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News tagged ‘MacBook’
Apple’s 15 inch Notebook Is In Its Final Testing Stage
According to , Apple’s 15-inch notebook featuring an ultra-thin design is undergoing final testing. It is unknown yet whether this 15-inch notebook will be presented as an extension of MacBook Air line or a model of a redesigned MacBook Pro line. Even though the device is reportedly undergoing final testing, its release date is kept in secret.
New possibilities of Bluetooth 4.0 In Apple's Latest Products
Latest MacBook Airs and Mac Minis incorporate new Bluetooth 4.0 chips. This technology includes specification that provides low-latency and low-power implementation. One of the examples of its possible usage is Nike+ accessory, which isn’t actually based on this technology, but works very similar to it. It's based on a sensor that transfers signals wirelessly from your shoe to your iOS device in order to record your daily run.
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Apple Keyboards Receive (Very) Minor Detail Changes
Alongside release of Mac OS X Lion and new MacBook Airs, Apple introduced slightly changed keyboards. The main change is that Apple has replaced now the the Dashboard key (located on the F4) with a Launchpad key. The other one is that the icon of the Exposé button (located on the F3) key that is now used for Mission Control in Lion was a little bit changed. Such changes are now implemented only in wired keyboard, but we presume they will soon make their way to the Apple wireless keyboard and keyboards with purchased iMac’s and Mac Pros. Unfortunately, this time Apple has not implemented the rumored backlit keys as well as significant design changes.
Now Lion Can Be Recovered via Internet
Mac minis and MacBook Airs were introduced with a new function called "Internet Recovery" that allows to download and install OS X Lion even when hard drive on your Mac .
New vs old MacBook Airs comparison table
Apple released new MacBook Air, which are faster and have new features. 9to5mac has published detailed comparison tables that compare the new models to the previous generation models.
11-inch models:
13-inch models:
Backlit Keyboard to Return in New MacBook Air
The new MacBook may come with a return of the backlit keyboard. The backlit keyboard was omitted from the October 2010 redesign of the laptops line, as rumored, due to design issues and battery life constrains. The new MacBook Airs will feature the design of 2010 MacBook Airs. A backlit keyboard may be helpful in low-light conditions, and it’s currently implemented in all versions of Apple’s MacBook Pro line. Appleinsider’s sources, who are familiar with the matter, claim that the new laptops will be launched any time this month.
With the release of new models later this month, Apple is set to reinstate a feature to its MacBook Airs that went missing when the company overhauled the ultra-thin notebooks into more cost-affordable products late last year, AppleInsider has learned.
According to people familiar with the matter, backlit keyboards will join the string of hardware enhancements planned for the new 11.6- and 13.3-inch notebooks, which are also expected to adopt high-speed Thunderbolt ports, an upgrade to Intel’s Sandy Bridge architecture, and possibly high-speed 400MBps flash memory.
Apple Preparing OS X Lion and MacBook Air Launch Next Week
9to5mac and AppleInsider have received some information from Apple retail employees and store managers that in the next week they will have to hold “overnights” to prepare for the launch of OS X Lion. 9to5mac claims that stores will be preparing for the software launch on July 13, so the Mac OS X Lion will be release on July 14. In the same time Apple is expected to launch new MacBook Airs that may probably come with the new software pre-installed.
This same person also mentioned hearing rumors from colleagues that Apple may formally invite some customers to its retail locations to download the new OS from within the store so that they can receive assistance in becoming familiar with some of Lion’s more prominent enhancements.
Meanwhile, people with ties to Apple’s other operating segments are supporting claims that Apple will make Mac OS X Lion available to the general public sometime next week. They add that long-awaited refreshes to the MacBook Air line will follow the launch closely, possibly the following week.
Apple to Launch 'iPad HD' This Fall
There have appeared new rumours about a higher-resolution iPad. The iPad HD will be launched later this year and will be sold alongside the iPad 2. The device was developed for pro-users in the video and photo-industries. There will be also launched the iPad-versions of pro-level apps such as Final Cut Pro or Aperture.
Our sources are saying that not only will there be a newly designed iPhone coming in the fall, but there is going to be a new entry into the iPad family as well. As hard as it might be to believe, the new tablet is said to sport a double resolution screen (2048 x 1536), and will be dubbed the "iPad HD." The idea behind the product is apparently that it will be a "pro" device aimed at a higher end market - folks who work in video and photo production possibly - and will be introduced alongside something like an iPad version of Final Cut or Aperture. This product is specifically said to not be the iPad 3, rather a complimentary piece of the iPad 2 line.
Analyst Said Notebooks Will Take A Tablet-like Form In The Next 2-3 years
Is there a future development of notebooks with MacBook Air? One Wall Street analyst believes that notebooks stage a comeback with tablets losing its popularity.
Next MacBook Air to Adopt Faster, More Power Efficient SSD
The Japanese website Macotakara claims that the new MacBook Air will include SSD drive with adopted a new Toggle DDR 2.0 type of NAND Flash Memory.
Current SSD device Blade X-gale supporting SATA 2.6 will be abolished and new 19nm flash memory will be packaged into smaller chip and will be soldered on base circuit directly.
The new Flash chips will be built directly in the MacBook Air's motherboard; they support speeds of 400Mb/s, and will allow future controllers to run faster than today’s SSDs with "half the number of channels, providing both a cost and space savings", and could improve battery life for an hour or more.
The resulting power throttling capability enables the drive’s high-performance levels without any increase in power consumption over a 40nm-class 16Gb NAND-based 256GB SSD. The controller also analyzes frequency of use and preferences of the user to automatically activate a low-power mode that can extend a notebook’s battery life for an hour or more.
Apple Seeded OS X Lion Golden Master To Developers
Apple released MAC OS X Lion Golden Master seed to developers in anticipation of its official release at some time this month. The download of Golden Master seed is available on the Mac Developer website. The number of the build is 11A511. Also, Apple released Developer Preview 7 seed of Xcode 4.1.
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More Details Surface Over A Possible Mac Pro Refresh
MIC Gadget has posted an article that tells us about some details of the upcoming Mac Pro update that may come out in August. MIC Gadget also posted a screenshot of the App Store that shows a Mac Pro with Promise Thunderbolt RAID system. The current generation of the Mac Pro doesn’t support Thunderbolt technology. Of course, that image could be just an error of the graphics department, but if it doesn’t, we should expect Mac Pro with Thunderbolt that is slowly being rolled out onto every Mac. The MacBook Pro, iMac already received Thunderbolt input/output ports, and recent rumors claim that the MacBook Air refresh will similarly get Thunderbolt capability. The image also shows that the Mac Pro design won’t be changed. MIC Gadget also believes that the Mac Pro will feature an 8 core CPU that will be ‘exclusive’ to Apple for a few months before other PC manufacturers can have access to it in Q4 of this year.
Our sources indicate Apple is making headway with access to this technology, and they are investing heavily into the Mac Pro. Sandy Bridge will be integrated with the new Mac Pro CPU as well, but issues remain with the heat being produced by such powerful CPUs.
MacBook Supplies Tightening at Third-Party Retailers Ahead of Potential Refresh
MacBooks have been running out of supply at resellers such as Amazon, J&R, and MacConnection. European distributors have also run out of MacBook supply and are not expecting future shipments. Apple’s MacBook Air supply is also decreasing, giving birth to rumours that their update may coincide with the release of Mac OS X Lion.
Apple’s white MacBooks are quite expensive and their hardware is outdated. So they may receive newer processors and Thunderbolt technologies, or Apple could simply reduce price. Some analysts suggest that the second variant is more preferable for Apple. Cutting price Apple will make MacBooks more valuable for students. So, the new MacBook could be priced closer to Apple’s entry-level Mac Mini.
Thunderbolt Cable Teardown Reveals Electronics and Firmware
Arstechnica and iFixIt claim that Apple’s new Tunderbolt cable is actually a "smart" cable that contains circuitry and firmware. iFixIt have already torn down the cable, having found inside two Gennum GN2033 chips in the connector that works as a transceiver to enable “reliable data transfer at cutting-edge speeds over low cost, thin-gauge copper cables.” There were also found additional support chips and resistors, so the total number of chips inside the Thunderbolt connector is 12, of course not including multiply smaller electronic components.
Quite interesting that the current Thunderbolt ports found in iMac and MacBook Pro are planned to be compatible with future Thunderbolt cables, bringing a significant speed improvement. But the current generation of such ports works on the traditional wiring.
MacBook Airs will make up half of Apple’s labtops in 2011
writes on a comment made by analyst Doug Freedman at Gleacher & Company, who says that it is estimated that 48% of all Apple’s laptops will be of MacBook Air family:
“How big is this opportunity? In the 4-year lifespan of [Apple's] iconic MacBook Air, units sold as a percentage of its total notebook supply was 8 percent in 2008, 9 percent in 2009, and 17 percent in 2010 to an estimated 48 percent in 2011,” he stated.
Advanced Intel Sandy Bridge processors designed for ultraportable laptops (chips can “turbo” or overlock to much higher speeds) were priced today:
Core i7-2637M: 1.7 GHz (turbos to 2.8GHz), 2 cores, 17 watts, 4MB cache, priced at $289
Core i7-2677M: 1.8 GHz (turbos to 2.9GHz), 2 cores 17 watts, 4MB cache, priced at $317
Core i5-2557M: 1.7 GHz (turbos to 2.7GHz), 2 cores 17 watts, 3MB cache, priced at $250
Possibly more important that these chips are based on Intel’s newish fab process that will make power efficiency much higher. But the drawback is that they will utilize Intel’s slower chipset that doesn’t make use of Nvidia’s 3xx series graphics.
New MacBook Airs are expected within a month.