Apple Is Quietly Rebuilding Every Mac It Sells

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Rumors,

Look at Apple's Mac lineup today, then picture the whole thing swapped out. That is roughly the plan. According to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is getting ready to refresh every single Mac it sells over the next two years, from the cheapest MacBook Air to the Mac Studio sitting under a video editor's desk. Not a spec bump here and a new color there. The entire family, top to bottom.

It is worth saying up front that this is a report, not an Apple announcement, so treat the dates and details as the best current read on Apple's plans rather than a promise. But the shape of it is easy to understand, and it tells you something about where Apple thinks the Mac is going. The short version: people are buying Macs again, a lot of them to run demanding AI work locally, and Apple wants a lineup that can meet that moment. Mac sales are reportedly on track to climb for a third year running.

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The Next Mac Mini Might Put a Newer Chip in the Cheaper Model

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Rumors,

Picture buying the entry-level Mac mini and walking out with a newer chip than the person next to you who paid more. That is the small, strange promise tucked inside the latest report about Apple's tiniest desktop.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is testing a next-generation Mac mini that pairs two chips from two different families: a fresh M6 in the base model, and last year's M5 Pro in the step-up configuration. None of this is official. There's no price, no spec sheet, and no release date attached yet. But if it holds up, it means the cheaper mini would run Apple's newest silicon while the pricier one leans on a chip that's technically a generation behind.

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Apple’s Cheapest MacBook Is Getting Two Upgrades, and One of Them Actually Matters

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Rumors,

The cheapest Mac Apple makes is also the one worth watching. The MacBook Neo showed up earlier this year as a $599 laptop, an almost suspiciously low price for something with an Apple logo on the lid, and it quietly became the machine people started recommending to friends who just need a computer that works. Now, only a few months in, the rumor mill is already sketching out the sequel. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, it comes down to two upgrades.

Those two: a new A19 Pro chip in place of the current A18 Pro, and 12GB of RAM instead of 8GB. Gurman also expects a fresh set of colors to join the current Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo. None of this is official yet, so hold it loosely. But it fits the pattern of a company that likes to firm up a good idea once it knows the idea actually works.

Click to continue reading Apple’s Cheapest MacBook Is Getting Two Upgrades, and One of Them Actually Matters

Apple’s Mac Pro Was Supposed to Bury the Mac Studio. It Blinked Instead.

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Rumors,

Here is the version of the Mac Pro you never got to buy: a tower with a chip so big it would have carried twice the processing cores and twice the graphics cores of the beefiest Ultra chip Apple sells. A machine built to make the Mac Studio look like a warm-up act. Apple designed it, plotted its launch, and then quietly walked away.

That is the picture painted by a new report from Bloomberg's Power On, and it lands with a little extra sting because Apple killed off the Mac Pro entirely back in March. So this is not a story about what is coming. It is a story about the monster desktop that got as far as the drawing board and then lost an argument to a smaller, cheaper box sitting right next to it.

Click to continue reading Apple’s Mac Pro Was Supposed to Bury the Mac Studio. It Blinked Instead.

The iPad mini Is Finally Getting the One Upgrade That Actually Matters

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Rumors,

The iPad mini has always been the tablet you actually hold. Not the one you prop on a stand to type an email, but the one you read on in bed, thumb through on the train, or hand to a kid in the back seat. And for two years it has been coasting on the same screen it has had since forever. That is about to change.

Apple is reportedly planning to ship a new iPad mini this October, and for once the update is not just a spec bump. This is the mini's biggest overhaul in roughly five years, and the headline feature is the one thing that matters most on a device you stare at from six inches away: the display.

Click to continue reading The iPad mini Is Finally Getting the One Upgrade That Actually Matters

Apple to reveal new iPad Air, Retina display iMac, and more this week

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, PC / Laptop, Rumors,

About a month ago, Apple took the stage at the Flint Center to unveil the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Later this week, the company will hold another special event, then time to reveal this years iPad lineup, and if reports are correct, updated iMacs (including one with a Retina display.) We’ve heard conflicting reports as to whether the iPad mini will see an update at the event, or if that’ll come early next year, but we do know that the iPad Air will get an update that will make it lighter, slimmer, and more powerful.

Vietnamese leak site Tinhte.vn has already showed what’s purported to be the iPad Air 2 frame, which is thinner and sees the volume buttons recessed into the frame, and the inclusion of a Touch ID sensor, bringing the iPhone feature over to the Apple tablet family.

Meanwhile, fans of Apple’s desktop hardware have been waiting for a couple of years for the Retina display technology to make the jump from iOS devices and Apple notebooks over to the iMac. It appears that a 27-inch model that sports a 5K resolution may be prepped for Thursday as well, alongside a possible Mac mini refresh. OS X Yosemite may also launch on Thursday, as Apple has released three Golden Master candidates to developers so far.

We’ll have all the news here on Gear Live as it happens, and Apple will also have a live stream of the event as well.

Read More | Tinhte

Apple prepping to launch iMac with Retina display alongside OS X Yosemite

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Displays, PC / Laptop, Rumors,

According to reports from several outlets, Apple is set to finally bring its iMac desktop line into the future with the introduction of a Retina display with a 5K resolution. for the 27-inch model. The company is said to be in the late testing stage for the iMac with Retina display, which would put it on track to launch in the next couple of months. The smart money says that it’ll launch alongside OS X Yosemite, with other updates that include faster processors, improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and Thunderbolt 2 ports. We expect that the Retina display would be a premium feature, with non-Retina models also being available with updated internals as well.

As far as OS X Yosemite goes, Apple has been testing a couple of Ultra High Definition resolutions, included 4096 x 2034 and 6400 x 3600 pixels. Additionally, the company is readying 4K-compatible versions of its video editing apps, Final Cut Pro and iMovie. If true, expect news on all of this to come directly from Apple next month.

iWatch to ship in two sizes with OLED display and NFC says WSJ

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Wearables, Rumors,

One of the big questions about Apple’s upcoming Wish We Could Say More event, taking place next week (which you can watch live,) is whether the company will finally reveal the iWatch, and if it does, what will it do? Today, the Wall Street Journal released a report that Apple will indeed announce the iWatch on Tuesday, and gave details on what we can expect from the mystical wearable.

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Read More | The Wall Street Journal

A look at the next-generation 2016 Chevy Volt

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Rumors, Transportation,

GM is set to debut the next-generation Chevy Volt at the North American International Auto Show, which is just over five months away, taking place in Detroit in January 2015. The 2016 Chevy Volt will be the first redesign for the game-changing electric car, and details are obviously scarce since the company is going for the element of surprise. However, this morning they gave us a peek at the next design. Above you see what appears to be the rear liftgate, lit up by a sunset. My wish list? As a Chevy Volt owner, I'd like to see the 2016 model pick up a 50-mile electric range, 50 miles-per-gallon in range-extending mode, and a redesigned battery pack that will allow for three seats in the rear. We'll know more in a few months!

Read More | Chevy Volt Twitter

Windows getting an all-new Start menu in future release, and here it is

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Rumors, Software,

One of the biggest complaints about Windows 8 is the lack of the Start button, but the feature is about to make a return with an overhauled look and feel. In the leaked screenshot above, you see the new Start menu, which incorporates Microsoft's tile design that you'll find it using across its product line in areas like Xbox, Windows Phone, Office, and of course, Windows itself.

As you see in the screenshot, there are tiles embedded into the Start menu for items like People, Mail, PC Settings, Calendar, Xbox, Camera, and more. We'd imagine that you'd be able to rearrange items, pin your favorites, and remove things you'd never use. Bringing back the Start menu could be seen as a big step back, with Microsoft succumbing to users who refuse to embrace change; others may see it as the company finally listening to user feedback and addressing those needs. The Start button is much more usable on a computer that doesn't have a touchscreen than the home screen version of the Start menu. No word on when the change will go public.

What do you think? Have you been waiting for the return of the Start button on the Windows 8 desktop?

Read More | MyDigitalLife