Tag Archives: iMac

Apple Springs Into Action

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Kind of an odd place to start, Apple.

Kicking off a round of (primarily) hardware announcements by rolling out changes to the Apple Card is weird. Not that they spent much time on it–but I’m sure we’re all relieved to know that you can now share your Apple Card with your family. How this differs from every other credit card in the world allowing you to get additional cards for family members is unclear. I’m sure Apple will explain eventually, given their dedication to transparency and open access.

Anyway.

We all know the most important news goes up front, right? So apparently the biggest thing coming out of Apple is a new color for the iPhone 12: purple.

I like purple. I might buy a purple phone if I was looking for a new phone (I’m not). But I can’t help but think Apple is indulging in a bit of lede burial.

What else did they spring on us?

After literally years of speculation, Apple has finally released the AirTag. This is, of course, Apple’s version of the Tile and TrackR devices*. As long as you’re using it with a reasonably recent Apple device (maybe a purple iPhone?), you can get actual directional information. That right there puts them miles ahead of TrackR. It’s unclear how large AirTags are, but it’s worth noting that they use a CR2032 battery. Easy to find (sorry) but does impose a certain minimum size not all that much smaller than a quarter.

* Yes, TrackR is still around. Their latest product is the “pixel” (what is it about their refusal to use capital letters?) which they call their “lightest and brightest” tracker. It’s “about the size of a quarter” which isn’t much smaller than the old product I reviewed four years ago. I don’t plan to review them to see if they work any better.

What else? Hey, a new Apple TV. 4K, of course (I can hear all of the enthusiasts/first adopters asking why not 8K. Shush.) More powerful than any previous Apple TV and it comes with a new remote that doesn’t include the damn trackpad–actually it seems to be a callback to the much-loved iPod Classic with its five-way click wheel. That right there seems like sufficient reason to buy the new model if you’re looking for a streaming box.

Then, of course, there are the new Macs.

Remember the original iMac? The one that came in all of those cool colors? Check out the new iMac. Twenty-four inch screen with a more-than-4K resolution. Thinner than many TVs. And, of course, boasting the same M1 chip found in last year’s MacBook and Mini–that’s good and bad. On the plus side, they’ll be fast and not too power-hungry. On the down side, they’re limited to the same 8GB of RAM as the MacBook and Mini–that may be a bit limiting for a machine that’s historically been pitched as a good starting point for people who want to experiment with video.

And, as you may have gathered, a literal rainbow of colors–with matching keyboards and mice. Personally, I’d like to see an ability to mix and match. Purple computer with blue keyboard and red mouse, anyone? Or am I the only one who likes to get away from color coordination from time to time?

Anyhow, Apple also announced a new iPad Pro. With an M1 chip.

Way to blur the lines between computers and tablets, guys.

Though, as a friend of mine pointed out, pairing the new iPad Pro with a keyboard, and you’re getting awfully close to the touchscreen laptop Apple fans have been demanding for years. If you don’t mind being limited to the iPad version of apps. That’s probably a dealbreaker for me; I know the iPad versions of Office and the various Adobe apps are getting better and better, but there are still things you can only do with the computer versions of the programs. Hey, Apple, how about an iPad Pro variant running MacOS?

And that’s about it.

Most of the hardware will be up for preorder at the end of the month, with shipping in late May. Not too long to wait.

Oh, and if you gotta have a purple iPhone, you can pre-order it this Friday and get your hands on it April 30–assuming they made enough to keep up with the demand.

New Toys

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So now we know. Yesterday Google announced that the next version of Android will be the deliciously un-crossmarketed “Lollipop”. It’ll roll out around the beginning of next month along with several new devices (more on those in a moment).

Last year, I suggested that this would be an unsponsored release and implied that I thought Lollipop was the most likely name, ahead of the ever-popular Lemon Meringue Pie. So a point for me. We’ll see if the next release is indeed co-branded with Mounds candy.

On to those devices.

We’ve got the expected new phone. Or phablet. The Nexus 6 ups the stakes in the size battle. At 5.96 inches, it makes Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus look tiny. Forget about putting it in your pocket. Consider yourself lucky if it fits in your backpack.

We’ve got the expected new tablet. A nine inch (OK, 8.9 inches if you’re going to insist on precision) model, it’s clearly intended to compete with the iPad Air: slightly lighter, front-facing speakers, multiple colors, etc., etc.

Apparently, Google considers the seven inch form factor to be obsolete. Don’t want a nine or ten incher? Great, get a phablet. All models of the Nexus 7 are showing as out of stock in the Play store, and there are no indications that they’ll be back. That’s a shame. The larger models are, I’ll admit, better for video–I use my iPad for most of my video needs–but seven inches is, IMNSHO, the perfect size for ebooks and web browsing. Six inches is just a little too small to get enough letters on the screen at once to keep up with my reading speed.

So, no upgrade for me this year. I’ll wait until next year, when the size war brings the new phones to seven inches.

Google’s final device announcement yesterday is the Nexus Player, because the world really needed another streaming media player. From what I’ve seen, it’s basically an Android-powered tablet without a screen: install any standard Android app (primarily games, presumably, though of course it’ll come with the usual selection of Google apps, including the media players) and display them on your TV. Oh, and it’s got Chromecast functionality, so you don’t have to find a vacant HDMI port on the TV. Unplug your Chromecast, plug in your Nexus Player, and you’re ready to roll. Joy.

That was yesterday. Today, Apple held another product launch meeting. We’ve got iOS 8.1. We’ve got Yosemite, the new version of OS X. (Sorry, Apple, I still miss the big cats. Much more engaging than chunks of geography.) They work together via iCloud. Which is, of course, perfectly safe. (They also work together via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which are also perfectly safe.)

Mind you, we already knew this stuff. There’s nothing about the OSes that wasn’t announced at WWDC or the iPhone 6 / Apple Watch launch. The only news is that Yosemite is available today, and iOS 8.1 will be out on Monday.

On to the good stuff (new toys, in other words).

To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Apple’s got new iPads coming. Brace yourself for the iPad Air 2, even thinner than last year’s antiquated iPad Air. Because the most important thing about a tablet is how thin it is. I mean, yeah, it’s faster and has a better camera, it’s got TouchID–but no NFC, so you can’t use Apple Pay in stores. Not that anyone cares about that. The important thing is that it’s thinner! (There’s an unanswered question here: how much does it weigh? Remember, the Nexus 9 will come in at 418 grams, 50 grams lighter than last year’s iPad Air. Weight is at least as important as thickness for long periods of use.)

There’s an iPad Mini 3. It comes in three colors. That’s about all Apple is saying about it.

Moving on.

How about an iMac with Retina Display–yes, that’s the official name. A twenty-seven inch screen at 5120×2880: seven times as many pixels as your HD TV. All the usual spec boosts over previous models. Only $2499–which isn’t that bad a deal if you compare the cost of a 4K TV, or 4K PC monitor. Fans of the late, lamented oviod iMacs will be disappointed to hear that there are still no plans to bring back the rainbow colors.

New Mac Mini. Faster, cheaper.

Is it just me, or are the mini versions of Apple’s products not getting much love this year? I guess they’re just not very exciting compared to the tininess of the Apple Watch. And the lightness of the iPad Air 2.