Dell is out the gate early with one of its CES announcements this year. Joining its UltraSharp Monitor lineup is the new 40-inch 5K Curved Thunderbolt Hub Monitor. Here are all the details on this big boy.
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Dell announced its new UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor back in January at CES, now the external display is available with a compelling feature set for $2,000 less than Apple’s 32-inch Pro Display XDR. Read on for all the details.
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Dell has unveiled a lineup of new monitors today at CES. Headlining the new products is the 32-inch 6K UltraSharp Monitor with powerful 140W charging for laptops, impressive I/O hub, 4K webcam, 99% DCI-P3 colorspace, and more.
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Dell is discontinuing its Mobile Connect program, which lets users synch their iPhone’s calls, text, and notifications to their computer. While it works with both iPhone and Android, some of these features have just recently come to iPhone.
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After unveiling its new USB-C UltraSharp 32 4K Conference Monitor that features a built-in 4K HDR Sony webcam at CES back in January, Dell has opened preorders today. The new monitor offers a number of features that may make it a compelling alternative to Apple’s Studio Display.
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Dell has announced a new 4K Ultra Sharp Monitor specifically designed with video conferencing in mind. The new 32-inch display packs a lot of features like USB-C single cable connectivity and integrated I/O hub, 90W charging, built-in 4K HDR Sony webcam, dual microphones, IPS Black panel technology, and more.
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Apple offers differentiated integration between the iPhone and Mac, but Windows PC users don’t have most of these features. To change this situation and make its product line more attractive, Dell has announced an update for its laptops that brings new tools to use the iPhone with Windows.
Taking a leap forward past the competition, Dell has today announced the launch of its UltraSharp 32-inch Ultra HD 8K Monitor and a massive 27-inch horizontal touchscreen, the Dell Canvas. The UltraSharp 32 is the “world’s first” 32-inch 8K display, packing in a whopping 1 billion colors and a 280 ppi. The Dell Canvas is a “smart workspace” designed as a plug and play system for Windows 10 devices looking to unleash everyone’s creativity.
Apple worked with LG on the company’s new UltraFine 5K display, but that’s not stopping other companies from showing off their own standalone USB-C displays. As CES 2017 kicks off this week in Las Vegas, we’re sure to see quite a few companies take the wraps off of new displays, but Dell is getting a head start with its new 27-inch Ultrathin display…
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If you own a MacBook Pro with Retina Display and desire extra screen real estate, then a 4K monitor can be a good investment, especially as the price of such monitors continue to dwindle.
Why should you consider a 4K display instead of a cheaper monitor with lesser resolution? It all boils down to clarity.
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Apple has expanded support for 4K displays in its recent OS X 10.10.3 release and officially confirmed specifics for using 4K displays with its new 12-inch MacBook.
While previously Apple only officially supported certain Multi-Stream Transport (MST) displays at a refresh rate of 60Hz, it now says that “most single-stream 4K (3840×2160) displays” are officially supported at 60Hz as well following the recent OS X Yosemite v10.10.3 update. That should mean support for a lot more inexpensive 4K displays that don’t include DisplayPort’s Multi-Stream Transport feature.
A full list of Macs that will support Single-Stream (SST) displays with a 60Hz refresh rate include:
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So Apple didn’t release a 4K (or 5K) standalone Retina display alongside the new 5K iMac, but you can’t hold off any longer on a shiny new display for your Mac Pro. I found myself in the same predicament not too long ago and decided to put a number of displays to the test in recent months. 4K might offer 4x the resolution of your standard 1080p display, but for the short time they’ve been around, they’ve also cost about 4x as much as the alternatives. The good news: There are a few Mac Pro compatible 4K displays (and UHD alternatives) finally starting to hit more reasonable price points just as recent OS X updates fix some issues early adopters first had with the higher resolution displays.
I’ve been testing Mac Pro compatible displays from Dell, Sharp, Samsung, LG, and others that are officially supported by Apple, and put together a list of my thoughts and top picks for those planning on picking up a new Mac Pro this holiday season. Despite my tests being done mostly on a new, stock Mac Pro, these picks stand for Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook users as well.
A new report from Reuters citing sources at Apple familiar with the company’s plans for future corporate offerings has unveiled new details on the Cupertino corporation’s efforts to recruit business clients and software developers. According to these sources, Apple is currently courting companies such as Citigroup, ServiceMax, and PlanGrid (among others) to augment its current IBM enterprise agreement.
The exact nature of the proposed partnerships between these companies hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the general idea is similar to the IBM arrangement. ServiceMax, a company that creates solutions for managing field technicians, and PlanGrid, which allows construction workers to share blueprints with each other, will both agree to roll out Apple hardware with custom software to their clients.
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Today’s can’t miss deals:
iPad Blowout sale at Staples, up to $105 off: Airs starting at $339
Some solid deals from Specials.9to5toys.com:
A Dark Room is now available for free on iOS (Reg. up to $3.99)
Mount your iPhone 6 inside your car with Logitech’s new Protection+ case
Small States – Tucker and Bloom: father & son create functionally beautiful bags, giveaway worth $175
Other new deals:
Free eBay money! $100 eBay gift card (email delivery) for $94 from PayPal http://t.co/iSikiKGzd0 pic.twitter.com/L24AgC1k9c
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) November 3, 2014
More deals still:
Black Friday:
New products/ongoing promos:
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) announced today that it’s introducing the latest DisplayPort technology that brings support for upcoming 5K monitors and more. DisplayPort 1.3 for audio and video increases the standard to a maximum link bandwidth of 32.4 Gbps and as a result supports 5K displays with resolutions of 5120 x 2880 on a single cable without compression methods. In addition, users will notice enhanced performance for 4K displays in multi-monitor setups over a single DisplayPort connection:
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Dell has just announced a brand-new 27inch external display with an insane resolution of 5120×2880. Pixel counts of this magnitude were thought to be several months out, stretching into mid 2015, so Dell’s abrupt announcement has come as a bit of surprise. In summary, the 27-inch panel has 14 million pixels across its surface, resulting in a PPI of 218. This is the same density as a 15inch Retina MacBook Pro, but obviously much much larger.
The monitor is expected to be available by the end of the year.
What’s notable about this resolution is it shows that a Retina iMac is now very feasible. 5120×2880 is exactly double 2560×1440, the resolution of the current 27 inch iMac, in each dimension.
If you’ve decided you’ve waited long enough for Apple to update the Mac mini with a Haswell processor, you can always create a Hac mini.
A user posting on the Hacintosh site tonymacx86.com has documented his successful squeezing of an Intel DH61AG motherboard with i3-3225 CPU (55w TDP), 4GB Ram, 128GB mSATA SSD, half mini PCIe Wifi and an external Dell laptop power supply into a 2010 Mac mini case …
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After Apple announced earlier this year that it would soon begin assembling Made-in-the-USA Macs in Texas and later confirmed it would be the new Mac Pro, it looks like Apple’s manufacturing partner Flextronics is currently preparing for the device’s launch later this year. Austin American-Statesman (via MacRumors) reports that Flextronics recently presented plans to government officials in Austin that would see the company hire up to 1700 employees to manufacture a “next generation desktop computer.” While Apple wasn’t specifically mentioned in the report, the report speculates Apple is the likely client after confirming that Dell is no longer building PCs in the US:
In its presentation, Flextronics, which builds computers, smartphones and other products for a range of brands, specified only that the foreign trade zone designation would help it move production of a “next generation desktop computer” from China to Austin.
The presentation did little to identify an exact brand. A spokesman for Dell Inc., which at one time produced desktops and laptops in North Austin factories, said it no longer builds them in the U.S… However, Flextronics’ presentation did add fuel to the ongoing rumors that Apple Inc.’s new line of Macintosh desktop computers could be built in Austin. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in May that the company would spend about 100 million to move its Mac production to Texas, but he did not disclose a specific site.
That would put manufacturing of the new Mac Pro less than a mile away from Apple’s newly renovated Austin campus that houses mainly customer support and sales staff.
There’s no solid proof that Flextronics new hiring spree is for the Mac Pro, but it looks likely as Apple is expected to begin shipping the redesigned Mac later this year. Latest rumors have it that Apple will show off the new Mac Pro once again at its upcoming iPad event on October 22, while a report this morning claimed it could become available to customers as early as November 15.
We currently have a large position in APPLE. We believe the company to be extremely undervalued. Spoke to Tim Cook today. More to come.
— Carl Icahn (@Carl_C_Icahn) August 13, 2013
Billionaire investor, who gained increasing fame in recent months due to his attempted take over of Dell, has announced via Twitter that his firm has taken a “large position” in Apple:
A Harris poll of almost 40,000 American consumers on more than 1,500 brands across 155 categories saw Apple retain Brand of the Year in three categories.
What really stands out is that in all three of the categories Apple brands are measured – Computer, Tablet and Mobile Phone – its Brand Momentum scores are in the top 30 of all 1,500 brands evaluated in the study, showing that consumers see this as a brand of the future.
The poll asks consumers to rate brands on Familiarity, Quality, Purchase Consideration, Emotion, Fit, Trust, Performance, Energy, Ubiquity, Future Outlook, Leadership and Popularity.
The top four brands in each of the three categories were:
Computers:
1 Apple Computers – 2013 Computer Brand of the Year 2 Hewlett-Packard (HP) Computers 3 Dell Computers 4 Sony Computers
Tablets:
1 Apple iPad Series – 2013 Tablet Brand of the Year 2 Kindle Fire Series 3 Google Nexus Series 4 Samsung Galaxy Series
Mobile phones:
1 Apple iPhone – 2013 Mobile Phone Brand of the Year 2 HTC Phone 3 Samsung Phone 4 LG Phone
The ratings may provide some comfort for those who feared Apple’s enviable brand popularity would suffer post-Steve.
iFixit, the repair guide site that has been vocal about the lack of repairability in Apple’s devices, has released a new report that compares the repairability of tablets currently on the market. With the exception of the Microsoft Surface Pro, Apple’s iPad lineup lands at the bottom of the list with a 2/10 repairability score.
Among the issues with repairability for iPads: hidden screws complicate disassembly, excessive amounts of adhesive, difficulty removing batteries, and, for some models, a “high chance of cracking the glass during disassembly.”
The good news? Apple’s iPads are also the most reliable according to several studies, meaning there is much less of a chance that you’ll need a repair in the first place.
Coming out on top of iFixit’s list is the Dell XPS 10 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. iFixit explained its methodology:
A device with a perfect score will be relatively inexpensive to repair because it is easy to disassemble and has a service manual available. Points are docked based on the difficulty of opening the device, the types of fasteners found inside, and the complexity involved in replacing major components. Points are awarded for upgradability, use of non-proprietary tools for servicing, and component modularity.
Both IDC and Gartner are out with their reports for PC shipments in the third quarter today. While Apple is not in the top five vendors for worldwide shipments, estimates from the two firms place Apple’s share of the United States market at 12.5-percent to 13.6-percent.
According to IDC’s numbers (above), Apple captured 12.5-percent of U.S. PC shipments in the third quarter. This is up from 11.8-percent in the same quarter last year. Apple faced a year-over-year unit decline of 7 percent, but market leaders HP and Dell posted shipment declines of 18.8-percent and 16 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, shipments for the U.S. market in total were down 12.4-percent.
In comparison, the same numbers from Gartner have the total market decline at 13.8-percent. Apple hit 13.6-percent of the U.S. market, where as it had a 12.5-percent estimate for Q3 2011. Estimates from both firms put Apple’s market position firmly behind HP and Dell, despite IDC estimating fourth-place Lenovo’s growth at over 9 percent for the quarter:
Four of the top 5 vendors in the U.S. market experienced shipment declines. HP maintained the No. 1 position in the U.S. market despite a shipment decline of 19.3 percent (see Table 2). Lenovo was the only vendor among the top 5 to increase shipments. Both Acer and Toshiba shipments declined significantly due to the tough environment in the consumer market. Apple expected to have a PC shipment decline due to softness in the public market, but the company faced a slowdown in the consumer market.
Apple acquired Authentec in July. It is a company that held the rights to fingerprint-reading technology since 2010, but the tech was originally developed by a company called UPEK. According to a report from ArsTechnica, citing several security researchers, a product that uses the fingerprint technology now owned by Apple, UPEK Protector Suite, has been exposed as a serious security threat for Windows users:
Security consultants have independently confirmed a serious security weakness that makes it trivial for hackers with physical control of many computers sold by Dell, Acer, and at least 14 other manufacturers to quickly recover Windows account passwords…The weakness came to light no later than September, but Apple has yet to acknowledge it or warn end users how to work around it. No one has accused Apple of being responsible for the underlying design of fingerprint-reading software.
