imac
Latest
B&H sale cuts up to $350 off Apple's 2019 iMacs
B&H is running a sale that might be too good to pass up if you're in the market for an all-in-one desktop. The 9to5Toys team has noticed that the electronics store is offering sizeable discounts on Apple's 2019 iMacs, making a purchase decidedly easier to swallow. The largest discount is for a high-spec 27-inch 5K model with a 3.6GHz Core i9, 16GB of RAM, Radeon Pro Vega 48 graphics and a 1TB SSD -- it's selling for 'just' $3,299, or $350 off the usual sticker.
Apple's bulbous, colorful iMac went on sale 21 years ago today
At Engadget, we spend every day looking at how technology will shape the future. But it's also important to look back at how far we've come. That's what This Week in Tech History does. Join us for a recap of historical tech news, anniversaries and advances from the recent and not-so-recent past. Today, Apple's first iMac is a whopping 21 years old.
The best desktops for students
We'll be honest, we realize most students will buy a laptop to use at school and call it a day. But opting for a desktop instead isn't the craziest idea, especially if your needs extend beyond standard email-and-Netflixing. Having a more robust machine with a desktop-class processor and possibly more RAM and storage could make sense for both serious gamers as well students with creative hobbies, like photography, filmmaking or audio production. Depending on your budget, of course, you could still buy a laptop for taking notes in class, but you might even be able to get away with a cheaper device like a tablet and keyboard folio. For the purposes of this back-to-school guide, we selected five machines -- two Macs and three PCs -- including two systems built for gaming. Here's what we recommend.
Apple stops charging $99 to transfer data to new Macs
If you have a ton of files you need to move to your new Mac, you're in luck. Apple quietly did away with the $99 fee it charges to migrate data from your old Mac to your new computer. The policy change, which went into effect on April 2nd, was first reported by TidBITS. From now on, if you purchase a new Mac or take your computer in for repair, Apple will transfer your data for free.
Apple dropped the price on several expensive Mac upgrades
Apple's iMac updates weren't the only changes the company made today. With less fanfare, it also lowered the cost of SSD upgrades for the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. It lowered the cost to upgrade the 2013 Mac Pro RAM, too. These changes were first spotted by MacRumors. While they make the priciest SSD upgrades less expensive, the more reasonable upgrades -- the ones most people might actually buy -- haven't changed.
Apple's 2019 iMac gets some fresh chips, including an eight-core CPU
It's shaping up to be a busy week for Apple. Yesterday the company unveiled two updated iPads, and today it announced the iMac is getting a minor refresh. Going forward, the 21.5-inch model will be offered with an eighth-gen six-core Intel Core i5 CPU at the high end, plus 4GB AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. That top-tier sku will also include an eighth-gen six-core Core i7 processor as a configure-to-order option. At the entry-level, the 21.5-inch model starts with a dual-core seventh-generation Core i5 processor, and then moves up to configurations with eighth-gen quad-core chips.
Apple's services help anchor a company rocked by slow iPhone sales
This time of year is usually when Apple posts its crazy holiday sales figures, but things are a little different now. Last November, Apple CFO Luca Silvestri confirmed that the company would no longer break out sales for individual devices because they weren't "necessarily representative" of the strength of Apple's business. And then, at the beginning of this year, CEO Tim Cook made a rare statement revising the company's revenue guidance down thanks to lower-than-expected iPhone sales. Apple seemed intent on preparing Wall Street for the worst, but its recently released Q1 2019 financials painted a picture that, while not rosy, wasn't as bad as some had expected.
Apple reportedly expands the list of ‘vintage’ products it will repair
Apple is expanding its program to repair some of its vintage products that are still in circulation, according to 9to5Mac. Under the program, Apple will extend service of the iPhone 5. It also offer repairs for the 11- and 13-inch models of the MacBook air released in mid-2012 and the 21.7- and 27-inch iMacs from mid-2011. Apple will extend the program to cover the iPhone 4s and 15-inch MacBook Pro from mid-2012 on November 30th. The 13-inch MacBook Pros with Retina display from late 2012 and early 2013, 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display from mid-2012 and Mac Pro from mid-2012 will be covered on December 30th.
Apple’s more expensive iPhones are making them a lot more money
We spent time with Apple's new hardware not long ago, but the company is keeping the party going with another new release: its Q4 2018 earnings. Right off the bat, we're looking at total revenues of $62.9 billion — that's up from the $52.6 billion the company reported last year, and comfortably above the consensus estimate of $61.57 billion thrown around by Wall Street analysts. To hear Apple CEO Tim Cook tell it, this has been the company's strongest September quarter ever. And as usual, Apple was also quick to point out its sales strengths overseas, noting that a full 61 percent of its overall revenue came from international markets. So, yes, this is another big quarter on the books for Apple, and iPhones again accounted for the lion's share of the company's total intake. That's not because it's selling more of them than usual, though.
Watch Apple's iPad and Mac event live at 10AM ET!
Apple's hosting another event today, this time in Brooklyn, New York. The company teased the event earlier this month with a slew of artsy-looking Apple logos and the tagline "There's more in the making," and thanks to plenty of rumors, we have a good idea of what to expect. We're likely to see a new, nearly bezel-less iPad Pro with Face ID and maybe an updated iPad mini. Also expected to be on the docket is a new MacBook to replace Apple's MacBook Air and possibly some updated iMacs and AirPods too.
What to expect from Apple's iPad and Mac event
The last time we trekked to an Apple event, the company showed off three new phones that everyone saw coming a mile away. That's not to say the XR, XS and XS Max were in any way lacking; it's just that the leaks told us a thorough story of some logical upgrades to the stuff we got the year before. You can always count on Apple to regularly release new phones, but the same can't be said of other kinds of Apple hardware. That's what makes the company's next launch event (in Brooklyn, for whatever reason) so interesting. Once again, we have a pretty good idea of what it plans to show off, thanks to months of rumors and supply chain intrigue. This time, though, Apple seems set to deliver what some die-hard fans have wanted for years: meaningful updates to Macs that have largely gone neglected (oh, and some new iPads, too). The show starts in earnest at 10 AM on Tuesday, October 30th, and we're getting ready to bring you as much coverage from the ground as we can. In the meantime, though, let's take a closer look at the things we're pretty sure Apple plans to show off and dig into why they're so important.
Leaked Apple repair videos offer a peek behind the curtain
Apple products aren't necessarily made for you to repair them at home; you generally need to take your ailing iPhone or Macbook Pro into an Apple retail store for any significant fixes or part replacement. Now, however, a YouTube account has apparently leaked eleven official-looking internal training videos that show how repairs are made on iPhone X, iMac Pro and MacBook Pro.
Apple's influential, iconic iMac turns 20
There are few individual computer models that have left a lasting mark on the industry, but you can definitely put the iMac on that list. Apple introduced its signature all-in-one desktop at a special event on May 6th, 1998, and it's safe to say the system has had a lasting impact on technology at large. At the same time, the iMac has also been a symbol of the cultural zeitgeist, including for Apple itself -- it shows how the company evolved from an underdog in a Windows world to a behemoth focused more on phones than PCs. The iMac has had a long journey, but it's worth following to see just how much the industry has changed in the past 20 years.
Apple iMac Pro goes on sale December 14th
Apple vowed to ship the iMac Pro in December, and it's making good on that promise. The company has confirmed that its workstation-grade all-in-one will be available on December 14th. It has yet to reveal the exact configuration options, but the $4,999 'starter' model ships with an 8-core Xeon processor, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of solid-state storage and a Radeon Vega Pro graphics chipset with 8GB of RAM. You can option it with up to an 18-core Xeon, 128GB of RAM, a 4TB SSD and a 16GB Vega chipset, although video creator Marques Brownlee notes that you'll have to wait until the new year for that 18-core beast.
Apple's iMac Pro may have hands-free Siri voice control
Those rumors of Apple using custom ARM chips for more features inside Macs? They're true... and you might not have to wait long to witness it in action. Jonathan Levin has combed through BridgeOS code that should accompany the iMac Pro, and it looks as if Apple will be using a cut-down version of the iPhone 7's A10 Fusion chip as a co-processor. While its full functionality isn't clear yet, developer Steve Troughton-Smith notes that the A10 appears to handle macOS' boot and security processes, such as passing firmware to the main Xeon processor and managing media copy protection. More importantly, Guilherme Rambo has found references to "hey Siri" support -- as with Cortana on Windows 10, you might not have to click an icon or invoke a keyboard shortcut just to ask about the weather.
The best computers for students
What would a back-to-school guide be without a healthy dose of computer recs? Other than a small dorm TV, perhaps, it's the single most expensive investment you're likely to make as you begin college -- and if you're graduating or pursuing an advanced degree, it's possible you've been waiting patiently for a reason to upgrade. As you can imagine, our guide includes a slew of laptops and convertibles (eight, to be exact), along with a detachable (that would be the new Surface Pro) and a pair of desktops, in case you're content to work just in the dorm. And that's not counting the three gaming notebooks we recommend in our shopping guide for PC gamers! With starting prices ranging from $469 to $1,550, and screen sizes running the gamut from 12 inches to 27, we found something for just about every use case.
You can replace RAM and processors in new iMacs, but there's a catch
Earlier this week, Apple revealed a fleet of new iMacs -- and as usual, the "teardown" experts at iFixit have started taking them apart. The first to go under the knife is the new 4K, 21.5-inch iMac (which we've already taken out for a brief test run), and the iFixit team found a few surprises. The most notable is that the iMac's RAM isn't soldered directly to the motherboard. That means it is technically replaceable down the line, something that hasn't been the case in a 21.5-inch iMac since 2013.
A day with Apple's new iMac (no, not the Pro)
I have some good news and bad news. The good news: I left WWDC on Monday with an iMac. The bad news: It's not the iMac Pro. Sorry, folks, but our review of that space-gray machine with the 18-core processor and $4,999 price tag will have to wait until December, when it goes on sale. What I have today is a consumer all-in-one: a refreshed 21.5-inch system bringing a slew of under-the-hood upgrades. (I also have in my possession an updated MacBook, but I'll need more time to test that.) Before I talk you out of reading further, hear me out. The refreshed iMac does bring some exterior improvements, including a wider Magic Keyboard with a built-in numeric keypad; a second Thunderbolt 3 port; and a display that's 43 percent brighter and supports a billion colors. That's enough for us to take a closer look, even if it doesn't deserve the full review treatment.
Mac VR support is more confusing than you think
Early on in yesterday's WWDC keynote, Apple announced VR support in OS X, along with an external GPU dock for Mac developers. That news excited a lot of people. External GPUs, for what it's worth, work right now in macOS Sierra without huge issues (Bizon has been selling external GPU enclosures for a while). What Apple's new High Sierra OS brings is full support for GPU docks in its graphics API. Couple that with NVIDIA's commitment to release graphics drivers for macOS and it's suddenly going to be a lot easier for Apple users to boost the power of their machines. Immediately after Apple's VR announcement, a colleague remarked that adding an external GPU would be "dope if you're buying a MacBook Air or a low-powered machine" -- you'd have an ultraportable that you plug into a dock for VR and high-end gaming. That dream isn't realistic though. It feels like many people don't quite understand what a GPU does and why adding one to an underpowered machine won't make it VR ready.
Apple is the perfect anti-VR test case
Apple shined a dull spotlight on virtual reality during its WWDC keynote yesterday, introducing VR support for macOS and a beefed-up, VR-capable version of the new iMac. This marks Apple's first real dive into VR, and, honestly, it's too little, too late. The potential of modern VR has been looming over the technology industry for nearly five years now, exciting consumers and prompting plenty of companies to develop their own support systems and hardware for this strange new virtual world. But until yesterday, it was impossible to natively develop or even run VR experiences on an Apple machine. The first instance of built-in VR support for macOS developers comes about a year after Google, Facebook, Samsung, HTC and Sony actually put their VR headsets on stores shelves, and Apple hasn't hinted that it's working on any proprietary hardware. Apple's nod to VR, one year late, feels like a lackluster reaction to an evolving industry rather than a prescient foray into a new and thrilling technological landscape. It feels a lot like Apple doesn't believe in VR.