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Intel's Processor Roadmap Leaves Uncertainty for Apple's 2014 Mac Updates

Apple's progress in the business of computers has been grinding sluggishly to a near halt. They should be leaping on all possible upgrades. Instead they dance around a new MacPro (several years late) and leave the mini and display in the dark.

There is no way to justify their slack efforts in keeping everything current and well powered.
 
Lesser Evets said:
Apple's progress in the business of computers has been grinding sluggishly to a near halt. They should be leaping on all possible upgrades. Instead they dance around a new MacPro (several years late) and leave the mini and display in the dark.

There is no way to justify their slack efforts in keeping everything current and well powered.
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Their bread and butter are the iOS devices. They'll get to the rest of the lineup as they see fit, IMO.
 
guzhogi said:
I don't know about Intel's roadmap. However, with the MBAs, rMBPs, and Mac Pro all using the PCIe SSD, I could see iMacs & Mac Minis getting them next update. Make both a little.
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iMac already use PCIe SSD's.
 
Why Macrumors assumes that this year the macs are going to have a minor spec bump when Tim Cook said Apple is spending some time on the Macs of the Future?

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/07/apple-spending-on-future-macs/


And if that's not the case, there's always RAM, dedicated graphics cards, displays, storage, keyboards, sizes, battery, overall aspect of the PC (I'm looking at you horrible-huge-MacBook-Air-basel) and so other components (other than the actual CPU) that can be upgraded.
 
So it sound like the Mac Mini and Mac Pro are the two machines that could have decent upgrades this year, with the mini finally moving to Haswell, and the Mac Pro moving to Haswell XEONs in the second half of the year. I bet the new mini has a new form factor too!
 
The only mac that needs to be updated is the Mac mini anyway. The rest can go another 10 months without updates easy.
 
randian said:
You prefer process over architecture when deciding when to upgrade? I'm the opposite myself.
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Of course I prefer to have both, new microarchitecture and process shrink combined, like with the new A7 chip. But when I have to chose, I think my 2010 Core2Duo MBP was already fast enough. All I want now is less heat, less battery consumption and less price. So I would go with a Tick, not a Tock.
 
koban4max said:
apple is sad...just sad...
apple should have a big update for each year rather than minor spec bump.

Maybe need to focus more on MP.
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you dont seem to understand how the industry works. if you use a supplier's parts (Intel chips) you're dependent on Intel's schedule.

further, if youre expecting mature product categories to be re-invented annually, you are set for a lifetime of disappointment. have fun w/ that.

meanwhile, im using my tools and am very happy w/ them. my last imac lasted 6 years before i gave it away.
 
Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but I think it is just a matter of time before apple drops intel. I say this for two reasons -
  1. Apple is all about vertical integration and supply chain management. Intel does not fit in this. As a matter of fact, as apple sells less traditional computers (laptops, desktops, workstations) and sell more post computer hardware (iPhones, iPads, etc), apples leverage with Intel will also diminish. Moving to a technology like ARM makes more sense. As they have done in with the iPhone and iPad, they control all aspects of the chip including release cycles.
  2. Moving to a common hardware platform, reduces cost in development. Although there are many components of iOS and OS X that are common, there is still a lot that has to be done to optimize for Intel versus the A series chips. Having a single platform should yield better code in that they only need to have one set of kernel code for a common hardware. There will still be difference at the UI layers to optimize for the form factor.

Again, I have no insight to what Tim and Jony are thinking, but this is how I read the tea leafs.
 
I'm no expert but hasn't apple been able to get it's hands on intel processers a couple of months earlier than the official launch in the past? If so it would fit in very nicely with a pre-christmas refresh which they seem to be aiming towards every year now. Or is this highly unlikely?
 
Looking forward to a successor for the 17" MBP. And don't you dare say that Apple won't do it! They pulled something like this for the Mac Pro, making us think that it would slowly die off, before releasing the new vastly redesigned cylindrical model. Methinks Apple will redefine the pro laptop in the same way that they redefined the pro desktop :)
 
Nozuka said:
Or they might just wait. Its no problem for Apple to still sell "old" Hardware and it's not like someone else is getting those Broadwell Processors before they do.
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Exactly this. Slightly sensationalist article. Noone else will be getting upgraded processors until Intel releases them. All vendors are in the same boat.
 
daneoni said:
The only mac that needs to be updated is the Mac mini anyway. The rest can go another 10 months without updates easy.
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Sigh, I've been holding onto my iMac late 2009 i7 waiting for the new mini. Guess I can wait until June.

I have to say, a 4.5 year lifespan for a computer is pretty depressing. Why don't these things die more quickly? Then I could get a new one faster.
 
danielsutton said:
Looking forward to a successor for the 17" MBP. And don't you dare say that Apple won't do it! They pulled something like this for the Mac Pro, making us think that it would slowly die off, before releasing the new vastly redesigned cylindrical model. Methinks Apple will redefine the pro laptop in the same way that they redefined the pro desktop :)
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I just hope that the next MBP isn't a an octagon or pyramid shape. :D:D
 
koban4max said:
apple is sad...just sad...
apple should have a big update for each year rather than minor spec bump.

Maybe need to focus more on MP.
Click to expand...

Okay, sorry, but this just doesn't make sense. The Intel-based PC (as in Personal Computer not Windows) is a mature product. Performance has largely reached the point that major gains are not only difficult to come by but also increasingly pointless as the majority of users don't come anywhere close to maxing out the processing power they have now. The issues being discussed in this report are going to affect the entire PC industry, not just Apple, and you won't see major upgrades from anyone this year unless their existing kit was under-equipped in the first place.

It's the other areas of the computer that can be improved but here Apple's already ahead of the curve. Every device that can realistically pack one in has a high quality, high resolution display. More-or-less everything has an SSD instead of a hard drive and the majority are now on PCI-E based drives that are considerably faster than the norm. Battery life is up there with the best in the industry. There just isn't much low hanging fruit left to take and the harder stuff is either incremental or needs other components to enable it.

Speaking of which I wonder if this years refreshes are going to be more graphics-driven than CPU. Nvidia are currently waiting on TSMC to get their 20nm process on stream before delivering the bulk of the new Maxwell-based products Based on results from the new 750 cards using that architecture it could be a significant jump for Apple as they're more constrained than most by a GPU's power requirements. A 20nm Maxwell could - in theory anyway - deliver a big performance difference and might tie in nicely with Apple's focus on GPU-compute in the Mac Pro. Vastly smaller scale of course but there's certainly the possibility of some trickle-down benefits. Certainly if Apple are considering pulling the trigger on a retina-iMac they're going to need every last drop of GPU power they can muster.

There's some other interesting options too - taking the iMac to SSD-only for example might make for some interesting design possibilities - but I suspect this year will be more of a minor upgrades and possibly price drops year. That shouldn't be a surprise if it happens mind, as I said the PC is a mature product and big changes just don't come along very often any more.
 
usarioclave said:
Sigh, I've been holding onto my iMac late 2009 i7 waiting for the new mini. Guess I can wait until June.

I have to say, a 4.5 year lifespan for a computer is pretty depressing. Why don't these things die more quickly? Then I could get a new one faster.
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Haha
 
Cuban Missles said:
Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but I think it is just a matter of time before apple drops intel. I say this for two reasons -
  1. Apple is all about vertical integration and supply chain management. Intel does not fit in this. As a matter of fact, as apple sells less traditional computers (laptops, desktops, workstations) and sell more post computer hardware (iPhones, iPads, etc), apples leverage with Intel will also diminish. Moving to a technology like ARM makes more sense. As they have done in with the iPhone and iPad, they control all aspects of the chip including release cycles.
  2. Moving to a common hardware platform, reduces cost in development. Although there are many components of iOS and OS X that are common, there is still a lot that has to be done to optimize for Intel versus the A series chips. Having a single platform should yield better code in that they only need to have one set of kernel code for a common hardware. There will still be difference at the UI layers to optimize for the form factor.

Again, I have no insight to what Tim and Jony are thinking, but this is how I read the tea leafs.
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If Apple drops Intel what does that do to running Windows on Macs?

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thaifood said:
Exactly this. Slightly sensationalist article. Noone else will be getting upgraded processors until Intel releases them. All vendors are in the same boat.
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If it was just about Intel's roadmap, no page views. If it can somehow portray Macs as an "aging" compute line and Apple as being slow too to update, then lots of page views. :)
 
Razeus said:
If Apple does another CPU chip change to their own ARM, I'm going to be pissed. :mad:
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What difference does it make if it is PPC, x86, ARM, or a thousand people in a sweat shop doing calculations on a abacus?

Technology is a tool. What drives that tool is irrelevant as long as the tool is the most efficient tool out there.
 
buy a Mini

usarioclave said:
Sigh, I've been holding onto my iMac late 2009 i7 waiting for the new mini. Guess I can wait until June.

I have to say, a 4.5 year lifespan for a computer is pretty depressing. Why don't these things die more quickly? Then I could get a new one faster.
Click to expand...

So is your screen still OK ?? If so, why do you have to buy a new one with your new iMac. Instead, get a Mini and a separate screen. Or two 23" like me :) My Mini handles these very nicely.

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McScooby said:
the next mac mini'll be the upgraded ATV, hence the delay, out w/the hard drive, soldered ram & flash.
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noooooooooooo
 
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