Thats true certainly true of any company I suppose. Then what’s the point of this rumor list if it’s not in the near future? Clearly Apple has all sorts of internal development activity. Just like HP and Microsoft and Ford etc etc
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Leaker: Apple Planning iPad Air With Under-Screen Touch ID, ARM MacBook, Game Controller, and More
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Thats true certainly true of any company I suppose. Then what’s the point of this rumor list if it’s not in the near future? Clearly Apple has all sorts of internal development activity. Just like HP and Microsoft and Ford etc etc
This is what I’m thinking. The tiers we get from Intel aren’t because they can’t possibly design i9 features into a lower end processor, it’s because they have to define a performance/features/price gradient that pushes folks to buy the next higher model, same thing Apple does. However, when choosing an iOS or iPadOS device, the CPU doesn’t factor into it. You choose a model, Wifi or Cellular, what size you want (and sometimes that’s not an option
, and how much storage you want.Which means that when they have a phone processor with 12z speeds, they’ll put it in ALL the latest phones. Applying that to the MacBook, Apple doesn’t have to put a weakened processor in one because folks will buy not on performance, but on features like number of USB-C ports, weight and size of screen.
I think a Final Cut Pro X performance comparison between the MBP 16 and the first ARM system will be very interesting.
No, they proved it could be done. It was NOT done properly. It was inaccurate and slow. The next version due out sometime this year fixes some of the accuracy problems, but it’s rumored to STILL be slow.
Indeed. Unfortunately, some still are.
Mmmmm, chocolate teapot....
OR tossing a vague rumor out there with some interesting specifics that they only made available to a suspected internal leaker
The 'Mac' Mini has, though.
And Apple used to boast about it.Not having a GPU negates it's value proposition. As in, price jacked up but no gpu? On a £399 machine, maybe not having a dedicated one has merit but even at that price point it should have decent iG. But one costing £800-1000 (for starters...)..?
Yeah, we know about the benefits of an eGPU.
As for 'saddled' with a out of date gpu. Lol. I've heard it all now. Mac owners don't want decent gpu options because they don't want to be saddled with them when they're out of date. That happens to be most of the Mac line up.
Politics means they don't have the best NV gpus. (And I say that as an ATI fan from way bk.)
As for Intel's 'gotcha' line up to maintain premiums. We needed hold our breath waiting for a decent integrated option. They've been well beaten for the last year. And the latest parts suitable for a laptop or mini have serous competition with the Ryzen 4000.
But surely Apple could put the Macbook Pro's GPU in the mini? A machine which is at least twice the thickness? Hardly a redesign required. But again. It's all about up sell politics. Nickle and diming. Want gpu? Get an iMac and get lumbered with an out of date GPU at somepoint...or a hunk of junk when your GPU fries....
I do agree with your last point.
Apple will be long gone by the time Intel gets it's act together.Azrael.
PS. Apple under Ive did some great designs. But when they started biting into cpu and gpu options and upgradeability? Too far. Then they had the cheek to ride up prices over the last 12 years...whilst reducing costs by using cellotape and solder to keep their machines together. No danger of the Mac Mini being redesigned at all. Only in my dreams. Apple now eek out the designs of their machines by up to 6 years (Can Pro ) even when they got it patently wrong. Or on the k/b of the Macbook Pro when they also got it spec' wrong. or 'going for the record' ten years design of the iMac. Which looks dated.
It would be nice a nice option, but can it be done in the current body, it’s a 30-35W part iirc. I guess they could revert to a 45W H-series mobile CPU like one poster has been mentioning.
It really depends on what market segment has been buying the mini, and I’m sure by now Apple has a lot of stats on what customers are using them for.
For some customers, it would be a step back; for others a step forward. They could have done it with the 2018 but decided not to. Maybe they’ll pivot, idk 🤷♂️
Wonder if this patent ties up with the iPad Air rumour?
www.google.co.uk
Apple Exploring Fingerprint Sensing MicroLED Displays Sans Touch ID
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a patent that describes a display capable of reading a user's fingerprint without a...
www.google.co.uk
They should probably add support for the Series 2 Xbox Elite Controller before they consider making their own game controller...
Somewhat realistic idea: Apple's controller has a chip that significantly lowers latency. Essentially equivalent to wired.
Far-fetched idea: the controller is also an ATV. All the hardware necessary is inside the controller itself...no need to bundle.
Yeah.
I guess the difference is the 16-inch MacBook Pro needs to also drive the internal display.
(For our uses, the GPU is irrelevant; it's basically a build server + MDM server.)
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Wonder if this patent ties up with the iPad Air rumour?
Apple Exploring Fingerprint Sensing MicroLED Displays Sans Touch ID
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a patent that describes a display capable of reading a user's fingerprint without a...
No, because micro-LED isn't launching any time soon. Not for years. Don't confuse it with mini-LED.
It’s a balance...and without sounding wish-washy, there are merits to both. The Mac mini becomes an infinitely more enticing proposition to many if they include a dGPU. The flip side is that the dGPU becomes a liability as it ages (although the GT650M in my 2012 MacBook Pro has aged relatively well) and the Mac mini would likely lose two of its Thunderbolt 3 ports as x8 lanes of the CPU PCIe would be allocated to it, the other x8 going to CPU attached Thunderbolt 3 and PCIe NVMe storage, although Apple could hang the storage off the C246 PCH and be just fine as PCIe 3.0 and DMI 3.0 really aren’t that much of a roadblock with basic functions and storage.
I think the biggest roadblock is the internal PSU versus an external brick. I just don’t thick the internal PSU can handle a 65w CPU and a 35w-45w GPU together plus providing power to the Thunderbolt ports and USB-C PD. A 2U Mac mini with a larger PSU would be able to, I just don’t think Apple wants to make it, because it might not be pretty enough for them. Personally, I would love something akin to the Xbox Series X Industrial Design used for a Mac mini Pro, with a single X16 PCIe slot for GPU as that would shut down almost everyone’s main complaint about the mini and the Mac Pro. It still won’t be for those who want m.2 storage options, but they’re living in fantasy land anyways with that sort of demand. Basically, I would buy any desktop from Apple using NeXTstation or NeXTcube industrial design cues in Space Grey or Space Black, but that’s just me wishing for stuff that isn’t going to happen.
OK, sure. But that doesn't stop Apple. Exhibit A: the iMac and its screen.
Ah yes, sufficient PCIe lanes is a good point.
*nods*
I think they've made deliberate choices not to make this product again, ever.
New PCH (400-Series) and new LGA-1200 socket, with the 500-Series PCH rumored for the next rev (Rocket Lake-S) and the way Intel basically only gives you two generations of CPU per socket before switching to something else, it does make one begin to wonder if Apple will update the iMac once or twice more with the current chassis and introduce a new ARM/Arm-based iMac in 2022. They really know that the mobile devices (MacBook, MB Air and MBP Pro) need to be ARM-equipped first before proceeding to desktop Macs, so we may see the current chassis live on for another 2-3 years, which should drive a few people around here to drink or the insane asylum. Fun times!
The flip side is, while Apple really cram a 125w TDP CPU into an 8 year old chassis and will I be able to cook a grilled cheese sandwich on it.
When you predict everything but the kitchen sink, you’re bound to get something right.
I’m pretty sure the engineers went home occasionally before Covid lockdowns...
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I find FaceID works well on my phone (except when wearing a face mask 😷), but it’s really frustrating on my 12.9” iPP. Mounted on the side while held in landscape my hand always gets in the way, mounted at the top when in portrait the angle is too extreme from the table to wake it up to take notes.
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Nobody’s predicted a kitchen sink yet?
Apple Sink at WWDC, I called it first!
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More likely to get the kitchen sink than the X-Mid-Tower Mac.
Azrael.
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Because they are still stuck on that 'node' Intel will be running hot with the latest cpus?
Not something we want for the iMac enclosure with current cooling..?
Azrael.
Having had to wear a facemask every time i go out while also standing in lines looking at my phone, i REALLY hope Apple puts Touch ID back in the iPhone. Face ID works great... when the phone can see your whole face. But you can't add an alt face with a mask on so now you have to wait until the face ID fails then enter your passcode every time. This is obviously a very minor inconvenience, especially in the current situation. but if we're making a wishlist...
Nice to see the ARM MacBook rumor is not overhyped. Smart move for a slow roll out as opposed to the all at once roll out theorized by some on here.
Intel are only increasing performance by increasing TDP and adding a couple of cores just to sweeten the pot. I cannot see the 10-core i9 at 125w TDP making it into the current iMac chassis consuming up to 250w TDP while Turbo-ing, unless Apple moves to the iMac Pro chassis for this last couple of iterations before moving to ARM/Arm.
This is one thing I had wondered about, although I had predicted 2021 or later. That would be a very compelling product for a lot of people if it used the same accessories, but had lower RAM and no 120 Hz.
That said, even though my needs aren't super heavy, I still much prefer to have quad speakers and mini-LED (for the black levels), as well as 6 GB RAM and 5G for longevity. Ironically, the thing I care less about is the SoC speed. My guess is a that an 11" iPad Air would have 4 GB RAM.
As for the convenience of under-the-screen Touch ID, the only drawback would be tapping the space bar on the keyboard to wake up the iPad. On the Touch ID models, tapping the space bar takes you to the login screen. On Face ID models, tapping the space bar takes you right into the home screen.
Hmm... Micro-LED will likely not make an appearance within the next two years as a primary display in an Apple product, since micro-LED is effectively vapourware right now. However, is this micro-LED technology somehow specifically for the Touch ID sensor?Wonder if this patent ties up with the iPad Air rumour?
Apple Exploring Fingerprint Sensing MicroLED Displays Sans Touch ID
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a patent that describes a display capable of reading a user's fingerprint without a...
You are 100% correct, I still have yet to understand why the base $1099 iMac is being sold with a dual-core 15w TDP mobile CPU when they could simply use the same motherboard as the $1299 4K model, or get rid of the $1299 and lower the cost of the $1299 to $1099 given that it comes standard with a 5400RPM HDD IN 2019, WTF?!?! So, yes, weird things never have stopped Apple before.
We may be blessed with x4 extra lanes in Rocket Lake-S, but by the time that comes out, Apple will have the mini on ARM/Arm, making it a moot point by then.
I know that certain products are never coming back, I shouldn’t indulge my fantasies in that arena. Sometimes I wax nostalgic. Some of my best computing memories are of pizza-box style workstations (NeXT, Sun, SGI), which would literally be an insta-buy if Apple made one. But that isn’t happening.
I think Apple have lots of options. Even making the current 8 core option standard.
Dropping the price of the iMac Pro into top end iMac territory.
Trimming of the bezel and giving the iMac a 'dark grey' paint job.
10-Core i9 at 125w TDP is way ahead of AMD. And way ahead of the current iMac's cooling.
I don't see any reason why most of the iMac Pro's features can't drop down to the iMac.
Dark grey. Nothing earth shaking here. Both the mini and iMac Pro have that.
Gpu. The current offerings on the iMac are anemic. The option to improve that has been out ages from AMD Radeon.
Ram. For a company like Apple to offer another stick of 8 gigs is hardly earth shattering.
SSD. They're cheap for me. So must be cheaper for Apple. 512 gigs SSD to start.
Bezels. Even Dell can't do thinner bezels and has for some time.
I understand the Xeon and m/b probably carry a premium. But 8 core cpus are mainstream now on PC with 12 moving fast and 16 core now as the current top dog.
There's lots Apple can do to improve the current iMac.
The iMac Pro is $3500 in sales. I'm not surprised. It offers a mid-range GPU AND 'OK' SPECS for that. Just about. But being able to view the screen in portrait mode would offer some nice innovation for creatives.
The iMac should be aiming for 8 core, 16 gigs of ram and 512 gig SSD and a Radeon 5700XT for around £2000 with slimmer bezels.
I think a new 32 inch model should be added and introduce a new 'small' option of 24 inches.
The current options for both models are lacklustre in design and specs.
Azrael.
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I liked the NeXt Cube.
Azrael.
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Meet the Surface Studio 2 – The Ultimate Creative Studio – Microsoft Surface
Create, paint and edit at light speed on the New Surface Studio 2. Unlock immersive experiences on the fully adjustable and versatile 28″ touchscreen, now with Intel® Core™ i7 processors.
www.microsoft.com
Something like this. That would be an iMac 'Pro.'
Azrael.
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Ah, so it's a remote desktop solution? Makes sense. Does it pass touch input through so Windows can handle it natively?
Even with all the recent hassle of having to move my mask down to make purchases with my phone, I still don't want touch ID back, unless it is under the screen or on the back. Either way if Face ID is still on the phone, I will only use that.
Sure, but how does that matter as a source of leaks? If anything, the lockdown has eliminated a major vector for leaks— loose talk over meals and drinks in public places.
I’m pretty sure leaks are coming from the same place they always did: suppliers and former employees.