What to Expect at Apple's 'Let Us Loop You In' Media Event

[calisurfboy]

I'm still really annoyed at the lack of new desktop hardware (Mini and MP). If they're only going to refresh every 2-3 years they could at least cut the pricing a bit so I don't have to pay a premium for 2 year-old technology. Need to buy a couple minis anyway, just waiting 'til Monday on the remote chance Festivus comes early.

Apple lost its focus on hardware and software about five years back. I gave up recently and built a hackintosh which isn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Definitely nice to have powerful up to date hardware and the excellence of OS X at half the cost.

 

[e93to]

They can easily do this with the 13" macbook air. It has ridiculously huge bezels.

True. But I have a feeling MacBook air will be discontinued soon. I won't be surprised if MacBook air is discontinued after tomorrow's event...

 

[manu chao]

No

No, as in because this never happened?
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True. But I have a feeling MacBook air will be discontinued soon. I won't be surprised if MacBook air is discontinued after tomorrow's event...

Yeah sure, Apple will either reduce the entry-model price of the MacBook One (or the 13" MBP) from $1300 to $900 (or at least $1000) or they will move the price of their cheapest laptop from $900 to $1300. Since I have your attention, which of the two do you think they will do? And do you have a precedence for either move?

 

[MacHiavelli]

And there are you pretending there might be some secret knowledge unrelated to prior chip design. Ludicrous!
Because they are already advancing ARM chips as fast as possible. But that speed will slow down when they hit the same borders of physics Intel faces.
Ha ha ha, no!
Apple has no idea how to build a car, nothing they did before prepared them to do it.
If they are not made out of hopes and dreams, they will be either ARM-based or AMD-based designs.

No, I didn't pretend anything of the sort. But cool. We understand things differently.

Apple has a history of taking tech leaps, so I am happy to believe they can do so again with a car, ARM chip, etc.

Have a good week, my friend.

 

[csimmers04]

BestBuy just lowered all their Apple Watches by 100$ again... I bet we see an "s" update tomorrow with an upgraded processor and battery along with the new bands.

 

[WLS]

BestBuy just lowered all their Apple Watches by 100$ again... I bet we see an "s" update tomorrow with an upgraded processor and battery along with the new bands.

I see that.. I'm hoping for an S upgrade too. Apple is bringing out the iPhone SE to improve sales figures for their next quarter, I don't see why they would not bring out an iwatch S version for the same reasons.

 

[e93to]

No, as in because this never happened?
[doublepost=1458504275][/doublepost]
Yeah sure, Apple will either reduce the entry-model price of the MacBook One (or the 13" MBP) from $1300 to $900 (or at least $1000) or they will move the price of their cheapest laptop from $900 to $1300. Since I have your intention, which of the two do you think they will do? And do you have a precedence for either move?

$400 price drop for a new product (retina MacBook) would be very radical, so I don't see that happening.

They could (and really should) drop the price of the base 13" MBP by $200 or so max. I don't think Apple will discontinue the base 13" MBP because there are still people who require DVD drive and ethernet cable port.

However, taking into consideration what Apple has done lately (price increases, cutting corners, etc), it is unlikely to see price drops on any existing products even though 14" rMB is introduced... This will mean 14" rMB will start at around $1800 or so, which will really suck for potential buyers like me!

 

[Mac 128]

I was referring to the software side of things. Hardware differentiation is expected especially considering the different sizes of phones Apple has available.

3D Touch has a major hardware component which makes the 6s 1mm thicker than the 6. You can't have one without the other. Just like having image stabilization in a larger phone because there is more room, removing the 3D Touch hardware in a smaller phone which has less room makes perfect sense. In both cases, the user experience is compromised.
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I assume all who have the Apple Watch now are not hoping for it...

Why? There's numerous things they would have hopefully improved since the design they introduced 18 months ago.

Even just a processor upgrade would do wonders for the sluggish watch, and would be enough for some current owners to upgrade to it.

 

[diipii]

Apple will hold its first event of 2016 next Monday, and while it won't be as exciting as last year's event that saw the launch of the Apple Watch, Apple is planning to introduce several new products. Headlining the event will be the 4-inch iPhone SE, Apple's first 4-inch iPhone since 2013.

Joining the iPhone SE will be a new 9.7-inch iPad, a range of new Apple Watch bands, and software updates for iOS 9, watchOS 2, tvOS, and OS X El Capitan.


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Article Link: What to Expect at Apple's 'Let Us Loop You In' Media Event

I will expect:
A huge number of superlatives.
Yes Men yessing...ad nauseum.
A manifesation of arrogance, self delusion, insularity and myopia.
Apple emulating the sea-side gift shop by hawking a load of froth and superficiality while displaying an enduring ignorance of what computer makers should actually be doing for those who use computers for creative and productive purposes.
Proving yet again that a company that was respected and valued is now well and truly "Cooked".
Overall, a fuss about nothing.
So sad.

 

[nando87]

I want to want the next Apple Watch. The current one is just "meh", I try to like it but it's too ambiguous styling wise .

 

[manu chao]

$400 price drop for a new product (retina MacBook) would be very radical, so I don't see that happening.

They could (and really should) drop the price of the base 13" MBP by $200 or so max. I don't think Apple will discontinue the base 13" MBP because there are still people who require DVD drive and ethernet cable port.

However, taking into consideration what Apple has done lately (price increases, cutting corners, etc), it is unlikely to see price drops on any existing products even though 14" rMB is introduced... This will mean 14" rMB will start at around $1800 or so, which will really suck for potential buyers like me!

I'm not sure a 14" rMB will be that much above the 13" rMBP (which starts at $1300).

 

[Wreckus]

True. But I have a feeling MacBook air will be discontinued soon. I won't be surprised if MacBook air is discontinued after tomorrow's event...

The Macbook Air should've been discontinued when they re-introducted the macbook.

 

[e93to]

I'm not sure a 14" rMB will be that much above the 13" rMBP (which starts at $1300).

There is a price gap of $700 between base 13" and base 15" MBP... So I guess $1800 price tag for a new 14" rMB wouldn't be so unreasonable on Apple's part. I really hope Apple brings down the price of 12" model to $1100, but I highly doubt it is likely.

 

[pat500000]

The only way I'd go back and watch the whole thing is if they start announcing a lot of stuff that we don't know about already.

Macrumors will create a headline topic for every section of the keynote, so I'll know what's in it. I know from past experience that I rarely go back and watch a keynote that I've missed. It's like watching the Oscars. I might sit down and watch it live (and enjoy it), but once I know the winners, I can't imagine sitting through it.

That's just me. I know people who will re-watch an entire football game, knowing how it ends. I wouldn't do that.

So, watching the live stream wouldn't interest you, huh? Let ask you: are you tired of Apple's "same ol thing?" Or what is the reason that you rather read MR topics? Just curious.

 

[Psyfuzz]

3D Touch has a major hardware component which makes the 6s 1mm thicker than the 6. You can't have one without the other.

Just a heads up, the 6s is 0.2mm thicker than the 6, not a whole millimetre.

 

[asleep]

Do we know how/when the iPhone SE will be offered for sale, yet?

 

[manu chao]

There is a price gap of $700 between base 13" and base 15" MBP... So I guess $1800 price tag for a new 14" rMB wouldn't be so unreasonable on Apple's part. I really hope Apple brings down the price of 12" model to $1100, but I highly doubt it is likely.

The 15" MBP also comes with quad-core processors (which the 14" MB won't come with just for heat dissipation issues in a very slim design). And the price difference between the 11 and 13" MBA (which share very similar dual-core processors) is only $100 at the low end. Or in percentages, the 13" MBA is 11% more expensive than the 11" MBA. For the MBPs that difference is 54%. If we split the difference (~30%), the 14" MB might cost $1700. But my guess would $300 more than the 12" version, ie, $1600.

An important question is naturally if the 14" MB would also use CoreM processors or use the 15-W TDP chips of the MBA.
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Do we know how/when the iPhone SE will be offered for sale, yet?

Either this or next week would probably be the 99% prediction.
[doublepost=1458510526][/doublepost]

Just a heads up, the 6s is 0.2mm thicker than the 6, not a whole millimetre.

Though it also has a thinner battery, ie, the actual mechanism takes up more like 0.5 mm.

 

[OneMike]

No, as in because this never happened?

no as in bye.

 

[littlecrossrace]

Snoozefest. Seriously apple? Reinventing the iPhone 5? You already did that with the iPhone 5c. Smh.

I like the fact that there might be another 4" iPhone cause not everyone needs a tv to try and carry around

 

[loopmein]

I can already feel the falsely built-up expectations rising in people, only to have the promises they read into Apple's total silence about everything due to become announced, shattered tomorrow, leading to a full-force torrent of outcry and hand waving online from people who managed to add 1+2 and somehow reach a result of 12.

Oh the internet...

 

[pmau]

The Macbook Air should've been discontinued when they re-introducted the macbook.

I disagree simply because the MacBook is a low-power fanless version.
The Air, if updated, could be a MacBook that can be used for "real" work AND be small.

Most people might disagree, but I think Apple has seen that the 13" Retina is the Sweet Spot and
it's hard to make more money.

I might even think it is possible they discontinue the MacBook Retina 13", raise the pricing of the 15" Pro
and introduce something like a MacBook 12" "more power" Skylake Edition.

Apple needs to raise their margins again, because iPhone and Watch sales are not what thez hoped for.
At least this is what I think.

The iPhone has been Apple's cash cow for years now, the iPad cannot fill any of the categories.
Just remember that before all the iPhone Hype, Apple has been selling 17" MacBook Pro version that
were good, but also had a hefty margin.

I really do believe Apple will try to milk customers with a Skylake switch and ditch the mid-range.
It will be slow MacBook or "new" slightly faster MacBook Air (which is the name they will never use again),
or the top of the line MacBook Pro's with a hefty price increase.

Apple has never lowered prices, they cut away features to re-introduce low-end models.
Which is what the 5 SE will be. They need it for Apple pay and because they need a higher margin.
Even though it appears to be cheap, the display is cheaper, the battery is cheaper, the chips might be clocked lower, etc.

You have to know that there are plenty of chips that are below certain QA levels but can be used at a lower
clock rate.

 

[Z3man]

Looking forward to the announcement of the iPhone SE tomorrow, just hoping it has a flat screen and not a curved edge screen where it is almost impossible to fit a decent screen protector, flat screen looks better as well also, hope it is no heavier then the 5s, would be great if it was even lighter.

 

[loopmein]

Looking forward to the announcement of the iPhone SE tomorrow, just hoping it has a flat screen and not a curved edge screen where it is almost impossible to fit a decent screen protector, flat screen looks better as well also, hope it is no heavier then the 5s, would be great if it was even lighter.

I take your use of "curved" to mean bevelled edge glass?

 

[BlueMoon63]

Apple lost its focus on hardware and software about five years back. I gave up recently and built a hackintosh which isn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Definitely nice to have powerful up to date hardware and the excellence of OS X at half the cost.

I'm not even sure I could argue this point because in many ways it may be true. Definitely not going against your point either, but if Apple lost focus on hw/sw it sure hasn't shown up on the bottom line. Taking away the last quarter as the first time they didn't grow like usual, if you go back five years to today, the company has grown in sales, customer satisfaction and quality of products second to none. They continue to remain as the most searched for products over and over again with the highest customer satisfaction across all product lines.

You are probably just technically smart and I mean that... Apple is selling more and more to the uneducated just because people "want it" and they say "it just works". I work for a giant company and we have always used Windows laptops and servers along with many UNIX flavors and Teradata Servers and of course BlackBerry, but about 3-4 years ago, they started to allow Apple Laptops, iPhones to replace BlackBerry and iPads everywhere for Exec's and developers. Now, a company with almost 300,000 has more people using iPhones for corporate mail than BlackBerry's and Apple Laptops starting to show up more and more. I gave up counting the number of iPads.

No real point to that except that the company over a quarter mill in size does not allow any Android/Samsung/etc products because "they are not safe enough" and "prone to virus/malware". Most people who own Apple Laptops and iPads or iPhones mostly think the hardware design is probably the best on the market. I first got into Apple because of the quality of the hardware. Though all of us technically thinking might not like the "control" Apple has over their products.

 

[Z3man]

I take your use of "curved" to mean bevelled edge glass?

Probably, well whatever the 6/6s is.