Anonymous Twitter user CoinX, who has previously leaked numerous accurate details about Apple’s product lineups, today tweets that Apple has updates for the iMac and Mac mini coming soon. CoinX also corroborates reports that Apple is prepping new iPad Pro models with updated camera hardware.
iMac/Mac mini 🔜
— CoinX (@coxxin) March 4, 2020
New camera on iPad 💯
— CoinX (@coxxin) March 4, 2020
Apple last updated the Mac mini in 2018, which was its first update since 2014. This update represented a major boost in power for the Mac mini, and it also brought USB-C connectivity for the first time.
As for the iMac, CoinX is referring to the non-Pro model of the desktop all-in-one. Just yesterday, however, Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that Apple also has an updated version of the iMac Pro coming in Q4 of this year…
The refreshed iPad Pro models are expected to feature the same triple-lens camera design as the iPhone 11 Pro, but with a new time-of-flight 3D sensor. Past reports have indicated that the new iPad Pro models will be announced sometime this spring.
MacDailyNews Take: If true, expect a virtual smorgasbord of press release announcements coming from Apple sooner than later!
Via Twitter, CoinX has previously been accurate by leaking the Apple naming schemes for the iPhone XS and iPhone 11 families.
Cheaper SSDs, mouse that is useable while charging, more tactile keyboard, restored startup sound, cord management guide on back, fingerprint resistant display.
Yeah Startup Chimes!! Keep the tradition going. One Senior Apple Tech told me he knows what computer the customers is using by the sound of its chime.
I’m not sure what Apple could do to improve the MacMini. I think it’s already at its thermal limits due to that restrictive case. I have mine sitting on a USB-powered cooler which I turn on in the summertime as a preventive measure from overheating in case I’m doing some encoding of movie files. The MacMini internal fan quickly goes to maximum, so I think the 6-core i7 MacMini already has some cooling issues. Either the case design leaves a lot to be desired for proper ventilation or the single fan isn’t up to the task of removing enough heat. I’m guessing it’s likely both things. I honestly don’t have much hope for an 8-core i9 being able to run under load without thermal throttling in the current MacMini case.
You just identified the first of a dozen things Apple needs to do to improve the Mini.
#2 would be a price correction.
I have a 2018 Mac Mini very close to being maxed out with an I7 3.2 GHz chip and 16 GB ram. I was working on a book with quite a few pictures and continuously using Photoshop and inDesign to assemble it. Machine definitely ran too hot. Fan running full blast and case too hot to hold. It’s only mildly warm when I piddle around on the Internet.
macnificentseven48: You have answered your own question. What would it cost to make the case a half inch taller to allow for some heat dissipation? The current design invites people to put stuff on top of the Mac Mini – which then makes the heat worse. Maybe design it to stand sideways?
New iMac wish list:
Hard drive slot. If a Sony playstation can have this, there is no excuse for a Mac not having one. External drives with tangles of wires are inelegant and add failure potential.
Fix hopelessly neglected finder. It is a slow clumsy waste of space and the find command buries properly spelled results under hundreds of irrelevant “context” hits.
Disk spin-up bug. The whole computer locks up for 15 seconds while a hard drive spins up for no apparent reason. Concentration and work is disrupted.
Front accessible ports for SD cards, USB sticks, and headphones. RCA output for connecting to a stereo. People use this stuff, and having to turn your computer is another risk for damaging wires or unplugging things unexpectedly.
Sliding lens cap for FaceTime camera. You told us once it was unhackable. It never will be. (They have stick on caps now. I’ve even got one for my iPad.)
Real keyboard and mouse. (See Naga hex, lights not necessary. Working drivers are.)
Mac compatibility. Stop breaking our software. Future Macs will still be able to run 32 bit software – if it is for windows!
Nobody cares about making it a millimeter thinner! Add an inch just to remind yourself that it doesn’t matter, and maybe allow for some heat dissipation.
HDMI input. You’ve got that wonderful 5k screen, why can’t we connect stuff to it? Cable TV, Playstation, live camcorder output, even a second computer. It’s a huge waste of space to need a TV right next to your iMac. (Also, a hardware button for switching inputs.)
ATA connector. We know it is in there. Why can’t we use it?
Apple should make a camcorder.
They have all this incredible imaging technology in their phones, and even an editor. But you can only use them with that tiny lens. (And of course very limited zoom.)
Imagine if:
Multiple cameras could see each other’s viewfinders via wi-fi networking so that camera operators could cooperate.
Director could talk to talent/crew through bluetooth.
Bluetooth mikes each get a seperate audio track synced to video.
Dialog transcribed so that the editor can read what was said, and search for the right shot via text.
Facial recognition to label what actor what in what scene – again to keep shots organized.
Virtual lighting to fix things like mixed color temperature out windows in an indoor shoot.
All of this and more are possible now, but Sony, Canon, and the others have given up on any research for video cameras. SOMEONE should take the lead.
FINALLY my 2019 Mac Pro has shipped from B&H in a special $1,000 discount deal from Apple through Apple Insider that they kept way too damn quiet. I only accidentally found out about it and barely in time.
I got a middle configuration for $11,199 which is 16-core, 96Gb RAM, 2Tb SSD & Radeon Pro Vega II GPU. Saved about $2,063 including the $1,063 sales tax using B&H’s Payboo card which I instantly pay off so no 29.99% interest rate to deal with.
Mac Pro arrives Friday. Yay. Those 7-8 years of waiting, suffering and frustration have really flown by!
Good news. I was worried that anyone who needed such a machine would have abandoned the Mac by now. I hope those pro macs are selling.
I was surprised Apple was offering a discount so soon. Yes makes you wonder if it’s to keep momentum going or if sales are being effected because they took too damn long and many pros already shifted to PC Workstations. For me I couldn’t ultimately stand the thought of having to use Windows again, so an easier choice.
I wonder when Apple will ever redesign the iMac (not just update). It has been MANY years. While the current model is well-designed, there are improvements that could be made (smaller bezels, addition of security chip, Face ID, etc.). I hope, whenever Apple does the redesign, that it will retain the ability for users to add third-party RAM (i.e., NOT soldered on the logic board) and the ability to switch out SSD/HDDs (by technicians) – i.e., NOT soldered on the logic board—at least, not on the larger model that would replace the 27″.
I thought the redesign might come this year, but this article suspects another update only.
One step better: the next iMac could be designed from scratch to have all the important chips in the base. A user-repairable, upgradeable little box with front-accessible ports and modest internal expansion and no serious thermal constraints. The second part of the iMac would be the matching height-adjustable display that would elegantly pop onto the top of it, coming in perhaps 24″, 28″, and 32″ bezel-free screen sizes. Still shipped in one box, but much more user friendly.
If Apple really cared, they could even offer it with DisplayPort or HDMI ports on the back which would allow a person to buy just the minitower and continue to use the monitor they already own. What a concept!
That actually sounds like the G4 iMac. Unfortunately they found all the reasons to put limits over everything.