Tuesday is upon us: new Apple hardware
It's been busy in the dwarven mines of Cupertino, we can tell: much new iron has arrived today, and the store is back up (though getting hammered at the moment)! We'll go into detail on each of the announcements in the next hour or so, but here's the basic scoop:
All of Apple's consumer desktops have been updated, with new iMacs and new minis. The iMacs offer 'twice the memory, twice the storage' in the new $1499 base 24" model, and all have been updated with the GeForce 9400M graphics subsystem. BTO options on the 24" iMac include up to a 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, a 640GB or 1TB HD, and a rogues' gallery of graphics upgrade options: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 or the ATI Radeon HD 4850 instead of the 9400M. Gamers, start your engines.
The mini... well, Dave and I have to eat our words on the mini, because the new models do indeed come with five frickin' USB ports, FW800 and both DVI and DisplayPort video-out, as well as the 9400M integrated graphics. The spy shots, the video and the box picture appear to have been spot-on (despite the 'scientific' scoffing analysis of Photoshop artifacts in the original shot). $599US gets you the base model with a 2GHz C2D and 120GB hard drive/1GB of RAM (really? 1GB?), $799 doubles the RAM to 2GB and bumps the HD to 320GB. The new mini also uses less power than before, only 13 watts at idle. For all of you that had 'five USB ports' in the pool, instead of 'sharks with lasers on their heads' -- congratulations. Who knew that Gillette was collaborating with the Onion and Apple on product design?
The pro desktop has been revved with new Mac Pro hardware: shipping next week, the new models start $300US cheaper than before and now feature Intel's Nehalem chip, along with a redesigned interior, DisplayPort + DVI standard and more spec upgrades -- but no 16-core model.
The Airport Extreme and Time Capsule were also updated with dual-band support (allowing Apple TV and iPhones to use the older 2.4GHz band without dragging other devices down) and 'Guest Network' capability for your no-account friends who come over and mooch your wireless. Yes, you know who you are.
Macworld also notes that there was apparently a 'stealth' update to the MacBook Pro today, bumping the top processor speed to 2.66GHz.
Our complete coverage:
Mac Pro
Mac mini
Time Capsule
iMac
MacBook Pro
Full press releases in the 2nd half of the post.
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Press releases via Apple PR
Apple Updates Consumer Desktop Line
24-inch iMac Starts at $1,499
CUPERTINO, California-March 3, 2009-Apple® today announced updates to its iMac® and Mac® mini desktop lines, including a 24-inch iMac that is priced more affordably than ever before and a Mac mini with powerful new integrated graphics. For the same $1,499 price as the previous generation 20-inch iMac, the new 24-inch iMac delivers a 30 percent larger display, twice the memory and twice the storage. Delivering up to five times better graphics performance, the updated Mac mini now features the same groundbreaking NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics introduced with the aluminum unibody MacBook® family.* The Mac mini is the world's most energy efficient desktop, drawing less than 13 watts of power when idle.** All iMac and Mac mini systems come with Mac OS® X Leopard®, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife® '09, Apple's unparalleled suite of consumer applications for managing and organizing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music.
"Our flagship 24-inch iMac with twice the memory and twice the storage is now available for just $1,499," said Tim Cook, Apple's COO. "The Mac mini is not only our most affordable Mac, it's also the world's most energy efficient desktop computer."
The elegant, full-featured iMac line starts with the 20-inch iMac for only $1,199 with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, a 320GB Serial ATA hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics. The 24-inch iMac features a beautiful 1920-by-1200 pixel widescreen display that offers 30 percent more screen real estate than the 20-inch model, and starts at just $1,499. The 24-inch iMac includes up to a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, a 640GB or 1TB Serial ATA hard drive, and a variety of graphics technology from NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics for ultimate performance.
Every iMac features a glossy display with a built-in iSight® video camera, mic and speakers in a thin aluminum and glass design. The new iMac also includes a Mini DisplayPort connector for a pure digital signal to Apple's new 24-inch LED Cinema Display with adapters available for DisplayPort, VGA, DVI and Dual-Link DVI displays. iMac includes built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n Wi-Fi networking; Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; Gigabit Ethernet; a total of six USB 2.0 ports (including two on the Apple Keyboard); and one FireWire® 800 port.
Starting at $599, the Mac mini is an innovative, tiny desktop measuring only 6.5 by 6.5 by 2-inches. Available in two models, Mac mini features a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, up to 320GB Serial ATA hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 and a SuperDrive®. The Mac mini features NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics for up to five times better graphics performance than before* and now with dual display support can drive two Apple or third-party displays with Mini DisplayPort or DVI connections. Using less than 13 watts of power at idle, up to 10 times less power than a typical desktop PC, the new Mac mini is the most energy efficient desktop in the world.**
Continuing Apple's commitment to the environment, both iMac and Mac mini extend their leadership in green design. Both iMac and Mac mini exceed current Energy Star 4.0 requirements and are leading the industry as early adopters of the more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements which will become effective later this year. Both iMac and Mac mini use PVC-free internal components and cables and contain no brominated flame retardants. Both iMac and Mac mini feature material-efficient system and packaging designs and use highly recyclable materials. Apple's new desktop lineup joins its recently introduced aluminum unibody MacBook family in achieving EPEAT Gold status.***
Every Mac comes with Apple's innovative iLife '09 suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. iLife '09 features iPhoto®, which introduces Faces and Places as breakthrough new ways to easily organize and manage your photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar. Every Mac also includes Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system which features Time Machine™, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder™ that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, the best way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces®, an intuitive feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; Mail with easy setup and elegant, personalized stationery; and iChat®, the most advanced video chat.
Apple also announced that its popular AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi Base Station and Time Capsule® now feature simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual-band networking for optimal performance, range and compatibility. An innovative Guest Network feature allows setting up a secondary network for friends and visitors with Internet-only access so you don't have to hand out your WiFi password. Time Capsule combines an 802.11n router and server-grade hard disk for automatic wireless back-up with Time Machine, and is immediately available in two models: a 500GB model for $299 and a 1TB model for $499. The AirPort Extreme Base Station is also available immediately for a suggested retail price of $179.****
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Apple Introduces New Mac Pro
Features Intel "Nehalem" Xeon Processors & High-Performance Graphics
CUPERTINO, California-March 3, 2009-Apple® today introduced the new Mac® Pro using Intel "Nehalem" Xeon processors and a next-generation system architecture to deliver up to twice the performance of the previous generation system.* The new Mac Pro starts at $2,499 and features the latest graphics technology and an updated interior that makes expansion even easier than before.
"The new Mac Pro is a significant upgrade and starts at $300 less than before," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The Mac Pro features an advanced system architecture, new faster processors and our best-ever graphics options to deliver a faster, more powerful system that our professional customers are going to love."
The new Mac Pro includes Intel Xeon processors running at speeds up to 2.93 GHz, each with an integrated memory controller with three channels of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC memory that delivers up to 2.4 times the memory bandwidth while cutting memory latency up to 40 percent.** Every Mac Pro comes standard with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, a high-performance graphics card with nearly three times greater performance when compared to the previous generation system.*** An optional ATI Radeon HD 4870 is available for even more performance. With both a Mini DisplayPort and DVI port, the new Mac Pro provides out-of-the-box support for the 24-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, the 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display, or other DVI based displays.
An updated interior provides easy access to all components within the Mac Pro for hassle free expansion. The Mac Pro includes four direct-attach cable-free hard drive carriers for installing up to 4TB of internal storage when using 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA drives. An optional cable-free Mac Pro RAID card delivers performance up to 550MB/s**** and allows the four internal drive bays to be set up in RAID 0, 1, 5, or 0+1 configurations for improved disk performance and redundant data protection.
Continuing Apple's commitment to the environment, the new Mac Pro exceeds Energy Star 4.0 requirements and is leading the industry as an early adopter of the more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements which will become effective later this year. The Mac Pro enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and the interior is designed to be more material-efficient. The Mac Pro uses PVC-free internal cables and components and contains no brominated flame retardants. The new Mac Pro achieves EPEAT Gold status.*****
Every Mac includes Leopard®, the world's most advanced operating system which features Time Machine™, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder™ that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, the best way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces®, an intuitive feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; Mail with easy setup and elegant, personalized stationery; and iChat®, the most advanced video chat. Every Mac comes with Apple's innovative iLife® '09 suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. iLife '09 features iPhoto®, which introduces Faces and Places as breakthrough new ways to easily organize and manage your photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar. Optional Apple professional applications include Aperture™, Final Cut® Express, Final Cut Studio®, Logic® Express, Logic Studio® and Shake®.
Pricing & Availability
The new Mac Pro will be available next week through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.
The new quad-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:
one 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 3500 series processor with 8MB of L3 cache;
3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 8GB;
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics with 512MB of GDDR3 memory;
640GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
Mini DisplayPort and DVI (dual-link) for video output (adapters sold separately);
four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire® 800 ports;
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
ships with Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Mighty Mouse.
The new 8-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $3,299 (US), includes:
two 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 series processors with 8MB of shared L3 cache;
6GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics with 512MB of GDDR3 memory;
640GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
Mini DisplayPort and DVI (dual-link) for video output (adapters sold separately);
four PCI Express 2.0 slots;
five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports;
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and
ships with Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Mighty Mouse.
Build to order options and accessories include: one 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor for the quad-core Mac Pro; two 2.66 GHz or two 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors for the 8-core Mac Pro; up to 8GB for the quad-core Mac Pro and up to 32GB for the 8-core Mac Pro of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory; up to four 1TB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm; Mac Pro RAID card; up to two 18x SuperDrives with double-layer support; ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics with 512MB of GDDR5 memory; AirPort Extreme® 802.11n; Apple Keyboard, Apple Wireless Keyboard; Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse; Mac OS® X Server Leopard. Complete build-to-order options and pricing are available at www.apple.com/macpro.
