Most of the recent rumors about a new MacBook Pro have been focused on it being as thin as a MacBook Air — but that may be wishful thinking, according to trusted sources who are spilling the beans on the forthcoming 15-inch model.
9to5Mac has donned its tin hat again and filed an extensive report on what may be coming with this year’s 15-inch MacBook Pro. Those of you hoping for an ultra-thin design like the MacBook Air may be disappointed, but let’s face it: That was probably a pipe dream anyway.
According to “trusted sources in Apple’s supply chain,” the report claims that the notebook will indeed thin down, but not as significantly as many rumors have been predicting. 9to5Mac describes a prototype of the 15-inch MacBook Pro as “a thinner, yet more robust, version of the late-2008 design,” which doesn’t sound so bad to us.
Of course, there’s still no lifeline for the space-gobbling optical disc drive, which still appears to be on the chopping block. The prototype in question does echo the MacBook Air in another way, which finds the power button moving onto the rest of the MacBook Pro keyboard, replacing the disc eject key.
Another not so surprising revelation is that Retina Display will reportedly make its way to the MacBook Pro. Builds of both OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion are already known to contain UI elements which can be rendered in higher resolution — which iOS apps like AirDisplay have already taken advantage of when using the new iPad as a second monitor.
“Unlike Mac display settings of today, these Retina Display settings will not be marked with numbers/resolution sizes, but with descriptions such as big, small, or optimal, according to these software-based findings,” the report claims. “The long-awaited ‘resolution independence’ is upon us.”
Finally, the report indicates that USB 3.0 may finally make its way to the MacBook Pro — a curious addition at such a late stage of the game, particular now that Apple has made it clear that Thunderbolt is the future.
“While third-party USB 3 cards and Hackintoshes have run ‘Super-Speed’ USB 3 and have shown up in the System Profiler previously, sources familiar with Apple’s software strings in 10.7.4 and 10.8 betas also have provided evidence for USB 3 Macs coming soon,” the report concludes. “One source identified two new strings pointing to USB 3 Macs: One mentions 5Gbps USB transfers (which is the speed of USB 3), and there are actually two explicit mentions of ‘USB 3.0.’ These references didn’t exist before.”
While this would be a welcome move on Apple’s part considering that most USB hard drives shipped today now include USB 3.0 (which is backward compatible with existing USB 2.0), the technology still trails Thunderbolt data speeds by nearly half, so Cupertino definitely won’t be positioning USB 3.0 as a replacement for Thunderbolt.
As always, take these rumors with a grain of salt, but given that OS X Mountain Lion is coming soon, we should see a new MacBook Pro to take full advantage of it around the same time.
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While there’s certainly nothing wrong with the Google-powered Maps app we’ve had since the original iPhone, it could be argued that it’s time for Apple to shake things up and go their own way — and that could indeed be happening with iOS 6.
9to5Mac is reporting that Apple may introduce “an incredible headline feature” with iOS 6 in the form of their own Maps application — one that finally breaks from Google Maps and is created entirely in-house.
Of course, the Maps app itself is already Apple’s own creation, but the technology that powers it comes from the Googleplex. Apple has widely been rumored to introduce their own solution over the years with the acquisition of Placebase, C3 Technologies and Poly9, which is plenty more than enough technology to create their own mapping solution.
According to “trusted sources,” that could be exactly what we’ll see when iOS 6 hits the streets later this year — a complete rewrite of the current Maps app, using C3 Technologies-based street view and what’s described as “a powerful new 3D mode.”
“The 3D mode does not come enabled by default, but users simply need to click a 3D button that is conveniently and visibly stored in the app,” the report reveals. “Perhaps under the fold like the current traffic, pin, and map view buttons. This 3D mode is said to essentially be technology straight from C3 Technologies: beautiful, realistic graphics based on de-classified missile target algorithms.” (Sounds like a much better use of that technology, if you ask us.)
With Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference now only a month away, it’s widely expected that Cupertino will at least preview iOS 6 at the event, although no one knows for sure if a redesigned Maps app will get a nod there. The report also doesn’t mention anything about turn-by-turn navigation, which is sorely lacking in Apple’s built-in app compared to the pretty awesome Google Navigation included free with Android devices. Let’s get on that, shall we, Apple…?
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(Image courtesy of 9to5Mac)
Apple rarely competes on low prices, but a new report claims that Cupertino may be planning an all-out pricing assault on the second generation of Ultrabook computers by introducing an even cheaper MacBook Air in Q3 2012.
DigiTimes is reporting that Apple is not about to sit idly by and watch the Ultrabook market chew into its MacBook Air market share. According to “sources from the upstream supply chain,” Apple may fire back against the second generation of Ultrabooks with a cheaper MacBook Air priced to move at 9.
“Although Acer has recently reduced its ultrabook shipment target, Intel continues to aggressively push Ultrabooks and is aiming to have the devices priced at US9 in the second half of the year,” the sources reveal. “However, if Intel is unable to bring down ASPs to its goal, the price gap between Ultrabooks and the US9 MacBook Air may further postpone the time Ultrabooks become standardized.”
For its part, Ultrabook chip maker Intel has set aside 0 million for the diminutive notebooks and another 0 million to develop its own store to sell applications. However, sources believe that Ultrabooks may not gain significant traction in the market until Microsoft releases Windows 8 later this year.
Apple’s MacBook Air currently starts at 9 for the 11-inch edition and tops out at 99 for a 13-inch, 256GB model. Sources claim that shifting the base model to 9 — or introducing an even cheaper refreshed model of the same — is a strategy that “will damage Ultrabooks, allowing Apple to continue to press its advantage.”
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Enjoying all that free content on Hulu.com? Quite happy to watch network TV shows the day after they air on your HDTV via Hulu Plus? Well, enjoy it while it lasts, because the content providers appear hellbent on ruining a good thing.
The New York Post is reporting that Hulu’s ad-supported free ride may eventually sputter and run out of gas, at least if the television networks have anything to say about it. That’s because the streaming company may one day require viewers to authenticate a cable or satellite TV account in order to let the good times roll on.
You may have already heard about this authentication scheme, referred to as “TV Everywhere” — it’s currently in use by HBO for the pay cable channel’s HBO Go app on various platforms, and the Fox network is scheming to introduce the model to Comcast viewers as well.
“The move toward authentication is fueled by cable companies and networks looking to protect and profit from their content,” the report notes. “The effort comes as entertainment companies continue to face drastic shifts in home viewing habits. Overall spending on home entertainment edged up 2.5 percent to .45 billion in the first quarter as a surge in digital streaming — which rose more than fivefold to 9 million — offset a continuing collapse in video rentals, according to Digital Entertainment Group.”
Hulu is jointly owned by News Corp. (Fox), Disney, Comcast and Providence Equity Partners, the latter of which is eager to “cash out of Hulu after five years,” according to sources. The proposed authentication scheme could see Hulu’s fortunes shrink, even as the company rang up 0 million in ad sales last year and is expected to do even better in 2012.
The only good news in this mess is that Hulu’s attempts to move toward authentication “could take years to complete” — so let’s hope that executives can come to their senses before then.
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There’s been a lot of scuttlebutt passed around on the internetover the last two weeks, and it’s all pretty awesome. This week, the rumor mill is churning that Ivy Bridge MacBooks may be closer than we think. The Apple Store has a depleting supply of Sandy Bridge MacBook Pros, which makes room in the back for brand new hardware. Also, the iPhone 5 could be the biggest handset refresh we’ve had since the iPhone 4′s rounded corners, and Apple could be working on software to help beginning developers get their bearings with app development. Let’s get down to business, shall we?
According to Macrumors, Apple is set to freshen up the company’s entire MacBook Pro line by packing them full of Intel’s quad-core Ivy Bridge processors. CPUWorld says the new chipset will offer MacBook Pro users significant gains over what the current generation of Sandy Bridge-equipped MacBook Pros have been unable to offer, including an increase in graphics rendering:
“Overall, the 3820QM was found to score an average of 9% higher than the Extreme 2960XM chip, a modest improvement but one which should be significantly higher relative to the 2860QM chip from the current MacBook Pro. Taking into account a roughly 10% higher performance for the tested 2960XM Sandy Bridge processor compared to the 2860QM actually found in the current MacBook Pro, the new 3820QM Ivy Bridge processor should offer roughly 20% higher CPU performance than is currently available in the MacBook Pro.”
Now this is interesting. According to AppleInsider, Apple has filed a patent that could help iOS users create their own iPhone, iPod touch and iPad applications with an easy to use drag-and-drop, template-style interface. The app would then generate the code for the app based on what the user did on screen. Sounds pretty sweet, but unless Apple maintains a steady hand on the strict content controls it enforces in the iTunes App Store, we could quickly see a flood of homemade apps turn the iOS app ecosystem into a quagmire of the sort.
There’s not a week that goes by when we don’t hear the rumblings of an impending iPhone redesign. This time around, word of the smartphone’s changes come to us from the folks at MacRumors. According to the site, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White has the goods on the fact that the next version of the iPhone will boast a four-inch screen, 4G LTE connectivity and “a new, sleek look that we believe will require a unibody case.” Will we be seeing an iPhone with a larger screen? Maybe. A lot of smartphone manufacturers have released smartphones with larger screens recently, most notable Samsung and its Galaxy Note. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple will follow suit. This is after all, the company that gave us the modern smartphone as we understand it today. Apple’s engineers don’t follow, they lead.
Love it or hate it, iTunes is a central part of the lives of most Mac and iOS users. According to 9to5 Mac, Apple currently has its software engineers hard at work at the next iteration of it’s one-stop music, movie, TV and app software solution. If the rumors are correct, iTunes 11 will boast support for iOS 6 and include tighter integration with iCloud. Thanks to a dedicated iCloud panel baked into iTunes 11, it’s speculated that users will be able to control their iTunes Match settings, iOS backups, and other iCloud centric bits and pieces in one centralized location. 9to5Mac also mentions that in addition to the added iCloud controls, iTunes may also be seeing a complete overhaul of the iTunes Store, featuring an updated user interface and a overhauled content discovery system.
