Several news outlets have reported on the newly released Beta compilers from IBM.
XL C and XL C++ for Mac OS X (download here) are PowerPC 970 optimized versions of IBM's compilers which have been show to improve Power4's SPEC performance (PDF) significantly.
Some early benchmarks (Ars Thread) demonstrate significant performance boosts -- up to +210% in Scalar performance in one particular PowerMac G5 Fortran application -- with more modest improvements in other measures. The code utilized in this benchmark appears to be the Jet3d codebase used in the early "NASA" G5 Benchmarks.
Tuesday April 14, 2026 4:39 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Wednesday April 15, 2026 8:15 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
According to the latest rumors, Apple is close to launching its next-generation iPad mini. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out.
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code...
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
CarPlay Ultra...
Thursday March 26, 2026 2:04 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and has removed the machine from its website, reports 9to5Mac. Apple said it does not plan to design a new version of the Mac Pro, and no new model will be coming in the future.
The Mac Pro was last updated in 2023, which was when Apple added an M2 Ultra Apple silicon chip, but the chassis has not been refreshed since 2019. Apple redesigned the Mac Pro to...
Thursday March 26, 2026 3:24 pm PDT by Juli Clover
In addition to discontinuing the Mac Pro, Apple today discontinued the $700 wheel add-on kit that it sold for the Mac Pro.
The Mac Pro Wheels kit was introduced in 2020, and allowed Mac Pro owners to add wheels to their machine after purchase. The Mac Pro could be bought with a wheel option for an additional $400, but the lower price was because opting for wheels removed the $300 feet....
Apple this week announced that it has discontinued the Mac Pro, with new configurations no longer available and no further models planned.
Below, we reflect on nearly two decades of the Mac Pro.
2006 to 2013
In August 2006, Apple introduced the original Mac Pro, which was an Intel-based follow-up to the PowerPC-based Power Mac G5 that debuted a few years earlier.
Mac Pro was the final ...
