Apple's 2013 Product Roadmap Predictions: Multiple iPhones, Retina iPad Mini, All-Retina MacBook Pros

[Mike Valmike]

A6 processor for the AppleTV? Not really sure what they could do with it... without a major software update.

Framerates. It has no current support in its hardware for variable framerate output... not just newfangled stuff like 48fps in The Hobbit, but the standard 24fps movies have featured for a while now, which blu-rays and all digital files are encoded at, and any $40 BR player can play, provided your TV supports that framerate, which an increasing number of televisions do. Additionally, this is what will be necessary for 3-D support, moving forward.

Right now, if you play an iTunes HD movie file, the 24fps file is telecined out to 30fps on the fly, increasing judder and reducing smoothness to no real benefit except maintaining sync compatibility with legacy displays. And if there's one thing we can safely say about Apple, it's that they don't give a damn about supporting legacy hardware one minute longer than they have to.

 

[jamessnell]

Kuo's report does not address a new Mac Pro, even though Apple CEO Tim Cook had personally shared that a significant update for the line was due in 2013.

:'(

Why oh why!!!? No more love for the desktop!!!??? Oh cruel world!

 

[pgiguere1]

Right now, if you play an iTunes HD movie file, the 24fps file is telecined out to 30fps on the fly, increasing judder and reducing smoothness to no real benefit except maintaining sync compatibility with legacy displays. And if there's one thing we can safely say about Apple, it's that they don't give a damn about supporting legacy hardware one minute longer than they have to.

While this is a valid improvement, it's so technical that it can't really be considered a "feature" marketing-wise. That would be the kind of thing that Apple would maybe not even talk about in a keynote.

They'd need new features understood (and noticed) by the majority of people to warrant calling it a new model. Otherwise they'd just silently update it like they did to the iPad 2 once the 3 was out.

I'm still wondering what new features they could add because of hardware without redefining the device altogether.

 

[gugy]

so no MacPro prediction?

 

[iChrist]

good

.
I look forward to the new design Macbook Pro. Current design looks like old big clunk design of conventional Macbook Pro. New design is needed, it has been many years since.

 

[turtlez]

If you can exist on a PC platform, why wait for the Mac Pro? Apple's Mac Pro sucks. Yes, it can run OS X officially, but hardware wise it is always terrible. I can build a much better machine at half the cost.

I would never buy a Apple desktop anything...over priced and under powered.

-P

You're the first person to tell me this

I wonder if you ever succeed in those half price statements. Does it really affect you how many people you can convert to your Anti Apple religion? Guess what, anyone that buys a Mac Pro is obviously a professional and therefore knows somewhat about technology. Guess what! price is the first thing you learn about technology and they still opt for the Mac. Obviously they have good reasons so nothing you say is going to work.

 

[fiddlestyx]

::yawn::

Such bold predictions ...

 

[Renzatic]

You're the first person to tell me this

I wonder if you ever succeed in those half price statements. Does it really affect you how many people you can convert to your Anti Apple religion? Guess what, anyone that buys a Mac Pro is obviously a professional and therefore knows somewhat about technology. Guess what! price is the first thing you learn about technology and they still opt for the Mac. Obviously they have good reasons so nothing you say is going to work.

Ha! You're both wrong! Mac Pros are (or were) about on par with all the other workstation PCs on price. Sometimes they're even a little less expensive than the competition.

They're a bit overpriced these days because Apple hasn't bothered lowering the price on their now three year old hardware. But when (if) they update the line to the latest and greatest, it'll likely cost about as much as what you'd get elsewhere.

 

[Mike Valmike]

So. Tim says a new Mac Pro for 2013 and this guy doesn't mention it.

It's either because there won't be a new Mac Pro or the new one is so covered up in secrecy he doesn't know.

It's because the 2013 Mac Pro will be made in the USA and Kuo's information comes from the SE Asia supply chain.

 

[turtlez]

Ha! You're both wrong! Mac Pros are (or were) about on par with all the other workstation PCs on price. Sometimes they're even a little less expensive than the competition.

They're a bit overpriced these days because Apple hasn't bothered lowering the price on their now three year old hardware. But when (if) they update the line to the latest and greatest, it'll likely cost about as much as what you'd get elsewhere.

ah I actually did know that the cost of the Mac Pro is somewhat on par with other xeon workstations. You can't actually word out that full sentence in voice without being cut to bits by an ignorant Apple Hater so I just go with what's easy.

 

[luigi408]

Personally I'm waiting for the next gen MacBook Pro Retina. I already got my money saved up. Would be my first laptop. Hehe.

I love my iPad 4 but if they release a "Pro" version (with a pen/stylus) I'd get it in a heart beat (would upgrade to new iPad just for a redesign).

Next would be an Apple TV.

Other than that I wouldn't buy a Mac Pro because I love building my own PCs. It's my hobby.

 

[d-m-a-x]

It's because the 2013 Mac Pro will be made in the USA and Kuo's information comes from the SE Asia supply chain.

ah ha, interesting... I know the day after i buy a hackintosh they will come out with a new mac pro. So i wait... feel like i have been shipwrecked since 2010 though

 

[midwestshooter]

Where is the timeline for a new Mac Pro ? I have 2 of them in the studio --- from 2007 and 2009 - and I've been waiting to upgrade for over a year. I'm looking for faster Intel chips - USB3 - and Thunderbolt / external drive connections.

I really don't care where they are made .... Just Make Them !!!!!! Now, please.

 

[lordofthereef]

A6 processor for the AppleTV? Not really sure what they could do with it... without a major software update.

I agree wholeheartedly. I can't think of anything (sans software) that would be beneficial. At least not while keeping it at the $99 price point that they have stuck with for the past three generations.

----------

You're the first person to tell me this

I wonder if you ever succeed in those half price statements. Does it really affect you how many people you can convert to your Anti Apple religion? Guess what, anyone that buys a Mac Pro is obviously a professional and therefore knows somewhat about technology. Guess what! price is the first thing you learn about technology and they still opt for the Mac. Obviously they have good reasons so nothing you say is going to work.

I would say 99% of those good reasons are getting a headache free unit that you don't have to build yourself (to see the savings) and if something does go wrong, taking it in to Apple nets you a repaired machine in under a week.

Not saying this to be pro or con either side, but it is what it is. I would argue that most professionals don't know squat about their technology. Those that do really WILL build a custom machine because they need it to do something that a store bought box isn't going to do. But most professionals also see value in warranty, low failure rates (when compared to other brands), and free/quick support of said product.

 

[chadley_chad]

What is your dog saying?

Woof

 

[iSee]

Wow, an analyst who isn't drinking crazy juice.

Nothing unreasonable here, so it's actually a pretty good analyst's note.

Of course, Apple will surely surprise us once or twice, but those kinds of things aren't predicable (er, that is: if it's predicable, it's not a surprise).

 

[mrsir2009]

I agree. I can't understand all the posts regarding the iPhones "high price."

Compared to what? The 300 dollar android flagships it competes with? If anything, the 200 dollar 16GB iPhone 5 is cheaper than most android phones it competes with on various carriers and the 300 dollar 32GB model is usually the same price as similar android competition. The 64GB model, while pricey at 400 bucks, doesn't really have much competition as most, at least to my knowledge, android phones do not come with 64GB of built in storage.

And lets be real, the true cost of ownership comes with your carrier plan and contract. A 300 dollar phone does cost a lot, but so does paying 70 dollars or more a month for a contract. Yes, the iPhone is a little more expensive unlocked, but the majority of the "middle class", and subsequently the majority of consumers, probably aren't paying for unsubsidized phones on pay-as-you-go smartphone plans.

And that’s only for the latest iPhone. Any old Joe can go to their local phone shop and walk away with a $0 upfront iPhone 4. Sure, they have to pay an expensive contract, but that’s not till “later”, which makes it enticing for the middle class.

 

[CSanchez]

I found this site researching whether I should buy the 13 inch Retina MBP with 2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7 processor and 8 GB RAM or the 15 inch Retina MBP with 2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 and 16 GB RAM.

What I really want is a 13 inch Retina MBP with 16 GB RAM but Apple doesn't let you upgrade the RAM on the 13 inch.

It's looking like I'm going to wait and see what Apple comes out with in June.

Any chances the new MBP are available before June and have any specs been revealed?

 

[unsung719]

apple needs to focus on software in 2013. they have solid hardware that doesn't take much to improve/innovate. apple needs to really push the envelope in software this year with ios7 and osx.

 

[K42]

There are no rumors out regarding this but I've heard from various sources (read: engineers who work there) that Apple is working on developing some kind of sound-related project. No idea what it might be or when (if?) it will come out, but there's something new. Or it could be my friends screwing with me.

That would be the Big Bang project.

Could also be Big Bucks, I mix 'm up all the time.

 

[deconstruct60]

I'm still wondering what new features they could add because of hardware without redefining the device altogether.

Enough storage to store a movie or two (or 3-4 TV episodes ). Streaming would still be primary mechanism but they could offload some of the network traffic to the home with a small amount of local storage.

That would actually be going back somewhat to what it was when it first started out. On slower internet connections could buffer a larger chunk of data to get through slowdowns. Or just timeshift downloads (e.g., netflix, apple, hulu have local peak periods during prime time TV viewing hours. ) if just more a show (or two ) out of those peak network load times would greatly even out bandwidth usage. If AppleTV "knows' going to watch 'Bones' on Tuesday after it is available then could pre-stage the download onto the TV during non peak hours.


1GbE. Or if ready 802.11ac . Faster streaming when on local network. Not going to change the product but would work better on crowded/loaded wifi networks. Either take the traffic off or open up new MIMO bands. (the problem with ac is that need more antennas ..... hard to keep the same size. ). 1GbE is faster with no size increase.

Another move would be use AppleTV somewhat as a testbed for a new chip. A new A6 (or A7) derivation with the ARM7 derivative core they have for phone and smaller but 600 series PowerVR implementation. AppleTV has much lower run rates than iPods/iPhones/iPads. They can work out some yield kinks on the new tech with the AppleTV and go with larger GPUs and more CPU cores for the other products. For example dual core ARM7 and G6200 for AppleTV and later 6430/6630 for the other models later in the year.

A substantial change would be a cable coax input (and either OTA HDTV tuner or mCARD) . However, that would likely drive up costs. More Flash or faster network doesn't necessarily have to lead to cost increases. ( if leveraging component buy in bulk anyway for other products).


None of the above changes the core AppleTV mission.

 

[lordofthereef]

Enough storage to store a movie or two (or 3-4 TV episodes ). Streaming would still be primary mechanism but they could offload some of the network traffic to the home with a small amount of local storage.

I don't think this would do much for mass market appeal. 2-3 episodes is, frankly, nothing, and would do more in increasing production costs than it would be worth in increased sales.

 

[Slackula]

If they don't upgrade the Mac Pro in 2013, I will be buying a desktop PC.

I love Apple, but this is really getting insane.

I have work to do, Apple, and I'm not upgrading to the current Mac Pro.

Just give in and buy a maxed out 27-inch iMac like they want us all to do.

 

[deconstruct60]

I wish people would get there facts right. Tim Cook did not specify a new Mac Pro. He said something Pro's would really like. He also said later in 2013.

It doesn't help when the web site itself spreads mis-truths.

Pot calling kettle black.

1. He also did not say it was not concerning Mac Pro either. Taken in the context of being asked why there was no Mac Pro, saying something is coming next year hardly suggests by the non deeply paranoid that it is not a Mac Pro.

2. Apple PR cleaned up the statement later.

"... Apple PR has reached out and clarified that only the Mac Pro is expected to be next updated in 2013. The company had no comment about the iMac, which perhaps means that the iMac could see updates earlier than next year. ... "
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/1...c-pro-and-imac-designs-likely-coming-in-2013/


So perpetrating half truths and wishing for the facts is vacuous in this spinning that Apple didn't say something about Mac Pro's in 2013.

It is far easier for Apple to hold the limited supply chain that goes into the Mac Pro closer to the vest than the laptop line ( order of magnitude bigger) or iOS devices ( two orders of magnitude bigger. )

 

[MacsRgr8]

What about the Mac Pro?

You know... it looks like "we" called it dead already, i.e. why don't more people ask?