Perhaps today’s most interesting announcements weren’t new iPads or Macs, but Apple’s range of software. It’s been a while since the iWork suite of apps have received updates on the desktop, and iLife apps such as iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand looked outdated as soon as iOS 7 arrived on iOS devices in September. You’re probably wonder what the skinny is around all the new apps and whether you qualify to get those apps for free. This won’t be an exhaustive overview, but ask and you shall receive.
New Mac Pro Begins Shipping in December for $2999
Previewed during this year’s WWDC Keynote, Phil Schiller already gave us a run down of what to expect with the new Mac Pro. The last piece of the puzzle would be availability, and today it was revealed that the new Mac Pro’s will begin shipping in December, starting at $2999. But what does three grand get you? Here’s a refresher:
Big performance gains in a package 1/8th the size of the current Mac Pro
The new Mac Pro is all about being small, quiet, yet entirely capable of delivering performance for today’s audio and visual professionals. The Mac Pro, unlike desktop towers of old, has been designed into a compact round aluminum canister that sucks heat away from components using a single unified thermal core. While uniquely shaped, components in the new Mac Pro are user accessible, with connectivity to server racks and other peripherals being mitigated through an array of Thunderbolt 2 ports.
The heart of the new Mac Pro consists of an Intel Xeon E5 processor that comes in 4, 6, 8, or 12-core configurations. These processors will have up to 30 MB of L3 cache, and up to 40 GB/s of PCI Express gen 3 bandwidth. On the memory front, Apple’s including up to 64 GB of 1866 MHz ECC memory, all coordinated via a four channel controller which allows up to 60 GB/s of bandwidth. Then there’s those dual GPUs: two AMD FirePro graphics cards with up to 4096 stream processors and up to 12 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. The two cards can deliver a total of 528GB/s of bandwidth. Storage, like recent Mac improvements, is also being bumped into the PCIe-based flash storage realm, with capacities up to 1 TB available. Professionals can expect up to 1.2 GB/s writes and 1.0 GB/s reads.
Connecting the Mac Pro to the outside world is its I/O panel, which features six Thunderbolt 2 ports, 4 USB 3 ports, dual Gigabit ethernet, and HDMI out. Thunderbolt 2 ports support 20 GB/s of throughput, with up to six devices able to connect per port. The Mac Pro’s greatest asset is that it can power up to three 4k single and dual-input displays. Just like the MacBook lineup, 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless connectivity is standard.
The base configuration Mac Pro at $2999 comes with:
- 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E5 with 10 MB L3 cache and Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz
- 12 GB of 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC memory
- Dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics processors with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM each
- 256 GB PCIe-based flash storage
For more information on the new Mac Pro, visit Apple.com.
For more coverage, check out our October 22 news hub and follow @macstoriesnet on Twitter.
Apple Updates 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros With Retina Displays With 4th-Generation Intel Processors
Having updated their lineup of MacBook Airs earlier this year, Apple has turned their attention to the MacBook Pro lineup, updating the 13-inch and 15-inch models with more powerful hardware while cutting prices for customers. These updates were announced by Phil Schiller at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, California, during today’s Keynote.
13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display:
The biggest complaints with previous generation MacBook Pros is that their hardware couldn’t keep up with the Retina display. Many reviewers found the initial 13-inch model to be somewhat lackluster in performance, with laggy scrolling noticeable throughout the OS X interface. With today’s update, the 13-inch model is getting some notable improvements.
First up are design changes to the chassis, with the 13-inch model shedding size and weight. It’s both lighter and smaller than before, weighing only 3.46 pounds and measuring at only 0.71 inches thin.
Next are the performance improvements. New buyers can expect greatly improved performance thanks to Intel’s Haswell processor, and integrated Intel Iris graphics. As the new processor is much more power efficient than what’s found in previous models, the 13-inch model now gets up to 9 hours of battery life when web browsing or watching iTunes movies. As Phil Schiller said on stage, you could watch Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and still have battery life to spare. Just like the new MacBook Airs, the 13-inch MacBook Pro has received PCIe-based Flash storage, 802.11ac for wireless, and updated Thunderbolt 2 ports.
In terms of performance gains, the new processors are 90% faster than the previous generation, wireless throughput is 3x better at similar distances when compared to 802.11n, and flash speeds are 60% faster than before.
The base model 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display has been reduced in price by one hundred dollars, starting at only $1299 with the following specifications:
- 2.4 Ghz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
- 4 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L memory
- Intel Iris graphics
- 128 GB PCIe-based flash storage
15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display:
Unlike it’s smaller sibling, the 15-inch model hasn’t received any design changes to its chassis. All of the base improvements found on the 13-inch model are found on the 15-model. 802.11 ac wireless, PCIe-based flash storage, and Thunderbolt 2 come equipped in addition to processor and graphics improvements.
Instead of opting for a dual-core processor, however, Apple is configuring their 15-inch models with a quad-core Crystalwell processor that also comes with integrated Iris Pro graphics from Intel. Optionally, customers can choose to add a discrete graphics solution, Nvidia’s GeForce GT 750m, with 2 GB of video memory that’s great for editing video or playing games. Despite having all this newfound power, the 15-inch model will get up to 8 hours of battery life when browsing the web or watching movies from iTunes.
The base model 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display has been reduced in price by two hundred dollars, starting at only $1999 with the following specifications:
- 2.0 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor
- 8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L memory
- Intel Iris Pro graphics
- 256 GB PCIe-based flash storage
Both models start shipping today, and can be configured from Apple’s Online Store. For more information, see Apple’s updated MacBook Pro pages at Apple.com.
For more coverage, check out our October 22 news hub and follow @macstoriesnet on Twitter.
Apple Announces Mavericks Will Be Free, Available Later Today
Apple has announced that their next major OS update, OS X Mavericks, will be available today, Tuesday, October 22nd.
Mavericks brings better multitasking to the Mac with improvements to the Finder and multiple displays. Finder tags let anyone organize their documents with colorful descriptions that organize documents under a single, searchable keyword. And Finder tabs let you browse your filesystem like the web, reducing the number of open windows needed to move files between folders. Better handling for multiple displays lets Mavericks handle each connected monitor individually, so you can use fullscreen apps and desktop apps at the same time. These improvements also carry over to AirPlay and the Apple TV, which allows the TV to become a second display.
Mavericks also features two brand new desktop versions of Maps and iBooks. Maps contains all the same key features as the iOS version, including Flyover for viewing locales in 3D, local search, and Yelp reviews. With Maps on the Mac, you can even send directions to the iPhone so that they’re ready when you need them. With iBooks, you can read eBooks purchased in the iBooks Store on your desktop, make highlights, and share your notes with other devices through iCloud.
Lastly, Mavericks updates Safari with a host of new ways to find cool stuff and log into websites more readily than before. Underneath an updated design, Safari’s new sidebar introduces Shared Links, a quick way to view websites shared by friends and colleagues on Twitter and LinkedIn. And thanks to iCloud Keychain, you can log into websites with a simple click, and generate hard to guess passwords when you’re ready to register with another.
Mavericks will be available to download in the Mac App Store for free. You can upgrade from Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion in a single-step update.
Update: OS X Mavericks is now available on the Mac App Store.
For more coverage, check out our October 22 news hub and follow @macstoriesnet on Twitter.
Marked 2.1 Improves Word Repetition Visualization and Text Statistics→
Marked 2’s first point release has landed, and it’s chock full of great improvements. If you haven’t purchased Marked yet, think of it as fancy document preview tool that helps you catch formatting mistakes, catches overused words, and highlights cliché phrases. It’s a mini-editor for your text documents, especially useful for those who write in Markdown and publish text on the web. For those who already have Marked, download the latest update to grab bug fixes and notable feature improvements such as background calculation for text statistics.
Nike+ Move App For the iPhone 5S to Arrive on November 6th→
Announced alongside the new Fuelband SE was an update to Nike+ Running, and the new Nike+ Move app which Phil Schiller showed off during September’s iPhone 5c + 5s Keynote. The Nike+ Move running app is a sort of “Fuelband lite”, being previously detailed by Engadget as being an introductory experience into the Nike+ ecosystem. From today’s press release:
Nike+ Move App
Launched by Apple at their recent event, the Nike+ Move App is an introductory NikeFuel experience for iPhone 5S users. Nike+ Move measures when, where and how you moved and uses NikeFuel to motivate you. Nike+ Move then lets you compare your movement with that of your friends or other Nike+ Move users around you.
The Nike+ Move app will be free to download on the App Store.
Pocket’s Refresh for the Web→
If I had any previous complaint about Pocket, it’s that their website felt too much like a tablet app and wasn’t easy to use on the desktop. Following Pocket’s iOS 7 update, they’ve redesigned their website making it significantly easier to use. Everything has been unified into a single cohesive toolbar, it’s faster, and it’s visually more appealing. If you’re at the office or on the go, Pocket on the web is now just as great as its native iOS and Mac apps.
OmniOutliner 2: Refined for iOS 7, Now With External Keyboard Support
When OmniOutliner originally launched on the iPad, I remember spending a lot of time figuring out its nuances, going so far as creating a tutorial so people could see how to customize documents and organize their outlines. While it won’t replace your spreadsheets, it will organize your data under collapsible headings and columns that neatly keeps related piece of information in their place. It works well as an alternative mind mapping tool, for students who are taking notes, or for someone creating that big holiday wish list. Read more
September 10th iPhone Event: All the Other Stuff
Today’s iPhone event was short and to the point. Instead of introducing handfuls of new products and apps, we were presented with a quick iOS 7 overview of what was already announced at WWDC, some iWork and app updates (more on that in a second), and then the iPhones themselves alongside accompanying cases. Honestly, this made for one of the most satisfying iPhone events in ages.