Apple Working on Trio of New Macs With Custom Co-Processors That Could Launch This Year

[Greymacuser]

Unless the new Mac Pro is going to be fully customizable like a PC, with lots of room for expansion, great airflow for heat management, and no proprietary part nonsense, all of this will be for nothing.
Which I expect it will be. Hackintoshes will out sell Mac Pros in the future, as if they haven't been already.
Kook will bone this to, like he did the MacBook Pro.

 

[jecowa]

I want a powerful, light 2 in 1 with a pen.
Like everyone is making well nowadays...

What are you doing apple? Crappy keyboards, stupidly useless and huge trackpad, touch bar gimmick...
More and more gimped computers. Tying to convince everyone a tablet is a computer replacement. Which is a joke right...

I don't want a laptop with an extra-heavy screen just to make it detachable from the keyboard. The screen that can bend around upside down looks cool, though.

 

[Delgibbons]

An architecture change wouldn't suddenly turn macOS into iOS. They've done it before with PPC to Intel with far less resources. It's likely that Swift/Xcode will have an option to recompile apps for the ARM architecture or an emulator for the interim.

Also as ARM is being developed for a full-blooded W10 version then that would dispel any BootCamp concerns. If MS fully commit to it (imagine an Apple A-chip Surface Pro!) then the transition would happen very quickly.

The ARM chips are crazy powerful in their iOS devices, especially when considering there's no air cooling. It's almost definitely going to happen IMO, it's just a question of when.

The first windows 10 ARM notebooks are already out there. And run x86 code pretty well on a Qualcomm Snapdragon. This isn't windows RT....this Lenovo comes with a free upgrade to full on windows. Running on ARM. X86 code running on ARM ;-)

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/8/1...-windows-arm-laptop-features-pricing-ces-2018

 

[Glockworkorange]

Bring it on. If Apple can out-perform Intel & AMD OR remain on par but extend the battery life of mobile devices, I'm all for it.

An 8 core A12 in a MacBook Pro would be awesome if it gets 10 hours of battery.

I don’t think they’re referring to a chip to replace Intel—-I think they’re just going to put the T whatever chip in three models this year. It’s already in two.
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The iMac Pro also has no Touch Bar but has the T2. Given the changes to the boot process in the iMac Pro, it's clear that all future Macs will move in this direction and have some sort of coprocessor to handle boot security and functions that the T2 in the iMac Pro now handles.

Correct—-the tech trickles down.

 

[Lemonsoon]

For crying out loud give me a modular Mac Pro that i can tweak like a f ing pc

Its been decades now ffs

 

[Delgibbons]

For crying out loud give me a modular Mac Pro that i can tweak like a f ing pc

Its been decades now ffs

For crying out loud give me a modular Mac Pro that i can tweak like a f ing pc

Its been decades now ffs

In an alternate universe somewhere, Woz won the battle, the Apple II GS wasn't underclocked by apple intentionally to avoid it whooping the Mac's ass, and you'd have the expandable style Apple computer today ;-)

Instead you get a whole lot of solder

 

[scoobs69]

"its desktop lineup includes the iMac and iMac Pro, Mac Pro, and aging Mac mini"

As if the Mac Pro were not also considered aging since it has not been updated in as long - Apple's radically redesigned Mac Pro hasn't been updated since December 19, 2013 (buyersguide.macrumors); Mac Mini - was last updated on October 16, 2014 (buyersguide.macrumors). A Mac Pro release that was only a price drop should never be considered a release.

1200+ days with no new or updated models is just asking to die!

Oh. The Mac Pro died for me. I moved on to the Intel 7820x, and I’m wildly happy with my decision.

 

[jecowa]

The first windows 10 ARM notebooks are already out there. And run x86 code pretty well on a Qualcomm Snapdragon. This isn't windows RT....this Lenovo comes with a free upgrade to full on windows. Running on ARM. X86 code running on ARM ;-)

https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/8/1...-windows-arm-laptop-features-pricing-ces-2018

I don't think there's much demand for those ARM laptops.

Apple seems to be weaning us into a transition like this, though, with them planning to kill off 32-bit apps in macOS 10.15. They don't want to break too many apps all at once or there might be a backlash, so breaking older apps in phases is needed. Native Apple-CPU architecture apps will only be downloadable from the Apple App store to "ensure the highest quality." Eventually they will remove macOS' ability to transcode older Intel MacOS apps. Then there will be no more Foss cutting into Apple's profits – problem solved forever.

 

[aaronhead14]

Not gonna happen; a tease maybe.

Maxed nMP w/ RRX via TB2 plays 8K RAW video in realtime.

Playing 8K in a timeline is very different from grading and mastering 8K. Try conforming an hour-and-a-half-long 8K movie to Resolve, with 20 modes per clip and a couple of ResolveFX effects per clip. Sluggish as heck on any nMP config, no matter the specs. Apple is soooo far behind the times as far as desktop technology goes, and it's absolutely insane.

 

[DevNull0]

Wait!!!

Starting at $499.

We can continue now.

What's funny is if you wait long enough you'll see it. I remember the specs/price people were fantasizing about in the 90's and we now have so much more for so much less money (well outside the apple world).

One buddy of mine used an email tagline something like "I can't wait for a 1 gigabyte $100 hard drive", and it seemed unimaginable when we were paying $800 for 20 megabytes.

But it wasn't that long before that when my school bought 1 megabyte of ram for $1 million. 16,384 megabytes for $100 is pretty amazing.

It's only Apple that seems to think if 1 gigabyte was $100 3 years ago, then this year 8 gigabytes should be $800.

 

[kazmac]

While that modular Mac Pro seems like it could be the desktop, it would be so very nice for a new Mac Mini to be released.

 

[iamtheonlyone4ever]

This may end the hacks....

this has been the worse fear in the hackintosh community for years , however it will take more time before apple can cut our throat, why? because apple still have to support older hardware that has older intel CPU but in around 5 years then Mac OS will only support the ones that they might launch now, then it might be the death of the hackintosh but who knows, because if there is a way to run Mac OS on AMD CPU then we can still run Mac OS on Intel CPU even if apple abandon Intel and they decide to move on and create their own costume CPU's for Macs, it might still be possible but it all depends if is too much hassle that is not even worth it any more, in any case I always wanted a real Mac, but I'm honestly waiting for a new Mac Pro, by the time we get there I can still enjoy my hackintosh some more, if anything I can still use it as a windows PC , well after a 2nd thought I think I just sell it and buy a real Mac, I can't stand windows, not even in a 5,000 pc.

 

[dan110]

If Apple goes back to proprietary chipsets/hardware, then this will be a regression. Doesn't everyone remember what life was like before 2006? Apple moving to the Intel chips opened up the OS X development community to a broader market.

 

[jecowa]

If Apple goes back to proprietary chipsets/hardware, then this will be a regression. Doesn't everyone remember what life was like before 2006? Apple moving to the Intel chips opened up the OS X development community to a broader market.

Intel Macs brought a new golden age of Mac.

 

[pratikindia]

Apple should fix the keyboards and GPU (15") in it's MBPs first as these are the main weakness. The keyboards are uncomfortable and error prone even after long usage.

 

[Tech198]

Unless the new Mac Pro is going to be fully customizable like a PC, with lots of room for expansion, great airflow for heat management, and no proprietary part nonsense, all of this will be for nothing.
Which I expect it will be. Hackintoshes will out sell Mac Pros in the future, as if they haven't been already.
Kook will bone this to, like he did the MacBook Pro.

Fully customization Mac Pro ? ... Apple is always good at limiting *some* thing....

If they opened this up to all up-gradable, i'll fall on my chair.

 

[jecowa]

Apple should fix the keyboards and GPU (15") in it's MBPs first as these are the main weakness. The keyboards are uncomfortable and error prone even after long usage.

I'm kind of worried about the butterfly switch keyboards. I really love the keyboard on my 2008 MacBook.

I'm excited for the upcoming graphics this year, though. I think this article might be referring to Intel's EMIB feature which will be debuting in Cannonlake this year. It will allow an Intel CPU to be linked in a super-fast connection to a third-party GPU. This seems like something that Apple would have asked for to use in their MacBook Pro line especially. It'd also be a good candidate for use in some iMac models.

 

[Delgibbons]

I don't think there's much demand for those ARM laptops.

Apple seems to be weaning us into a transition like this, though, with them planning to kill off 32-bit apps in macOS 10.15. They don't want to break too many apps all at once or there might be a backlash, so breaking older apps in phases is needed. Native Apple-CPU architecture apps will only be downloadable from the Apple App store to "ensure the highest quality." Eventually they will remove macOS' ability to transcode older Intel MacOS apps. Then there will be no more Foss cutting into Apple's profits – problem solved forever.

Horrendous in my opinion!

In fairness to Microsoft, they were forced into doing this by Intel cancelling the Atom architecture; this is more for the low end, power saving style market, not for proper tasks like After effects or high end gaming.

Pretty cool emulation though.

Thankfully, Windows can be ARM and x86 coexisting.

 

[ipedro]

It’d make sense to run macOS entirely on a custom ARM chip, leaving the Intel chip for applications, completely sandboxed from the OS. The operating system would operate smoothly 100% of the time, regardless of applications’ CPU load.

 

[theluggage]

Hackintoshes will out sell Mac Pros in the future, as if they haven't been already.

...until MacOS needs a T2 chip to boot and hacking one kernel module won't do it. Because security, you know. OK Apple has to support old hardware for 5 years, but they could tie support for up-to-date hardware to the T2 chip.

If Apple goes back to proprietary chipsets/hardware, then this will be a regression. Doesn't everyone remember what life was like before 2006? Apple moving to the Intel chips opened up the OS X development community to a broader market.

2006 was 12 years ago, and a lot has changed since then. Even MS is looking at full-blown Windows on the ARM - and their current development tools for C#/.net etc. target a virtual machine rather than bare X86. iOS development is probably bigger than MacOS development now, Android development - again, CPU agnostic. XCode/ObjC/Swift - all CPU independent and able to target ARM or x86.

(NB: I should be saying AMD64 not x86 now, too, lest we forget the delicious irony that Intel's 64 bit architecture flopped and they ended up adopting AMDs 64 bit extensions...).

Also remember that Apple's main reason for going Intel was IBM and Motorola's failure to deliver laptop- and SFF-friendly versions of the PPC G5. Now, thanks to ARM's modular licensing model, Apple can effectively make its own bespoke CPUs - and (for much the same reasons mentioned above) ARM is also starting to break out of its mobile niche into server and workstation applications (of course, that's where they started out back when ARM stood for Acorn RISC Machine - the original ARM kicked sand in the face of the contemporary Intel 286).

I think x86 could easily become a niche for the real pro video/3D/audio market since, even if Apple ported their pro tools, those people probably use a gazillion third-party plugins.

 

[Naimfan]

Apple needs to just make the next Mac Pro a tower. Simply update the MP 5,1 with modern internals. Don't reinvent the wheel . . .

 

[Supermacguy]

How about a custom keyboard with built in touch bar for desktop machines?

 

[MyopiaRocks]

Run the OS from the A (or T, or whatever) chip, use the intel chip for MS office or whatever. Better battery life, intel performance improved b/c not running system and application. Best of all worlds (except for my wallet).

 

[Davejr]

Anyone else feeling like Tallahassee looking for Twinkies when there's no news on a Mac Mini?

They are working on the $2,000,000.00 TV spot for the shock and awe roll out!

 

[jecowa]

It’d make sense to run macOS entirely on a custom ARM chip, leaving the Intel chip for applications, completely sandboxed from the OS. The operating system would operate smoothly 100% of the time, regardless of applications’ CPU load.

That's a really interesting idea. It doesn't seem very efficient to use an entirely separate CPU just for the OS, but I guess they are already doing something similar for secure enclave with the T1 chip.