7 things to expect at Apples special event this week This week is Apples big chance to show off whats expected to be the last batch of products for the year. A little more than a month after releasing its latest pair of iPhones, Tuesdays event should bring new versions of the iPad, as well as updated Macs and a price and release date for OS X Mavericks. The event takes place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in downtown San Francisco, and is expected to be the last of the year from Apple. Heres a quick breakdown of what is: New iPads Apples expected to show off a completely redesigned full-size iPad, as well as a souped-up iPad Mini. In the run-up to Tuesdays event, there have been myriad leaks of both tablets -- many of which were posted by the same individuals who correctly showed off iPhone parts, months before their debut. What remains unclear is whether Apple will carry over its Touch ID fingerprint system from the iPhone 5S to these new tablets. A leaked photo earlier this week suggested as much. Yet features like vibration, LED flashes, and some design treatments havent always carried over from phones to the companys tablets. However the home button (where the sensor is) is a primary user feature. OS X Mavericks Apple showed off Mavericks at its annual developers conference in June with the promise of a release later this year. With that deadline fast approaching, and a final version of the software delivered to developers earlier this month, Mavericks is a shoo-in for a price and a release date -- possibly the same day of the event. As with other recent major OS X releases, Mavericks brings a few more carryovers from iOS, like iBooks and Apples mapping service. Apples also fine-tuned existing software like the Finder, the Calendar app, and its notifications service. Among the areas where Apple could go into more detail are some of the power management features built into Mavericks. These features could extend the battery life of its portable computers, even older models. Mac Pro Alongside Mavericks, another WWDC tease was the new Mac Pro, which is a complete rethink of Apples desktop workstation. Apple showed off an early version of that hardware at WWDC, but didnt give it a price, release date, or a live demo of its performance. The new Mac Pro is a cylinder with an open center that vents the air from the inside. It replaces a decade old design of the Mac Pro tower, which itself evolved from the PowerMac G5. New features include a speedier processor, a move to flash memory, Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, and USB 3.0. Early estimates for the cost of the machine, based simply on its components, pegged the machine somewhere in the ballpark of $2,800 to start -- $300 more than what Apple currently sells its existing model for. A computer that was believed to be the new Mac Pro began appearing in some online benchmarks in June, and once again late last month. More recently, a report from the Austin American-Statesman suggested that Flextronics America, which has done some contract manufacturing for Apple in the past, was hiring some 1,700 employees to build the machine in Texas. MacBook Pro(s) Both versions of Apples MacBook Pro are overdue for updates. The Retina Display MacBooks were first introduced in 2012, and got a price cut and spec bump this February. For 2013, expect at least an upgrade to Intels newest Haswell processors, which should bring longer battery life and better performance. Mac Mini The Mac Mini -- Apples least expensive Mac computer -- hasnt been updated since last October, and could use a bump to Intels newest 2013 Haswell processors. Its already got much of Apples newer I/O, including a Thunderbolt port, HDMI and USB 3.0. Beside the processor, the machine could benefit from speedier 802.11ac Wi-Fi and perhaps even a jump to the newer Thunderbolt 2 spec. Thunderbolt 2 monitor Apple hasnt updated its $999 display since introducing it in late 2011, and a lot has changed since then. The current model still uses the first version of Apples MagSafe power connection instead of MagSafe 2. The companys given out adapters to new buyers, but its less than ideal. The monitor is also still on the older USB 2.0 spec. If Apples introducing its new Mac Pro, and refreshed Pro notebooks -- its as good a time as any to push out a new version of this aging display. A new version could also make use of Thunderbolt 2, which promises to push more data while supporting devices on the older spec. The bigger question is whether Apple intends to continue making a monitor for desktop users when the majority of its devices are tablets and phones that cant hook up to it. iLife tweaks Another wildcard is iLife, the creative software Apple includes with its Macs, and now also gives out alongside iWork to new iOS device buyers. The last big update to iLife came in 2010, though Apples added new features in supplemental updates since then, along with introducing the various iOS counterparts. New, iOS 7-inspired logos for that software cropped up this week suggesting the iOS apps might be getting an overhaul. Its unclear whether that same thing will carry over to the Mac versions as part of a larger feature update. And if that happens, theres a very real question of whether Apple will charge existing iLife for Mac users, or if the update will be free. Lets just wait and see this week~
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 05:12:20 +0000
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