experiences. Millions of people travel abroad, explore new countries, plan adventures, and try to stay connected with family, work, and social media. And in the middle of all this comes a familiar question: how do you stay online without expensive roaming or the hassle of buying local SIM cards?

The answer is already here — eSIM.

Why eSIM Is So Convenient

eSIM (embedded SIM) is a built-in digital SIM card that lets you activate mobile internet without a physical card. All you need is an app — choose a plan and connect in just a couple of minutes.

No more:

* searching for local SIM cards at airports
* paying expensive roaming fees
* swapping physical SIMs every time you travel

Now your internet travels with you.

Internet in 150+ Countries

Modern eSIM solutions provide coverage in 150+ countries worldwide, helping tourists, freelancers, and business travelers stay connected almost anywhere on the planet.

Among the services offering these capabilities:

Verum E-SIM — https://esim.verum.im
World E-SIM — https://worldesim.me
USA E-SIM — https://usa.esim.verum.im
Euro E-SIM — https://euro.esim.verum.im
Canada E-SIM — https://canada.esim.verum.im
Balkan E-SIM — https://balkan.esim.verum.im
Ukraine E-SIM — https://ukraine.esim.verum.im
London E-SIM — https://london.esim.verum.im
E-SIM Africa — https://africa.esim.verum.im