I'm hoping to purchase an iMac 5K toward the end of this year, so I'll definitely be watching that development with interest. I'm not expecting any new model to look like that render, though. I'd settle for the current form factor in Space Grey without having to buy the Pro (which I don't need) 🤨
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Top Stories: Redesigned iMac at WWDC?, Mac's Transition to Arm Chips, AAPL Hits $1.5 Trillion
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...I think Linux is far less of an issue. If the Mac can virtualise windows-on-ARM it can virtualise ARM Linux, which is already in a far better place compatibility-wise than Windows on ARM, People tend to want/need Windows to run desktop Win32 apps shipped as x86 binaries. While there may be some people running proprietary, x86-binary-only Linux desktop apps on Mac hardware, it's more likely that they're doing web/server-side development based on things like Apache/NGNIX/Node/Python/PHP/Mongo etc. that are already in most ARM Linux distros. Even things like Docker containers can be compiled for ARM. The only thing you won't be able to do is test x86 builds (well, even that can be done with something like QEMU). Frankly, though, going forward, I think most of this sort of work is going to be done in the cloud - where you can test on an exact clone of your production environment with fat pipes to the internet - using things like the remote development/debugging tools in VS Code.
If you think about it - iPads have ARM, Android is mostly ARM, yet the vast majority of iOS/Android development is done on Macs or PCs using x86. Cross-CPU development doesn't have to be an issue. I've been writing some audio stuff in C that runs on both the Raspberry Pi and the mac, and the only differences in the code are due to differences between MacOS and Linux - the CPU doesn't come into it.
NB: I believe that WSL2 has gone back to using virtualisation to run an actual Linux kernel and apps in a sandbox. WSL1 was an implementation of the Linux ABI for Windows (kinda like WINE in reverse) - so I guess that didn't work out.
I like that Apple is increasing its own chip producing capabilities.
Whereas INTEL is in the decline phase of it's corporate existence...think "fat" Roman Empire phase.
INTEL today feels like IBM did in the 90's. A titan on the way down....
Whereas INTEL is in the decline phase of it's corporate existence...think "fat" Roman Empire phase.
INTEL today feels like IBM did in the 90's. A titan on the way down....
A relative handful of mass market apps will be ported pretty quickly. The vast majority of apps never will. This is going to break something important for a lot of people. If all you do is browse the web and use facebook, you'll be fine, but then you'd be fine on an iPad.
Last time around, they switched from the niche PPC to the mainstream x86. This time they're switching away from the mainsteam to a proprietary niche.
And another important thing that nobody seems to be addressing, who thinks this a good idea? The only people I see here who like the transition are already on record as being iPad users who don't care for the Mac at all. If you're a low end user who's happy with an iPad, you're not going to buy a Arm mac anyway because you prefer the tablet form factor. If you're a power user on an MBP or iMac Pro, this is going to majorly break your workflow.
It's good for Apple because they can replace a $200 and up Intel chip with a $30 Arm chip. But it's a huge loss for the customer.
Difference is that Apple does design but doesn’t make chips, while Intel does both. The problem for Intel is Apple (and sometimes AMD) designs chips better than Intel, and TSMC fabs them better than Intel.
And which Arm chip works at 95W power? I've said that a top end Intel chip blows a top end Arm chip out of the water. And I was replying to others who have said that Apple's Arm beats an Intel desktop CPU.
Apple has been saying for years their Arms rival desktop CPUs and they've been lying for years.
I love how Apple brags that their ultrabook with a 15W CPU using integrated graphics can drive multiple 5k monitors yet my 145W dedicated GPU that's also twice the price of Apple's CPU by itself can't. Apple's marketing department is very creative in how they design the hardware for the engineers.
Nothing stopping you from running an a12x at 95W. Apple’s done it in their labs.
You can chose between WSL1 and WSL2 and can switch back and forth. Apparently WSL2 has higher compatibility, as loadable kernel modules and other stuff is supported.
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WWDC is quickly approaching, and while we know things are going to be different with this first-ever digital-only event, there's still a lot to look forward to. Apple will be streaming a keynote address from Apple Park where we'll see the usual introductions of Apple's next major operating system updates, and hopefully we'll get some hardware news as well.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We're starting to see some intriguing rumors for WWDC, including the possibility of a redesigned iMac and the likely start of Apple transitioning its Mac lineup from Intel processors to its own custom chips. This week also saw news on the iOS beta front, Apple's stock performance, and the iPhone 12 production schedule, so read on below and check out our video above for all of the details!
New iMac With 'iPad Pro Design Language' and Thin Bezels Reportedly Coming at WWDC
WWDC is just over a week away, and a new rumor indicates we could see some significant updates for the iMac at the event. According to leaker Sonny Dickson, Apple will use the WWDC keynote to introduce a redesigned iMac with "iPad Pro design language" and much thinner bezels around the display similar to those seen on the Pro Display XDR.
According to Dickson, the iMac will join the rest of the Mac lineup by including Apple's custom T2 chip to integrate several security controller functions. Dickson also says the iMac will include AMD's Navi graphics processors and move to all-SSD storage, eliminating the hybrid Fusion Drive setup seen on current lower-priced configurations.
Apple has been quoting extended shipping estimates on the 27-inch iMac for a while now, but it hasn't been clear whether it's due to component shortages or an upcoming update. Either way, it's best to wait until WWDC if you're currently in the market for an iMac.
Apple has officially announced some of its schedule for the first digital-only WWDC, which will kick off with the traditional keynote broadcast from Apple Park at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, June 22.
Apple Expected to Announce Arm-Based Mac Plans at WWDC, Transition Away From Intel to Begin in 2021
Apple has been rumored to be looking to move its Mac lineup from Intel processors over to its own custom Arm-based chips for years now, and it looks like it's finally about to happen.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to announce the beginning of that transition at WWDC later this month, giving developers several months to begin preparing ahead of the launch of the first Arm-based Macs in 2021.
Apple's first Arm-based Mac chip is said to be based on the upcoming A14 iPhone chip and include 12 processor cores: eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores. Chips with even higher core counts based on A15 iPhone chips would follow in the future. One rumor this week says Apple might start its Arm transition with a revived 12-inch MacBook.
For more details on what the transition from Intel to custom Arm chips would mean for Apple, check out our overview guide.
Apple Planning Apple Card Financing Options for Devices Other than iPhone
Apple Card users in the U.S. have been able to take advantage of convenient interest-free payment plans for iPhone purchases, and it looks like they'll soon have the option of similar plans for many other Apple products.
Tim Cook briefly mentioned the company's plans on Apple's April 30 earnings call, but the latest details indicate it will be valid on a broad array of products including iPads, Macs, AirPods, and other accessories, with customers given up to 12 months to pay before interest is due.
Apple Seeds Second Betas of iOS and iPadOS 13.6
Apple has thrown another curveball in its iOS beta testing cycle, renaming iOS 13.5.5 to iOS 13.6 alongside the release of the second beta version.
We'll be seeing iOS 14 very shortly at WWDC, but that won't get a public release until around September, so iOS 13.6 will provide some additional new features and updates to tide users over.
Among the changes found in the latest iOS 13.6 beta are a new toggle to set whether available iOS updates are automatically downloaded, a new Symptoms section in the Health app, and a new feature that saves your reading position within an article in Apple News.
Meanwhile, Apple has stopped signing iOS 13.5 following the release of iOS 13.5.1 last week. iOS 13.5.1 fixed a vulnerability that allowed for devices on earlier iOS versions to be jailbroken, and Apple's move to stop signing iOS 13.5 means users won't be able to downgrade their devices if they've already updated to iOS 13.5.1 or later.
Apple Becomes First U.S. Company to Hit $1.5 Trillion in Market Value
Following a steady recovery from its late March lows in the wake of the global health crisis, Apple's stock price late last week achieved its first all-time high since late January.
By the middle of this week, Apple became the first U.S. company to hit a market value of $1.5 trillion as it surged above $350 per share before pulling back later in the week amid broader market declines.
Apple previously became the first trillion-dollar company back in August 2018, and Amazon, Microsoft and Google parent company Alphabet have since joined Apple in hitting that milestone.
iPhone 12 Production Expected to Begin in July
Amid concerns that Apple will have to delay the launch of at least some iPhone 12 models due to delays stemming from coronavirus impact on the development phases, a new report claims that production on the iPhone 12 lineup is set to begin in July.
With Apple unable to send its usual teams to China to work through prototyping and development, the company was reportedly able to beef up its China-based teams to get the job done, with the second phase of engineering validation and testing wrapping up at the end of this month.
It's still not clear when we can expect the iPhone 12 to become available, however. Apple typically holds its annual iPhone event in early September, with availability following a week and a half later, although the launches of some models have been pushed back to October or even early November in recent years.
Meanwhile, Apple has registered nine unreleased iPhone model numbers with the Eurasian Economic Commission, which likely correspond to various iPhone 12 models. There's also a newly registered Mac that could be the iMac rumored for launch at WWDC.
iPhone 4 Turns 10: 'Stop Me If You've Already Seen This'
This week marked the 10th anniversary of Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone 4 and FaceTime at the WWDC 2010 keynote in San Francisco.
The introduction was a remarkable one due to the fact that the iPhone 4 had leaked several months earlier after an Apple employee left a prototype in a bar in Redwood City, California, near the company's headquarters.
The iPhone 4 was the first one with a high-resolution Retina display, and it featured an all-new design with a glass and stainless steel unibody with squared edges. This year's iPhone 12 is rumored to carry a similar design after many of years of rounded edges dating back to the iPhone 6.
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Article Link: Top Stories: Redesigned iMac at WWDC?, Mac's Transition to Arm Chips, AAPL Hits $1.5 Trillion
Lol. I could see this being something that Jobs would have done as a joke before unveiling the new iMac. Apples lost its sense of humor at Keynotes; they’re too damn stiff, except for Craig.
Anyway, This might be a wild, “no way in the world could this ever happen, you’re absolutely insane and you should be stripped of not just your internet access but also your right to own a firearm and your voting rights, too” type guess, but I think that the new iMac might look something like this, with slightly reduced bezels:
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I’m still within my return period for my new 13’’ MacBook Pro. I have no problems with it, but what I really wanted a 27’’ iMac, just not one with a damned Fusion Drive. I tried one with a Fusion Drive for 2 weeks, and...no thanks. Hard pass. Apples decision a few years back to change from the 1TB fusion drive model having a 128GB SSD to the newer models having a 24GB (!!) SSD is just soooo classic Apple penny pinching at work.*
They release the new one with SSD as standard and for sale relatively soon, I’ll have this MacBook Pro wiped and boxed up in less than an hour, and rent a helicopter to return it.
I do hope for a redesign; ten minutes into my two week iMac experience, I was blown away by the size of the bezels. You essentially have two bezels, the aluminum lip at the bottom, then the gigantic black ones surrounding the display. There’s so much bezel, it makes the display look smaller than it actually is. Now, it wasn’t deal breaking or anything, and I learned to gnore it, but it just looked so damned weird compared to all my other Apple stuff. 2008 design meets 2020 design, more or less.
Reduce the bezels, and make the damn thing thicker. You buy an iMac, you set it up on your desk, and use it. No one gives a **** how thick the sides are; as far as I know, the sides and back of an iMac don’t display Final Cut Pro. If I’m wrong, let me know.
I just hope Apple doesn’t pull some **** and raise the price astronomically. Remember, the iMac is supposed to be in the consumer desktop box of the famous Steve Jobs Four Quadrants. I know they don’t really follow that anymore, but come on, keep the iMac affordable. Let the iMac Pro and Mac Pro pull in the big bucks.
Ok, I’m done, for two reasons: I have nothing more to write about this, and also writing a post on MR with the iPad Magic Keyboard is buggy as hell. It’s autocorrecting random words like absolutely to absoblsetiy or some **** like that, and i have to go back nearly every sentence and un-capitalize one or two random words.
* Yes I’m aware that the 2TB Fusion Drive iMac has a 128GB SSD. Still, no. Every Apple product I’ve own in the past nine years has had full SSD/flash storage. I’m not spending over two grand on Mac that doesn’t.
That's unlikely. This isn't 2006 - the vast majority of Mac apps are written in Objective C and/or Swift. In many cases, updating the app will be as simple as rebuilding it with the latest version of XCode. It's quite unusual now days to write low-level, arch-specific code that targets a particular CPU. Software that needs high performance computing (video encoders, machine learning, etc) typically target the GPU either directly or via APIs like Metal or OpenCL.
ARM is the opposite of a proprietary niche. It's the most common CPU architecture in the world, used on billions of devices, supported by dozens of chip makers, and included in virtually every modern tablet and phone.
AMD and Intel shouldn’t scare Apple. AMD has never executed successfully for more than one generation. And Intel has not executed successfully for at least the last 4 years.
Actually, the exact opposite. They are switching away from a CPU made by only two vendors to a CPU made by dozens of vendors with a magnitude or more higher production volume and a magnitude or more customer deployment. The only CPU even nearly as mainstream as ARM is the 8051 (in zillions of household appliances sold over the past 2 decades). x86's may be slowing going the way of the IBM 360/370 ISA and Cobol (still in use for those covid-19 handouts!).
Rounded corners (on the panel!) are an absolute no-go for multi-screen use. I hope this will never be in the real product.
You can always crop the display slightly so that there are no rounded corners, like on the iPhone when you're watching video. There would be no functional difference between a rounded panel that is slightly cropped, and a non-rounded panel that doesn't extend all the way into the corners.
Just settled on a LG 32UL950-W for my Mac Mini. If they reveal a 32 inch iMac with an acceptable design (the current one is not IMO) I will be one sad camper
"T2 chip to integrate several security controller functions. Dickson also says the iMac will include AMD's Navi graphics processors and move to all-SSD storage" Oh yessssssssssssss!!!!
But wait a second? T2, flash? So Apple wants to sell me another Mac with soldered flash and RAM. An iPad on a stand that'll never see any upgrade and ships without a single port?
For gods sake my mid 2011 Core i7 is still a beast and capable of running ancient 32bit photoshop and illustrator ....
But wait a second? T2, flash? So Apple wants to sell me another Mac with soldered flash and RAM. An iPad on a stand that'll never see any upgrade and ships without a single port?
For gods sake my mid 2011 Core i7 is still a beast and capable of running ancient 32bit photoshop and illustrator ....
I totally disagree on that. Pro needs vary pretty widely and forcing an upsell like that (because you know Apple won't meet us halfway on the RAM prices) is a very quick way to get people to start looking elsewhere.