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[criesofthepast]

The rear of the iMac really does remind me of the first gen iPad. Looks really nice, but I'm worried about how much of the internals you can get to. It looked like they'd even moved the RAM up from the bottom slot.

I just opened up my iMac a few weeks ago to put in an ssd. Isn't the glass cover laminated to the screen now or something? Not held by magnets that can be removed with a suction cup? How would you even open this thing up if you wanted to? Curious to see if its possible.

Looks super delicate. I was scared shitless opening up my last gen I'd hate to fuck with this one. Lol.

 

[noah111]

Interesting that now the 'scuffable' diamond-cut bezel (that joins the sides with the screen) is already on every new iDevice. iPod Nano, iPod touch, iPhone 5, and now iPad mini. Next physical refresh for the iPad retina will probably have it as well.. along with colors.


iPad mini one year from now: faster internals, maybe more colors
Two years from now: retina inclusion, $80 price drop for non-retina mini (making it $249)
At that point the 4" iPod touch's will have gotten cheaper as well (thus replaced the old models), so it would make sense.

iPad 2 has to disappear soon, too.. really stupid to keep it in the lineup if you ask me, especially considering it's still using 30pin.

 

[Flek]

Interesting that now the 'scuffable' diamond-cut bezel (that joins the sides with the screen) is already on every new iDevice. iPod Nano, iPod touch, iPhone 5, and now iPad mini. Next physical refresh for the iPad retina will probably have it as well.. along with colors.


iPad mini one year from now: faster internals, maybe more colors
Two years from now: retina inclusion, $80 price drop for non-retina mini (making it $249)
At that point the 4" iPod touch's will have gotten cheaper as well (thus replaced the old models), so it would make sense.

.

nah - i think the mini will get retina next year. And then faster and retina the year later

 

[mrklaw]

The thing Apple really fucked iPad 3 owners on is resale value. Thanks to this bullshit iPad 4 upgrade, when I want to sell my 3 (probably when the 5 comes out) I will now get substantially less.

I used to defend Apple when people bitched about them making shit seem old after a year. In my opinion, yearly upgrades make sense. But literally just a few months ago they were on stage hyping up the iPad 3 as the new hotness, and now this shit. It's really unbelievable.

if you play the usual game, using Apple's relatively predictable cycles, and sell up before announcement of a new model, then yes it is annoying.

What would be more annoying is taking the hit to upgrade to 4 now, in the expectation that they are keeping a yearly cycle but moving to Q4, and then they release a big update next spring.

on the positive side, the shit refurb discounts in the UK apple store means I might get slightly more for my ipad

 

[Canis lupus]

They really should have announced the iPad 4 early next year. Now they release 3 iPads in 1 year.

This was iPad mini's show, I even overlooked the iPad 4 announcement.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

I just opened up my iMac a few weeks ago to put in an ssd. Isn't the glass cover laminated to the screen now or something? Not held by magnets that can be removed with a suction cup? How would you even open this thing up if you wanted to? Curious to see if its possible.

Looks super delicate. I was scared shitless opening up my last gen I'd hate to fuck with this one. Lol.

The screen is gonna be glued which means you're going to need a heat gun to even get in to it.

 

[Cheebo]

They really should have announced the iPad 4 early next year. Now they release 3 iPads in 1 year.

This was iPad mini's show, I even overlooked the iPad 4 announcement.

They clearly want to get the entire iOS lineup refreshed yearly at the same time and launch alongside a new iOS.

 

[noah111]

nah - i think the mini will get retina next year. And then faster and retina the year later

If it gets retina next year, it'll need to get faster internals as well, so either way..

Also, still lol'ing at the "NEVAR GONNA HAPPEN" people who didn't think Apple would refresh the iPad retina for lightning support. The A6 was kind of surprising, but was also within the realm of possibility in my mind.

 

[Canis lupus]

They clearly want to get the entire iOS lineup refreshed yearly at the same time and launch alongside a new iOS.

How big of an improvement is iPad 4 over 3? I feel the next big update will be next year then, since it will have a full year, instead of 7 months.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

How big of an improvement is iPad 4 over 3? I feel the next big update will be next year then, since it will have a full year, instead of 7 months.

2x GPU performance
2x CPU performance
Better front camera
Better LTE support
Better WiFi

 

[Flek]

If it gets retina next year, it'll need to get faster internals as well, so either way..

does it? Cant it be basically a iPad 3 mini (tech wise)

 

[brotkasten]

does it? Cant it be basically a iPad 3 mini (tech wise)

The mini has the standard dual-core A5, the iPad 3 had the A5X "with quad-core graphics".

 

[SteveMeister]

If it gets retina next year, it'll need to get faster internals as well, so either way..

Also, still lol'ing at the "NEVAR GONNA HAPPEN" people who didn't think Apple would refresh the iPad retina for lightning support. The A6 was kind of surprising, but was also within the realm of possibility in my mind.

You can lol, but it was off-cycle and surprising, and some have chosen to interpret the iPad 4 announcement as "a slap in the face".

I can see why they did it. First of all, assuming this is the new launch cycle for iPad, now they get the new model out in time for the holidays. Second, by dramatically improving performance over the 3, they've made the differences between the mini and the 4 very clear. You get far more than just a larger screen for your $170 premium.

For me, I don't plan to upgrade and the announcement doesn't bother me. My 3 isn't suddenly obsolete. Although the resale value is very high and I could probably upgrade for effectively $100 or less out of pocket.

 

[Tigel]

2x GPU performance
2x CPU performance
Better front camera
Better LTE support
Better WiFi

What about ram?

 

[Vormund]

Bit surprised that there is a 4th gen iPad already, also looking at the whole product line, it's pretty much all new this year.

Except for the poor Mac Pro. Might as well kill it off now.

 

[Ashhong]

Lol is everyone still complaining about how unprecedented this iPad refresh was?

2008 Unibody Macbook.

 

[brotkasten]

What about ram?

It will most likely stay the same, but we won't know until someone does a tear down.

 

[noah111]

You can lol, but it was off-cycle and surprising, and some have chosen to interpret the iPad 4 announcement as "a slap in the face".

Except it wasn't that surprising for a lot of people.. some even sold their retina iPad prior to the event assuming that it was going to get a lightning refresh.

If they had improved the screen (IGZO) I would've been pissed. I only just recently bought my retina iPad, and while this is refresh irks me a bit it's hardly surprising.

I'm not dissatisfied with my CPU or GPU performance (and i'm pretty sure most aren't either) for me to feel this spec bump as a slap in the face. If I was noticing speed issues with my iPad, it would be.

 

[brotkasten]

Except it wasn't that surprising for a lot of people.. some even sold their retina iPad prior to the event assuming that it was going to get a lightning refresh.

If they had improved the screen (IGZO) I would've been pissed. I only just recently bought my retina iPad, and while this is refresh irks me a bit it's hardly surprising.

I'm not dissatisfied with my CPU or GPU performance (and i'm pretty sure most aren't either) for me to feel this spec bump as a slap in the face. If I was noticing speed issues with my iPad, it would be.

Oh please, there was a 50:50 chance that they'd do this refresh. Last year we had a lot of rumors about the "iPad Pro" and that didn't pan out. Unlike the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 3 and iPad mini, there were no hardware leaks to back the few rumors up.

Saying that it wasn't surprising is bullshit, unless you believe every rumor.

 

[Matrix]

early adopters are the people who bought the 1st gen ipad in the first year.

Well like I said I did that and a few people here don't consider me an early adopter since I also had a 2 and as of now have the 3.

Everyone views it differently.

 

[noah111]

Oh please, there was a 50:50 chance that they'd do this refresh. Last year we had a lot of rumors about the "iPad Pro" and that didn't pan out. Unlike the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 3 and iPad mini, there were no hardware leaks to back the few rumors up.

Saying that it wasn't surprising is bullshit, unless you believe every rumor.

I didn't say it wasn't surprising, just that it wasn't surprising for a lot of people. I held the assumption that they would refresh it for the lightning cable even before we heard a single rumor about it. It's just logical that the lesser SKU of that product line shouldn't have a new feature that the 'pro' model (retina) doesn't, so of course they wouldn't wait several months to add that.

The spec bump I get, while that was in the realm of possibility it you can still call it surprising. The universal LTE stuff was on par with the lightning inclusion, though; expected.

Again, main point of this is that this isn't a slap in the face for iPad 3 buyers, since it's not a substantial upgrade that makes your current iPad incompetent by comparison.

Oh and if they had announced improved battery life or better screen tech, i'd be pissed. Main two gripes i have with my iPad atm.

 

[BGBW]

I was thinking maybe it's time to retire my 2006 iMac and get a new one, but the lack of DVD drive basically killed that idea.

The footprint is still the same so the thinness to me is entirely pointless.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Everyone's talking about the iPad mini price today, but the price of the 13" Retina MBP was even more eye-opening to me.

Only makes me feel better about my 2012 13" MBA.

Yeah, my next MacBook is going to be a Haswell/Broadwell Retina MacBook Air. Maybe a Pro, but as of right now, no thanks. Especially if you don't get a dedicated GPU, I don't see what the advantage is aside from the screen, as of now.

That SKU is so pointless, you won't be able to do real work with out a dedicated gpu.

With Haswell, you will. As of now? Well, I certainly wouldn't want to buy one with a HD4000.

I bet with Haswell, and especially by Broadwell, we'll be able to use our Airs as a decent graphical editing portable workstation.

 

[Yoshiya]

Yeah, my next MacBook is going to be a Haswell/Broadwell Retina MacBook Air. Maybe a Pro, but as of right now, no thanks. Especially if you don't get a dedicated GPU, I don't see what the advantage is aside from the screen, as of now.

There won't be a retina Macbook Air. The "classic" Pro will probably be discontinued at both 13" and 15" and the price of the retina models possibly reduced somewhat. With the optical drive out for all future Mac models there aren't really sufficient differentiators between the Air and Pro as it is - if the Air were to get retina Apple would have nothing left but to sell on the difference between a standard voltage and a ULV CPU. I'm sure that'll go well with consumers.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

There won't be a retina Macbook Air.

I bet you eighty million dollars there will be.

 

[KingKong]

Whats the big thing about Haswell? Everyones hyping it up but what will it mean for average usage?

 

[numble]

Unlike the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 3 and iPad mini, there were no hardware leaks to back the few rumors up.

Actually, there were hardware leaks.

 

[shantyman]

My only comment on those who think the price is too high: remember the iPod mini?

My personal opinion is $299 would have been much more attractive but I guarantee they will be supply constrained through the holidays.

 

[Tobor]

Interesting that now the 'scuffable' diamond-cut bezel (that joins the sides with the screen) is already on every new iDevice. iPod Nano, iPod touch, iPhone 5, and now iPad mini. Next physical refresh for the iPad retina will probably have it as well.. along with colors.


iPad mini one year from now: faster internals, maybe more colors
Two years from now: retina inclusion, $80 price drop for non-retina mini (making it $249)
At that point the 4" iPod touch's will have gotten cheaper as well (thus replaced the old models), so it would make sense.

iPad 2 has to disappear soon, too.. really stupid to keep it in the lineup if you ask me, especially considering it's still using 30pin.

It's for businesses and education.

 

[Treefingers]

There won't be a retina Macbook Air. The "classic" Pro will probably be discontinued at both 13" and 15" and the price of the retina models possibly reduced somewhat. With the optical drive out for all future Mac models there aren't really sufficient differentiators between the Air and Pro as it is - if the Air were to get retina Apple would have nothing left but to sell on the difference between a standard voltage and a ULV CPU. I'm sure that'll go well with consumers.

Size & weight are still pretty significant differentiators. Plus the idea is the Airs are cheaper.
Either way Apple doesn't stop improving something just because they run into branding problems. If the Airs and Pros were too similar they would just rebrand them/discontinue some models so that they have one notebook line.

I don't think we'll get retina MBAs next year though. It seems way too expensive currently judging from the retina MBP prices.

 

[noah111]

It's for businesses and education.

That's exactly what the iPad mini was being pitched for, and it's cheaper, so why keep the iPad 2 around? It should be gone be gone by next year.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I thought the new macbook and iMac were most impressive, weird they get so little attention here.

nice design, but I think most people go with PC on GAF

 

[Tobor]

That's exactly what the iPad mini was being pitched for, and it's cheaper, so why keep the iPad 2 around? It should be gone be gone by next year.

There are businesses and k-12's that are already heavily invested in iPads, and in large expensive charging lockups with racks of 30 pin chargers. You can't even order these types of industrial solutions with lightning adapters yet. The transition to lightning is expensive for normal people. For a large company with a heavy investment, it's a deal breaker. These companies are going to keep buying iPad 2’s.

 

[dem]

There are businesses and k-12's that are already heavily invested in iPads, and in large expensive charging lockups with racks of 30 pin chargers. You can't even order these types of industrial solutions with lightning adapters yet. The transition to lightning is expensive for normal people. For a large company with a heavy investment, it's a deal breaker. These companies are going to keep buying iPad 2’s.

Those iPad lockers are just a quality USB hub with iPad cables hooked in. You must be able to just connect the lightning cables for them to work.

 

[Tobor]

Those iPad lockers are just a quality USB hub with iPad cables hooked in. You must be able to just connect the lightning cables for them to work.

I'll have to ask about the ones we purchased, I thought they had built in 30 pin connectors.

I do know we are going to continue buying ipad 2's for now.

 

[Technosteve]

Yeah, my next MacBook is going to be a Haswell/Broadwell Retina MacBook Air. Maybe a Pro, but as of right now, no thanks. Especially if you don't get a dedicated GPU, I don't see what the advantage is aside from the screen, as of now.



With Haswell, you will. As of now? Well, I certainly wouldn't want to buy one with a HD4000.

I bet with Haswell, and especially by Broadwell, we'll be able to use our Airs as a decent graphical editing portable workstation.

that's like in march that's like 6 months from now. I want it now!

 

[noah111]

There are businesses and k-12's that are already heavily invested in iPads, and in large expensive charging lockups with racks of 30 pin chargers. You can't even order these types of industrial solutions with lightning adapters yet. The transition to lightning is expensive for normal people. For a large company with a heavy investment, it's a deal breaker. These companies are going to keep buying iPad 2’s.

True, but they already own iPad 2's, we're talking about continuing to sell it to consumers and placing it on the 'here are our iPad models' graph.

But again, they probably will phase it out within the next year or so.

 

[Tobor]

True, but they already own iPad 2's, we're talking about continuing to sell it to consumers and placing it on the 'here are our iPad models' graph.

But again, they probably will phase it out within the next year or so.

Yeah, I don't know about that. I guess they view it as covering every price point, and the 3rd gen at $399 wasn't profitable. The iPad 2 is like the 3GS of iPads.

 

[CorrisD]

I would assume it has been brought up already, but has anything come out about iTunes 11?
Almost everywhere assumed they would be showing it off yesterday but nothing seems to have come up, is it best to assume it will arrive with the new iPad at this point?

 

[Fleet_of_Foot]

From the list of new fixes and features for Final Cut X, I find this especially crazy:

• Option to add chapter markers in the timeline for export to video files, DVD, and Blu-ray disc

Why would they add that now, when they've just taken out the optical drive from everything?

 

[Marco1]

From the list of new fixes and features for Final Cut X, I find this especially crazy:

• Option to add chapter markers in the timeline for export to video files, DVD, and Blu-ray disc

Why would they add that now, when they've just taken out the optical drive from everything?

Is it not possible to use an external drive?

 

[Tobor]

From the list of new fixes and features for Final Cut X, I find this especially crazy:

• Option to add chapter markers in the timeline for export to video files, DVD, and Blu-ray disc

Why would they add that now, when they've just taken out the optical drive from everything?

They haven't removed support for optical drives. You can plug in an external.

 

[dorkimoe]

So looking at the apple website....is that ipad they have up the 4 or the 3? It's so hard to tell now.

 

[badcrumble]

I would assume it has been brought up already, but has anything come out about iTunes 11?
Almost everywhere assumed they would be showing it off yesterday but nothing seems to have come up, is it best to assume it will arrive with the new iPad at this point?

Nothing new, no. I suspect it might get delayed, anyway, since apparently Apple wants to get a music streaming service like Pandora or Spotify off the ground sometime this fall.

 

[Tobor]

So looking at the apple website....is that ipad they have up the 4 or the 3? It's so hard to tell now.

It's the new one. A6X and lightning connector.

 

[TUSR]

Can we call the diamond cut chamfer just a chamfer?

Carbide milled 6000 series aluminum unibody.

 

[Anticitizen One]

There won't be a retina Macbook Air. The "classic" Pro will probably be discontinued at both 13" and 15" and the price of the retina models possibly reduced somewhat. With the optical drive out for all future Mac models there aren't really sufficient differentiators between the Air and Pro as it is - if the Air were to get retina Apple would have nothing left but to sell on the difference between a standard voltage and a ULV CPU. I'm sure that'll go well with consumers.

There will still be a huge difference between the macbook pro and the macbook air. The Air is still significantly thinner than the Pro, has lower specs making it more affordable and comes in an 11' variant among other things. Thats like saying if the ipad mini gets a retina display there would be nothing left to differentiate it with an ipad 4.

 

[noah111]

I would assume it has been brought up already, but has anything come out about iTunes 11?
Almost everywhere assumed they would be showing it off yesterday but nothing seems to have come up, is it best to assume it will arrive with the new iPad at this point?

I'm stumped. I was hoping that the iPad mini would come with iOS 6.1, and the new iTunes be required for it.

They have between now and friday, I guess.

 

[dorkimoe]

It's the new one. A6X and lightning connector.

Ok thanks. Was on my ipad and it wouldn't load a page.

 

[Yoshiya]

Size & weight are still pretty significant differentiators. Plus the idea is the Airs are cheaper.
Either way Apple doesn't stop improving something just because they run into branding problems. If the Airs and Pros were too similar they would just rebrand them/discontinue some models so that they have one notebook line.

That pitch was difficult enough as it was though; now we have thinner and lighter Macbook Pros. I think, in a hypothetical future where price wasn't the easy differentiator, that the retina MBP design would be favoured over a more compromise-laden MBA. Apple's designed an Ultrabook that can run full voltage CPUs, which is no minor feat. The compromises inherent in a MBA design would only be compounded by the high DPI display too. It'll be taxing enough on the Intel graphics as it is, let alone on a machine that doesn't have the thermal envelope to hit both the CPU and GPU at once. My guess is that we'll have a non-retina MBA low end and a high-end retina Pro as the 13" lineup for a good few years before Apple reduces it back to a single Pro-like design.

Edit: Actually, no. 2015 we see A9X based Airs in both 11" and 13", coming in $300 below their current prices, with retina Pros on Intel at classic Pro prices. The "Pro" signifier would be meaningful again (a la Surface Pro), and the iOS developers and app ecosystem in place would let Apple begin a profitable full assault on PC manufactures. The competition would be crushed by fat Intel margins and the necessity of x86 on Windows.