“As we wait with bated breath for the announcement of new Macs next Thursday, it’s worth thinking about the future of Apple’s PC line,” Dan Moren writes for Macworld. “I don’t mean its future in the grand scale of things—I’ve already said I’m bullish on the Mac, and that hasn’t changed—but the technologies that are going to propel the Mac into the next stage of its life.”
“With the Mac as mature as it is, we are no longer in the era of huge fundamental changes, but rather refinements and enhancements,” Moren writes. “There’s still plenty of excitement to be had over these new features and technologies, because they have the possibility to improve and update the way we interact with our computers.”
Moren writes, “And though it might be scary to hear it, a lot of these decisions and additions are informed by what Apple has learned from its other major product lines, iPhones and iPads.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Once again, iOS devices and OS X Macs inevitably are going to grow closer over time, not just in hardware, but in software, too:
Think code convergence (more so than today) with UI modifications per device. A unified underlying codebase for Intel, Apple A-series, and, in Apple’s labs, likely other chips, too (just in case). This would allow for a single App Store for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users that features a mix of apps: Some that are touch-only, some that are Mac-only, and some that are universal (can run on both traditional notebooks and desktops as well as on multi-touch computers like iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and – pretty please, Apple – Apple TV). Don’t be surprised to see Apple A-series-powered Macs, either. — MacDailyNews Take, January 9, 2014
SEE ALSO:
It’s official: Apple sends invitations for ‘hello again’ event on October 27th – October 19, 2016
Get ready, Apple’s new Macs are finally set to arrive! – October 19, 2016
All-new MacBook Pro, refreshed MacBook Air and iMac, and more coming at Apple’s October 27th special event – October 19, 2016
Apple plans to launch new Macs at special event on October 27th – October 18, 2016Apple’s A10 Fusion chip ‘blows away the competition,’ could easily power MacBook Air – Linley Group – October 21, 2016
macOS Sierra code suggests Apple could dump Intel processors in Macs for Apple A-series chips – September 30, 2016
The iPhone’s new A10 Fusion chip should worry Intel – September 16, 2016
Apple’s MacBook Pro not likely to sport Intel Kaby Lake processors this year – August 16, 2016
Mac sales to grow in enterprise with new Apple A-series-powered Mac – October 14, 2015
Apple is a semiconductor powerhouse; expect the first ARM-based Macs to appear in 2016 – March 31, 2015
Apple A-series-powered Macs are not only feasible, they may be inevitable – January 15, 2015
Why Apple dumping Intel processors would be disastrous – January 14, 2015
KGI: Apple is designing its own processors for Mac – January 14, 2015
Apple A9-powered MacBook Air? – December 16, 2014
Why Apple will switch to ARM-based Apple A-series-powered Macs – August 27, 2014
Intel-powered Macs: The end is nigh – August 4, 2014
Intel’s Broadwell chips further delayed; not shipping for most Macs until early-mid 2015 – July 9, 2014
Apple will inevitably drop Intel for their own A-series processors in the Mac – June 26, 2014
How long before Apple dumps Intel from MacBook Air? – June 26, 2013
Going to reserve judgement on the ‘Magic Bar’ hope it is truly functional, not just eye candy.
Convergence….making macOS more like iOS. It’s never the other way around.
Convergence is just a nice way for MDN to tap dance around the phasing out of the Mac.
Ah, the incessant negativity of birdseed. I was hoping that a flock of pigeons would peck you up by now and digest your triviality.
If they go ARM then pros can finally move on and stop waiting. We will all switch to Linux.Windows powered workstations. iPads are still cool though.. But I don’t do actual work on mine.
To consider Linux/Windows is both poor judgment and poor taste. Also, completely unnecessary.
Well, when Foundry, Autodesk and Avid all decide that rewriting their OSX versions yet again for yet another flavour of the year CPU is a waste of time and resource I guess the professional media industry will just be SOL then?
Why bother, when the Linux/Win version actually run better and one faster more powerful hardware already?
The day will come when Linux is the only choice for power users and those who don’t want their life stored in the cloud on someone’s server farm.
The ARM architecture has the potential to take the Mac well beyond the current incremental advancement of Intel CPUs. Ironically, you are contemplating jumping ship just at a major transition point for the Mac that could take it well beyond the competition. Still, it is your choice, even if it might be a poor one.
When the new Mac Pros and other Macs are released, there is a good chance that most of this griping will end for a while. I can’t wait….
I don’t wish to talk to my iPhone except in very particular circumstances. Normally, I just like talking to other humans.
Talking to my Mac is more useful though, as I can dictate mss and save quite a bit of typing time.
you might want to think about that, once again, slowly.
ever listen to yourself speak, or even others?
by and large, shakespearean orators we are not in our speech patterns.
you may be able to dictate what you imagine you want to say, but once you see it on the screen, in all of its glorious imperfections, i can assure you, much of the time you imagine to be saving yourself from basic input typing, will be spent editing and retyping to smooth it out.
unless you have already yellowpadded and edited your thoughts into final form. but that is a fair amount of work in its own right.
despite the shining example of don draper, dictating off the top of your head rarely turns out well.
The pro machines will have dual chip sets since they still need virtualization. I can see the low end MacBooks going to the A10 series. That way the low end machines can be more price competitive. The high end machines can absorb the slightly lower profit margins.