Haswell-powered iMacs could hit in late Aug., followed by new MacBook Pros in mid-Sept.
Intel's latest-generation Haswell chips are expected to come to Apple's iMac desktop as soon as next month, though Retina display MacBook Pros will have to wait a little longer for an update.
Haswell-powered iMacs will be available for launch by late August, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI securities revealed this week. Following close behind will be a refresh to the company's Retina MacBook Pro lineup, which Kuo said will be in a position to launch in mid-September.
He doesn't expect the new products to play a significant role in Apple's third quarter of calendar 2013, as the September quarter will conclude soon after both devices launch.
Apple already updated its MacBook Air lineup with Haswell chips in June, boasting 9 hours of battery life with the 11-inch model and 12 hours with the 13-inch size. The all-day battery life was made possible by the low power consumption of Intel's latest-generation processors.
While battery life isn't a concern for Apple's all-in-one iMac desktops, Haswell's power savings will likely be a key feature for the new MacBook Pros. Leaked benchmarks for both the 13-inch and 15-inch models have shown modest performance gains, again suggesting that the key feature of this year's update will be battery life.
Kuo was first to reveal in April that Apple would only update its MacBook Air lineup with Haswell chips at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. At the time, many observers expected the MacBook Pro would also see a similar update, but Kuo said continued yield problems with the high-resolution Retina display would delay their launch until later this year.
As for the new iMac, Kuo originally heard the desktops could debut as early as June, but it's possible Apple opted to wait to avoid the kind of severe constraints the redesigned machines faced at the end of 2012 and through early 2013. Months before the redesigned iMac debuted last year, Kuo was the exclusively reported that Apple would face major production issues associated with the display panel being laminated to the cover glass.
Haswell-powered iMacs will be available for launch by late August, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI securities revealed this week. Following close behind will be a refresh to the company's Retina MacBook Pro lineup, which Kuo said will be in a position to launch in mid-September.
He doesn't expect the new products to play a significant role in Apple's third quarter of calendar 2013, as the September quarter will conclude soon after both devices launch.
Apple already updated its MacBook Air lineup with Haswell chips in June, boasting 9 hours of battery life with the 11-inch model and 12 hours with the 13-inch size. The all-day battery life was made possible by the low power consumption of Intel's latest-generation processors.
While battery life isn't a concern for Apple's all-in-one iMac desktops, Haswell's power savings will likely be a key feature for the new MacBook Pros. Leaked benchmarks for both the 13-inch and 15-inch models have shown modest performance gains, again suggesting that the key feature of this year's update will be battery life.
Kuo was first to reveal in April that Apple would only update its MacBook Air lineup with Haswell chips at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. At the time, many observers expected the MacBook Pro would also see a similar update, but Kuo said continued yield problems with the high-resolution Retina display would delay their launch until later this year.
As for the new iMac, Kuo originally heard the desktops could debut as early as June, but it's possible Apple opted to wait to avoid the kind of severe constraints the redesigned machines faced at the end of 2012 and through early 2013. Months before the redesigned iMac debuted last year, Kuo was the exclusively reported that Apple would face major production issues associated with the display panel being laminated to the cover glass.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
Good god, AI, Kuo doesn't deserve to take up you're whole f'ng front page.
Dude....If I want hyper-critical comments, I'd talk to my GF.
I come to AI for a little respite!
Relax, bro!
Haswell will be a pretty minor bump on the iMac due to not needing power savings. I'm curious if Apple will either drop the price $100 or so, maybe drop prices on customizations, make Fusion standard, or something else in addition to the small processor bump. Oh 2014... please be the year of the retina.
Quote:
Originally Posted by christopher126
Dude....If I want hyper-critical comments, I'd talk to my GF.
You don't know hyper-critical until you make your GF your wife.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
Good god, AI, Kuo doesn't deserve to take up you're whole f'ng front page.
I wonder what's is info on the AppleTV / Apple gaming console? there could be even more news coming from him
Quote:
Originally Posted by herbapou
I wonder what's is info on the AppleTV / Apple gaming console? there could be even more news coming from him
Didn't you hear- it got updated at the end of the 1st quarter... his prediction chart says so.
Apple's fusion drive is a very expensive customization option in the country I live. I really hope if nothing else that they finally make it standard with the forthcoming Haswell iMac upgrades - but they probably won't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by karmadave
I would expect that in addition to Haswell, the new MacBook Pro's will have faster WiFi and PCIe SSD. It will be interesting to see if Apple offers a discrete GPU, on the 15" model or goes with Haswell's integrated graphics like the current (and likely future) 13" model...
Of course they will still have a discrete GPU.
Except that there will be a big gain in graphics performance, as well. Not to mention any other features that could easily be added (faster SSD, improved WiFi, greater RAM capacity, etc).
Unless you know exactly what they will be releasing, there's no point in guessing.
Ugh. I was hoping for a mid-summer rMBP release. Promised my wife my old MBP.
She's not going to be happy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by christopher126
Dude....If I want hyper-critical comments, I'd talk to my GF.
I come to AI for a little respite!
Relax, bro!
Apparently you don't come here that often....
(Yeah, I see your post count - just couldn't resist.)
I think doing that would go a long way with helping Thunderbolt adoption and getting peripherals made.
Of course, they won't do that. And they also won't do a mid-cycle refresh next spring to any models with Thunderbolt to upgrade to the new chip.
-kpluck
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Except that there will be a big gain in graphics performance, as well. Not to mention any other features that could easily be added (faster SSD, improved WiFi, greater RAM capacity, etc).
Unless you know exactly what they will be releasing, there's no point in guessing.
I don't know how it can improve graphics performance. iMacs, unlike a MacBook air, have dedicated GPU cards.
I'm hoping the "Retina" iMac is going to have the same setup as the rumored 4K Thunderbolt Display. If that happens, along with a good GPU, PCIe SSD, 2nd-gen Thunderbolt, etc.. sign me up. I'm still loving my late 2009-iMac but since getting my 2011 MBA, I'm ready to upgrade my desktop to SSD speeds along with all the modern goodies.
Keeping my fingers crossed!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andysol
Haswell will be a pretty minor bump on the iMac due to not needing power savings. I'm curious if Apple will either drop the price $100 or so, maybe drop prices on customizations, make Fusion standard, or something else in addition to the small processor bump. Oh 2014... please be the year of the retina.
You don't know hyper-critical until you make your GF your wife.
Now that's funny!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigpics
Apparently you don't come here that often....
(Yeah, I see your post count - just couldn't resist.)
A lot of "complainers!"
Oops! I guess, I'm complaining about the complainers...Oh well!
That's a great question. Most discrete graphic chips Apple has used in the past were limited by a 128-bit memory interface. Unless Apple is willing to use "best in class" mobile graphics solution with a 256-bit memory interface, which would likely crush battery life, it's possible that ALL of the new MacBook Pros will sold without discrete graphics.
That's may sound like a huge problem for Apple, but PC makers will likely reach the same conclusion. Discrete graphics cost too much, and adds too little. Intel could dominate PC graphic shipments for the foreseeable future.