.
We’re getting word from numerous Apple Stores that the Lion transition has begun. In this photo taken at the 14th St. Apple Store in NYC by a passerby, you can see Apple employees updating Macs as well as some heavy hardware in the foreground. Those are reportedly the new signage packages.
As we get close to the Lion launch, several tipsters have provided more information regarding the Apple retail overnight and days after. Tonight, Apple retail will hold an overnight from approximately 11pm – 7 am to give the retail staff enough time to update the stores visual elements with new marketing materials and re-image all display Macs with Lion.
As previously reported, our tipsters say most stores have recently received an external LaCie hard drive containing Lion installs, but we have received new information that the drives contain 3 different install images for Lion; Normal, Pro, and Joint Venture.
JointVenture is an enterprise membership program to support businesses running Macs and iDevices. It is believed that each of these installs will include unique software titles, and some of which could be new.
Furthermore we’ve heard rumblings that some stores will be receiving maxed out Mac Pro towers to be used as Lion distribution caching centers (speculation here). Some believe that these stations would allow customers to purchase Lion (3.5GB) from the Mac App store and download it directly from the store server in minutes rather than hours it takes over a normal broadband connection.
MacOS X Server and internal builds of Time Capsule allow for Software Update Caching, so this is certainly something within Apple’s capabilities. Also, Apple told Computerworld that users could come into the store to download Lion last month.
This would also be a huge help to customers who do not have access to a broadband Internet connection or users who want to walk through the install process with an Apple employee during a personal training session. It would obviously also save Apple some internet bandwidth which at 3.5GB per user adds up.
.
We’re hearing from multiple retail sources across the world that Apple’s retail chain will be holding employee overnights Tuesday night. The likely topic? Lion.
In the employee halls of the retail chain sit large tubes that hold new posters for both front of store posters and posters within the store. Additionally, we’re hearing that each store has been sent a Lion-packing Mac Pro for an unknown purpose. As previously reported, LaCie hard drives loaded with the GM seed of Lion image are ready to be connected as installers on the Macs throughout the showroom floor.
New MacBook Airs with Thunderbolt and faster chips are expected to launch alongside Lion, but nothing from the retail channels confirms this timing. Apple has also been known to push back release dates with little notice (last week). AllThingsD previously said “Thursday-Friday” and we previously were shown Apple internal delivery times for new products arriving last week.
MacRumors noticed that Apple placed images of their new LED Cinema Display on their website yesterday. The leaked display looks identical to the current model, but will have a Thunderbolt port on the back to easily connect with Apple’s latest Thunderbolt machines: iMacs, MacBook Pros and Mac Pros, MacBook Airs, and Mac minis in the very near future. You can tell that these are new displays based on the unreleased model number, previously thought to be a new White MacBook that they are attached to and by the OS X Lion wallpaper.
The differentiation is important because, as Apple has warned in a previous KB article, the CD no longer has to be the end of a Thunderbolt chain of devices. For instance, you could have an external hard drive array connected to your monitor permanently rather than having to plug into another device which would terminate at the monitor. For MacBook Air/Pro users, this would allow the ‘power-USB-Thunderbolt’ cable to do everything, yet again.
We’ve been getting word from some international Apple retailers that not only are MacBook Airs, Minis and White MacBooks getting updated soon, but those Macs are also going to see modest-significant price drops in some countries we’ve polled. While we can’t get into the specifics of where and how much, we can tell you some models are being reduced more than the equivalent of $100.
A few things to consider: One, the US Dollar has dropped significantly against Pacific currencies like the Japanese Yen and Korean Won (below) in the past year. Apple has in the past adjusted its products against currency fluctuations.
Also, Apple has been streamlining operations across the globe over the past few years and has been able to bring its prices more in line with US prices.
While these price drops are great news for our friends overseas, it doesn’t necessarily correlate to price drops in the US.
But we wouldn’t rule price drops out either, there have been unreliable reports of a $899 base price of a MacBook Air.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Update: New MacBooks and Mac minis, not Mac Pros (yet). Full story here.
We have been expecting new MacBook Airs this week and now it appears that the ultra-thin notebooks won’t be the only new Macs this week. According to our source Mr. X, part numbers for an upgraded Mac Pro line have appeared, hinting at a release for the new line of professional-minded desktop Macs in the coming days. Here are the new MacBook Airs:
As you can see from the Apple-internal part numbers above, Apple will be releasing four new MacBook Air models. This includes two 11 inch models and two 13 inch models; both screen sizes will come in entry level and upgraded configurations. Built-to-order options (BTO) will be available as well. We expect some RAM and processor upgrades. Our sources who handled the new MacBook Air told us earlier this month to not expect any noticeable exterior changes. Speedy Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt I/O are this model’s main upgrades.
Surprisingly, it also looks like new Mac Pros are coming as early as this week. The new line was rumored to be launching in the last week of July or the first week of August, but it looks like Apple is getting them out earlier (or we just got the part numbers super early, which is unlikely). The new Mac Pros are may feature a re-designed enclosure that is both narrower and rack-mountable. A faster, 16 core model is also a possibility and Thunderbolt is an obvious addition. As expected, a new Mac Pro Server model will also debut. Here are the new Mac Pros:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufdXy_NZjXc]
Apple packages an elegant little USB key with its MacBook Airs that allows you to restore Snow Leopard if your machine goes south. But with many people upgrading to Lion, few will want to go through the process of downgrading to Snow Leopard and again to Lion if the machine goes bad.
Here is a way to upgrade your USB Key to Lion as well as your MacBook Air.
MacBenTosh has posted (thanks, Danny!) a video guide showing how to format the restore key into a drive that works like a normal 8GB rewritable Flash drive. To follow along with the instructions in the video you’ll need an instance of Windows running in a virtual machine, Boot Camp or a separate PC. After restoring, the key will be shown as a 8GB drive.
From that point, Egg Freckles has posted a guide on how to create a Lion disc. Of course Lion will only be available from the App Store (or Dev site), but it’s nice to have a local, external installer.
As one might expect, the GM Seed of Lion looks like it is making the rounds in the Torrent sites. This is interesting this time around because Apple is distributing the install via the App Store (for a very reasonable $30) which has tracking codes embedded in the download. That means whoever leaked this is probably going to get in some trouble. We’re assuming most people who choose to download this version will be doing so for the two week head start rather than trying to save $30.
Might be better to just plunk $99 down for a developer account?
We’ve been hearing reports of minor – not severe – white MacBook constraints as early as last week. The white MacBooks are not even close to as constrained as the MacBook Air and the Mac mini – which is in fact constrained as well – but the process leading up to a product refresh is booting up. Now, we’ve discovered that Best Buy is marking the $999 white MacBooks as “backordered” in their systems.
This is the same system that currently marks the constrained Mac minis as “backordered,” as we reported two weeks ago. Looking deeper into BestBuy’s online store, the major Apple reseller is quoted new white MacBook shipments between July 15th and July 27th. We’re not saying that this backordered status means a refresh for the MacBook, as this can just be indicative of Apple loading OS X Lion – rumored to be launching in mid-July – on to the consumer notebooks. More after the break:
New MacBook Airs are right around the corner and just about everyone is expecting to see a Thunderbolt port, FaceTimeHD and Sandy Bridge processors. Apple could even update storage and RAM pricing.
But what else could these new Airs have under the hood? Put your answers below and any additional items in the comments.
Apple’s new MacBook Air line has been expected for weeks now, with evidence supporting a refresh coming by way of constraints at global retailers and most recently at major Apple reseller BestBuy.com. Although this refresh has been expected, a well-sourced and specific launch time frame is yet to emerge. Now, we’ve been told that Apple is gearing up to launch their upgraded line of ultra thin notebooks in mid-July.
The rumors regarding what the new laptops will feature have been conservative, and according to a person who has seen the new MacBook Air, exterior changes (if any) were so minute that they were not noticed. In other words, don’t expect to be able to tell this mid-2011 MacBook Air apart from the late-2010 model. That is, except for the Thunderbolt logo that sits in place of the Mini Display port logo.
Also, as expected, these new models will pack Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors and are likely the models that Intel recently made available for thinner notebook lines:
In addition, the new notebooks, launching in mid-July, come with OS X Lion pre-installed. Apple shipping out their next-generation operating system with these new Macs would also mean a mid-July launch for 10.7 Lion. An exact release date for both products is yet to be pinpointed, but we’ve been hearing rumblings about July 14th, which is a Thursday.
Also, Apple is holding their financial results conference call on Tuesday, July 19th. Apple typically releases products during the days leading up to the financial results announcement (so they have something interesting to talk about). iPhones and iPads often are released the Friday before earnings, which would be the 15th.
Of course, Apple’s traditional product launch day is Tuesday, which would be the 12th or the 19th. In any case, we’re looking at Lion and new MacBook Airs in about 2-3 weeks. We are also looking, according to recent reports, at new Mac minis and Mac Pros soon after these upgraded MacBook Airs.
Following a report from earlier this week that claims that Apple is gearing up to launch a new Mac Pro in late July or early August, a reliable source tells 9to5Mac that Apple has referenced a mid-2011 Mac Pro in multiple internal documents. This, of course, is reference to an unreleased Mac Pro. Apple has not upgraded their professional desktop Mac since July 2010. Additionally, these internal documents are said to tout four new core Mac Pro models: 6 cores, 8 cores, 12 cores, and for the first time, 16 cores. This is likely in addition to some custom configurations.
If these internal documents jibe with what Apple will be soon releasing, Mac customers will be able to get their hands on a super-fast 16-core Mac. In addition to these specifications, we hear that Apple has already begun the process of assembling product manuals for the new Mac Pro, corroborating previous claims of a late July or early August launch. Our sources could not confirm if the new rack mountable design, which we detailed, will make its way into the 2011 model.
On a final note, a certain Apple executive has reportedly said the following in an email we’ve seen:
“Apple is investing heavily into Mac Pro”
When upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion, there is a chance of compatibility issues between app and the new OS. A new site called RoaringApps comes to the rescue by displaying what apps are compatible with the new OS. RoaringApps provides a long table of apps showing what apps are supported and if it is available in the App Store.
Other parts of the site include a forum and IRC chat to talk apps. This makes a great way to assure that all of your Mac applications are going to work, before you upgrade.
MacRumors is reporting that Apple is readying Black MacBook Airs in its next refresh.
We’ve received several anonymous tips claiming that at least some models of the next-generation MacBook Air will be be available with a black finish, different from the aluminum case used on the current MacBook Air and most of Apple’s other Macs. The most specific of the claims suggests that a black anodized aluminum case would be available on a top-end MacBook Air model, in much the same way as Apple once offered a high-end black MacBook on top of the standard white offerings.
Remember that when we first broke the news of a MacBook Air way back in 2007 (without Optical drives), we’d been told there was a black version. That information was later verified with the Ebay auction selling a prototype MacBook Air with a Black aluminum shell (pictured above, another shot below).
We’ve also received an anonymous tip with a similar Lion/Sandy Bridge/Thunderbolt/Next few weeks release information. That tip also said a $899 starting price point.
Update: A reliable source has told us that they haven’t seen any Black in the new MacBook Air materials
Today, Apple supplied educators and businesses with instructions on how to upgrade to the upcoming OS X Lion release. The document is pasted after the break:
As a part of Apple’s MobileMe-to-iCloud transition, Apple will be bringing expired MobileMe accounts back to life. We have gotten our hands on login information for a long-expired MobileMe account and have discovered that Apple has already migrated these accounts over to the free iCloud service (shown above). In order to setup these newly resurrected accounts you need to be running Apple’s upcoming iOS 5 and OS X Lion (with iCloud beta installed). Your old MobileMe username and password will now function as your iCloud Apple ID.
The reason being is that these new iCloud e-mail, calendar, and other accounts no longer work at me.com. That’s right, for the time being, users who have their old MobileMe accounts migrated over to the iCloud service can no longer access their email on the web. We got our expired test MobileMe account up and running as an iCloud account on a Mac running OS X Lion (with iCloud installed) and an iPhone running iOS 5. Mail, contacts, calendar, and the rest of the suite work perfectly with native apps, but not in Apple’s me.com web apps. Find my iPhone is the exception.
There has been a lot of talk lately over whether or not iCloud will support the MobileMe web apps, usher in their own redesigned web apps, or leave the web in the dark. Our discovery points to no web app compatibility, but that is likely because the iCloud web apps do not exist yet. The Loop and others say that iCloud web apps are, in fact, in development. We’ll likely see those when iCloud is ready to launch this fall. Thanks, Kristian!
Yesterday, Apple killed MobileMe and replaced it with the iCloud online services suite which will be available free with iOS 5 this Fall. Apple has published a nice Q&A explaining what the transition means to MobileMe subscribers and how the company plans to go about it. Additionally, a notice at www.me.com/upgrade says that “you’ll be able to upgrade your account to iCloud soon”. With that in mind, you may want to prep your migration ahead of the Apple-imposed June 30, 2012 cut-off time when the MobilMe service will no longer be available. Wondering how? Turns out there’s a leaked document for that!
This is the new default wallpaper in Lion (click for larger)
Yesterday’s on-stage demos of OS X Lion (what, you haven’t heard? They dropped the Mac from OS X) included a fancy new default wallpaper that follows the space theme introduced with Leopard. Want it? Get it here (thanks, Benjad). Matter of fact, you can get all Lion wallpapers as a downloadable ZIP file from It’s all tech.
A new developer preview of Safari 5.1 was released yesterday in the Safari Dev Center. Safari 5.1, which ships with Lion in July, will take advantage of GPU acceleration on Windows and enable new HTML5 APIs allowing for the creation of much more sophisticated web apps. In addition to support for the latest CSS3 goodies such Text Emphasis, Vertical Text, Auto-Hyphenation and Transitions and Animations, the 45.3MB download also works with Web Open Font Format and Mathematical Markup Language (MathML). More importantly – and in line with Chrome’s architecture – plug-ins and Safari’s WebKit rendering engine now run in their own process separately of the main Safari process, meaning a misbehaving plug-in or HTML code cannot crash the browser. We’re just getting started, though.
Image credit: Engadget
Apple has just confirmed what we’ve been suspecting all along, that the next upcoming Mac OS X revision dubbed Lion will be sold via the Mac App Store as a digital download price at just $29 and weighing in at a whopping four gigabytes. The software won’t retail as a boxed copy variant. It will be available in July for everyone, with developers receiving a preview build at the show, Apple executives confirmed during the keynote talk that kicked off WWDC 2011 here in San Francisco’s Moscone West. Check out our complete WWDC 2011 coverage and follow us @9to5mac as we update you on the latest.
Image credit: This is my next…
The Mac OS X Lion segment of the WWDC 2011 keynote has just begun. Apple previously previewed some of the features last Fall and on their homepage, including iPad-like Launchpad, full-screen apps, deep multi-touch gestures integration, and Mission Control. There are more than 250 new features in Lion and Apple will be demoing ten today, most of the stuff we’ve seen already.
Go past the fold for an overview of the feaures… We’re updating this story with new capabilities as Phil Schiller reveals them on stage at San Francisco’s Moscone West. For other keynote news, check out the complete WWDC 2011 coverage and follow us @9to5mac.
Image credit: Engadget
Our own Seth Weintraub is on hand at San Francisco’s Moscone West where Steve Jobs has taken the stage at 9am Pacific, ready to deliver a landmark presentation on the future of Apple’s operating system and cloud services. A press release issued last Tuesday has divided the agenda for the software-focused WWDC 2011 show between iOS 5, Mac OS X Lion and iCloud segments.
The statement also said “a team of Apple executives” would help Jobs deliver the keynote. We’re guessing Timothy Cook will join Apple’s CEO shortly to provide an update on business metrics and are keeping our fingers crossed for Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller to demo the new stuff in iOS 5 and Lion, respectively, with Jobs jumping in and out between segments…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Apple looks like it is tightening its grip on the “App” and “Mac” naming rights area. Last month, it forced App4mac to change its name. Sure Apple is now in the Mac Apps game but the company in question is six years old and named itself App4Mac two years before iOS turned Applications into apps. Patrice Calligaris, CEO writes to tell us:
On May 6, we received this letter from Apple lawyers. On June 1st, our company become adnX.com. Before we were app4mac.com during six years and it has never been a problem.
We complied only for the first case as other two cases are silly. We fixed the graphics that they did not like.
We’re getting tips from our retail friends in the South Pacific that Snow Leopard boxes are running short and the channel inventory is drying up. Apple resellers are literally unable to ge their hands on stock of Snow Leopard boxes.
Even Apple’s website is showing a week’s wait in both Australia and New Zealand. These types of sporadic delays, which are frequently temporary, are usually an indication that the supply channel is changing and the boxes are no longer being made.
Obviously, this could point to an upcoming Lion release as early as next month at Apple’s WWDC, if not sooner. The latest build, Lion Preview 3, has been largely stable and there have been signs that Apple could even demonstrate Lion in Apple Stores next week as part of their Apple Store 2.0 initiative.
