In its quest for thinness in the Retina Display MacBook Pro, Apple removed the optical drive and built the display into the unibody construction. The company's engineers also designed a new, thinner MagSafe power port to accommodate the notebook's 0.71" height.
The new MagSafe 2 connector -- which is incompatible with the original MagSafe power bricks as well as devices with a MagSafe power cord built into products like the Apple LED Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display -- is included in the new Retina MacBook Pro as well as the new MacBook Air models. It seems likely the port will make its way to the legacy MacBook Pro models in a future update.
Apple is selling a MagSafe to Magsafe 2 Converter for $9.99 on the Apple Online Store, as well as new 85W and 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter for $79 each.
Apple today quietly introduced a redesigned AirPort Express wireless base station, drawing on the design of the Apple TV set-top box and introducing simultaneous dual-band 802.11n connectivity for increased performance.
The new AirPort Express supports simultaneous dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi. That means it transmits at both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies at the same time. So no matter which band your wireless devices use, they’ll automatically connect to the best available band for the fastest possible performance.
The redesigned AirPort Express continues to be offered at $99.
Apple today released a new case for the iPad 2 and new iPad offering the same functionality as the existing Smart Cover, but it covers the back of the iPad as well as the front.
The iPad Smart Case covers your iPad — both front and back — yet still retains the thin, light design of iPad. Like the Smart Cover, it folds easily into a stand for reading, typing, and watching video. And it automatically wakes and sleeps iPad on open and close. Made from polyurethane, it’s available in six bright colors. And you can personalize it with free laser engraving on the Apple Online Store.
The new Smart Case is available for $49 on the Apple Online Store in Light Gray, Dark Gray, Blue, Green, Pink and Red.
Apple has quietly upgraded the Mac Pro with minor processor bumps and an increase in the standard RAM to 6GB in the least expensive configuration. The update does not include the much-anticipated addition of the Thunderbolt I/O system.
Unfortunately, it's not much of an upgrade: you can simply get a pair of six-core 3.06GHz Intel Xeon X5675 processors rather than 2.93GHz ones we just mentioned. The base model will start at $2,499 for a single quad-core Intel Xeon W3565 processor at 3.2GHz, with an optional upgrade to a six-core chip, you can spend $3,799 to get a dual-processor configuration with a pair of the Westmere-EP based 2.4GHz E5645 chips, and upgrade to the aforementioned X5675 for an unspecified amount. Everything else stays the same, it seems.
The new Mac Pro's are now available on the Apple Online Store.
Apple appears to have quietly discontinued the 17" MacBook Pro today amid the flurry of updates and announcements at WWDC today. Apple's newly updated MacBook Pro product page mentions the new Retina Display-equipped 15" Pro, as well as the new 13" and 15" Pro's, but is silent on the 17".
The 17" PowerBook G4 was first released in January of 2003 and has received a number of updates over the years, including transitions to the Intel-equipped 17" MacBook Pro and receiving an update to the current unibody construction as well. Research analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in April that the 17" MacBook Pro would soon be discontinued due to weak sales.
At WWDC today, Apple introduced a third line of notebook computers that Phil Schiller called the "Next Generation MacBook Pro." He noted that the company was "willing to discard old, legacy things" to make a new notebook that was radically thin and light. An Apple video called it "the very best computer that we've ever built."
The new MacBook Pro -- which is in addition to the existing line of Pro's, which was also updated today -- is built around a 15.4" Retina display at a 2880x1880 resolution, 220 ppi with 5,184,000 pixels, with a display that is built directly into the unibody construction to make the notebook lighter.
It includes quad-core Ivy Bridge processors up to 2.8GHz and turbo boost up to 3.7GHz, up to 16GB of MacBook Air-like non-upgradable 1600MHz RAM, and a maximum of 768GB of next generation flash storage. The new Pro weighs in at 4.46 pounds and is 0.71" thick, but does not include a MacBook Air-like tapered body. There is no optical drive.
Apple has developed a new type of fan to keep the machine cool. It uses an asymmetrical blade system to cool the machine while being as quiet as possible. Apple claims the thermal management system operates in a way that is nearly imperceptible to the user.
Apple claims 7 hours of battery life with 30 days of standby time. It includes an SD slot, HDMI, and a USB 3.0/2.0 combo port on the right side, and a MagSafe power port, two Thunderbolt ports, another USB 3.0/2.0 port and a headphone jack on the left. Apple will soon begin offering a Firewire 800 and Gigabit Ethernet to Thunderbolt adapters. The machine also includes "the best stereo speakers ever put into a desktop or notebook" and dual microphones.
Pricing begins at $2,199 for the base model with the Retina display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Ivy Bridge i7, 8GB of RAM, a NVidia GeForce GT 650M 1GB graphics card, and 256GB of flash storage. The Next Generation MacBook Pro begins shipping today.
Regarding the Retina display, Apple will ship a special build of Lion with HiDPI support built-in, and will include updated versions of iPhoto, Mail and Safari to support the increased resolution. Final Cut Pro and Aperture are also receiving updates as well. Apple has been working with major developers to get their apps updated, including Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk's AutoCAD, and Blizzard's Diablo III.
Apple today introduced a new Maps application in iOS 6 that will replace Google Maps as the default mapping application on the iPhone and iPad. It was designed by Apple from the ground up with all cartography done in-house.
Included in Maps are turn-by-turn directions that work with Siri, local search with 100 million business listings from around the world, Yelp integration, a free crowd-sourced traffic service, and 3D mapping with a Google Earth-like feature called 'Flyover'.
At today's WWDC keynote event, Apple announced the next version of its operating system for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. iOS 6 will feature new functionality for Siri, Facebook integration, a revamped Maps app, Shared Photo Streams via iCloud, and more.
iOS 6 continues the rapid pace of innovation that is helping Apple reinvent the phone and create the iPad category, delivering the best mobile experience available on any device,” said Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iOS Software. “We can’t wait for hundreds of millions of iOS users to experience the incredible new features in iOS 6 including the new Maps app, expanded Siri support, deep Facebook integration, Shared Photo Streams and the innovative new Passbook app.
In iOS 6, Siri will gain new capabilities to provide sports scores and schedules, make restaurant reservations via OpenTable, find local movie listings and even launch apps. Siri will also debut in new languages including Spanish, Italian, and French.
Facebook integration will be much like the current Twitter integration in iOS 5 with a system-wide log-in and the ability to quickly post from within apps. Contacts can be updated automatically using information obtained through Facebook. Third-party developers will be able to add this functionality easily with a public API.
A new Do Not Disturb mode allows users to schedule when notifications should not cause any sounds or visual alerts. The iPhone's Phone app will get new options to reply with a text message or prompt a reminder to return a call later when an incoming call arrives.
Shared Photo Streams lets you choose photos to share with selected family and friends. Shared photos can be viewed by others on iOS devices, iPhoto and Aperture on a Mac, or on the web or through an Apple TV.
Passbook is a new wallet app that will consolidate payment cards and electronic tickets. For example, customers at Starbucks can make payments using their Gold Card through Passbook. Also, movie tickets purchased through Fandango can be redeemed through Passbook. Airline boarding passes and even sporting event tickets will be accessible through Passbook as well. A new API will offer developers access to Passbook.
As expected, Apple has revamped the Maps app with its own map data. It will offer integration with Yelp for business listings and traffic information sourced anonymously and in real-time from iOS users. Turn-by-turn navigation will also debut in the new Maps app and guidance can be triggered by Siri.
iOS 6 will be compatible with the iPhone 3GS and later, 2nd-generation iPad and later, and the 4th-generation iPod touch and will be available in the fall. A beta will be available to developers today.
At today's WWDC keynote event, Apple announced a release timeframe and pricing for Mountain Lion, the next version of the Mac operating system which was previewed earlier this year. Executives also gave a preview of some new features including dictation, iCloud Tabs, and Power Nap. Mountain Lion will be released in July through the Mac App Store for $19.99 and all Macs purchased starting today can receive an upgrade for free.
The new dictation feature will be integrated throughout the operating system to allow dictation anywhere to enter text. Dictation was previously rumored in May when resource files in Safari listed keyboard shortcuts that pointed to dictation functions.
iCloud Tabs, a new feature in Safari on the Mac, was also demonstrated. iCloud Tabs will show all tabs open in Safari on all other iOS devices and Macs logged in to the same iCloud account. Safari also gains a unified search and address bar to streamline its interface.
Power Nap is a new feature that will carry out functions while a Mac is charging and sleeping. New emails will be downloaded, Time Machine will automatically run, app updates will be applied and other actions will be carried out with Power Nap, which will be available on the new ultra-thin MacBook Pro that was announced today and second-generation and later MacBook Airs.
Apple first previewed Mountain Lion in February, highlighting many features already present in iOS, including Messages, Reminders, Notes, Notification Center, Game Center and more at that time.
Apple today announced minor updates to its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines, including upgrades to flash storage, memory and processors.
The 11" and 13" MacBook Air models now include up to 512GB of flash storage, 60% faster graphics, up to 8GB of memory and a 2.0GHz i7 Ivy Bridge CPU. The machines have been upgraded with combined USB 3.0/2.0 ports as well as 720p FaceTime cameras. All MacBook Air models now include 4GB of RAM standard. Pricing remains similar to before, with only the premium 11" MacBook Air seeing a $100 price drop.
The 15" MacBook Pro model include Ivy Bridge quad-core i7 CPU's up to 2.7GHz, a 1GB GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics card, a standard 8GB of 1600 MHz memory, and USB 3.0/2.0 ports. Pricing remains the same at $1,799 and $2,199.
The 13" MacBook Pro includes Ivy Bridge dual-core i7 CPU's up to 2.9GHz. Pricing remains the same at $1,199 and $1,499.
With Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) set to kick off in San Francisco with a highly-anticipated keynote at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, it's time for us to set the stage with final details on the latest rumors and coverage information.
Covered banner outside keynote hall (Source: @saschasegan)
Coverage
MacRumors will be offering live text and photo updates from the keynote through MacRumorsLive.com (Transcription is being handled by @hodapp). The main MacRumors.com page will automatically redirect to MacRumorsLive as we get closer to the event, so stay tuned here. We will also be providing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account. Separate news stories regarding the event announcements will go out through our @MacRumors account.
As is routine for major Apple product announcements, the Apple online store has already been down for several hours and will almost certainly remain down until the conclusion of the keynote.
MacRumors forum members interested in a "spoiler-free" environment to wait for the full keynote video to become available can follow the thread associated with our dedicated article. A direct link to the official keynote video will be posted there when it becomes available.
9to5Mac now reports that Apple will be introducing an "iPad Smart Case" available in six colors: dark gray, light gray, pink, green, blue, and red. These appear to the accessories that were initially thought to be new iPod shuffle models in a leaked part number list. iLounge had claimed that an enhanced Smart Cover was in the works earlier this year, but it did not appear alongside the third-generation iPad.
MacRumors has learned that Apple will be launching its annual Back to School promotion tomorrow in the United States and likely a number of other countries. As in previous years, Apple will be offering iTunes Store gift cards to educational customers purchasing qualifying products.
The major new addition to the program this year is the iPad, with purchasers receiving a $50 iTunes Store gift card with the purchase of a new iPad. The Mac aspect of the program appears to be the same as in previous years, with qualified purchases earning a $100 gift card. We have not yet confirmed exactly which Mac systems will qualify for the program, but in past years the Mac mini has not been eligible for the promotion.
As with previous years, the cards should be valid across Apple's digital stores, including the iTunes Store, iOS App Store, Mac App Store, and iBookstore.
9to5Mac has now published specs on the Retina-display 15-inch MacBook Pro models that are apparently arriving alongside updated versions of the existing form factor. Notably, the new machines include options ranging up to 16 GB of RAM and 768 GB of solid-state storage.
9to5Mac reports that it has received information on the MacBook Air upgrades to be announced today, with each of the 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch sizes arriving in two standard configurations with a third customizable high-end configuration also heading into stock at some retailers.
According to the report, the initial model descriptions include not only a boost in processor performance to Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processors but also boosts to RAM (maxing out at 8 GB on both sizes) and solid-state drive capacity (maxing out at 512 GB on the 13-inch model). The descriptions include model number, short product name, screen size, processor speed in GHz, RAM in GB, and storage size in GB.
11-inch Base Model: MD223LL/A - MBA 11.6/1.7/4/64FLASH-USA Better: MD224LL/A - MBA 11.6/1.7/4/128FLASH-USA High End: MD845LL/A – MBA 11.6/2.0/8/256FLASH-USA
The current MacBook Air includes 2 GB of RAM on the base 11-inch model, with all other models at both screen sizes offering 4 GB of RAM. On the storage side, it appears that the 11-inch model will not be seeing any changes given that the existing line starts at 64 GB and goes up to 256 GB at the high end, but the new 13-inch model is shown as introducing a new 512 GB option at the high end.
We also asked 9to5Mac about the implausible Mac Pro specs they published earlier today, and they assured us that those are indeed the specs that are showing up in inventory systems. Consequently, it remains unclear exactly what is going on with the Mac Pro and whether there might be errors or purposely incorrect information being provided by Apple.
While Apple is not expected to reveal its long-rumored television set product that has been the subject of increasing rumors at today's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White has published a new research note addressing some of his expectations for the device based on a recent visit to Taiwan for the Computex trade show and to visit with supply chain companies in several markets.
White believes that the Apple television set will adopt several methods of interaction, most significantly including motion detection technology, perhaps similar to that found in Microsoft's Kinect offerings. He also suggests that the television will still include a remote control, which will arrive as an iPad-like touchscreen device.
Regarding Apple TV, the data points during our trip indicate the Company will use a special type of motion detection technology on future full blown Apple TV that we expect to be unveiled within the next couple of quarters, rather than touch technology. Also, our contacts indicate a unique remote control with a touch panel form factor that looks similar to the iPad would be used to control the device. The bezel is expected to be a plastic composition, rather than the aluminum unibody exterior that surrounds the MacBook Air.
White makes no mention of Siri voice control, but many observers expect that Apple will also make use of its voice recognition and natural language processing algorithms to make it easy for users to control their television viewing experiences.
Finally, the new report from White also outlines his continued belief that Apple is preparing to launch a smaller "iPad mini", with both that product and the next-generation iPhone reportedly lining up for a simultaneous launch in September of this year.
Just hours before Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to take the stage to kick off the keynote at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, AllThingsD has posted the full video of his interview at last month's D10 conference. MacRumors was on hand for the event to offer a rough transcript of the interview and AllThingsD previously posted video highlights, but today's release includes the entire 100-minute interview complete with the Q&A session.
Aside from a few short interviews and an investor conference, Cook’s session with Walt Mossberg and me was the first extended public talk as the newish leader of perhaps the most important and definitely most influential company in tech.
So, getting to see Cook in action is probably the most important part of this interview. While clearly playing it close to the vest, he ranged over a wide number of topics from secrecy at Apple (it’s now apparently been doubled!) to the iPhone to controversies in China to a possibly more social partnership with Facebook more television efforts to, of course, the legacy Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs, who died last year.
Steve Jobs was a regular participant at the annual D conference, and Cook has carried on that tradition by serving as the opening session interview at this year's event.
9to5Mac reports that it has obtained details on the configurations of the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro to be released later today, with specifics on a number of accessories also appearing. The list is not complete, however, as it does not include details on the thinner Retina-display notebook, which is believed to be coming as a third member of the MacBook family, or the MacBook Air.
As previously noted, the Mac Pro is set to arrive in three separate stock configurations: two standard and one server. There have long been rumors of a case redesign, but so far only specs of the base models are known.
- Normal configuration: 3.2GHz quad-core processor, 6GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and the ATI Radeon 5770 graphics chip.
- Normal configuration: 2.4GHz 12-core processor, 12GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and the ATI Radeon 5770 graphics chip.
- Server configuration: 3.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM, Two 1TB hard drives
Oddly, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 is the stock graphics card included on the current, nearly two-year old Mac Pro. Apple would be expected to use a much newer graphics card option in its revised machines.
On the MacBook Pro side, the report points to four stock models, two each in 13.3-inch and 15.4-inch sizes. These machines are thought to be upgraded versions of the existing design, lacking a Retina display. Photos of what is claimed to be the graphics hardware on the logic board of the 15-inch MacBook Pro appeared just a short time ago, showing an NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics chip with 1 GB GDDR5 graphics memory.
- 13.3 inch: 2.5GHz dual core processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive
- 13.3 inch: 2.9GHz dual core processor, 8GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive
- 15.4 inch: 2.3GHz quad core processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive
- 15.4 inch: 2.6GHz quad core processor, 8GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive (BTO upgrades to 2.7GHz quad core and 1TB HD will be available)
The report notes that the thinner "MacBook Pro" models with a Retina display are still expected to be introduced, with an analyst report from a few days ago having specifically claimed that they would be arriving alongside the existing MacBook Pro form factor for the time being. Details on the new Retina-capable notebook do, however, remain unknown. The MacBook Air is also expected to be gaining an update later today, and details on those models are not yet available either.
Apple will also be releasing a number of new accessories today, and the report indicates that these will include an updated AirPort Express, new USB SuperDrive, and a Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adapter. Apple may also be revising its MagSafe power connection standard, with new accessories related to that change making an appearance.
Update: As several readers have noted, not only is the inclusion of an old graphics card on the Mac Pro a strange detail, but the listed processors do not even exist at the appropriate price and performance points in the Sandy Bridge E Xeon E5 line of Intel processors Apple is expected to use. 9to5Mac's pre-launch spec sources have generally been very accurate in recent years, but they appear to be off this time on at least the Mac Pro models.
M.I.C. gadget points to a pair of posts from Chinese forum WeiPhone.com showing portions of what is claimed to be the logic board and graphic hardware from the next-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro set to be introduced tomorrow.
New MacBook Pro logic board with NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (left) and current MacBook Pro logic board (right)
The images show an NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics chip and 1 GB of GDDR5 graphics memory, which many have expected would make an appearance in the new MacBook Pro. Interestingly, the posters have also compared the leaked photos with the logic board of the current MacBook Pro, finding the layouts to be nearly identical all the way down to the screw holes on the board.
New MacBook Pro logic board with 1 GB GDDR5 graphic memory (left) and current MacBook Pro logic board (right)
One of the reports also claims that the new 15-inch MacBook Pro will arrive with 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz chip options on stock models, with a 2.7 GHz chip available as a high-end custom configuration. The exact chips to be offered are not detailed by the poster, but some attempts at matching up to Intel's Ivy Bridge offerings can be made.
At the 2.3 GHz level, Apple would have its choice of the Core i7-3610QM or Core i7-3615QM. For a 2.5 GHz chip, the only appropriate Ivy Bridge processor currently available is a dual-core Core i5-3210M, which would actually be the low-end chip. And at the high end, Apple would apparently be offering the Core i7-3820QM as had been seen in benchmarks that appeared last month.
Apple has been widely rumored to be introducing a redesign MacBook Pro with a Retina display and a thinner profile. But if the leaked photos are genuine they may indicate that no redesign of the body is forthcoming, as Apple would be expected to make significant changes to the logic board to accommodate rearranged internals in a thinner enclosure.
An alternative explanation relates to claims put forth late last week by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who indicated that a thinner, Retina-capable Mac notebook would appear as a third member of the MacBook family with Apple continuing to offer the existing MacBook Pro alongside the new model for the time being. In that case, these leaked photos could represent the updated version of the current MacBook Pro with the new notebook still remaining under wraps.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
At today's WWDC keynote event, Apple 
While Apple is not expected to reveal its long-rumored television set product that has been the subject of increasing rumors at today's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White has published a new research note addressing some of his expectations for the device based on a recent visit to Taiwan for the Computex trade show and to visit with supply chain companies in several markets.
