Code discovered in the current macOS 10.12.4 software beta includes references to what is likely Kaby Lake-based MacBook Pro models currently being developed. Apple released the current generation of MacBook Pro models in October. The code discovered in macOS 10.12.4 points to what could be coming in the next lineup.
Bloomberg reports that Apple is currently developing a new ARM-based chip that could appear in future MacBook Pros as soon as this year. According to the report, the new Mac chip may be used for low-power tasks that currently rely on Intel’s chip to process.
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities is out today with a new investor note, offering up some more information about what’s in store for the Mac lineup in 2017. Kuo claims that all MacBook models will be upgraded in 2017 with Intel’s latest Kaby Lake chipset, while there will also be a new 32GB RAM option for the 15-inch model.
Intel today announced new 7th Gen Kaby Lake processors as part of its CES announcements, some of which could be suitable for use in future upgrades to Mac products.
After launching the first of the Kaby Lake chips officially in August, and having a long list of products introduced with the chips since, today the company introduced new processors to round out the lineup that could make their way into both future Mac desktops and MacBooks. Intel says the new chips deliver performance increases including “up to 20 percent for performance and gaming notebooks and 25 percent for desktops.”
It’s officially 2017 and we’re already looking forward to what Apple has in store over the next twelve months. This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and the grand opening of Apple’s ‘Spaceship’ Campus 2 headquarters in Cupertino where it will host events at a new 1000 seat auditorium, and that’s before we even get to actual products.
Head below for our look at what’s next for Apple as we ring in the New Year.
Apple had rather a controversial year in terms of product launches. Its two new flagship products – the iPhone 7 and the new MacBook Pro – got most attention not for what they included, but rather what they left out.
Most of the press coverage of the iPhone 7 focused on the company’s decision to omit the 3.5mm headphone socket. This was despite the fact that the move had been so long rumored that I suspect Apple deliberately leaked its plans in order to give everyone time to get used to the idea.
With the year’s MacBook Pro, the headline new feature of the Touch Bar was largely over-shadowed by the company’s decision to go all-in on the relatively new USB-C standard, omitting all other ports bar (ironically) the headphone socket …
A Bloomberg piece based on interviews with Mac insiders at Apple has revealed how the designs of both the 12-inch MacBook and 2016 MacBook Pro were compromised by marketing decisions winning out over engineering ones.
It was a marketing desire to hit the crucial holiday season that led to a design which compromised battery life in the new MacBook Pro, claimed one source …
Earlier this evening, we shared a post from Tim Cook on Apple’s internal employee info service Apple Web in which the CEO discussed his reasoning for meeting with President-elect Donald Trump. Now, TechCrunch has shared more posting from Apple Web, one of which focuses on Tim Cook’s stance regarding the future of the Mac…
The new MacBook Pro has caused countless controversies over the last few weeks, from its lack of legacy I/O ports to graphics issues and battery life concerns, and Microsoft says this is leading to more Mac users than ever switching to Surface PCs and laptops.
In a yearly review on the Windows blog, the company said that more people are switching from Mac to Surface than ever before with Mac customers disappointed by Apple’s new MacBook Pro and enticed by Surface innovations.
While we seem to know all about the features in the new iPhone and the new design, something still left up in the Air are the names of the new phones. While some have long-referred to the new devices as the “iPhone 6” or the “iPhone Air,” no outright claims have been made about the names until a new report today. According to Macotakara, the 4.7-inch model will be known as “iPhone 6” while the 5.5-inch version will be called the “iPhone 6 Plus.” Apple has not used the “Plus” suffix for a product since the “Mac Plus“, so that would be a first for an iOS device. iLounge first presented the Plus name as a possibility in January 2013. This naming convention does not seem incredibly likely, but Macotakara did indeed accurately predict the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c names last fall. Leaning toward iPhone 6 being at least one of the two names is that the camera data shared by the “reviewer” of leaked 4.7-inch iPhone 6 hardware refers to the device as the iPhone 6.
AppleCare+ is coming for the first time to Australia in the coming weeks, according to a source. Apple will begin training Apple Store employees in Australia on how to sell the premium protection plan in the coming days. MacRumors is also reporting that the service is inbound to Down Under. iPhone and iPad users in Australia can currently only buy the less-expensive standard AppleCare plan. Apple revamped AppleCare+ for many countries earlier this year with an extended purchase window and by making the plan the standard. Apple typically adds a few new countries to its list of AppleCare countries with new iPhone launches, and with the iPhone 6 upon us, it makes sense that Australia (and potentially some other yet-to-be-supported countries) will get AppleCare+.
Middle East luxury lifestyle magazine Edgar claims “insider knowledge” that the planned Apple Store in the United Arab Emirates will be the largest in the world, and will be located in a huge shopping mall in Dubai.
US-based tech giant Apple will open its biggest store in the world at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, EDGAR can exclusively reveal […] Our undisclosed source said that the store – which will be the biggest Apple has ever built – was originally planned to replace the current cinema complex …
Both NowhereElse.fr and Apple.club.tw have published images of a myriad of alleged iPhone 6 components. This includes pictures of home buttons, ribbon cables and other elements of the device. Yet another photo of the iPhone 6 design is also included, this time shown off in the gold styling. The hole for the Apple logo is also visible, as discussed a few days ago.
The two home buttons, pictured above, differ slightly different in their construction, clearly meant for two different form factors of device — if any more evidence for both 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch phones was needed.
These disparate photos don’t reveal anything particularly outstanding about the upcoming phones, but it’s just the last bit of a very long timeline of leaks. With the phones entering production, these leaks will only continue.
In what will only continue the endless stream of iPhone 6 leaks, MacRumors brings attention to a couple of new photos and videos of the supposed iPhone 6 back. Interestingly, a new dark black piece has been seen for the first time, featuring a shade much darker than the current Space Gray iPhone 5s. Until today, only gray pieces have been spotted, which does make the legitimacy of the part somewhat questionable.
The post also highlights some new images and videos from Fed & Volk, who ostensibly possess mid-production units of the iPhone 6 rear. This case is the standard light gray variant, however, and matches the component leaks we have been seeing from other sources for many months now. See a video of the part after the break …
For months, physical mockups, display components, front covers, and schematics for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6 have leaked on the web. However, the physical reconstructions and diagrams simply do not do the potential design of the redesigned smartphone justice. Based on recent reports and earlier part leaks, designer Mark Pelin has created a set of iPhone 6 design renders that might just be the clearest and nicest looking view of the potential phone. You can see the full image gallery below from Pelin:
Apple has quietly introduced an official solution for users seeking to lock their 2013 Mac Pro to a stationary desk or other item. The $49 adapter attaches to the rear of the Mac Pro without any additional tools or instruction and can connect to a series of different Kensington locking mechanisms (via MacRumors). Here are the accessory’s highlights from Apple:
Earlier this year, third-party solutions with a more advanced setup process began hitting the Mac Pro accessory marketplace. This new Apple adapter marks the second first-party accessory optimized for the new Mac Pro design. Alongside the computer’s launch, Apple released black Thunderbolt cables to match the exterior color of the computer.
Customers interested in the new lock adapter will have the easiest time purchasing it from the Apple Online Store, which is currently showing shipment times of 24 hours. Apple’s stores, according to Apple’s ship to store tool, are not yet stocking the adapter.
Multiple sources are indicating that Apple will launch a new variant of the iPod touch next week. iGen.fr is saying that the same source who leaked information about the early 2013 16 GB 5th generation iPod touch is now saying yet another model will launch in the near future. However, their report does not go into specifics about particular changes.
MacRumors believes that the new device will be a modified version of the current 16 GB iPod touch at a lower price point. According to the site, the low-end Touch will reclaim a back-facing camera and go on sale for $199. Compared to the current 16 GB Touch, this supposed new model would both be $30 cheaper and feature two cameras.
A picture claiming to be of an “iPhone 6” front panel has surfaced on a Chinese forum after being posted without context on Weibo. Details surrounding the image are not clear, but the forum poster claims that it originates from within an iPhone ‘factory’. The image was first found by iphon.fr.
Compared to the iPhone 5s, as shown above, the screen size is noticeably larger. It appears to feature a screen approximately 4.7 inches diagonally, as previously rumored.
Alpine devices already integrate with the Siri Eyes Free feature of iOS devices.
In March, Mercedes-Benz said that it had plans to offer aftermarket CarPlay units by the end of 2014. As noticed by MacRumors, a Nikkei report from Saturday reveals that car electronics manufacturer Alpine has similar plans.
Alpine will begin selling a standalone car console that integrates CarPlay in the fall. Although many car manufacturers are going to offer CarPlay-equipped cars in their new ranges very soon, Alpine will be the first company to sell an independent CarPlay unit, that can be installed on current cars. The cost is reported to be between $500 to $700.
Turkish websites DonanimHaber and iPhoneTurka provide our first look at Apple’s first Turkish store now the covers have been removed, revealing a mostly-glass design. Like the iconic 5th Avenue store in NYC, what is visible above ground is simply an empty glass space, though in this case it’s a lower and more subtle skylight than the famous glass cube.
More photos below …
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Following a forum post from a Chinese website, Digitimes is reporting that Apple will indeed ship a brand new MacBook Air with Retina display in the second half of this year.
The Digitimes article offers no specifics on what the new MacBook Air will feature, aside from the Retina display. A forum poster (who has a track record of accuracy) from last week said that the new model of laptop would feature a fan-less design in an even thinner form factor than the current MacBook Airs’ enclosure.
With the launch of Mavericks imminent, a handful of major websites have begun supporting the Safari Push Notification feature. These sites include The New York Times, NBA.com and social network Pinterest. HTML 5 web notifications have been supported by all major browsers, including Safari, for a while. However, the HTML 5 native feature requires the page to be open for notifications to be sent, as noted by MacRumors.
Meanwhile, Safari Push Notifications mirror the user experience associated with native app push notifications. With user consent, a supporting website can send notifications to your Mac without the page (or even, Safari) being open. This is because this system uses Apple’s Push Notification Service servers — rather than the local client — to function. Because of this server-side integration, the utility of website notifications increases dramatically.
With major support already implemented by such big sites, it seems like this will be a big deal for end-users. More sites will undoubtedly roll out support in the coming days. For instance, CNN was used to demo the feature at WWDC but is yet to go live publicly. Mavericks is expected to launch by the end of the week. It is very likely Apple will confirm the OS’ launch date at its special media event later today.
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Home automation image: insideci.co.uk
There are a couple of analyst rumors doing the rounds at present that are best described as … questionable.
First, we have Brian White claim (via VentureBeat) that the key focus of the long-rumored iWatch is as a control for home automation systems.
As an Apple supplier, our contact offered insight into the “iWatch” and described this potential new device as much more than an extension of your iPhone but as a multi-purpose gateway in allowing consumers to control their home (i.e., heating/cooling, lights, audio, video, etc.)
You may recall that Mr White is a man who likes his remotes: he predicted back in April that the Apple HDTV (which he always claims is going to be released in the next quarter or two) would be controlled by an iRing …
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Apple’s Senior Vice President of Design Jony Ive has teamed up with designer & friend Marc Newson to create one of a kind pieces for Bono’s Product (Red) charity auction scheduled for November 23 at Sotheby’s New York. Ive commented on the upcoming auction in statement today released by Sotheby’s:
“It’s been a fantastic honour to curate this collection of objects with Marc for the auction at Sotheby’s. Each piece represents the value of thoughtful design. What we create for each other is not only a comment on our culture but of course in many ways defines it. (RED) is making a difference in the lives of millions of people and we’re humbled to make this contribution to such an important and worth cause.”
Among the items to be auctioned off that were designed by Jony and Marc: a unique Leica Digital Rangefinder Camera, an aluminium desk produced by Neal Feay Studios, a Steinway & Sons Parlor Grand Piano, a 2012 Range Rover, and the rose gold Apple EarPods pictured above.
Bono said, “When you think of Jony and Marc, you think of design which is both iconic and sublime. Those two words can be applied to the unique collection of objects on the auction block this November. Each bang of the hammer will be raising critical dollars to fight AIDS… by getting medication to mothers with HIV which means they will not pass the virus on to their newborns.”
The press release from Sotheby’s says that Marc and Jony spent the last year and a half curating the collection that includes “objects from disciplines as diverse as space travel and lighting design to contemporary art and rare automobiles.”
