Updates to Apple's "pro" line of computers -- the PowerMac and PowerBook -- remain two of the most anticipated hardware updates.
IBM's new PowerPC 970FX provides hope for upcoming updates for both product lines. While information on the web related to the PowerPC 970FX was relatively sparse after IBM's presentations at ISSCC last week... this Japanese report provides some basic specs with speeds ranging from 1.3GHz - 2.5GHz, and this German report offers some details of the PowerTune technology from IBM. The PowerTune technology is reportedly capable of stepping down speed to 1/2 or 1/4 of the processor's top speed, thus reducing the power consumption.
The most recent hints have pointed that PowerMacs will not be updated in February... but the new processor suggests that the new machines will top out at 2.5GHz when they do arrive.
Meanwhile, whispers have suggested that Apple is continuing to investigate liquid-based cooling techniques for both PowerMac and PowerBook lines. Whether/When this technology will be delivered as a shipping product is unclear.
Apple once developed "M2 Extreme" and "M3 Extreme" chips for the Mac Pro, but it decided not to release them, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He first reported on this topic in 2022, and he touched on it again in his Power On newsletter today.
"Extreme" chips would have had twice as many CPU and GPU cores as Apple's "Ultra" chips.
"The idea was to offer twice as many graphics and...
Apple developed two Mac Pro models in recent years that never made it to market, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that Apple internally developed two unreleased Mac Pro projects codenamed J170 and J190 before ultimately discontinuing the machine altogether.
As for new Mac Pro hardware, there were two additional models developed by...
Apple announced the original Mac Pro 20 years ago today, with the anniversary landing five months after the company discontinued the machine for good.
On August 7, 2006, Apple unveiled the first Mac Pro, powered by two dual-core 64-bit Xeon processors that Apple said made it up to twice as fast as the Power Mac G5 it replaced. It was the last Mac to complete Apple's transition from PowerPC...
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
