MacBook

Digitimes’ infamous industry sources are reporting today that Pegatron is set to receive orders from Apple to make an ARM MacBook. This follows our story from last week reporting that a similar iPad/MacBook hybrid product is making the rounds at Pegatron.

Details are still scarce but it appears some combination of iOS chips and macOS hardware is in the offing. The most likely candidate to start an ARM Mac transition would be the 12-inch MacBook line, pushing high performance in a fanless form factor with long battery life.

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Apple is continuing work on a new kind of hinge design for its devices. The company has been perfecting its work here since 2013 and this week, the European Patent Office published Apple’s latest patent claim additions, which emphasize the usefulness of this flexible hinge design for MacBooks…

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A class action lawsuit was filed earlier this month over alleged design defects in the butterfly keyboard of the 12-inch MacBook and current MacBook Pro models.

A second suit has now been filed, this one claiming that Apple is in breach of no fewer than five laws …

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Apple’s butterfly keyboard has long-been controversial, but things were escalated over the weekend when a class action lawsuit was filed against the company over the keyboard.

It has now been over three years since Apple first introduced its butterfly keyboard with the 12-inch MacBook, later bringing it to the MacBook Pro line – but user sentiment seems to be growing increasingly negative.

Do you have issues with your MacBook or MacBook Pro keyboard?

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Apple’s polarizing butterfly keyboard design is now causing the company some legal issues. A new class action lawsuit has been filed against Apple, alleging that the company knew about the reliability issues of the design before launch, yet released it anyway…

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Back in 2015, I gave my view of how I’d revamp the MacBook line-up. Leaving aside the specific sizes, based on a then-rumor that never panned out, I suggested that it didn’t make sense to retain three categories.

It seemed to me untidy to have a range which ran MacBook Air then MacBook then MacBook Pro. Assuming the reports of this year’s MacBook Air are broadly correct, things could potentially get even messier this year.

Already, the smallest laptop sits in the middle of the price range, but the rumors say this year’s MacBook Air will have a Retina display and a ‘slim design.’ If the new MacBook Air gets slimmer, and it gets a Retina display, then why would anyone pay $1299 for a MacBook rather than $899 for a MacBook Air with a slightly bigger screen … ?

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We’ve been hearing for a while that Apple is working on a new 13-inch Mac laptop with a Retina display, with entry-level prices set to dislodge the 12-inch MacBook and the MacBook Air in the lineup. In a new report today, Digitimes says that Apple has pushed back assembly of the new laptop into the third quarter.

The price of the new 13-inch MacBook is expected to be around $899, although any plans for a WWDC release appear no longer to be in the cards. The report says supply chain partners are now stuck with piling inventory of parts until Apple gives the go ahead.

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Laptop Mag is out today with its ‘Best & Worst Laptop Brands 2018’ report. While Apple received the highest score of any company for “Support & Warranty” it also scored the lowest in “Innovation” and “Value and Selection,” putting it at the bottom of the pack overall.

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Ugreen released its new USB-C Multiport 8 in 1 Adapter earlier this year and it quickly sold out with an affordable price tag of about $50. Now, we’ve gone hands on with the accessory that packs about every I/O you could need. We’ve also got an exclusive 25% off for 9to5Mac readers who want to grab this adapter for $40. Read on for our full review and coupon code.

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Bloomberg has today published a report that adds some weight behind the rumor mill ahead of Apple’s spring education event on Tuesday. Mark Gurman writes that Apple will indeed announce a new version of Apple’s cheapest entry-level iPad.

New software for schools is also in the cards, but it seems like the rumored sub-$1000 MacBook will not be shown.

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Apple set expectations for the March 27 event with the invite: ‘creative new ideas for teachers and students’. It’s going to be themed and directed at education markets, no question.

But that doesn’t mean the event will be irrelevant to an average consumer outside of a school. Whilst software announcements will almost certainly focus on things like Apple Classroom, any new hardware revisions affect normal customers just as much as schools. Here’s what I’d like to see happen.

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Apple’s line of MacBook laptops is likely to show better year-over-year growth in unit sales than both the iPad and the iPhone, according to a new report from KGI. The analyst predicts Mac laptop unit shipments will rise between 13-16% in 2018, compared to about 7-10% for iPad and a maximum of 6% for iPhone.

Obviously, in absolute unit sales iPhone dwarfs everything else, but it is no longer the growth powerhouse. Wearables have been Apple’s best growth area in recent quarters, and KGI estimates that Mac sales will rise steadily this year compared to 2017.

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When Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone in 2007, he made much of the fact that other smartphones of the time had physical keyboards. That was, he said, an inflexible approach when you didn’t need a keyboard all the time, and where the optimal keyboard layout may depend on which app you’re using.

The same argument could be made for a laptop, but while an on-screen keyboard is fine for small amounts of typing, it can never replace a physical laptop keyboard – unless it could act and feel like a real one. And that’s what Apple tackles in a new patent application …

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Griffin has announced a new dock today, called the USB-C Docking Station. This offering comes in space gray, with a square footprint to expand your I/O.

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Digitimes is reporting that Apple will release a brand new ‘entry-level’ 13-inch Retina MacBook in June, with a lower cost than the current 12-inch MacBook. According to the report, the 13-inch MacBook will feature a 2560×1600 panel, with a 226 PPI density – the same as the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

This sounds like a compelling product, with better specs at a significantly cheaper price. The report says the 13-inch Retina MacBook will be priced around the current MacBook Air’s $999 price tag.

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A 2016 patent from Apple has been made public this week, and it imagines a keyboard that’s more resistant to debris and crumbs As noted by The Verge, this patent was filed back in 2016, but only now has become public information..

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A new report today shares the forecast that Apple will be making even more moves to offer some of its products at more affordable prices this year. The new products to allegedly receive even lower price tags include both MacBook Air and a new HomePod. Meanwhile, another report today suggests that a new iPad Pro with Face ID could show up as soon as June at WWDC — earlier than others expect.

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At CES 2018, Satechi has announced another new USB-C accessory on the heels of unveiling its Smart Dual Charging Station for iPhone and Apple Watch yesterday. The “Type-C 75W Multiport Travel Charger” offers 2 – 2.4A USB-A ports, 1 – QC 3.0 USB-A port, and 1 – USB C port at a fair price.

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