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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.
Apple is now a $1 trillion company
Apple's success hit a new milestone today: It's the first publicly traded trillion-dollar American company. Yesterday the firm announced an adjusted (higher) share count, and by this morning the stock price was rising with news that the company had almost hit the trillion-dollar mark. As spotted by 9to5Mac, the iOS Stocks app (pulling from Yahoo Finance) declared it had crossed the threshold this morning, but Google Finance didn't agree. The stock price was hovering around $205 per share earlier today and has steadily rose as the trading hours pass, with CNBC reporting that stock price temporarily hit the $207.05 per-share needed to hit the record-setting market cap before falling back.
MacBook Pro review (2018): Apple plays catch-up
With the new MacBook Pro, Apple is just trying to keep pace with the rest of the computing industry. The biggest upgrade is Intel's latest CPUs, which have been popping up in PCs since last fall. And there are some other slight hardware tweaks, too. Basically, it's a classic Apple refresh: Not much has changed. Put the MacBook Pro side by side with last year's model and it's impossible to tell the difference. Still, if you're a committed Mac user, it's exactly what you've been waiting for. Everyone else should take a long, hard look at the competition.
MacBook Pro document confirms 'anti-debris' keyboard redesign
When iFixit tore down the new MacBook Pros, it found silicone barriers protecting keyboard switches. While Apple claimed these were to make the keyboards quieter, others suspected that the membranes were a way for Apple to fix its troublesome keyboards. Now, an internal document obtained by MacGénération and MacRumors confirms that the new feature is indeed a barrier to "prevent debris from entering the butterfly mechanism."
Apple will repair 'sticky' MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards
Apple launched a new keyboard service program today, acknowledging that the keyboards on certain MacBook and MacBook Pro models are prone to issues. If users of particular models find that letters or characters repeat unexpectedly or don't appear at all, or find that their keys feel "sticky" and don't respond in the correct manner consistently, they'll be eligible to receive free repairs. Once the keyboard has been examined at an Apple Authorized Service Provider, service professionals will determine whether particular keys or the whole keyboard need to be replaced.
Apple will make digital health a focal point at WWDC
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off on Monday and it looks like we can expect more of a focus on software tweaks and little in the way of hardware updates. Bloomberg reports that while MacBook and MacBook Pro refreshes -- including the addition of new Intel chips -- and a new lower cost option to follow the MacBook Air are in the works, they're not expected until later this year. Same for a revamped iPad Pro line. Bloomberg also notes that some bigger changes to software, including a new Home Screen, an AI upgrade for Photos and iPad file management tools, have been pushed to next year.
Apple faces class action lawsuit over faulty MacBook keyboards
Apple has faced some pointed criticism over the butterfly switch keyboards on the 12-inch MacBook and current-generation MacBook Pro. Whether or not you like the tactile feel, they're sensitive to crumbs and dust -- and since you can't just remove individual keys, fixes are both elaborate and (if you're out of warranty) very expensive. To that end, users Kyle Barbaro and Zixua Rao have filed a class action lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of knowingly selling MacBooks with faulty keyboards.
Apple's aluminum devices will be a bit more environmentally friendly
Apple uses a lot of aluminum in its products, including MacBook Pro, iPhone and iPad. Now the company is investing in making aluminum without adding to the direct greenhouse gas emissions typical in current smelting technology. Apple, along with aluminum companies Alcoa and Rio Tinto, has partnered with the Canadian government to invest a combined $144 million in the process.
I can’t wait for laptops with Apple’s own chips
Apple might be ready to ditch Intel's x86 chips in the Mac in favor of a custom-designed piece of silicon. At least that's the story out of Bloomberg, which believes that a transition by Apple to its own CPUs could begin by 2020. It's just a single, as yet unsubstantiated story, but it's already made a dent in Intel's share price, even if Apple is hardly its biggest customer. And yet it's clear that between Intel's recent problems and Apple's successes, it's time that divorce proceedings begin.
Apple is reportedly launching low-cost iPads for schools
Apple is set to unveil a new low-cost iPad model for educators and students next week, according to Bloomberg's noted Apple reporter Mark Gurman. It's reportedly also working on an educational MacBook model, but won't unveil that until later on. Nothing is known yet about the new iPads specs, features or, most importantly, the price. It's bound to be very competitive, however -- Apple is trying to break back into a market that has largely been taken over by low-cost Chromebooks and PCs.
Apple filed a patent for a keyboard that isn’t ruined by dust
When Apple unveiled its 2015 MacBook, reviewers quickly discovered its keys were flatter than ever, with single-digit millimeters of travel between their pressed and unpressed states. At first, we heralded this as a miraculous accomplishment in ever-thinner laptop computing, which carried over virtually unchanged into the next years' models. But all was not well. The complex 'butterfly' switches that enabled the incredibly-slight travel distance had kept dirt out -- until it got in and had nowhere to go, mucking up keys and effectively disabling keyboards, according to some reports. It seems Apple filed a patent for a contaminant-proof keyboard back in 2016 to solve the issue.
Apple employees keep walking into their new HQ’s glass walls
Apple opened its new campus last year -- a stunning, glass wall-filled space meant to encourage collaboration and cooperation. But Bloomberg reports today that this achievement in design appears to have sacrificed some functionality -- a growing theme in Apple products -- because, apparently, Apple employees keep walking into the glass. Sources told Bloomberg that some individuals started sticking Post-It notes to the glass doors and walls in order to make them more noticeable, but they were ultimately taken down because they distracted from the space's design.
Apple's latest patent teases a Pencil that can draw in mid-air
Apple's next Pencil could eschew the iPad Pro entirely. The Cupertino company has filed a patent for a stylus that can be used on any flat surface, and maybe even in the air, as spotted by Dutch site TechTastic. The patent title being "Content Creation Using Electronic Input Device on Non-electronic Surfaces" gives us a few ideas of how Apple might pitch this. Which is great considering how light on details the rest of the patent, filed last July and made public in January, is.
Apple supplier accused of chemical safety and overtime violations
Apple is still struggling to improve working conditions at its suppliers. Both China Labor Watch and Bloomberg report that Catcher, a key supplier for iPhone and MacBook casings, makes workers endure harsh safety conditions and unfair work terms in a factory in Suqian. According to observers and discussions with workers, the machines are not only loud, but spray fluid and metallic particles that frequently hit workers' faces (only some of which have access to safety goggles and gloves). Workers suffer health issues such as vision problems, irritation and discoloration. Beyond this, the facility reportedly pumps out wastewater that violates local safety levels, and workers return to cold dorms with no hot water or built-in showers.
Kingston's 7-in-1 USB-C hub saves your MacBook from the dongle life
As sleek and powerful as Apple's latest MacBooks are, one of their shortcomings is the lack of ports and slots, like an SD card reader. And while that's easily fixable with a dongle, things can get tricky if you simultaneously want to charge your computer or pair it with your TV with an HDMI cable. With that in mind, today Kingston launched its 7-in-1 USB Type-C hub, the Nucleum, which aims to save you from having to live the #donglelife. The device has two USB-C ports (one for power, the other for data), HDMI and a couple USB-As as well as SD and microSD card slots.
Apple’s Jony Ive will return to his design management role
Apple's chief design officer, Jony Ive, is picking his old management duties back up again, 9to5Mac reports. Back in 2015, Ive was upgraded to chief design officer from senior VP and day-to-day management was taken over by Alan Dye and Richard Howarth. Earlier today, 9to5Mac noted that Dye and Howarth were no longer listed on Apple's leadership page and now word's out that Ive is back at the management helm. In a statement to Bloomberg, an Apple spokesperson said, "With the completion of Apple Park, Apple's design leaders and teams are again reporting directly to Jony Ive, who remains focused purely on design."
Apple invents the leather laptop sleeve
Apple's made iPhone cases and Apple's made accessories to keep iPads cosy, but until today Apple's never made a laptop sleeve. Apple stores IRL and online have ranged third-party products, but when the floodgates to iPhone X pre-orders opened this morning, the new "Leather Sleeve for 12-inch MacBook" also quietly appeared on the company's site. Available in classic "Saddle Brown" or edgy "Midnight Blue," it features an etched Apple logo so everyone knows, yes, that is a MacBook you're carrying under your arm. It's a bit on the pricey side at $149/£149 and it doesn't give your laptop any additional, desperately needed ports. But hey, it's the best MacBook sleeve Apple's ever made.
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.
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.
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!
