Apple To Announce New iPads on October 30 (buzzfeednews.com) 84
Apple will hold its next big product announcement in New York later this month, the company said today. BuzzFeed News: It's the first time Apple, which usually holds these events in the Bay Area, will roll out new devices in New York City. It'll happen at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, on October 30. The company is widely expected to refresh its iPad and possibly the MacBook Air lineups at the event.
Tablets are SO Last Thursday (Score:1)
Re: Tablets are SO Last Thursday (Score:2)
Yeah, whatever. I have been waiting for six months, on this announcement, to buy an iPad for my wife. I will be pre-ordering whatever they announce as soon as I can.
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Why bother pre-ordering?
I guess it depends where you live, but you can normally get these from a retail store the same day as it is released, and without having to wait for it to get shipped.
Unlike iPhones there isn't much of a Line for iPads.
Eliminates probability of wait (Score:2)
The store may not have the exact build configuration you want, and if you wait to order the shipping times can easily go out several weeks if there's any surge in popularity - the probability of that is higher with this round of iPads which will be more of a change than previous iPad iterations.
Re: Tablets are SO Last Thursday (Score:2)
It will be a Christmas present. Do not need to have it the second it comes out but I do not want to be left holding the bag at Christmas either.
Re: Tablets are SO Last Thursday (Score:2)
You ARE a fucking tool.
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It's not that they are boring, it's just I have one. So does my sister, and my mother, and my father. They are well and truly competing with themselves and people are starting to realise that they aren't offering any new killer features.
Forget the iPads... (Score:2)
My guess is it's with the Pro (Score:2)
Yeah the Mac mini update cycle is crazy. I am thinking they will release a new version of that along with the new Mac Pro "early" next year.
After Apple released the iMac Pro, that gave them enough runway for other pro-level updates they could take some time...
The good news is that when they do update the Mac mini, they are supposed to have more of a pro version that would have decent hardware inside so you could really use it as a small desktop with good power and connectivity (probably would included Thun
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Only Apple can have such a huge workforce, yet be unable to knock out basic updates to what amount to bog standard PC's wrapped up in designer cases. What the heck are all those people doing in the Spaceship, or are they all concussed from running into glass walls?
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Easy. They're working on more profitable products.
Remember, the two worst sellers in the Apple line up are the Mac Pro and Mac Mini. And it's not because they are way outdated - it's always been true even when Steve Jobs was alive.
The Mac Pro sort
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If they are not profitable, kill them with fire.
However, to leave them as shambling zombie products is just a cruel farce. There are plenty of NUC PC's out there that get regular updates, and they are basically the same as the mini except for being inadequately "minimalist". The "Pro" should have been a simple tower like every other real workstation box out there. Instead they tried to make it look like a shiny jet engine, which is even more non-standard than Dell's Alienware triangular BS. Basically I
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Only Apple can have such a huge workforce, yet be unable to knock out basic updates to what amount to bog standard PC's wrapped up in designer cases. What the heck are all those people doing in the Spaceship, or are they all concussed from running into glass walls?
Um, that's exactly what Apple DOESN'T do (unlike almost everyone else).
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The good news is that when they do update the Mac mini, they are supposed to have more of a pro version that would have decent hardware inside so you could really use it as a small desktop with good power and connectivity (probably would included Thunderbolt 3 at least so it could handle an eGPU and fast storage options).
That's my hope. A headless Mini Pro with a couple TB3 ports and user-replaceable HD and RAM. Upgradable CPU would be nice too, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
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And the last time they were upgraded it was an actual downgrade, with soldered RAM etc. 2012 Minis were awesome though, apart from lacking any GPU power.
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one more thing (Score:2)
The mini is dead (price cut on left overs to get rid of them)
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The Mac mini haven't been updated in four years [macrumors.com]. Where's the love, Apple?
If TFS wasn't so lame, you'd already know that the Event will ALSO focus on new Macs (likely a reimagined "Pro" Mac mini, and probably at least a Preview of the upcoming redesigned Mac Pro).
See:
https://www.macrumors.com/2018... [macrumors.com]
Ok. (Score:4, Informative)
Remember when there used to be "One more thing..."
Like when SJ pulled the iPod Nano out of his pocket? Or when he introduced iPhoto printed books? I miss stuff like that. That's what these events were really for. Now they are just big expensive press releases for minor hardware upgrades.
Not really that minor this time (Score:2)
I generally agree with your sentiment about many Apple Events being big press releases (though not very expensive for Apple at all considering the coverage they get!!).
However, I don't think the hardware changes for the iPad this time are all that minor. They'll probably be getting FaceID for one, also the latest processors and neural engine that are in the latest iPhones, so that is quite a large performance boost.
Especially interesting is how much the latest Apple processors have helped increase Javascrip [twitter.com]
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All of those items you list could be just as easily said in a 1-page press release and website update. None of them are new or really deserving of an "We call it the iPhone" style event.
That said, heck yeah the massive press is 100% worth it for Apple. That's why everyone -Google, Samsung, Amazon, literally everyone- is doing these big events now for every minor upgrade.
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I disagree because the switch to FaceID and dropping the button, means there are some changes to the UI that aren't really great to put in a press release. Starting with the iPhone launch the events have been useful as mini tutorials that people actually watch, and in this case that tutorial will be helping a lot of peopler understand how a FaceID iPad will work.
As I said though I generally agree with your assessment of most of these events, including Apple. To me the one for the iPhone just a month or tw
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Jobs kinda over did the "One more thing..." also the iPod Nano is just a rehash of his iPod release years ago. the Nano was just an upgrade Mini. A lot thinner and a color screen. But other then that the same thing.
A problem with the Apple Secrecy is it made it difficult for companies to invest into Apple products. While trying to avoid the Osborn effect, there is also not knowing if Apple will have a surprise that is something useful (say a new Pro device) or should they just get a boring PC with a well
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Yeah, no. The Nano blew people's minds at the time. No one had seen anything even close to it. Motorola thought they were going to be the big news that day when SJ announced the Moto Rokr with iTunes. But everyone forgot about that phone before the event was even over.
Still One More Thing(TM) made these events much more entertaining.
I am really hoping for an updated Mac Mini (Score:5, Funny)
Do you remember when you could buy a Mac Mini with non-soldered RAM, a quad core CPU, and a replaceable disk? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Update the thing already, or kill it. Please. Thunderbolt 3, decent, CPU, non-soldered on RAM/disk and I'm pleased as punch.
Show Apple the business case (Score:2)
Do you remember when you could buy a Mac Mini with non-soldered RAM, a quad core CPU, and a replaceable disk?
If you want non-soldered RAM and user replaceable disks you need to show Apple a business case where it makes sense for them. The number of people who upgrade RAM in their machines is a rounding error and I'm pretty sure Apple has the data to prove it. If the number of your customers who take advantage of a feature is a good approximation of zero then why incur the added cost (design, manufacturing, purchasing) of the more complicated device? If it is more profitable for them to just deal with it as a wa
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I think it's more that building in the RAM means you have to buy your RAM upgrades from Apple. Without soldered RAM & storage, it's often a lot cheaper to buy computers with the minimum amount of RAM and SSD included, then upgrade it after. Now you're forced to buy what you need directly from Apple. And you're likely to overestimate your needs because you can't change it later. That's several hundred dollars extra profit per system on the high end models.
Cost savings (Score:2)
I think it's more that building in the RAM means you have to buy your RAM upgrades from Apple.
Sure that's part of it - Apple can bring in extra revenue that way. But don't underestimate the cost savings from not having to add the hardware to interface with the memory modules. They also don't have to design a user serviceable product which saves money too. They don't have to source the more complicated modular parts, they can have simpler assembly procedures, they reduce warranty costs by not having to deal with third party parts and ham handed users, etc. They realize these savings on EVERY devi
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"Business cases that make sense" can be loops, feeding themselves. (I'm sure there is a fancy economic-science term for it, but I don't know it.)
If Apple don't make devices that can get hardware upgrades then users will not know about hardware upgrades, so they won't request them.
It is like with Windows users: they expect clunky UIs, their systems getting slower over time and full of malware -- because they have not been exposed to anything better!
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Do you remember when you could buy a Mac Mini with non-soldered RAM, a quad core CPU, and a replaceable disk?
If you want non-soldered RAM and user replaceable disks you need to show Apple a business case where it makes sense for them. The number of people who upgrade RAM in their machines is a rounding error and I'm pretty sure Apple has the data to prove it.
How? I would buy one if I could get 32GB of RAM and a quad-core i7 (ie, match my Linux box which cost half as much as what they do sell). But I can't, so I don't buy one. A Mac Pro is way _more_ computer than I need, so I also don't buy one of those. So rather than upgrade, I just stick with docking an older macbook (before they decided to screw up their keyboards). I actually considered buying an iMac as an alternative, but I value being able to KVM between my various machines.
To be fair, I don't give
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The number of people who upgrade RAM in their machines is a rounding error and I'm pretty sure Apple has the data to prove it.
Of course it is ... since it was soldered in place in the last "upgrade" it's 0 (insert meme of guy touching his temple, caption is "There is no demand for upgrades when we solder the stuff in place").
We had a large lab to support and were buying Mac Minis by the pallet. At that scale, spending a couple days swapping bulk RAM and drives to save the cost premium of paying Apple for the privilege was well worth it. It was kind of like shelling peas -- we sat around and pretty much chewed the fat while manag
No business case (Score:2)
Of course it is ... since it was soldered in place in the last "upgrade" it's 0
Don't be ridiculous. Most Windows desktops and laptops have user upgradable memory and the VAST majority of people and companies never touch it. They don't even open the case to look. This is not some sort of new revelation. People rarely upgraded memory on Macintoshes when they could do it and Apple provided the opportunity for literally decades. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Apple looked at the data and said "we can make more money by eliminating something almost none of our users are bothering w
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Thunderbolt 3, decent, CPU, non-soldered on RAM/disk
I can understand non-soldered RAM, but now that the drives are all SSD (and in most Macs they aren't really even physical "drives" anymore -- they're chips directly soldered to the board), if a new Mac mini comes with Thunderbolt 3 you're better off upgrading by adding external Thunderbolt-based storage.
Yaz
How about a Mac Pro? (Score:2)
I just updated the 2010 Mac Pro to a 6-core last year, the most it can take. It is such a nice machine, currently upgraded to 2xSSDs, 2x3TB HDs, usb3, esata, 32GB RAM, waiting until Apple comes out with something similar, something ACTUALLY Pro.
I also have the upgradeable Mac Mini, at least with 16GB RAM it is not doing bad, but, yeah, an update would be great.
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Same for MacPros. :(
Yawn.... (Score:2)
We want a new Cheese-Grater Mac (Score:1)
The Ashcan is ridiculous. The iMac too constraining. When do we get a new decent workstation, Apple?
iMac is not at all constraining (Score:2)
The iMac pro is not at all constraining, what makes you think that it is?
I can add other GPU's and external storage easily via Thunderbolt 3.
I agree that they also need a part-replaceable unit but they have one scheduled for next year, so it's not like they don't have a plan for that... in the meantime the iMac Pro is a really good system if you need more power.
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It's not constraining if it does only the thing you want it to do...which is the thing Apple intends it to do...which is a common theme in your shill posts, SuperKendall.
It is, however, constraining for people who don't desire an integral monitor. Deal breaking, in fact. ...and need "more power" than what? More power than an Apple product with less power? The computing world isn't defined by the narrow range of products Apple sells, even if your world is defined by it. Why do you care anyway? You "crea
Why is a monitor deal-breaking? (Score:2)
It is, however, constraining for people who don't desire an integral monitor. Deal breaking, in fact.
Why is that deal breaking?
I would have preferred a separate monitor myself. But it just means now I have two monitors instead of one - why is that so awful?
It's not constraining if it does only the thing you want it to do
Again, what is it exactly you think it cannot DO. The only example you gave was something you wanted to be removed, not a feature that could not be added.
The computing world isn't defined
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It is, however, constraining for people who don't desire an integral monitor. Deal breaking, in fact.
Why is that deal breaking?
For a guess, some people want to go with dual, triple, or quad-monitor setups with identical monitors. That's not possible with the iMac Pro, since Apple doesn't offer a matching standalone monitor. You can get close, but they won't match, and the large lower bezel on the Pro's monitor makes certain configurations difficult, if not impossible.
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Two monitors are a deal breaker when you only have desk space for one.
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Can't use PCI-e 40G/100G NICs. Thunderbolt doesn't provide enough lanes to support them in an external card cage either. You can technically add a SAS controller in an external card cage, but once again lack of PCI-e lanes gets you and the performance sucks. You can't use 30-bit displays, although I think that's more an OS limitation.
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IMO, the cheese grater really is too big (3044 ci). It was designed in an era when the G5 required insane amounts of cooling, and it got tweaked only slightly during the Intel transition. You could easily build something with four drives and a high-end Xeon CPU in an enclosure half that size, and possibly a fourth that size.
The two main problems with the current design are that A. Apple decided to remove SATA entirely, and B. they built the product in an enclosure that was barely a tenth that size (338 c
What's wrong with this picture? (Score:2)
What's wrong with this picture? [purch.com] Why is the hairy old guy with the retro watch and marshmallows in his coffee scribbling a picture not worthy of a three year old? And note the standard headphone jack on his earbuds. WTF is Apple's message?
Hopefully they dont' drop the headphone jack... (Score:1)
like the rumors. It's weird how Apple so often forgets how much they make off of music.