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Apple may unveil 'low-cost' MacBook, upgraded Mac mini this year
Apple is setting up to release a lower-cost MacBook and higher-performance Mac mini later this year, sources told Bloomberg. Given how dismal Mac sales were last quarter (13 percent worse than the same period in 2017), these new versions could breathe life into product lines that have been largely stagnant over the last few years. While there aren't too many details, the added features include some that consumers have been wanting for years.
What to expect from Apple’s education-themed ‘Field Trip’ event
Normally, when Apple goes to the trouble of putting on an event, it's somewhere near the company's home base in sunny Cupertino. Not this time! After deciding not to hold a March keynote last year, Apple now has plans to hold court in Chicago's prestigious Lane Tech College Prep school. This "field trip," as Apple's calling it, is far from business as usual, but with days to go before the event kicks off, we've got a few ideas about what you can expect Apple to unveil in the Windy City.
Apple might offer lower-cost MacBook Air in spring
Apple has left the MacBook Air mostly untouched for years, including its price. Ever since the 11-inch model disappeared in 2016, you've been looking at $999 or more for Apple's 'starter' laptop -- a tough sell given the aging design. It might become a better value before long, however. KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who has a mostly solid track record for Apple leaks and rumors) has claimed that Apple is preparing a MacBook Air with a "lower price tag" for release this spring.
Legacy ports on a MacBook Pro will cost you $1,999
Give our regards to anyone still clutching a four-pin USB cable out there: Apple is slowly winnowing down its MacBook Pro line and eliminating the remaining machines built with anything other than USB-C Thunderbolt ports. After Monday's WWDC 2017 keynote, the low-end 13-inch, non-TouchBar MacBook disappeared from the Apple Store. That leaves the aging MacBook Air and the $1,999 previous-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro as the only Apple notebooks that won't need a dongle to charge your iPhone.
What to expect from Apple at WWDC 2017
As a rule, Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference is predictable: New versions of iOS, macOS and watchOS are the stars of the show, and anything else is gravy. WWDC 2017, however, is shaping up to be different. Although there hasn't been much talk about what the new software will entail, the rumor mill has kicked into high gear with word of new Macs, new iPads and even a smart speaker. All told, operating systems may actually be the least exciting part of Apple's keynote. But which products are likely to steal the spotlight, and which ones are just wishful thinking? That's what we're here to sort out.
Apple reportedly announcing a slew of MacBook updates next month
Apple's annual developer conference hasn't been a venue for product launches in four years, but it might produce a bumper crop of laptops this time around. Bloomberg sources hear that Apple is planning to upgrade at least the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro line when WWDC kicks off in June. The Pros would get improved 7th-generation Core (aka Kaby Lake) processors with little to no external changes, while the 12-inch system is only said to be getting a "faster Intel chip" (our money's on Y-series Core i5 and i7 CPUs). However, the biggest deal may be an update to a system many thought Apple had left for dead: the MacBook Air.
Surface Laptop vs. the competition: Back to basics
Microsoft finally built a real laptop -- not a tablet with a keyboard, or a machine with a detachable display. Just a solid traditional laptop, though one with an incredibly slim build, smooth touch and the stripped down Windows 10 S along for the ride. But, as a more straightforward machine, the Surface Laptop goes directly against competing devices from the likes of HP, Dell and Apple. With the Surface and the current MacBook Air both starting at $999, we've lined up the specs of some leading 13-inch machines to see what they can offer you for a grand and more.
WikiLeaks: CIA has all sorts of tools for hacking your 2008-era Mac (updated)
One of Apple's big talking points is that Macs don't get viruses and that they're relatively safe when compared to Windows PCs. Well, WikiLeaks would like you to reconsider that notion with more info about Vault 7. The organization's latest dump is a handful of documents from the Central Intelligence Agency that detail, among other things, how the agency can infect a MacBook Air during its boot cycle via a modified Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adapter. With "Sonic Screwdriver," the CIA's monitoring tools are stored on the dongle and the machine can be infected even if it's password protected. Considering how dongle dependent the new MacBooks are, this sort of exploit becomes even more worrying.
AirBar gives your MacBook Air a touchscreen for $99
Sure, the new MacBook Pro has that fancy Touch Bar, but some Apple laptop owners long for a machine with a full touchscreen display. A company called AirBar already gave the PC faithful a USB accessory that gives a 15.6-inch screen a more tactile function, and at CES it's doing the same for the 13.3-inch MacBook Air. The company calls the device "plug-and-touch," which means you don't have to worry about futzing with drivers before you can use the gadget.
The writing is on the wall for MacBook Air
Apple hasn't updated the MacBook Air since 2015 and it's not going to any time soon. Instead, the company today phased out the $900, 11-inch MacBook Air. Only the $1,000, 13-inch MacBook Air remains available on Apple's store, and the company has instead gone all-in on the new line of MacBook Pros.
Meet the MacBook Pro's new Touch Bar with TouchID
Apple has unveiled its newest line of MacBook Pro notebooks, and true to the leaks, it comes with an OLED strip instead of function keys. As the company's Phil Schiller notes, function keys are a decades-old technology that shouldn't really have a place in a laptop from 2016. In its place, the company is adding a retina display touchscreen (with multitouch) that it's calling the Touch Bar. As well as contextual menus that change depending on what app you're in, the power button on the far right now doubles as a TouchID sensor.
What to expect from Apple's 'Hello Again' event
Apple is sneaking in one more big product unveiling before 2016 comes to a close, and expectations for new Macs are running high. And how couldn't they be? Aside from last year's iMacs and the 12-inch MacBook, Cupertino's computer lineup has gone largely untouched since 2015 -- and there are numerous systems that have remained the same for even longer. But which Macs are going to get an upgrade on Oct. 27th? And is there a chance that other devices will get their moment in the sun? We've rounded up some of the more credible rumors to give you a sense of what's likely in store.
Apple could bring E Ink keyboards to MacBooks in 2018
You may have to wait a while if you want a Mac with an E Ink keyboard. Wall Street Journal tipsters understand that Apple wants to make Sonder's e-paper keys a "standard feature" on MacBooks, but that it's aiming for a 2018 launch. Don't expect to see anything at that reported October 27th event, then. At least we're getting a hint of the functionality. As you'd expect, E Ink would let your Mac use "any" alphabet, along with special characters and media editing shortcuts. You could write emoji more like you do on a smartphone (where you replace the keyboard with an emoji picker) instead of using a keyboard shortcut and wading through an on-screen dialog box.
Apple reportedly unveils new Macs on October 27th
Even before Apple's September event, rumors swirled that the company would save any Mac-related updates for an October presentation. As the month has gone on, however, fans have wondered whether or not anything would happen. Isn't it a little late to send out press invitations? Supposedly, you can relax. Recode sources claim that Apple will introduce new Macs at an event on October 27th. This would be a smaller-scale affair than the iPhone 7 introduction (possibly held on Apple's campus), but that doesn't mean that it would be devoid of interesting products. If you believe the rumors, just the opposite is true.
Apple may ditch traditional USB ports on the MacBook Pro
Apple reportedly plans to eliminate the USB 3.0 and Magsafe ports on its next-gen MacBook, and kill the 11-inch MacBook Air altogether. That's according to Macotakara, the Japanese rumor site that was among the first to predict the company would kill the traditional headphone jack on the iPhone 7. It also claims that Apple will unveil a 15.4- and 13.3-inch MacBook Pro at an event sometime this month.
Apple just fixed one of the MacBook Air's biggest problems
Ever since Apple stopped trying to sell it at $1,799, the 13-inch MacBook Air has been one of its most popular computers. The eventual drop down to $999 made it accessible to a far larger crowd, but in recent years there have been two drawbacks: its low-res, 1,440 x 900 display, and its meager 4GB allocation of RAM. Today, one of those issues has been resolved. The 13-inch MacBook Air now comes with 8GB of RAM as standard.
Apple upgrades its MacBook series and adds a rose gold option
It's been just over a year since Apple launched its slimmer Macbook series. Today, the company is upgrading them with new processors (from Intel's sixth-generation Core M series), as well as refreshing the built-in Intel HD GFX, promising around a 25 percent faster graphical performance. On top of new processing muscle, there's faster flash storage and improved battery life. Apple claims you'll get up to 10 hours of web browsing, and up to 11 hours of movie playback with the new machines. However, if you were looking for more ports, you're still going to have to look elsewhere -- or splurge on a hub.
What to expect from Apple's 'spring forward' watch event
Here's a twist: Apple is about to hold an event where you probably know what the main attraction will be. Yes, barring surprises, the March 9th "spring forward" presentation will largely answer the remaining questions about the Apple Watch. However, that list of questions is seemingly a mile long. How much will it cost to get the watch you want? What's the battery life like? Are there any surprise features? And this is all before you factor in rumors about other devices showing up, like new iPads or MacBooks. It's all a bit overwhelming, but don't worry. We've gathered up the most plausible leaks and rumors surrounding the event, so you'll know what to expect -- and in some cases, what not to expect -- when Tim Cook and crew take the stage.
WSJ: Retina Display MacBook Air is coming soon
Buried in a lot of stuff we may not believe about a 12.9-inch iPad, the Wall Street Journal believes that a new MacBook Air is on the way. According to the paper's gang of people familiar with the matter, the company's suppliers are working on a 12-inch Air with a "higher resolution display." The piece goes on to say that factories have been told to be ready to ship "large quantities in the second quarter." Now, it's hard to see Apple adding yet another laptop to its previously spartan product line, but if true, then maybe we now know that the "one more thing" at next week's event will be a Retina display MacBook Air.
The next MacBook Air is reportedly so small it needs a new USB port
Hey, Dell: you might not be the only one in town with an impossibly small laptop this year. Tipsters for 9to5Mac claim that the long-rumored 12-inch MacBook Air is not only real, but uses a "radically new" body that's much thinner and narrower than the already tiny 11-inch system you see today, despite the larger screen. Supposedly, it's so compact that Apple is ditching most of the usual expansion -- you'd have just the headphone jack and a next-generation USB Type-C port that would take care of everything else. While that's feasible given that Type-C can handle everything from power to displays, you'd have to rely on an external hub for virtually every wired peripheral you can imagine (à la the original MacBook Air). And where would you plug devices in when you're charging, unless there's a special power adapter in the works? Whether or not Apple goes that route, you may not see this miniscule machine until "mid-2015." In other words, don't hold off on buying the existing Air unless you can afford to wait.
