Apple’s tsunami of new Mac products is almost here

39 Comments

“Only ripples remain in the wake of Apple’s iPhone and Apple Watch announcements last month, and a vacuum is beginning to fill with ‘what’s next from Apple?'” Mark Reschke writes for TGAAP. “Many rumors are pointing towards Apple hosting an October 21, special event, which appears to be chock full of Mac goodies.”

“Apple’s Mac lineup, while continuing to build sales momentum, is due for major upgrades. The iMac is two years old without a chassis, display or major internal overhaul,” Reschke writes. “Languishing away, nearly obscured from consciousness is Apple’s Mac mini. Like the iMac, the Mac mini has not received any form of update since 2012. If Apple plans on keeping this monitor-less Mac in their lineup, this month is make or break for the diminutive little computer.”

“The 15-inch MacBook Pro will receive a speed bump, but perhaps most importantly, a 12-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is likely to steal the show,” Reschke writes. “If any product is to receive Intel’s Broadwell processors, the new 12-inch MacBook Pro will be the product to do so…”

Read more in the full article here.

39 Comments

  1. I can’t see them updating the MacBook Pro 15″ as they literally just updated it a month ago unless they are looking to make the update end of year. Will be about time too they ditch that old looking nonretina machine. Why not just offer nonretina with the newer body or like they will probably do is just offer up retina only

    Reply

    2. The Mac mini is NOT “obscured from consciousness.” By its nature and intended audience, it does not need to be updated every year.

      I bought a “mid-2011” model on Apple’s “Special Deals” page (for a GREAT price), less than one year ago. It’s still under standard warranty in 2014. This particular config is distinguished by having “discreet” (dedicated) graphics hardware (memory not shared), unlike all other Intel-based Mac minis before or after. It also has a FireWire 800 port, which is useful to me, without converting the valuable Thunderbolt port. While it does not have USB 3.0, I don’t have any USB 3.0 devices yet.

      It’s the ideal “transition” Mac for me. I expect some major overhauling for Apple’s Mac business over the next few years; the Mac mini (especially this particular model) will help me move from “old school” to “new school,” all for a whopping $539 price tag.

      Reply

      1. Actually, BluRay remains a very viable media. It’s one of our preferred methods to make give-aways and limited-distribution stuff. If Apple can negotiate reasonable deals for streaming media, then there’s absolutely no reason it can’t support Blu-Ray burning natively on the Mac. That boneheaded decision combined with a total screw-up on FCP X lost Apple considerable market share in the video production industry. It will take Apple quite a while to earn its way back onto the desks of guys who now are completely happy with proper Windows 7 boxes with screaming GPUS and upgradeable internals. Seriously, Apple needs to start listening to its users.

        Reply

        1. hardcopy media drives will never again grace an Apple product except as an accessory. Those that need/want BluRay on Mac have options today, not 100% Apple but it works. However, your point is valid as 4k and even 5k displays come into fashion, not everyone has high enough internet to stream 10Gig’s to watch a movie yet will want the highest res possible. NetFlix just might see a surge in BluRay business when the 4k display is default

        2. OPTICAL DVD / CD / CDR / DVDR drives are “obsolete” which is why Apple jettisoned them just like they did for floppy drives on the original iMac WAY before PCs did & used USB + Optical drives only.

          ALSO “BluRay is a bag of hurt” Steve Jobs regarding fees & restrictions for buying, installing & using the drive, etc, etc from Sony.

          Use an external BluRay drive via USB / Thunderbolt cable.

        3. I added an external BluRay writer for my FCPX output. And so now I’m looking for something that gives me *cough* control over the menus… DVDStyler was pretty good, as long as I put on my white lab coat, my pocket protectors and taped-together thick rim glasses.

        4. “BluRay is a bag of hurt” Steve Jobs regarding fees & restrictions for buying, installing & using the drive, etc, etc from Sony.

          ^This part I agree with.
          But *having* a BluRay drive in a Mac would be nice. Or at least native support for an external.

          I agree the Optical drive is on its way out.. but not dead. Apple declared it dead too soon. Pretty much the only thing Apple killed off I don’t agree with..
          BluRay will still be around for many many years. Digital downloads while nice.. are NOT as good. Give it more time.

        5. CDs, DVDs, et al are only obsolete if you allow companies to pull you by the ring in your nose.

          I need the high price of Blu Ray like I need a heart attack. What, ditch decades buying of CDs and DVDs just to be current and tech hip talking?

          OBSOLETE STiLL WORKS GREAT!

        7. What is the current @#$^^& obsession with external boxes ????? If you propose to add external dongles to an iPhone or accessory battery packs, people here all agree that it’s an awkward unaesthetic solution. But somehow the kids here think that a desktop covered with different boxes and cables is somehow better than a user-upgradeable tower. WTF !?!?!?!?

          Nobody should have to make special little boxes to plug into Apple’s desktop Macs. Apple should make its desktop Macs fully capable of giving its users the built-in functionality that they need. That includes optical drives.

        8. Because the world has moved, or is moving to Mobile. The days of desktop towers are fading. An occasionally used accessory product that can plug in and once done be put away is the future (or back to the future).

        9. Now that is strange logic Blu Ray is the final super charged dregs of an ancient concept that is well past its technical sell by date. Has its uses I agree and not yet totally redundant but never should it be built in though one could argue there should be better external support for the benefit of its persistent protagonists who won’t be weaned off for some time or likely long after far better solutions out compete it which I accept don’t in some regards do at present.

  4. My venerable Mac mini is getting long in the tooth. All set up with a Drobo for the external drive but the machine is definitely lagging. So I may be in the market if they update the system.

    Reply

      1. The file serving is fine. No problem accessing video via home sharing.
        The Mini is sluggish, no where near the speed of my rMBP. It’s an older model that still have an optical drive. I guess about 5 years old now.

        Reply

    2. How fast is the hard drive?
      How much RAM does your Mac Mini have?

      My late 2011 13″MacBook Pro slowed down significantly after I upgraded to Mountain Lion. Then, I upgraded the hard drive to a 7200 750 gigabyte Momentus XT SSHD(hybrid) and the RAM from 4 gigabytes to 8. Those two upgrades made my MacBook significantly faster, and it also made it faster than it was before I upgraded to Mountain Lion. The Momentus XT also allows my MacBook to open files faster after opening them once because after I open a file or a program, it’s copied to the flash portion of the hard drive for faster recall.

      Reply

    1. That would be nice.

      As regards graphics, you can actually plug a graphics card into a Mac Mini externally through Thunderbolt. So far there’s one enclosure, the Firmtek Thundertek, which can be used for this. The only downsides are that the Thundertek doesn’t supply enough power(which is why Intel approved it), so you’ll have to use an external power supply and it’s incapable of hot-plugging because Nvidia hasn’t yet released Thunderbolt hot-plugging drivers for GeForce cards. But, with that enclosure and a GTX 650(or a graphics card around the same price), you can get an external graphics card for around $400.

      Reply

      1. Been a while since I have looked at Sonnet’s stuff. Interesting.

        I would love to see what Apple could do with the concept the old TI-99-4 used back in the early days of computing. They had a base computer that had pluggable expansion modules- not cables- direct plugin.

        Imagine a Mac Mini with a small connector slot where a similar sized optional module for graphics, connectivity or storage were available. Apple has the chops to do something like that and give people who need something more than a standard mini but less than a Mac Pro a viable option.

        Reply

    1. Given they are giving away $25 Gift Card with purchase of $99 unit today, I’d say there is a near certain chance of refresh here. It won’t be everything folks want, but maybe perhaps just possibly 4k capable???

      Reply

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