MacBook & iPad Pro updates might not make it to WWDC
While Apple's WWDC 2018 keynote on June 4 should contain some important announcements, new MacBooks and iPads won't be among them, a report claimed on Thursday.
The company is crafting new models of the MacBook Pro and 12-inch MacBook, as well as a replacement for the MacBook Air, Bloomberg sources said, backing up some earlier rumors. But none of these are expected to ship until later in 2018, even though Apple last refreshed its MacBooks in the same month last year.
The sources added that updated iPad Pros with Face ID are also coming, but they'll likewise miss WWDC despite a prior refresh happening in June 2017.
Software announcements may include "iOS 12" upgrades like an unspecified "Digital Health" initiative, more control over notifications, and the introduction of "ARKit 2.0." The last item will allegedly enable multiplayer gaming in compatible apps.
Apple's rumored efforts at putting iOS apps on Macs may make an appearance, but that's uncertain.
When they do upgrade, at least some MacBooks are expected to shift to Intel's faster Coffee Lake processors, and could even adopt TrueDepth cameras to support Face ID. Upgrades to the Air are less certain, but the laptop is now badly outdated, lacking even a Retina display.
Beyond WWDC, Bloomberg's sources indicated that two new Apple Watches are coming that will retain the same overall size, but switch to slightly bigger edge-to-edge OLED screens. These will presumably arrive in the fall.
The company is crafting new models of the MacBook Pro and 12-inch MacBook, as well as a replacement for the MacBook Air, Bloomberg sources said, backing up some earlier rumors. But none of these are expected to ship until later in 2018, even though Apple last refreshed its MacBooks in the same month last year.
The sources added that updated iPad Pros with Face ID are also coming, but they'll likewise miss WWDC despite a prior refresh happening in June 2017.
Software announcements may include "iOS 12" upgrades like an unspecified "Digital Health" initiative, more control over notifications, and the introduction of "ARKit 2.0." The last item will allegedly enable multiplayer gaming in compatible apps.
Apple's rumored efforts at putting iOS apps on Macs may make an appearance, but that's uncertain.
When they do upgrade, at least some MacBooks are expected to shift to Intel's faster Coffee Lake processors, and could even adopt TrueDepth cameras to support Face ID. Upgrades to the Air are less certain, but the laptop is now badly outdated, lacking even a Retina display.
Beyond WWDC, Bloomberg's sources indicated that two new Apple Watches are coming that will retain the same overall size, but switch to slightly bigger edge-to-edge OLED screens. These will presumably arrive in the fall.
Comments
It seems like such a no-brainer thing to add and I don't know what has taken so long.
This is available on the education side already and works quite well...we'll see if it happens on the consumer side.
So the Mac mini as, among other possibilities, a media server integrated with HomePod and everything it stands for: HomeKit and audioOS/tvOS.
1. The original iPhone didn't have an App Store or even copy/paste.
2. HomePod launched without AirPort 2 -- a key feature of the device.
3. Version 1.0 of Apple Maps resulted in a public apology for its poor quality.
4. Siri was initially released as a "beta" and is arguably still pretty far from "fully baked".
Nevertheless, I do think it's fair to say that Apple's products tend to be more baked than many of their competitors.
I think it would be great if they released a new Mac mini.
I also think it would be great if they released some kind of "HomeBase" to support HomeKit devices, act as a replacement for TimeCapsule, and perhaps other home-server functions.
But I would hope these would be two separate devices, because I'd like the Mac mini to be a "real computer", not an appliance.