The Mac from Now until June 2007

[DHagan4755]

Since we saw absolutely no Mac announcements at Macworld and Steve said, "over the course of the next several months we're going to roll out some awesome stuff for the Mac," I thought I would start the speculation on a time line on what we'll see and when. This would be through about July, when we really can't tell what's coming 2H07.

Early January:
Macworld - announcements but no new shipping products.

End of January:
New Mac Pros with latest quad-core technology
New Cinema Displays with lower pricing

Early February:
New Mac Pros, AppleTV, Airport Extreme n base station, cinema displays start shipping

Mid February:
Special Event
Recap of recent new products, AppleTV, 802.11n
New Mac mini with Core2 Duo
New iLife suite previewed - shipping by end of March
New iWork suite previewed - with new spreadsheet applications, ready to go
New "Top Secret" Leopard features revealed, shipping still "Spring"

End of March:
Shipping new version of iLife suite

Special Event
Release date of Leopard announced - April 28
New iMacs announced
- New high resolution display
- LED Backlight?
- Shipping with Leopard
New MacBook Pro Announced
— Shipping with 10.5 Leopard at end of April
— Santa Rosa chip set w/faster FSB,etc.
— New high resolution display (150-160 ppi), with resolution independence, and possibly backlit with LED technology
— Adopts some key features from MacBook: removeable hard drive, magnetic latch
— new enclosure?

End of April:
Leopard and new versions of iMac, MacBook Pro start shipping

End of May:
Special Event
New MacBooks announced with Santa Rosa technology
15-inch widescreen version of MacBook added, resolution independence
Availability of iPhone
New iPods based on iPhone multi-touch technology and software

June:
iPhones ship
New version Airport Express to include 802.11n technology

WWDC:
Multi-touch in a Mac Tablet? (Ouch, can't really tell)

[DoctorRobert]

Good thread. The predictions seem right; I'll add:

1. In all of it, we'll get small surprises in design, general innovation in details, etc. (more than usual, as Apple kicks into high gear for 2007)

2. The iMac revision will be significant, and will get either the Santa Rosa chipset with new Meroms or the upcoming Conroes, and GeForce 8 Series (or Radeon R600) next-gen graphics cards (which are coming along very, very nicely)

[debenm]

I hope you are right... but 3 special events between now and June... I don't know.

I've got money in the bank now for the 24" iMac and I can hardly wait to buy it. My desk in my office is looking pretty bare ~ but I'm going to wait for the next iMac update. So if they kicked it out to us like March/April I'd be stoked. I want a 24" iMac with a quad core!

realistically I would say the iMac update will be a 2.66ghz c2d

[Messiah]

Sounds about right, but I wouldn't rule out something completely Leftfield.

If we see quad-core processors, I think we'll only see them in the top-end machine. I don't think we'll see Apple replace the two dual-core processors in the current Mac Pros with a single quad-core processor (too much of a performance hit).

[neyoung]

I think that iSight cameras will be built into the Cinema Displays since the iSight is no longer available at the Apple store.

[Frank777]

The best thing about this year's upgrades is that the Intel transition is complete and there is no longer a need to reassure consumers that the new Intel machines are still Macs.

Thus, 2007 will be the year we get some great outer case revisions, starting with the new Mac Pro.

[Trendannoyer]

Thus, 2007 will be the year we get some great outer case revisions, starting with the new Mac Pro.

roll on THAT!

[gugy]

The best thing about this year's upgrades is that the Intel transition is complete and there is no longer a need to reassure consumers that the new Intel machines are still Macs.

Thus, 2007 will be the year we get some great outer case revisions, starting with the new Mac Pro.

I agree.
I would say new redesign Cinema Displays and MacPro cases at WWDC.
In February we probably will see octo-core MacPro with the current design and drop on prices for the Cinema displays. that way Apple get rid off their inventory as much they can before August.

[REM#1]

Since we saw absolutely no Mac announcements at Macworld and Steve said, "over the course of the next several months we're going to roll out some awesome stuff for the Mac," I thought I would start the speculation on a time line on what we'll see and when. This would be through about July, when we really can't tell what's coming 2H07.

Early January:
Macworld - announcements but no new shipping products.

End of January:
New Mac Pros with latest quad-core technology

I don't expect to see new Mac pros till WWDC in April along with Leopard or possibly at NAB

New Cinema Displays with lower pricing

Early February:
New Mac Pros, AppleTV, Airport Extreme n base station, cinema displays start shipping

Mid February:
Special Event
Recap of recent new products, AppleTV, 802.11n
New Mac mini with Core2 Duo
New iLife suite previewed - shipping by end of March
Expect with Leopard
New iWork suite previewed - with new spreadsheet applications, ready to go
expect with Leopard
New "Top Secret" Leopard features revealed, shipping still "Spring"

If I am correct their is a Mac show in Europe in either Feb or March and this would be good time to do what you suggest will happen in that time frame.
I would also like to see a new iSight

End of March:
Shipping new version of iLife suite

Not till After Leopard shipps
Special Event
Release date of Leopard announced - April 28
New iMacs announced
- New high resolution display
- LED Backlight?
- Shipping with Leopard
New MacBook Pro Announced
— Shipping with 10.5 Leopard at end of April
— Santa Rosa chip set w/faster FSB,etc.
— New high resolution display (150-160 ppi), with resolution independence, and possibly backlit with LED technology
— Adopts some key features from MacBook: removeable hard drive, magnetic latch
— new enclosure?

Sounds reasonable, Could be at NAB or at the education show that takes place in may so Apple can show what they could order for the fall semester.

End of April:
Leopard and new versions of iMac, MacBook Pro start shipping

End of May:
Special Event
New MacBooks announced with Santa Rosa technology
15-inch widescreen version of MacBook added, resolution independence
Availability of iPhone
New iPods based on iPhone multi-touch technology and software[/QUOTE}

Possible but more likely not till October after the iPhone has gained some traction in the market.
Also one of the major problems with adding the features to the iPod is Battery Life. This problem still has not been solved

[QUOTE]June:
iPhones ship
New version Airport Express to include 802.11n technology

WWDC is usually in April

WWDC:
Multi-touch in a Mac Tablet? (Ouch, can't really tell)

Highly unlikely uless the thrid party tablet sells like hot cakes

[gugy]

WWDC is usually in April


WWDC is either July or August.
April ussualy is NAB

[shanmugam]

double post

we are not going anything new until atleast next month, iPhone atleast need one month of RDF then life goes on

i guess mac mini and mac pro specs (cpu upgrades) bumped tomorrow, no major change until feb.

[REM#1]

WWDC is either July or August.
April ussualy is NAB

The last WWDC was in August All of the previous ones were in april or may.
been Apple developer since 1987.

[DoctorRobert]

The last WWDC was in August All of the previous ones were in april or may.
been Apple developer since 1987.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldwide_Developers_Conference , 2003 and 2004 saw late-June WWDCs, and 2005 an early-June one.

[TenoBell]

I'm not sweating it. I'll wait for the new Final Cut Studio and Leopard to buy a new Mac.

Also waiting for the Intel updates, Santa Rosa, Robson.

I'm also leaning towards replacing my PowerMac with a Mac Pro. PCIe 2.0 is finished and Intel will incorporate it with the Bearlake chipset. So I would also be waiting for that.

[Lemon Bon Bon.]

I'll be waiting on Tigerton...depending on how soon after Leopard it ships.

I'm hoping for bus, on chip or Mhz improvements.

I think it's wise to think about any Mac purchases post Leopard at this stage.

I think your timeline of events sounds reasonable.

The Mac Pro and Leopard are the ones to watch for me.

But a quad core iMac with a Geforce 8000 variant would be very interesting...

Lemon Bon Bon

[TenoBell]

I'll be waiting on Tigerton...depending on how soon after Leopard it ships.

With laptops if you wait all the way until spring for Leopard not long afterward Intel will introduce Penryn the 45 nanometer successor Merom.

[gugy]

The last WWDC was in August All of the previous ones were in april or may.
been Apple developer since 1987.

I have never heard WWDC in April or May. The earlier I ever heard was in June.
Maybe 20 years ago it was earlier.
Sorry dude, good try.:no:

anyway the point is NAB is in April 2007 and WWDC 2007 will be either June, July or August. pick one. Not April or May 2007.

[Programmer]

I have never heard WWDC in April or May. The earlier I ever heard was in June.
Maybe 20 years ago it was earlier.
Sorry dude, good try.:no:

Before 2002 virtually all of the Apple WWDCs were in May (don't recall one in April, and occasionally I think they would overlap into June). Apple had a standing booking at the Moscone Center all the way back into the late 80s.

[sandau]

Between now and June, no form factor upgrades, just minor enhancements, clock speed, chip, hard drives. maybe a shiny hoo-hoo added. Nothing else. All the goodies come with Leopard in late July, shipping in August. :smokey:

[b3ns0n]

According to this (http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:TqUUnuismKoJ:www.auc.edu.au/tiki-calendar.php%3Feditmode%3Ddetails%26calitemId%3D35 +wwdc+2007&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=4&client=firefox-a), WWDC will begin June 10th/11th this year. Sounds reasonable.

[gugy]

Before 2002 virtually all of the Apple WWDCs were in May (don't recall one in April, and occasionally I think they would overlap into June). Apple had a standing booking at the Moscone Center all the way back into the late 80s.

Sure, but this is the past.
I would say since 2000 every WWDC is been hapenning in the summer months.(June to August)
With Apple strong presence on video now, NAB is a big place for them to announce products to video professionals. FCP is a good example.
So have WWDC and NAB happening at the same month(April) doesn't make much sense anymore.
just look at the calendar of big events for Apple:
MWSF-January
NAB-April
WWDC-June-July-August
ParisExpo-September-October
and of course special events at any time.

So they spread apart these events for a reason.

[atomicham]

Before 2002 virtually all of the Apple WWDCs were in May (don't recall one in April, and occasionally I think they would overlap into June). Apple had a standing booking at the Moscone Center all the way back into the late 80s.

Umm, they didn't use Moscone for WWDC until 2003. It used to be in San Jose.

[shanmugam]

http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/

11th to 15th June, four months ...

[opnsource]

I doubt Apple will add a 15" non-Pro MacBook. Right now there is a US $600 difference between the black MacBook and the base model of MacBook Pro. If they were to add a 15" model it would be priced higher than the 13.3" models, and the gap between consumer models and the pro models would decrease by about half. I think they will keep a bit more distinction between the two lines.

Best bet is an upgraded version of the Black Macbook...

[fuzz_ball]

I just want new Mac Pros! Where are they???

[DHagan4755]

I just want new Mac Pros! Where are they???
Very good question!

[Jaddie]

Dear Friends

Do you think Apple will offer 1TB hard disk drives in the next iteration of its Mac Pro? In a press release from early January storage manufacturer Hitachi stated that it would ship 1TB Deskstar-branded hard drives in the first calendar quarter of this year.

I know Apple charges too much for its components, but if a 1TB hard drive were available for about the same upgrade charge that a 750GB drive currently exacts, then I might be tempted to spend more with the Apple Store.

Do you think Mac Pro DRAM prices will drop between now and April?

Sincerely,
Jaddie

[DHagan4755]

Do you think Apple will offer 1TB hard disk drives in the next iteration of its Mac Pro? Sounds good to me! 4 TB in a MacPro = swwweeeet!

[gsxrboy]

I will get a mac mini as soon as they hit c2d with 802.11n for use as media machine, I'll get a new airport extreme as well.

Hope they hurry some !

[sandau]

I will get a mac mini as soon as they hit c2d with 802.11n for use as media machine, I'll get a new airport extreme as well.

Hope they hurry some !

don't worry about a thing, they'll cripple or discontinue it (mini) before they'll let it compete with the Apple TV...

[Cubit]

How do you figure that sandau? Apple TV isn't a computer.

I am very disappointed that we've not seen anything on either the display front or the new processor front with the MacPro yet, but I guess everything is on hold for Leopard. When it ships the snake will move the stuff backed up on through.

[CheddarTrek]

Well folks, it's been almost a month since the first post of this thread. We all have what we *want* to see in mind (I'd like a 12" MBP, others want a 15" MB, others want an upgraded Mac Mini, still more want to see an even more advanced Mac Pro, etc.), though some are far more likely than others to happen.

So, would anyone (DHagan4775?) care to update the predictions now that we've seen what has and hasn't appeared so far?

Steve Jobs *did* say that there would be some good things coming for Macs this year didn't he? Or did I imagine hearing that?

Cheers,
CT

[DHagan4755]

Here's a revised timeline as I see it. I thought I was being conservative in the first iteration! Here goes:

Early January:
• Macworld - announcements but no new shipping products.

End of January:
• Airport Extreme n base station shipping

Late February:
• Mac mini quiet announcement - Core 2 Duo processors + 802.11n capabilities
• Cinema Displays price drop

Mid March (after quarterly earnings call):
Special Event
• New "Top Secret" Leopard features revealed, shipping April 28
• New Mac Pros announced - Quad core technology
• Adobe shows off Intel-native CS3 on Mac Pro 8-core system

Early April:
• iLife & iWork announced quietly on website

Early-to-mid May:
Special Event
• New iMacs announced
- New high resolution display
- Shipping with Leopard

Early June:
• iPhones start shipping
• New iPods based on iPhone multi-touch technology and software

June @ WWDC:
• New Cinema Displays; brighter with higher PPI and support for Leopard's RI.
• New MacBook Pro Announced
— Shipping with 10.5 Leopard
— Santa Rosa chip set with 800Mhz FSB, etc.
— New high resolution display (~160 ppi), with resolution independence, and 15-inch model backlit with LED technology
— Adopts some key features from MacBook: removeable hard drive, magnetic latch
— new enclosure?
• Adobe Photoshop bake off

[CheddarTrek]

Here's a revised timeline as I see it. I thought I was being conservative in the first iteration! Here goes: ...

Thanks for your updated predictions! I haven't been following Macs or Apple for all that long, so it's nice to see what someone else thinks will happen. Granted, you're probably at least a little off, if not a lot, but they're probably the best guesses I've seen.

I hope you're right!

Cheers,
CT

[SilentSpectre]

The Mac Mini has kind of strayed from the $500 mac - I'd love to see it return to that low price point. I'm wondering how much of a revision it will honestly get, or if it's just going to continue to stagger a little higher and a little higher in price until it's lost it's appeal to switchers :(

But if it were to stay at the same price point, I'd LOVE to see the option (pay for of course) to go with intel's dekstop X3000 vs the lappy version that will probably be stock. The difference is said to be about 50% faster if you have the cpu to back it up, and with multi-threading OpenGL I think the core 2 duo could hack it for many applications.

[opnsource]

Here's a revised timeline as I see it. I thought I was being conservative in the first iteration! Here goes:

Early January:
• Macworld - announcements but no new shipping products.

End of January:
• Airport Extreme n base station shipping

Late February:
• Mac mini quiet announcement - Core 2 Duo processors + 802.11n capabilities
• Cinema Displays price drop

Mid March (after quarterly earnings call):
Special Event
• New "Top Secret" Leopard features revealed, shipping April 28
• New Mac Pros announced - Quad core technology
• Adobe shows off Intel-native CS3 on Mac Pro 8-core system

Early April:
• iLife & iWork announced quietly on website

Early-to-mid May:
Special Event
• New iMacs announced
- New high resolution display
- Shipping with Leopard

Early June:
• iPhones start shipping
• New iPods based on iPhone multi-touch technology and software

June @ WWDC:
• New Cinema Displays; brighter with higher PPI and support for Leopard's RI.
• New MacBook Pro Announced
— Shipping with 10.5 Leopard
— Santa Rosa chip set with 800Mhz FSB, etc.
— New high resolution display (~160 ppi), with resolution independence, and 15-inch model backlit with LED technology
— Adopts some key features from MacBook: removeable hard drive, magnetic latch
— new enclosure?
• Adobe Photoshop bake off

I would say that most of these predictions could be true. There is only one that I dissagree with, and that's the "quiet" iLife and iWork announcement. If Apple makes the same sort of changes between the '06 and '07 versions that they made from the first iLife, they will want to make a big deal about it. Maybe a special event that would include this announcement and others, since iLife isn't a big enough deal to have it's own event...

[Frank777]

I honestly have no idea what Apple could be waiting on to unveil Leopard.

Vista's already on the shelves. What's the problem if Leopard's not ready? We've waited six months for an OS before. A WWDC release would be fine if it needs that much time.

But few people want to pull the trigger on buying iMacs or Mac Pros not knowing what Leopard will bring to the table or when. Unless Apple has found a way for the Leopard/iLife/iWork combo to utilize the forthcoming 8-cores, it seems to make no sense to force some of your best customers to play a waiting game.

Most Pro Design customers are waiting on CS3 and Leopard to upgrade to Intel machines. If Apple and Adobe will need till June to finish the software side properly, it makes sense to offer Mac Pros now with a cheaper version of the CS 2.3 suite and a free Leopard upgrade.

Unless the 8-core machines will truly make a huge difference. Then it makes sense to hold everything back.