Roger Fingas
Apple's updated iPad Pros, set to premiere Oct. 30, will include custom Apple-designed graphics hardware — a first in any iPad, a report claimed on Friday.
As rumored, the company is also planning to replace the MacBook Air with a new 13-inch laptop featuring slimmer bezels, Bloomberg sources said. The computer is said to be distinct from a refresh of the 12-inch MacBook, which should get a speed boost.
The report otherwise reiterated many expectations about Apple's fall lineup. The iPad Pro, for instance, should see dramatically reduced bezels, with squared-off sides closer to the look of the iPhone SE. It will also allegedly gain a TrueDepth camera for Face ID and Animoji, and switch from Lightning to USB-C.
Its processor should be a variant of the A12 Bionic in the iPhone XS and XR, presumably an "A12X." Also rumored is an updated Apple Pencil, though the Bloomberg sources didn't specify what changes are being made.
Other Mac upgrades are thought to include an overhauled Mac mini for professionals, and refreshed iMacs and iMac Pros. Bloomberg noted that some Mac products might not be shown off on Tuesday.
Apple has been moving to design more and more of its chips in-house. The process began with A-series processors in 2010, but has expanded to include things like the T2 in iMac Pros and MacBook Pros, which handles tasks like the system management controller, Touch ID, and disk encryption.
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Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
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Andrew Orr
56 Comments
A lot of this lines up with what Ming-Chi Kuo has said, with some differences — but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that both of them are sharing a “factory source,” maybe even the same person.
Kuo thinks there will be a new iPad mini, new AirPods, the AirPower at last, and some of the refreshed Macs Gurman predicts, but both hedge by saying they may not be at this event but “soon”).
I don’t think Kuo mentioned 100 percent in-house graphics on the iPad Pro, I’ll be real interested to see if that comes to pass (but it seems likely), as that’s Apple directly competing with the big hitters in the industry.
Gurman seems to think there might be a new Apple Pencil as well (I don’t think Kuo mentioned that, did he?) and if their claim about just USB-C turns out to be right, well now we have a reason why you would need one to exist ...
I'm very sensitive to Apple messing with the MacBook Air model as it seems to be the last remnant of practical computing.
Is USB-C for power better? It's really not, it's consuming a valuable port and MagSafe could be argued was an excellent design. USB-C for power feels like a step backward in that regard.
I was at an Apple event recently and watching the presenter carry his new MacBook Pro around with various dongles hanging off to be able to connect devices was quietly ridiculous.
So is this MacBook Air replacement still going to be called MacBook Air? And is the higher resolution screen going to be the same as what’s in the retina MacBook and MacBook Pro? Also is it going to look like the retina MacBook or be thicker and heavier? If this device gets a retina screen what’s the point of the retina MacBook? Who would buy it, especially if this new laptop is cheaper?