macOS, Apple‘s operating system for its Mac computers, has gathered a dedicated user base thanks to factors like its intuitive design, sleek aesthetic, quick performance, and smooth integration with other Apple devices and services.
All of that factors into what is still considered a premium user experience by many, but that doesn’t mean that the operating system doesn’t leave things to be desired. That’s not unique to macOS, of course, but there are areas where the operating system could improve, and Apple doesn’t even have to look that far for inspiration – it can take a couple of pages right out of Microsoft‘s Windows book.
Here, we discuss three features and capabilities that can be found in Windows, Microsoft‘s desktop operating system, that we’d love to see in a future version of macOS: window snapping, a clipboard history, and (a pretty big one) continued improvement of Apple’s support for gaming, where Microsoft clearly remains a good way ahead.
(Image credit: A-P Kuutila)
Window snapping for better organization
Window snapping is a feature that many Windows users have come to rely on as it allows you to quickly arrange and manage open windows on the desktop. Microsoft’s OS provides you with predefined grid layouts that ‘snap’ windows into position, and there are multiple snap layouts you can make use of. These include:
Side-by-side, making it easier to compare the contents of two windows
Quarter-view, separating your screen into four quadrants that you can populate
Custom layouts, in which you can customize how you divide up the screen
There’s also Snap Assist which enables you to drag a window to the edge of the screen and see a preview of where it will snap to, and Snap Groups, which group content together based on multiple windows that are open from the same app. This makes it easier to quickly organize windows without having to manually resize them.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
A silent hero to help you remember: Clipboard History
Clipboard History is a big hit with Windows users, as it allows you to access the last 25 items you’ve copied (regardless of whether you’ve pasted or saved them elsewhere). It saves all text, HTML, and images that you’ve copied most recently, with new entries towards the top, and older entries being deleted as time goes on. Additionally, Clipboard History resets each time you start your PC, unless you pin an entry – then it stays pinned at the top of the list, so it can be accessed at any time.
You do have to enable Clipboard History, and once you have, you can pull it up using the keyboard shortcut Windows Key + V. It’s available for Windows 10 and Windows 11, and once it’s enabled, you can interact with the items in the list, and select any item to paste it into an open application. You can also manually delete items you don’t want in your Clipboard History.
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macOS does have its own clipboard memory, although it’s more limited than that of Windows. You can view the most recently copied text, or file name of a recently copied file, but that’s pretty much as far as macOS’s clipboard memory functionality goes.
There are third-party apps and workarounds for better functionality, but it would be nice to see macOS do this natively.
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Jeramey Lende)
Making Macs better gaming machines
There is a Game Mode on Macs that’s designed to make gaming smoother and it adjusts your Mac’s performance to deliver the best gaming experience it can, but there’s more that can be done by Apple to help catch up with the superior gaming experience to be had on Windows.
Lots of game developers won’t even make a version for Mac (or make one much later) because it’s a lot of work to adapt to Mac hardware, so a common complaint is the smaller selection of available games compared to Windows. Now, we have M3 and even M4 Apple silicon (in iPads, and doubtless coming to Macs before too long), and this could encourage both Apple and game producers to bring about a better gaming experience for Mac users.
Apple’s been taking steps in terms of both software and hardware that could make it easier for game developers to port their games to Mac, and I hope Apple more fully embraces this direction. Plus with the M4 chip incoming for Macs, as mentioned, we should see even better performance in terms of emulation for games that can be run this way.
The company recently debuted the Vision Pro to massive hype and many people were impressed with its performance. If Apple develops the Vision Pro’s gaming capabilities (which would strike me as a missed opportunity if it didn’t happen), perhaps this will further Apple’s expertise in making devices for gaming, which it could then apply to other Apple devices like Macs.
(Image credit: Future)
Driving macOS momentum
There are solid reasons why Apple devices and macOS have loyal followings, but there’s room for improvement that could greatly enhance the macOS user experience (something Apple prides itself on).
Gaming has become as much a mainstay form of entertainment as anything else, and I’m hoping Apple will double down here to make further improvements to usher in a better Mac gaming experience – which seems perfectly doable.
Apple has made impressive strides both in terms of software and hardware, but it can do more to encourage users of other operating systems like Windows to adopt macOS and further drive its momentum.
The popular Arc Browser has been wowing macOS and iOS users for years, and now it’s . The Windows version of The Browser Company’s software . The only caveat? The web browser is only available for Windows 11, though a Windows 10 version is on the way.
While a direct competitor to browsers like Chrome and Edge, Arc is actually quite unique. It features a collapsible sidebar with vertical tabs and bookmarks, so there are no tabs up top. This gives users a clean view of the actual website they’re visiting, without any unnecessary clutter. It also lets people build spaces to keep things organized, which kind of works like folders on a desktop. Looking for recipes and applying for jobs at the same time? Just dump tabs and research from the former into one space and the latter into another space.
The Peek feature lets users preview a link before opening it and Little Arc opens up a lightweight browser window for viewing something quickly and with minimal memory usage. There’s a bit of a learning curve with Arc, given we’ve been using browsers in the same exact way for decades, but that’s been worth it for many users.
It’s also ultra-customizable, making for the kind of personalized experience that isn’t available with rival browsers. Arc actually lets users customize the look of any website they visit, so people can take their aggression out on Engadget by turning the site neon green or changing the font to something hideous. Folks can even highlight entire sections and delete them from view. As an added bonus, Chrome plugins work with Arc, making for an easy migration.
Engadget / Nathan Ingraham
Another big thing here is Swift integration. Arc actually runs on Swift, which is a programming language created by Apple for building apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch. So by bringing Arc to Windows, the Browser Company is also bringing Swift to Windows for the first time.
This means that third parties will, eventually, be able to build Windows applications using Swift. This programming language is than, say, Python and the like. The company’s been working on bringing Swift to Windows computers for six years, with calling it “an effort of love.”
The Browser Company promises this is just the beginning of Arc on Windows. It says there will be regular performance improvements and new features “dropping in the coming weeks and months.” In the meantime, the browser’s free if people want to give it a looksie.
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Razer has rolled out the Viper V3 Pro, its latest high-end wireless gaming mouse. What makes a gaming mouse “high-end,” you might ask? Mainly, it’s super lightweight and packed with impressive wireless and sensor tech, all of which makes it extremely responsive in competitive games. I’ve had one on hand for about two weeks now and have felt next to zero delay flicking through rounds of Halo Infinite and Apex Legends.
The other thing is the price: The Viper V3 Pro is available today for $160 in the US or €180 in Europe. That isn’t unheard of — Razer’s own DeathAdder V3 Pro, the top wireless pick in our gaming mouse buying guide, costs the same — but it’s certainly not cheap.
If you keep up with the gaming mouse market, here’s the short version: The Viper V3 Pro has virtually the same shape and soft-touch coating as last year’s midrange Viper V3 HyperSpeed, but it’s far lighter at 54 grams, plus it has optical switches, a technically superior sensor and a few small design tweaks. It’s the follow-up to the popular Viper V2 Pro from 2022 and the ambidextrous complement to the aforementioned DeathAdder V3 Pro, which has a more dramatically contoured ergonomic shape.
The Razer Viper V3 Pro (left) and Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 (right), another high-end wireless gaming mouse with a symmetrical shape. (Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)
For everyone else, the main thing to know about mice like this is that they’re built for competitive gaming above all else. As such, the Viper V3 Pro deliberately excludes features that’d make it more convenient for day-to-day use: There’s no Bluetooth and only two side buttons, while the DPI switch is located on the bottom of the mouse. The scroll wheel can’t tilt left or right, and there’s no lighting, either. But these omissions make sense if you view the mouse as a tool for esports: They keep the weight down and make it harder to hit buttons by accident.
The most important thing with any gaming mouse is its shape, and the Viper V3 Pro’s should fit most hand sizes well. It’s highly similar to Logitech’s G Pro X Superlight 2, its chief competitor, but slightly longer and flatter. A modest but noticeable hump in the center rests naturally in your palm, while the sides are gently contoured in then out to welcome the tops of your thumb and ring finger (or pinkie). The main click buttons are grooved, slightly flared and amply sized. None of the angles are aggressive. Razer says it works best with a fingertip or claw grip; I have few issues as someone who uses the latter. But the design isn’t so short or flat that it’s horrible for palm grips. In total, it measures 5.0 x 2.51 x 1.57 inches.
The mouse’s coating is pleasingly soft and smooth. It’ll pick up fingerprint smudges over time, but it should be grippy enough for most people out of the gate. (Razer includes some pre-cut grip tape in the box if it still feels too slippery.) The device as a whole is sturdily built, with no sign of flex or creaking in my two weeks of daily use.
Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
The Viper V3 Pro isn’t the absolute lightest gaming mouse, but calling a 54g device too heavy to move around would be splitting hairs. Notably, it achieves this weight without any cutouts in its top or bottom shell. Rival gaming mice like the Pwnage Stormbreaker or Pulsar X2V2 are similarly light but leave their interiors more open to dust and detritus.
The mouse’s main click buttons are fast, not sticky and on the softer side for a device that uses optical switches. They aren’t as loud as the clicks on the G Pro X Superlight 2, though the right-click panel on my test unit sounds a little less full than the left-click one. (That’s more of a nitpick than a dealbreaker.) As with most optical mice, the main buttons may not be as satisfying to press as good mechanical switches, but they’re more likely to avoid durability issues over time. I’d also give the Viper V3 Pro the edge over Logitech’s mouse when it comes to the side buttons and scroll wheel. The Viper’s wheel is tighter, quieter and has grippier ridges on its exterior, while its side buttons are a bit less mushy by comparison.
In terms of performance, the Viper V3 Pro uses Razer’s new “Focus Pro 35K Optical Sensor Gen-2.” It can reach a maximum of 35,000 DPI, and you can adjust that sensitivity in 1 DPI increments. A max speed of 750 IPS and max acceleration of 70 G accompany that. Per usual with gaming mice, these higher figures are partly marketing fluff: Many older gaming mice have few issues when it comes to sensor accuracy and consistency.
The mouse is available in black or white, though Razer says the white model weighs a gram more. (Razer)
Along those lines, the mouse comes with Razer’s HyperPolling Wireless Dongle, which costs $30 on its own. It advertises a maximum polling rate of 8,000Hz, which technically allows for more precise movements but has a negligible effect on real-world performance. Mostly, it saps battery life: Razer says the Viper V3 Pro can last up to 95 hours at a 1,000Hz polling rate, which is fine, but that dips to just 17 hours at 8,000Hz.
Still, while I am far from an pro-level player, I can’t foresee many complaints about the Viper V3 Pro’s responsiveness or connection quality. The shape, weight and sensor all play a role in that — as do the large PTFE feet, which let the mouse glide smoothly across surfaces. Somewhat less agreeable is the included cable, which is cleverly angled to reduce drag but isn’t the thinnest or most flexible cord I’ve seen. The dongle still requires running the cable from a PC to a desk, too.
Nevertheless, the Viper V3 Pro is well worth a look if you take competitive gaming seriously, prefer an ambidextrous shape and have money to burn. To be clear, there are still several gaming mice that’ll feel comfortable and perform well for less cash, especially if you’re OK with a wired model. And if you own an older Viper you’re still happy with today, there’s no pressing need to upgrade. A mouse like this is closer to a Ferrari, when most people can live just fine with a Subaru. That said, Ferraris are pretty nice, right?
AMD puts out some of the best processors on the market that can compete with Intel’s, including the best cheap processors that are sure to play gently with your wallet. And right now Walmart is offering an excellent deal on a Ryzen 5 processor, bringing it down to a budget-friendly price.
If you’re interested in getting your hands on an excellent gaming processor that’s wallet-friendly, then you’ll want to take advantage of this fantastic sale while you still can.
Today’s best AMD Ryzen 5 7600 CPU deal
The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is one of the best AMD processors when it comes to pricing versus performance. It features six cores that, due to AMD Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT), are effectively doubled to 12 cores. It also has 32 MB of L3 cache and runs at 3.8 GHz but can boost up to 5.1 GHz.
There are two downsides. First, it lacks 3D V-cache. That’s a method that stacks cache vertically – tripling the CPU’s L3 cache – leading to faster calculations and a nice speed increase. The second is that it tends to run hot for a budget processor, so you’ll need a solid heat sink or general ventilation.
Happy Pi Day! Solo Stove is celebrating with up to $160 off sitewide when you use coupon code PIZZA during checkout. The company’s pizza ovens are on sale, but so are some great smokeless firepits and other accessories. We’ve rounded up our favorite deals below. The sale is scheduled to end on March 18, so you have some time to take advantage of the discounts.
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Pi Day Deals
Solo Stove Pi
Photograph: Solo Stove
The Solo Stove Pi (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is our favorite pizza oven. This bundle includes three accessories—a pizza peel, a cutter, and a thermometer—yet the price ends up the same as the oven alone thanks to the coupon code. The design is compact, with a large cooking surface and a nice flat top for extra cooking space (and storage). We think it works best with a good cast-iron pan, especially since the handle will stick out to minimize burn risk. This oven is pricey, so this sale is a good opportunity to snag one. You can also opt for the wood-burning model with no gas attachments for less.
The Solo Stove Yukon (7/10, WIRED Review) is awesome but not portable at 27 inches. It’s gorgeous and made from stainless steel, plus it burns hot and lights easily. Sure, you can build a firepit for far less money, but if you want to invest in your backyard, this is a gorgeous way to do it.
This is one of the best deals we’ve tracked for the Bonfire. It’s similar to the Yukon but with a much smaller diameter, which makes it easier to tote to the beach or (safely) into the woods. It’s durable, and the fire burns hot without all that gross smoke blowing around your camp chairs.
It’s hard to expect much from Apple’s new M3-equipped MacBook Airs. The 13-inch M2 model, released in 2022, was the first major redesign for Apple’s most popular notebook in over a decade. Last year, Apple finally gave its fanatics a big-screen ultraportable notebook with the 15-inch MacBook Air. This week, we’ve got the same two computers with slightly faster chips. They didn’t even get a real launch event from Apple, just a sleepy Monday morning press release. They look the same and are a bit faster than before — what else is there to say?
Now, I’m not saying these aren’t great computers. It’s just that we’ve been a bit spoiled by Apple’s laptops over the last few years. The M3 MacBook Air marks the inevitable innovation plateau for the company, following the monumental rise of its mobile chips and a complete refresh of its laptops and desktops. It’s like hitting cruising altitude after the excitement of takeoff — things are stable and comfortable for Apple and consumers alike.
Apple
Apple’s latest MacBook Air takes everything we loved about the M2 redesign — a sleeker and lighter case — and adds more power thanks to an M3 chip.
Pros
Sturdy and sleek design
Fast performance thanks to M3 chip
Excellent 13-inch screen
Great keyboard and trackpad
Solid quad-speaker array
Cons
Charging and USB-C ports are only on one side
$1,099 at Amazon
Apple
Apple’s big-screen MacBook Air still looks and feels great, and it’s faster thanks to an M3 chip.
Pros
Sturdy and sleek design
Fast performance thanks to M3 chip
Excellent 15-inch screen
Great keyboard and trackpad
Solid six-speaker array
Cons
Charging and USB-C ports are only on one side
$1,299 at Amazon
M3 MacBook Air vs the M2 MacBook Air
Even though they look exactly the same as before, the M3 MacBook Air models have a few new features under the hood. For one, they support dual external displays, but only when their lids are closed. That was something even the M3-equipped 14-inch MacBook Pro lacked at launch, but Apple says the feature is coming to that device via a future software update. Having dual screen support is particularly useful for office workers who may need to drop their computers onto temporary desks, but it could also be helpful for creatives with multiple monitors at home. (If you absolutely need to have your laptop display on alongside two or more external monitors, you’ll have to opt for a MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro or Max chip instead.)
Both new MacBook Air models also support Wi-Fi 6E, an upgrade over the previous Wi-Fi 6 standard with faster speeds and dramatically lower latency. You’ll need a Wi-Fi 6E router to actually see those benefits, though. According to Intel, Wi-Fi 6E’s ability to tap into seven 160MHz channels helps it avoid congested Wi-Fi 6 spectrum. Basically, you may actually be able to see gigabit speeds more often. (With my AT&T gigabit fiber connection and Wi-Fi 6 gateway, I saw download speeds of around 350 Mbps and uploads ran between 220 Mbps and 320 Mbps on both systems from my basement office. Both upload and download speeds leapt to 700 Mbps when I was on the same floor as the gateway.)
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Design and weight
Two years after the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air debuted, the M3 follow-up is just as sleek and attractive. It seems impossibly thin for a notebook, measuring 0.44 inches thick, and is fairly light at 2.7 pounds. We’ve seen ultraportables like LG’s Gram and the ZenBook S13 OLED that are both lighter and thinner than Apple’s hardware, but the MacBook Air still manages to feel like a more premium package. Its unibody aluminum case feels as smooth a river stone yet as sturdy as a boulder. It’s a computer I simply love to touch.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air is similarly thin, but clocks in half a pound heavier at 3.2 pounds. It’s still relatively light for its size, but the additional bulk makes it feel more unwieldy than the 13-inch model. I can easily slip either MacBook Air model into a tote bag when running out to grab my kids from school, but the larger model’s length makes it more annoying to carry.
For some users, though, that extra heft will be worth it. The bigger MacBook Air sports a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina screen with a sharp 2,880 by 1,864 (224 pixels per inch) resolution, making it better suited for multitasking with multiple windows or working in media editing apps. It’s also a better fit for older or visually impaired users, who may have to scale up their displays to make them more readable. (This is something I’ve noticed while shopping for computers for my parents and other older relatives. 13-inch laptops inevitably become hard to work on, unless you’re always wearing bifocals.)
While I’m impressed that Apple finally has a large, consumer-focused laptop in its lineup, I still prefer the 13-inch MacBook Air. I spend most of my day writing, Slacking with colleagues, editing photos and talking with companies over video conferencing apps, all of which are easy to do on a smaller screen. If I was directly editing more episodes of the Engadget Podcast, or chopping up video on my own, though, I’d bump up to the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip. Even then, I wouldn’t have much need for a significantly larger screen.
A lonely headphone jack that could use a USB-C companion. (Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget)
It’s understandable why Apple wouldn’t want to tweak the Air’s design too much, given that it was just redone a few years ago. Still, I’d love to see a USB-C port on the right side of the machine, just to make charging easier in every location. But I suppose I should just be happy Apple hasn’t removed the headphone jack, something that’s happening all too frequently in new 13-inch notebooks, like the XPS 13.
Hardware
For our testing, Apple sent the “midnight” 13-inch MacBook Air (which is almost jet black and features a fingerprint-resistant coating that actually works), as well as the silver 15-inch model. Both computers were powered by an M3 chip with a 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. While these MacBooks start at $1,099 and $1,299, respectively, the configurations we tested cost $400 more. Keep that in mind if you’re paying attention to our benchmarks, as you’ll definitely see lower figures on the base models. (The cheapest 13-inch offering only has 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and an 8-core GPU, while the entry-level 15-inch unit has the same RAM and storage, along with a 10-core GPU.)
Geekbench 6 CPU
Geekbench 6 GPU
Cinebench R23
3DMark Wildlife Extreme
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3, 2024)
3,190/12,102
30,561
1,894/9,037
8,310
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M3, 2024)
3,187/12,033
30,556
1,901/9,733
8,253
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M2, 2022)
2,570/9,650
25,295
1,576/7,372
6,761
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3, 2023)
3,142/11,902
30,462
1,932/10,159
8,139
M3 chip performance
I didn’t expect to see a huge performance boost on either MacBook Air, but our benchmarks ended up surprising me. Both laptops scored around 300 points higher in the Cinebench R23 single-core test, compared to the M2 MacBook Air. And when it came to the more strenuous multi-core CPU test, the 13-inch M3 Air was around 1,700 points faster, while the 15-inch model was around 2,400 points faster. (Since both machines are fan-less, there’s a good chance the larger case of the 15-inch Air allows for slightly better performance under load.)
There was a more noticeable difference in Geekbench 6, where the M3 models were around 40 percent faster than before. Apple is touting more middling improvements over the M2 chips — 17 percent faster single-core performance, 21 percent speedier multi-core workloads and 15 percent better GPU workloads — but it’s nice to see areas where performance is even better. Really, though, these aren’t machines meant to replace M2 systems — the better comparisons are how they measure up to nearly four-year-old M1 Macs or even creakier Intel models. Apple claims the M3 chip is up to 60 percent faster than the M1, but in my testing I saw just a 35 percent speed bump in Cinebench’s R23 multi-core test.
When it comes to real-world performance, I didn’t notice a huge difference between either M3-equipped MacBook Air, compared to the M2 model I’ve been using for the past few years. Apps load just as quickly, multitasking isn’t noticeably faster (thank goodness they have 16GB of RAM), and even photo editing isn’t significantly speedier. This is a good time to point out that the M2 MacBook Air is still a fine machine, and it’s an even better deal now thanks to a lower $999 starting price. As we’ve said, the best thing about the existence of the M3 Airs is that they’ve made the M2 models cheaper. You’ll surely find some good deals from stores clearing out older stock and refurbished units, as well as existing owners selling off their M2 machines.
Gaming and productivity work
I’ll give the M3 MacBook Airs this: they’re noticeably faster for gaming. I was able to run Lies of P in 1080p+ (1,920 by 1,200) with high graphics settings and see a smooth 60fps most of the time. It occasionally dipped into the low-50fps range, but that didn’t affect the game’s playability much. The director’s cut of Death Stranding was also smooth and easy to play at that resolution, so long as I didn’t crank up the graphics settings too much. It’s nice to have the option for some serious games on Macs for once. And if you want more variety, you can also stream high-end games over Xbox’s cloud streaming or NVIDIA’s GeForce Now.
In addition to being a bit faster than before, the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs are simply nice computers to use. Their 500-nit screens support HDR and are bright to use outdoors in sunlight. While they’re not as impressive as the ProMotion MiniLED displays on the MacBook Pros, they’ll get the job done for most users. Apple’s quad and six-speaker arrays are also best-in-class, and the 1080p webcams on both computers are perfect for video conferencing (especially when paired with Apple’s camera tweaks for brightness and background blurring). And I can’t say enough good things about the MacBook Air’s responsive keyboard and smooth trackpad – I wish every laptop used them.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Battery
Unfortunately, the short turn-around time for this review prevented me from running a complete battery test for these computers. At the moment, though, I can say that both machines only used up 40 percent of battery life while playing a 4K fullscreen video at full brightness for over 10 hours. Apple claims they’ll play an Apple TV video for up to 18 hours, as well as browse the web wirelessly for up to 15 hours. My testing shows they’ll definitely last far more than a typical workday. (I would often go three days without needing to charge the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I expect similar performance from the M3 models.)
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Wrap-up
There aren’t any major surprises with the 13-inch and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air, but after years of continual upgrades, that’s to be expected. They’re great computers with excellent performance, gorgeous screens and incredible battery life. And best of all, their introduction also pushes down the prices of the still-great M2 models, making them an even better deal.