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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.
Watch Apple's WWDC 2017 keynote in 15 minutes
What's that? You weren't able to sit through nearly three hours of Apple news earlier today as the company kicked off this year's Worldwide Developers Conference? No worries. We've condensed all the watchOS, macOS, iOS, MacBook, iMac and iPad news into a convenient 15-minute clip. And yes, we made room for that newfangled Siri speaker, the HomePod. Sit back, relax and catch up on what you missed without sacrificing a couple hours to the task. Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!
The iMac Pro puts a darker spin on a familiar design
The cylindrical Mac Pro was a gorgeous feat of engineering, but that beautiful design also made it tough for Apple to update it regularly with fresh components. No wonder Apple essentially ditched it -- with the newly announced iMac Pro, the company squeezed seriously high-end components into a familiar body. The company has gone as far as calling it the "most powerful Mac" ever, which seems at odds with the iMac Pro's classic, consumer-friendly aesthetic. After all, aside from the space gray finish, the iMac Pro looks a lot like a machine that would set you back less than $2,000.
Apple’s iMac Pro is its most powerful computer ever
Apple has another iMac to reveal. The iMac Pro is a powerful, familiar-looking all-in-one, decked in Space Gray -- and the company says it's the most powerful Mac ever. Period. The pro-level computer will ship with up to 18-core Xeon processors as well as Radeon Pro Vega graphics (a new GPU and high-bandwidth memory). That's apparently enough for up to 11 Teraflops of single precision (or 22 Teraflops at "half precision") processing power. You can also cram in up to 4TB of SSD storage, with a row of USB ports lining up with four Thunderbolt ports. These (and all the rest of the connections) can be found behind a 27-inch Retina 5K display, with all-flash memory architecture and an all-new thermal design, adding 80 percent more cooling capacity to match all that processing power.
Apple brings more pro-level power to its consumer iMac lineup
A refreshed line of iMacs -- and the possible introduction of an iMac Pro -- were some of the most teased announcements prior to WWDC. Earlier this year, Phil Schiller, Apple's SVP of Worldwide Marketing, promised that the company would produce iMacs specifically for the professional customer. The new iMacs Apple announced today at WWDC aren't quite that, but they do represent a significant upgrade over the older models. Overall, we're looking at faster machines with better displays in the same enclosure. Those screens feature 500 nits (43 percent brighter than the previous generation) with 1 billion colors. Discrete graphics are now standard on the 4K 21.5-inch. The line is also going to use Intel's Kaby Lake processors and now allow up to 32GB of RAM on the 21.5-inch and up to 64GB on the 27-inch.
Please don't buy a Mac Pro right now
This week, Apple finally admitted, after too damn long, that it had overdesigned the "trash can" Mac Pro into a corner. Its triangular thermal design was innovative but impossible to upgrade, and failed to anticipate shifts in computing following its launch. After several years of silence, the company finally apologized, admitting that a redesigned model will arrive at some point next year. Apple has now heavily discounted the 2013 model as an act of contrition, but is that enough for Pro users to bite? Dan Cooper is tempted to make the splash, but Aaron Souppouris is desperate to stop him.
Apple is making an iMac with pros in mind
When you think "pro desktop," you probably don't think of the iMac. You can get one with a pro-quality display and a high-end (consumer) processor that will do the job for many tasks, but you likely wouldn't buy one for massive 3D modeling or video projects. However, Apple might have you changing your mind before long. As part of a roundtable on the future of Mac desktops, the company's Phil Schiller has promised that there will be iMac configurations made "specifically with the pro customer in mind" later in 2017. And before you ask: no, this doesn't mean a touchscreen-centric design akin to Microsoft's Surface Studio.
Apple still has 'great desktops' on the way
If you've been following the Mac lineup in recent years, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Apple had largely given up on desktops. The current-generation iMac is over a year old, the Mac mini hasn't been updated since 2014 and the Mac Pro hasn't been touched since it was redesigned in 2013. Does the company care about people who need more power than a laptop? Yes, if you ask Tim Cook. In an internal forum post, the CEO explains that desktops remain "really important" and that there are "great desktops in our roadmap."
Surface Studio vs. the competition: Beauty isn't skin deep
Over the past few years we've seen Microsoft take on the world of tablets with the Surface and, for those who prefer something more on the laptop side, the Surface Pro and Surface Book. But it hasn't truly tackled desktops until today's announcement of the all-in-one Surface Studio. As cool as features like the zero-gravity hinge might be, the Studio will be facing off against established lines like the iMac. We've assembled the specs of some of the leading 27-inch machines on the market and matched them up against the 28-inch Studio to see which is worthy of sitting on your desk.
Surface Studio is Microsoft's first all-in-one desktop
As rumors suggested it would, Microsoft unveiled a new all-in-one PC today at its "Imagine What You'll Do" event in New York. The Surface Studio, as it's called, is a gorgeous desktop that rivals the iMac, while adding various design and software features you won't find on Apple's system. On stage today, Surface chief Panos Panay said the Studio is built for creators and professionals. For starters, it features a 28-inch, 12.5mm thin touchscreen that's capable of pushing 13.5 million pixels -- 63 percent more than a 4K display. Of course, Surface Studio is powered by Windows 10, and Panay says it's designed to work seamlessly with the upcoming Creators Update.
