Top Stories: New 27-Inch iMac, macOS Big Sur Public Beta, No Microsoft xCloud for iOS

[MacRumors]

This week saw some big developments on both the hardware and software fronts, led by a significant update to the 27-inch iMac (but no redesign yet, unfortunately) and the launch of public beta testing for macOS Big Sur.

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Other significant news this week included controversy over Apple's decision not to allow Microsoft's xCloud streaming game service on iOS, another beta of iOS 14, and Phil Schiller stepping down as Apple's marketing chief as he begins to transition out his responsibilities there.

Check out our video above and read on below for more on these stories and more from the past week!

Apple Announces New 27-Inch iMac With 10th-Gen Processors, Up to 128GB RAM, 1080p Webcam, True Tone, and More

Apple this week announced a significant update for the 27-inch iMac, bringing updated Intel processors and AMD graphics, up to 128 GB of RAM, a better 1080p FaceTime camera, improved speakers and mics, a True Tone display, Apple's T2 chip, and a new $500 nano-texture matte display option. The update did not, however, include a much-anticipated redesign.

Initial media reviews indicate some impressive upgrades, particularly with the improved webcam, speakers, and mics in this time of working from home, while benchmarks show some nice improvements over the previous generation.

The 21.5-inch iMac saw only a minor change, with a 256 GB SSD becoming the default storage option in place of the previous 1 TB traditional hard drive. The smaller iMac is otherwise unchanged. The iMac Pro also saw a small bump with the base processor now being a 10-core Xeon W chip that was previously an $800 upgrade.

Apple Seeds First Public Beta of macOS Big Sur to Public Beta Testers

After initially announcing at WWDC that a public beta of macOS 11 Big Sur would be available in July, Apple this week released the first public beta a few days into August, opening it up to wider testing ahead of an official release in the fall.

If you're interested in testing out macOS Big Sur, see our how-to for a walkthrough on the installation process, but be aware that Apple recommends users install it on a backup machine as there are still bugs and incompatible apps that could cause issues and nobody wants to deal with that on their main machines.

Microsoft's xCloud and Xbox Game Pass Not Coming to iOS Due to Apple's Restrictions

Microsoft's "Project xCloud" streaming game service that pairs with its Xbox Game Pass won't be available on iPhone and iPad when it launches this September, and Apple's App Store restrictions are to blame.

Xbox Game Pass and its accompanying xCloud streaming feature offer access to hundreds of games that can be streamed to mobile devices, and Apple says that because it can't review each game available through Game Pass, it can't be allowed on the ‌App Store‌.

Everything New in iOS 14 Beta 4: Apple TV Widget, Search Improvements, Exposure Notification API and More

Apple this week released new developer and public beta versions of iOS 14, and the company continues to make tweaks as we head toward a public release in the next couple of months. We summed up a bunch of changes in the latest betas, including a new Apple TV widget, support for Exposure Notification apps, and more.

In other iOS 14 news, we took a look at the enhancements coming to Safari including the new webpage translation feature, and a few early third-party widgets.

Phil Schiller Moving on to Become 'Apple Fellow,' Greg Joswiak Taking Over as Marketing SVP

Apple's longtime marketing chief Phil Schiller is looking to slow down a bit as he turns 60, with the company this week announcing that he will be stepping down as senior vice president of marketing and becoming an Apple Fellow.

Greg Joswiak will be taking on Schiller's role atop the marketing division, although Schiller will remain onboard to oversee the App Store and Apple events such as WWDC.

Samsung Launches Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Z Fold 2, and Galaxy Buds to Compete With Apple's iPhones and AirPods Pro

Samsung this week held a virtual Galaxy Unpacked event where it unveiled its next-generation smartphones that will compete with Apple's 2020 iPhone lineup, as well as a new Galaxy Z Fold2 5G that improves significantly on Samsung's previous folding phone efforts.

New Galaxy Buds Live earbuds, a Galaxy Tab S7, and a Galaxy Watch 3 round out the new products as a full suite of competitors to Apple's major mobile products.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Article Link: Top Stories: New 27-Inch iMac, macOS Big Sur Public Beta, No Microsoft xCloud for iOS

 

[jlocker]

I went for it and took the Bir Sir public beta 1 and I can say that I am impressed for being a beta 1. Feels pretty smooth on my 2019 MacBook Pro 16 with 32gb of ram. In some aspects it feels faster than Catalina. Keep up the good work Apple!

 

[iGobbleoff]

That round watch looks so much better. Shame it’s Android

 

[AngerDanger]

That round watch looks so much better. Shame it’s Android

I don’t have a preference either way for round or square watches, but it always confused me how much the Apple Watch interface looks like it was designed for a round face.

 

[imnotthewalrus]

I went for it and took the Bir Sir public beta 1 and I can say that I am impressed for being a beta 1. Feels pretty smooth on my 2019 MacBook Pro 16 with 32gb of ram. In some aspects it feels faster than Catalina. Keep up the good work Apple!

I installed too on a maxed 2015 15" MBPr and I also am impressed with how well it performs.

 

[Anox]

Am I missing something did they say it was because they can’t review games individually or did they say the game does not meet the guidelines?

 

[User 6502]

I went for it and took the Bir Sir public beta 1 and I can say that I am impressed for being a beta 1. Feels pretty smooth on my 2019 MacBook Pro 16 with 32gb of ram. In some aspects it feels faster than Catalina. Keep up the good work Apple!

But it’s not really a beta 1, there have been many betas already, this is only the first one for the general public.

 

[Tha Professor]

I am kinda bummed about the game streaming decision. I was hoping my iPad Pro would double as a gaming console, which I don’t have much use for as a very casual gamer...

i would think that the games just stream video, they cannot access anything on the phone...this is first time I don’t really get their policy...

 

[Jyby]

Ew new 27-inch iMac with 8 core 10th gen Intel processor and the best GPU costs $3200... You could build the same PC for less than 2000.. Definitely an Apple Tax on the new iMacs

The GPU is a 5700 XT which is pretty close to an Nvidia 2070 Super... For 2020-2021 that’s just mid level...

 

[JosephAW]

I noticed my iPhone on PB4 is using lot of cellular data. Under Settings/Cellular/System Services Software Updates used 729mb for this update using up my data plan. Even though I updated using WiFi. How do I turn off cellular data for software updates? The switches are off for auto updates. Siri comes in a close second at 329mb of cellular data.

 

[Chompineer]

Ew new 27-inch iMac with 8 core 10th gen Intel processor and the best GPU costs $3200... You could build the same PC for less than 2000.. Definitely an Apple Tax on the new iMacs

The GPU is a 5700 XT which is pretty close to an Nvidia 2070 Super... For 2020-2021 that’s just mid level...

You could build a PC yes, but it would be a large tower case, and without a 5k P3 monitor. Not a compact all in one parcel. You could build an M-ITX machine and stick it to the back of a monitor if you want I suppose.

Also the GPU is a pro series, 16gb of vram. For those who need it, there isn’t many options shy of an older Radeon VII in that area.

Tradeoffs. The target market isn’t PC gamers here, that should be obvious.

 

[Jyby]

You could build a PC yes, but it would be a large tower case, and without a 5k P3 monitor. Not a compact all in one parcel. You could build an M-ITX machine and stick it to the back of a monitor if you want I suppose.

Also the GPU is a pro series, 16gb of vram. For those who need it, there isn’t many options shy of an older Radeon VII in that area.

Tradeoffs. The target market isn’t PC gamers here, that should be obvious.

yup of course we all heard what you just said- point is Apple isn’t interested in graphics for people who need them, pro graphics... Their graphics are always mid market performance..

Im also not a gamer- I’m a machine learning developer

 

[az431]

Am I missing something did they say it was because they can’t review games individually or did they say the game does not meet the guidelines?

Neither

 

[az431]

Ew new 27-inch iMac with 8 core 10th gen Intel processor and the best GPU costs $3200... You could build the same PC for less than 2000.. Definitely an Apple Tax on the new iMacs

The GPU is a 5700 XT which is pretty close to an Nvidia 2070 Super... For 2020-2021 that’s just mid level...

An Nvidia 2070 Super is not a "mid level" graphics card, and neither is the 5700XT.

 

[Devie]

I’m due for a new phone this year. I’ve only had iPhones since the 3G. This stupid Xbox cloud streaming policy is very seriously making me look over the fence.

 

[kesennnnn]

So can’t wait for iPhone 12 pro max man😌

 

[Jyby]

An Nvidia 2070 Super is not a "mid level" graphics card, and neither is the 5700XT.

It’s mid level. 2080 TI is top then RTX Titan.. and Quadro RTX. If you look at the inside of the iMac they just left a big pocket where the mechanical hard drive was.. They didn’t bother to even put a dedicated cooler on the GPU. They could do so much better than the 5700 XT.. The “new” iMac is not good for developers and designers who need a powerful GPU. Even though Mac OS is preferred for a lot of work in Machine Learning

 

[Anox]

Neither

If so I wonder why macrumors decided to phrase it like they did ?

I am still trying to wrap my head around it but everything is so vague and everyone just adds their emotions on top of it

 

[blindmamba]

Banning of the Project xCloud/Xbox GamePass isn't going to make me abandon the ecosystem. I think in the end apple will end up allowing it (considering there's not really a difference between it and netflix/hulu/etc).

But I was planning on upgrading my iPad Pro to the new form factor. That's not going to happen anymore because of this. I don't plan on gaming on my iPhone really, but was planning on using my iPad to use GamePass. Going to look into a android tablet (nothing expensive, probably second hand honestly). I feel that more people will go this route, than necessarily abandon the platform entirely. Still taking several hundred dollars out of Apple's pocket every time someone decided to go elsewhere on their secondary device instead of re-upping in the ecosystem.

 

[Anox]

Banning of the Project xCloud/Xbox GamePass isn't going to make me abandon the ecosystem. I think in the end apple will end up allowing it (considering there's not really a difference between it and netflix/hulu/etc).

But I was planning on upgrading my iPad Pro to the new form factor. That's not going to happen anymore because of this. I don't plan on gaming on my iPhone really, but was planning on using my iPad to use GamePass. Going to look into a android tablet (nothing expensive, probably second hand honestly). I feel that more people will go this route, than necessarily abandon the platform entirely. Still taking several hundred dollars out of Apple's pocket every time someone decided to go elsewhere on their secondary device instead of re-upping in the ecosystem.

I do get that
And I am under a strong belief that Apple needs to improve the guidelines and also be clear to app developers when they are not welcome directly (with a try again in other times)
But as things stand Apple has a reason to believe that xCloud is not safe or good for them

just like you I (and I believe Apple too) recognizes the huge missed opportunity both financially and other stuff
But I personally believe there’s more here than meets the naked eye

also if thy never do how would that change things