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Apple Holding New Mac Hardware Updates Until OS X Lion Launches?

Thursday June 16, 2011 10:50 am PDT by Eric Slivka
AppleInsider reports that it has received word that Apple is holding back on releasing updated Mac models in order to wait for work on OS X Lion to be completed. Apple is reportedly "so pumped up" about Lion that it wants to ship the new machines with Lion preinstalled rather than forcing users to upgrade on their own once the new operating system is released next month.
For instance, new Thunderbolt-enabled Sandy Bridge MacBook Air models expected to go into production this month have been ready and waiting for some time, according to people familiar with the matter. But management is currently unwilling to usher the new models into the market with the current Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system.

Instead, the Mac maker is said to be locked on waiting till it can image the new notebooks with a Gold Master build of Lion so that buyers are afforded the latest and greatest Apple experience.
Thunderbolt-equipped Mac minis and LED Cinema Displays are also said to be on hold as Apple puts the finishing touches on OS X Lion.


Apple has only announced that OS X Lion will launch in July, declining to share an exact release date so far. The release will be a Mac App Store exclusive, and will be priced at $29.99. Through the Lion Up-to-Date program, users who purchase or have purchased a Mac between June 6th and the official Lion release will receive a free upgrade to Lion.

Consequently, Apple's desire to hold back on releasing updated Macs is not related to saving customers money on the upgrade but instead seems focused on offering customers the latest and greatest software experience right out of the box and removing any inconvenience associated with upgrading.

Related Roundups: Mac mini, MacBook Air, Apple Pro Display XDR
Tag: appleinsider.com
Buyer's Guide: Mac Mini (Neutral), MacBook Air (Buy Now)
[ 254 comments ]


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asdf542
106 months ago
Despite all of the doom and gloom theories that get posted on these forums, I personally can't wait for Lion.
Rating: 28 Votes
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chrono1081
106 months ago
Apple is all about the user experience and I think many people would be mad if they bought a new machine and then had to upgrade a few weeks later to a new OS.
Rating: 18 Votes
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mex4eric
106 months ago
LED Cinema Displays?

The Cinema Displays need an OS?????
Rating: 12 Votes
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Yvan256
106 months ago
I'd rather see a Mac mini upgrade with Thunderbolt, a Core i5/i7 CPU and a dedicated GPU with its own RAM at the cost of removing the optical drive. If you need one, the MacBook Air external drive works fine with the unibody Mac mini.
Rating: 10 Votes
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Sixtafoua
106 months ago
I wonder if they're doing the same for software (iWork)
Rating: 8 Votes
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goodcow
106 months ago
It's a fact that any .0 software release, especially Apple's, is going to be full of bugs, so this doesn't sound like a very good idea.
Rating: 8 Votes
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jav6454
106 months ago
I see their point.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Popeye206
106 months ago

Why not, that is what Microsoft did with Vista....LOL, Vista is awesome, but you can still buy XP on them if you want.....(please note sarcasm....Apple is nothing like Microsoft....just couldn't resist saying that)


Wasn't Vista the world wide alpha and beta release of Windows 7? :p

I would guess if Apple is holding back hardware, then Lion must be close. I would think for inventory reasons holding more than a week or two wouldn't make sense as it might seriously constrain supply or delay sales.
Rating: 7 Votes
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Thunderhawks
106 months ago

I feel like I'm always "waiting" for the next best thing.
I definitely passed on the iPad 2 because I want the Retina Display with the next gen rumored for early 2012.
I passed on the i4 on Verizon because it was a 6 month old phone so I'll definitely be getting the i4s/i5 (whatever they call it).
And now I wondr about the MBP because of the rumored new design it's supposed to have next year.

Ahh if I just knew I would either buy/wait.


If you continue like that you have a good chance to pass without ever buying anything.

Not a bad thought, saves $$$
Rating: 7 Votes
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iindigo
106 months ago
Not sure why everyone is conviced that the first release of 10.7 is going to be terrible. Not only have I used every initial release of OS X since 10.0 (yes, I was an early adopter - dropped OS 9 like a bad habit) and had no problems with any of them, but I've also been running the developer releases of 10.7 since the first developer preview and have encountered only a couple of major bugs (both of which are fixed in the current build).

I'm glad Apple is pushing for the quick adoption of Lion. It means developers can actually take advantage of what it has to offer in their apps without worrying about obnoxiously large crowds of people lagging behind on older versions.
Rating: 6 Votes

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