As noted by The Verge, Intel late yesterday released details on its next-generation integrated graphics offerings arriving as part of the company's Haswell processor lineup. The new graphics options consist of three primary levels: an Intel HD Graphics 5000 to be packaged as part of 15-watt chips destined for ultrabooks, an Intel "Iris" Graphics 5100 to be paired with 28-watt mid-range chips targeted at larger ultrabooks, and an Intel "Iris Pro" Graphics 5200 for the highest-power chips.
The company claims its new Intel "Iris" Graphics, embedded in upcoming Haswell CPUs, can offer double or triple the performance of the Intel HD Graphics 4000 that comes with current Ivy Bridge processors. That's significant: typically each generation offers only a double-digit percentage boost.
That doesn't mean every new Haswell processor will come with quite that level of graphics performance, though.
AnandTech has more, highlighting how ultrabooks, which would include Apple's MacBook Air, will see a lesser but still significant boost in graphics performance with Intel HD Graphics 5000.
Although Ultrabooks (now 15W) won’t get full blown Iris performance, they should still see a healthy increase in GPU performance compared to where they are today (50% improvement in 3DMark) at a lower TDP. The move to a full speed GT3 part (Iris) should more than double performance in 3DMark.
Apple is expected to embrace Intel's forthcoming Haswell chips in its next-generation notebook lineup, which may be introduced as soon as next month's Worldwide Developers Conference.
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.
In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found.
Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by Juli Clover
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products.
Here's what's supposedly coming:
An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by Juli Clover
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup.
Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities.
According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...
Blah blah blah, every year Intel produces a new CPU that's suppose to be faster and more efficient, as if the previous one was slow as molasses and every year people here fall for it and get in the mood of "Gotta have it, Gotta have it". And people say that Apple is the one trying to make all sorts of profits. ;)
How dare intel make progress! Its just awful, a pentium 4 was fast enough for everyone.
Looks like a good starting point for the new Mac Pro, or if the Mac Pro has to use Xeon just call the lower end machine a Mac. Either way I would buy a core i7 tower Mac today if it were available.
What?.. a tower using an integrated graphics chip instead of a dedicated video card?
Blah blah blah, every year Intel produces a new CPU that's suppose to be faster and more efficient, as if the previous one was slow as molasses and every year people here fall for it and get in the mood of "Gotta have it, Gotta have it". And people say that Apple is the one trying to make all sorts of profits. ;)
Well, they do release faster chips each year, no 'suppose' about it. It's the tick-tock cycle; they're not at all secretive about when they're releasing new chips. Even though the performance of their CPU absolutely blitz the likes of AMD, they continue to release better CPUs as and when they can -- and there's nothing wrong with that IMHO.
Unless you'd prefer they released new chips every 2 years, meaning you're paying 2013 prices for 2011 hardware? Now that's the Apple mentality. ;)