Apple Special Event - 10.16.14 - "It's been way too long"

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Fucking L O L

New Mac Mini - dropped price to $499, but it is the 1.4ghz laptop processor.

Old i7 Mac Mini - $749. New i7 Mac Mini $999

And it looks like RAM is no longer user upgradeable.
 
Wow, the 27" Retina iMac feels like its...actually priced aggressively. Gorgeous 5K display from Apple for under $3K? Nice.

Need the new TBD though. Already have a rMBP, no need for an iMac.

Also I'll wait a few days before updating to Yosemite. I'm wary of Apple fucking up software updates nowadays. I cant afford Yosemite screwing up my work computer, just in case.

Fixed that for ya.
 
Not sure if I want to buy an Air 2 or a Mini 2. Was leaning towards the Air before today but really want something with more than 16GB worth of storage and the 32 GB mini being $349 compared to 64 on the Air 2 at $599 is quite the (unfortunate) gap in price.
 
Hmmm I thought the Air had a different A7 in it. Anyways, I haven't followed iPad launches much in the last couple years so I apologize for the misinformation.

Anand wrote a lot about it in the iPad Air review. The A?X chips had beefier GPUs with a bigger memory bus for the higher resolution chip. To compromise the A7 had a big buffer, but in specific workloads the A6X was faster.
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A smaller memory bus saves power, but I guess they chose to go the old route because the A8 is so power efficient to begin with and this way they could brag about 2.5x GPU perf.
 
Fucking L O L

New Mac Mini - dropped price to $499, but it is the 1.4ghz laptop processor.

Old i7 Mac Mini - $749. New i7 Mac Mini $999

And it looks like RAM is no longer user upgradeable.
CITATION NEEDED! Where do you see this? It looks like the same design. Did they hide the RAM inside now and remove the removable bottom?
 
4K iMac for $2500 - $2300 EDU - is agressive as hell. And actually, I think it'll do just fine with its base specs. Especially since you can flip to 256GB SSD for free.

Only thing really crappy is the default GPU - while decent - is only 2GB of VRAM. The 4GB is pretty nice, but a sizeable investment; not really worth it since neither is going to play games especially well.

But I have a 15" rMBP and a gaming PC, no need for this. But does this mean we could see a 5K display from Apple for ~$1000? Even $1500 might be worth it...
 
So what kind of improvements are there from Air 1 -> Air 2 in terms of better graphics/framerate for games?

Have an iPad 2 and was gonna upgrade to an Air 2, but if it's not much better maybe it'd be smarter to pick up a refurb Air 1.
 
Anand wrote a lot about it in the iPad Air review. The A?X chips had beefier GPUs with a bigger memory bus for the higher resolution chip. To compromise the A7 had a big buffer, but in specific workloads the A6X was faster.
59439.png


A smaller memory bus saves power, but I guess they chose to go the old route because the A8 is so power efficient to begin with and this way they could brag about 2.5x GPU perf.

I'm pretty much hardware illiterate. Based on what we know about the A8 and A8X so far, how would it compare on this chart?
 
Got that iMac Retina beauty with EDU discount. Can't wait.

Edit:
CITATION NEEDED! Where do you see this? It looks like the same design. Did they hide the RAM inside now and remove the removable bottom?

Normally Apple says "Easy accessible RAM Slots" on the specspage. Look at the 27" iMac, you can see it there.
At the specs page of the mini, you can't find that sentence.
 
So what kind of improvements are there from Air 1 -> Air 2 in terms of better graphics/framerate for games?

Have an iPad 2 and was gonna upgrade to an Air 2, but if it's not much better maybe it'd be smarter to pick up a refurb Air 1.

2GB RAM is the major improvement but it's not confirmed yet
 
CITATION NEEDED! Where do you see this? It looks like the same design. Did they hide the RAM inside now and remove the removable bottom?

http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/mac-mini

Tech Specs :

4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
Configurable to 8GB or 16GB, only at the Apple Online Store.

Low Profile Ram. Same as in the MacBooks.



ALSO - GREAT DEAL ALERT - iPad MINI 2 REtina REFURBISHED for $249. Go get them while they're hot people!

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad_mini_retina/wi_fi
 
So what kind of improvements are there from Air 1 -> Air 2 in terms of better graphics/framerate for games?

Have an iPad 2 and was gonna upgrade to an Air 2, but if it's not much better maybe it'd be smarter to pick up a refurb Air 1.

I'm in the exact same boat. I game a good amount on my iPad 2 so that's a huge part of my decision about an upgrade.
 
So the GPU is basically up to 288 GFLOPS if the advertised performance figure is applied directly. (I arrived at 259.2 in an earlier calculation, assuming it's the six-core version of the iPhone 6 GPU...) Tegra K1 is 364.8 GFLOPS by comparison - the question is how much the GFLOPS matter anyway?
 
FYI for those looking for Mini 2s:

The refurbs on Apple's site are just $249.
Always great quality.

EDIT: just beaten haha

I'm curious about the refurbs iPad Mini 2. Is the quality really that good? I'm not expecting new, but does Apple have a high standard when it comes to refurb? Buying used hardware is something I haven't done before.

I'm eyeballing the 32GB at the moment. I doubt I'll need that much space on my iPad. I'll probably get a few select titles on it *cough* FFT *cough*
 
I'd have been fucking embarrassed to be anywhere near that front stage when the iPad Mini 3 slides came up. Absolutely disgusting how much of a non-upgrade it is. It deserves to tank while the Mini 2 finds a sudden resurgence in popularity.
 
I'm curious about the refurbs iPad Mini 2. Is the quality really that good? I'm not expecting new, but does Apple have a high standard when it comes to refurb? Buying used hardware is something I haven't done before.

It's pretty much exactly the same as new, and you can even get AppleCare for it to extend the warranty to two years.
 
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/mac-mini

Tech Specs :

4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
Configurable to 8GB or 16GB, only at the Apple Online Store.

Low Profile Ram. Same as in the MacBooks.



ALSO - GREAT DEAL ALERT - iPad MINI 2 REtina REFURBISHED for $249. Go get them while they're hot people!

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad_mini_retina/wi_fi

Doesn't this mean that you can only buy 8 resp. 16 gigs via online store and not in the retail store?

I don't think this rules out user upgradeability.
 
mini 3 seems like a shockingly poor update.

there’s really just one reason - touch ID - to spend 100 more on the mini 3 instead of mini 2. no speed update, no laminated display… it’s not even thinner.

jeesh. makes the mini 2 a no brainer unless you really enter a lot of passwords frequently and need touch ID.

Yeah, you can get the 32GB model for $50 less than the new 16GB one. If Mini 3 has more RAM though...
Then you should just splash that $100 extra and get the Air 2
 
Doesn't this mean that you can only buy 8 resp. 16 gigs via online store and not in the retail store?

I don't think this rules out user upgradeability.

The LP DDR3 Ram is the same as used in the Retina Pro/MacBook Airs. It's not a common ram type. It's the same kind as they solder in the other computers.
 
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/mac-mini

Tech Specs :

4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
Configurable to 8GB or 16GB, only at the Apple Online Store.

Low Profile Ram. Same as in the MacBooks.
Hmm... I am going to have to make some decisions. I'd like 16GB but $200 for it is stupid. And the only Mac out of all I'm considering that has user upgradeable RAM now is the 27" iMac, and I'm not really even considering that one as much as I was the 21". I only need it for a server. But I'd still like it to be super powerful.

If I got the iMac, I could retire my poor ACD with its huge pixels and low resolution, even if I'm not going for the Retina iMac.

If I got a Mac mini, I'd have to make sure to get the second model for $700 just to not be left with super old technology and specs. Well, more than they already are. But that $200 RAM making it $900 and not having a way to upgrade it yourself is silly.

Then there's the HDD in both. 5400RPM. That's what's in my 2010 mini and that thing is slooooow. But I can't tell if it's slow because of the HDD or the processor. Either way, why can't they just have 7200RPM HDDs at the least in both models?

Tough decision. Need to make it by Saturday. (I can pick up an iMac that day or order a Mac mini by then.) I'd like to keep it to stock models just to save time on shipping or pickup. (Change the RAM in the iMac and suddenly you have a longer waiting time. Remove it and boom, you can pick it up in store. Bah. I like convenience and instant gratification.)
 
Guys, do you know what's truly shocking?

No iPod refresh in over 2 years as of today. I would have expected a new iPod Touch, even a slight spec-bump (the A5 is showing its age).
 
I'm curious about the refurbs iPad Mini 2. Is the quality really that good? I'm not expecting new, but does Apple have a high standard when it comes to refurb? Buying used hardware is something I haven't done before.

I'm eyeballing the 32GB at the moment. I doubt I'll need that much space on my iPad. I'll probably get a few select titles on it *cough* FFT *cough*

I've bought 3 refurb items from Apple over the years and they are practically brand new. I couldn't find a scratch or scuff on any of them.
Many others have praised the quality of them as well.

I would definitely consider a 32GB if you plan to play games.
 
Is this going to be a tablet/laptop combo like the Surface Pro always advertises to be? Still if this thing is really 12-13 inches, I can't imagine using it in place of my laptop.

So if you use mostly for gaming, seems like iPad Pro might be worth waiting for, depending on your game needs. I have a 3 and it still works pretty well so might wind up waiting though who knows how long it will take given the supply issues.

Kind of conflicted though because feel like I've been waiting to refresh forever.
 
Rumors that the mini was not going to be upgraded until later were true after all. Sucks for people who were looking to get a new mini, though I guess 2 owners are happy they don't have any compelling reasons.
 
Really disappointed in the mini 3. Guess the mini 2 cannibalized ipad air sales last year. Is there any difference between the 2 and 3 besides the finger scanner?
 
I'm fricken sad that Apple doesn't care about iPods anymore. I like having a dumb phone and iPod but I guess I'll have to get a smartphone soon.
 
I've bought 3 refurb items from Apple over the years and they are practically brand new. I couldn't find a scratch or scuff on any of them.
Many others have praised the quality of them as well.

I would definitely consider a 32GB if you plan to play games.

Went ahead and bought a refurb 32GB Space Gray Mini 2. Time to experience the glory of an iPad. And paying only $320 is so much less than I expected! :-D

What else should I pick up for my Mini?

I also find it funny that I am seeing the price of the Silver Mini 2 16 GB cost more than the 32 GB. Get on the ball, Apple!

Thanks for the help, my fellow Gaffers!
 
I'm curious about the refurbs iPad Mini 2. Is the quality really that good? I'm not expecting new, but does Apple have a high standard when it comes to refurb? Buying used hardware is something I haven't done before.

I'm eyeballing the 32GB at the moment. I doubt I'll need that much space on my iPad. I'll probably get a few select titles on it *cough* FFT *cough*


Refurbs are fine - as new.

Would try to get 32GB if you can afford it. 16 GB fills up quickly, even if you only have one or two big apps
 
Just purchased the new iMac with Retina, (DAMIT APPLE! making me broke).

But now I'm looking for some thoughts on this,

I have a top of the line iMac right now currently, trying to figure out what to sell it for, anyone have any suggestions?

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)
Applecare til Dec 14, 2015,
3.5 GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
3gb Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4096 MB
 
Ya the Mac Mini update is really disappointing me. We need a Mac Pro Mini Apple, complete with user replaceable laptop memory and a laptop dGPU :(
 
Rumors that the mini was not going to be upgraded until later were true after all. Sucks for people who were looking to get a new mini, though I guess 2 owners are happy they don't have any compelling reasons.

They likely will get an additional year of iOS support in the future, too.
 
Based on the iPad mini 3 specs, I Won't be surprised to see it get phased out over the next few years. Pretty obvious that the iPhone 6 plus is already eating into its relevance for Apple.
 
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