Hardware-Free WWDC Sets Stage for Busy Second Half of 2016

[jmgregory1]

Recommend waiting or buying something else than mac. Maybe if people stopped handing over way to much money for glitter covered turds, apple would release something good again.

Really, is that what you think? What pray tell are you needing an rMBP or iMac to do that the current iteration, or frankly many from the past 3 years can't do for you? Sure, there may indeed be a few things where bleeding edge power (cpu or gpu) may be of benefit, but there are millions of people who earn a living using their current and older Apple computers.

To me, it seems like you're just taking a page out of the tired old PC market playbook, where they need to constantly update to pitch the latest and greatest (even if it's not actually great) hardware specs, because people think that gaining that extra ~13% of speed or power or whatever will transform your ability to get work done.

Even when I read some of the reviews of the latest and greatest PC hardware - the ones that are chasing after Apple's thin and light design, they often end up admitting that they're trading off things, like battery life, heat generated, or smoothness and responsiveness of trackpad, while pricing (for truly comparable product) does not show the Apple tax, but rather that there is now a PC tax in order to get to similarly equipped product.

 

[MacFather]

Deleted.

 

[Mactendo]

As our Mac Buyer's Guideindicates, that was around 400 days ago

First time I read it as 400 years ago.

 

[pacalis]

Almost every comment is about upgrading an aging computer.

I just updated a Dell Adamo that came out in March 2009 with a Razer Blade Stealth 2016. It has all the bells and whistles. Type C connector, USB 3.1. All current. Runs really well.

Vast improvement over a 2009 computer? Man, it's faster and more modern, but not, "Oh, my gosh!"

You guys updating 2014, 2012 hardware - will you really see a killer difference. Not. Not at all. I don't buy it.

Yes, from a 2012, you should see big improvements on heat and battery life. From 2009 weight, fan noise, resolution and speed too.

I'm locked into a 2012 15" rMBP. I travel a lot more now and want a smaller, capable computer.

Locked in, because as you say, updating to a new 13" rMBP takes a performance hit and wastes $2K. The MacBook is to wimpy. And the MBA has total screen suck. We're at the 4 year mark and Apple doing everything it can to push me to a windows computer.

 

[ValO]

Bring justice to the iPhone, Apple Watch & the entire Mac line-up whilst introducing stuff like the Thunderbolt display with one keynote left this entire year? Doubt it.

You forgot about the iPads.

I expect a new iPad mini, which will be called iPad SE, with an a9 soc, updated camera' s and a new 12.9 inch iPad Pro .
They could wait till April to announce new iPads though.

I have a feeling Apple is working on iOS 10 iPad(pro) improvements, for a future update. But are rather quiet about it , for now...

 

[doelcm82]

I hope Apple steps it up hardware-wise this year. I'd like to see them take graphics more seriously instead of focusing solely on making products thin...especially with the VR revolution happening right now. There are a lot of great new cards from Nvidia and ATI that I'm jealous of as a Mac user.

You want thick VR?

 

[macduke]

However the integrated GPU on the current i7 has seen a much larger improvement over the 2012 one (compared to the CPU).

Yeah, it feels like every chip maker except Intel is making strides forward. ARM chips, GPU chips, etc. IDK if AMD even does anything with CPUs anymore, but someone needs to challenge Intel, and the only thing I can see doing that is mobile, oddly enough.

 

[ValO]

WatchOS 3 paves the way for a new Apple Watch without Force Touch.
Anyone noticed how they replaced nearly all Force Touch actions by swipe and push actions?

It seems to me they find that Force Touch is confusing on the watch. Removing Force Touch probably gives them room to add other, most wanted, features...

Enter Apple Watch 2.

Good call, this will allow apple to make the watch 2 thinner and lighter(and cheaper to produce). Save battery life, etc.

 

[Omega Mac]

I really think it's time they do a serious hardware upgrade to the MacBook Pro, and fall into a consistent silent hardware upgrade cycle every 6-9 months. My 15" 2012 MBP has an NVIDIA 650M. 4 years later, I can pay the same price I did back then, which will get me a 15" rMBP with integrated graphics. This has practically identical graphics performance due to no dGPU.

This just should not be the case, especially in a Pro machine that costs so much. Graphics power in the last 4 years has made even more leaps than CPU performance. You wouldn't think that's the case with the machines Apple are selling, and it's so odd they'd skimp on GPUs whilst pushing OpenGL/Metal in the newer OS X iterations.

Maybe that's what's about to happen!

 

[jonisign]

A Mac Pro refresh will NOT be getting Skylake CPUs as this article implies. Mostly Broadwell-EP Xeon E5-2600V4 and E5-1600V4 CPUs.

 

[ozaz]

The wild card is the iPad mini, which was last updated in September 2015 with an iPad Air 2-style redesign and could be updated again in the fall, if not discontinued entirely. Apple sometimes debuts new iPads in October.

Why would they discontinue the iPad mini? Isn't it the best-selling iPad?

 

[SeattleMoose]

Please let "Predictive Emojis" be a feature that we can turn off.

 

[mac_only]

These are cutting edge technology, if you think any will appear in a new MacBook Pro, you is deluded. If there is any new release in the next 6 months, the design will have already been finalised with tech that is already mainstream. Will be at least 18 months until you start seeing any of that list in the Mac line up.

This may be true as Tim Cook has a history of doing so. However, major manufacturers have samples and specs way before these technologies are announced. They only become "mainstream" when they enter mass production and are adopted into the latest product releases by major companies.

I would disagree that these are cutting edge technologies, they are all improvements upon already adopted technologies. A cutting edge technology would be Intels/Micron's XPoint memory - this would require a new mother board design and major changes to macOS/software.

 

[Glideslope]

mac pro...probably 2017. It really came out in January 2014. That would make a 3 year cycle.

I'm thinking 3 year cycle on everything in the future. Considering I'm typing this on a 2008 MP.

 

[macs4nw]

Given how the past few events have gone, I'm not getting my hopes up...

The Fall has, at least in recent memory, always been a hardware-heavy release period, and considering all the equipment* due for upgrades, I expect this Fall to be no different. Sometimes I wish their releases were more staggered though.

*The only possible exception I can foresee is yet again that ThunderBolt display since KabyLake scheduled for a late 2016 release, still doesn't support DisplayPort1.3, necessary for driving 5K displays via a single port.

 

[tadanderson]

In the weeks leading up to WWDC 2016, multiple reliable sources indicated the opening keynote would be a no-hardware affair. And as it turned out, the focus of the event was unsurprisingly on software, including iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS 10, and watchOS 3. So, when can we expect new Apple hardware?

Many products were at some point rumored to have a possible connection with WWDC 2016, including the next-generation Apple Watch, MacBook Pro, and Thunderbolt Display. Those that have been following rumors consistently, however, will know that the most of the products are actually expected in the second half of 2016.

The following roundup serves as a refresher of rumors we have heard up until this point.

Macs

Apple last updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro in March 2015, followed by the 15-inch model in May 2015, with Force Touch trackpads, faster flash storage, longer battery life, and improved graphics. As our Mac Buyer's Guide indicates, that was around 400 days ago, leading many to believe that a refresh is overdue.

Prospective buyers were hopeful that Apple would surprise with a new MacBook Pro at WWDC 2016, despite the keynote being billed as a no-hardware affair, but the comapny delivered upon expectations and focused on software announcements only. So, when will the 2016 MacBook Pro be released?

Click here to read rest of article...

Article Link: Hardware-Free WWDC Sets Stage for Busy Second Half of 2016

 

[MagMan1979]

All the bloody whiners in here makes me LOL!!! Have all of you forgotten what "WWDC" stands for? World Wide DEVELOPERS Conference! This is not, and never has been, an event to launch hardware!

And despite the MASSIVELY impressive showcases in the advancement of their platforms, you people whine it's a failure and that Apple has lost its mojo?

The new generation of people "Give it to me now, don't make me wait, or I'll label you a failure", spoon fed morons.

 

[guzhogi]

Why would they discontinue the iPad mini? Isn't it the best-selling iPad?

I'm hoping it'll get the "Pro" treatment: get a smart connector and Pencil support. IMO, the only difference between the 12", 9.7" & the 7.9" should be exactly that: the screen sizes.

 

[Tech198]

September ..... but I hope they don't have that, what looks like a sticker comprising of touch sensitive buttons above the keyboard...

 

[recoil80]

Why would they discontinue the iPad mini? Isn't it the best-selling iPad?

I think the iPad mini will stay in their product line as the cheapest model with older hardware.
They may update the SoC but I think the display will remain the same for a few years and it won't get the apple pencil support
[doublepost=1466094235][/doublepost]

I'm hoping it'll get the "Pro" treatment: get a smart connector and Pencil support. IMO, the only difference between the 12", 9.7" & the 7.9" should be exactly that: the screen sizes.

I'd like that too, but look at the Mini 4, it doesn't even have the same SoC as the bigger brother Air 2.

 

[tadanderson]

If they don't put out a MacBook with at least 32GB, I am going to have to go with a Windows laptop. That will totally blow, but for my job I need to run virtuals. Right now I have an Alienware with 32GB, but I am eyeing up a Sager NP9870 (64GB). My 2012 MacBook Pro is my go to machine for iOS and .NET development, but needing to carry two laptops around sucks. I don't need a thinner MacBook, I need a more power. I wish they would bring back the 17 inch and put 64GB in it, or let us run the Mac OS in a virtual on a Windows machine!!

 

[crsh1976]

I'm hoping it'll get the "Pro" treatment: get a smart connector and Pencil support. IMO, the only difference between the 12", 9.7" & the 7.9" should be exactly that: the screen sizes.

Getting the Pro treatment = increase the price by $100.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Hardware-Free WWDC Sets Stage for Busy Second Half of 2016

Hah! Heard that one before.

Ain't that the truth.

 

[CWallace]

If Xcode was available on windows natively, I won't bother with Apple hardware. Just invest in a good Desktop + iPad.

And because you still need a Mac to use Xcode, Apple can't "forget" about the Mac despite claims by some (not you) to the contrary.

 

[jscooper22]

Remember when Apple made computers to used by people and companies, and not just as hooks to get them to buy watches and phones? That was neat.