If Apple can build a quad-core A10 Fusion chip for a phone, it can build an ARM chip suitable for Macs.
ARM is coming.
I don't think so. Doesn't thunderbolt 3 only work with Intel platform who developed it?
No way apple ditch thunderbolt.
If Apple can build a quad-core A10 Fusion chip for a phone, it can build an ARM chip suitable for Macs.
ARM is coming.
Unfortunately, it can't be too big, because Apple can only move its Macs onto Skylake, since Kaby Lake isn't available for them. They also waited too long on Skylake as its near the end of lifecycle, being replaced in a few months by Kaby Lake.Maybe there is a generational shift on the way for Mac. Something big.
...
I am actually quite surprised that people haven't taken up my challenge to explain why they need new machines, other than they don't like paying for older technology, even when it is just as capable.
You can't blame Intel at all. They had 5th gen CPUs suitable for all MBPs in 2015 and Apple didn't bat an eyelid. The 6th gen CPUs have been available from Q1'2016 (including the high-end Iris Pro models required for the 15" MBP) and Apple updated its rMB.You can't blame Intel for all. SSD’s, better screens, up to date and universal ports across the entire line, no more soldered ram.... And a price justification when hardware is getting older. Is this too much to ask?
No it's not.If Apple can build a quad-core A10 Fusion chip for a phone, it can build an ARM chip suitable for Macs.
ARM is coming.
- At least 32GiB RAM, perhaps upgradeable to 64GiB in the future (bare minimum, 4 DDR4 slots really wanted)I don't understand. What do the current MacBooks lack? Really? What are they so bad at that we need this refresh so badly? My MBA 2013 does everything I need it to.
I can't speculate what will happen to the Mac, but it's respectable to Tim to reply with some form of response. That is commendable.
I don't think so. Doesn't thunderbolt 3 only work with Intel platform who developed it?
No way apple ditch thunderbolt.
You can't blame Intel at all. They had 5th gen CPUs suitable for all MBPs in 2015 and Apple didn't bat an eyelid. The 6th gen CPUs have been available from Q1'2016 (including the high-end Iris Pro models required for the 15" MBP) and Apple updated its rMB.
Now at best we can hope for is that Apple will put 6th gen CPUs in the MBPs, when the industry will move to 7th gen. So next year Microsoft will have new bragging rights with the Surface Book 2 - and rightfully so, since they're the only ones who can genuinely claim both innovation and top specs in the laptop space right now.
It looks like the Apple "Pro" line is really on the back-burner and Apple is focusing its efforts on the iPhone, iPad and rMB, in that order.
[doublepost=1473506425][/doublepost]
No it's not.
That's like saying that if Gulfstream can build a pretty good private jet, they can move into the 777/A380 business. Different thing altogether.
The ARM-based chips used by Apple are no good for the heavily multi-tasked desktop OSes we have. They're good for iOS, and an OS with very limited multi-tasking capabilities such as iOS cannot really handle anything more than light, fairly casual use.
I wouldn't take this speculation seriously. Currently there's a chasm separating the ARM-based Ax processors from the x86 processors, and it will not fill anytime soon. The best indicator of this performance difference is the number of tasks the two architectures can simultaneously run with good performance. The A10 is not desktop class by any stretch of imagination. It remains a mobile-only CPU."Former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée — himself a longtime skeptic of Apple’s transition to ARM chips for its desktop and laptop computers — says he’s recently been convinced, and even believes that Apple could release ARM-based Macs as soon as 2016."
"If we follow this line of reasoning, the advantages of ARM-based processors vs. x86 devices become even more compelling: lower cost, better power dissipation, natural integration with the rest of the machine. For years, Intel has argued that its superior semiconductor design and manufacturing technology would eventually overcome the complexity downsides of the x86 architecture. But that “eventually” is getting a bit stale. Other than a few showcase design wins that have never amounted to much in the real world, x86 devices continue to lose to ARM-derived SoC (System On a Chip) designs."
"He makes a good point. According to Gassée, he even thinks we could see a desktop-class A10 processor, which would put the eventual migration of the Mac from x86 to ARM to begin at 2016. Which means that in the next two years, iOS and OS X could eventually converge."
http://www.cultofmac.com/289773/ex-apple-exec-says-macs-run-arm-processors-2016/
ARM is coming to Mac, for sure.
It's been what seems an unusually long time so I do like to push expectations to the very edge.Unfortunately, it can't be too big, because Apple can only move its Macs onto Skylake, since Kaby Lake isn't available for them. They also waited too long on Skylake as its near the end of lifecycle, being replaced in a few months by Kaby Lake.
People are hoping for redesigns in the MBP, iMacs, and Mac Pro, along with some love going to the Mac Mini. We'll see I suppose when October rolls around
I prefer to have my expectations very tempered, that why I won't be disappointed.It's been what seems an unusually long time so I do like to push expectations to the very edge.
Apple is one company I have raised expectations. While I was impressed in 2012 an all new even thinner iMac design was revealed, I was equally unimpressed the screen wasn't a retina display considering retina displays had been in use on products for a couple of years (and mildly sad but understanding the super drive entered Apple's history).I prefer to have my expectations very tempered, that why I won't be disappointed.
Take the iPhone 7, while not a huge update, I do like what they did and I think its a better phone then I was expecting. I'm on the SE and so I'll not be updating, but overall, I was impressed. Go back a couple of years and when people were expecting an iMac update, we got the 5k. Another move by Apple that exceeded my low expectations.
The problem is being competitive, performance wise, with the industry. At the moment they aren't and it looks like the new update will still be slightly behind. They should have done the Skylake transition in the spring across the MBP line. It's important to remember that we're talking about some of the most expensive laptops available on the market, so the expectations are rightfully sky-high.
Look, I don't have any horse in this race and I'm perfectly indifferent to Apple moving their laptops to ARM in an unspecified future.Steve gave the example that as an agrarian economy, the USA was a country that needed trucks. As the economic model changed, America started to produce different types of vehicles to suit different needs.
He used that example to explain why the iPad would be a replacement device for a lot of people who had previously driven PC "trucks".
He was right about that: for a growing number of people, the iPad range meets their needs.
And for many people, an ARM-based Mac will also meet their needs, especially one with a chip designed to work in a laptop rather than a handheld device.
Apple is already archiving its support pages for Intel products; this one, as an example, for the Mac Pro: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201379
Mac Pro Discontinued By Manufacturer: https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MD878L...=UTF8&qid=1473514031&sr=1-10&keywords=mac+pro
I don't know if Apple has yet made an ARM chip capable of competing with a high-end Intel "truck", but for most users, it probably doesn't need to. It just needs to produce a chip that works in a laptop environment (with trackpad / mouse input) that can run most of the productivity apps that average users need and already use on iOS: Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Safari, Mail, MS Office, etc.
Yes, Apple will lose some purchasers if it dumps Intel, but it will gain control over its product line and production timings, and it will only have to develop and code for one core chip: ARM.
Steve was clear that Apple needed to own the silicon if it was going to make the best products it could. He kicked off that transition to ARM. With all the delayed updates in recent years, now would be a perfect time to bring ARM to the Mac range.
With GPU options!Yes! Come on Mac Pro refresh![]()
I think the best thing would be a 3.5mm to Lighting adapter - the inverse of the one included with the iPhone. That way, the Lighting headphones will work with everything.They better add Lightning ports to the new Macs so we can use our new Lightning EarPods.
Not unless it affects your work and income.Just curious - those saying that they're tired of waiting and are jumping ship, what are you moving to? Windows?
The reason Apple has been able to elongate their refresh cycles for the Mac and be less concerned about customer churn is because of macOS. The ecosystem lock-in is strong enough to withstand a few delays.
Going back to Windows now...I just can't.
Just curious - those saying that they're tired of waiting and are jumping ship, what are you moving to? Windows?
The reason Apple has been able to elongate their refresh cycles for the Mac and be less concerned about customer churn is because of macOS. The ecosystem lock-in is strong enough to withstand a few delays.
Going back to Windows now...I just can't.