MacRumors

Today at WWDC, Apple announced major changes to their laptop line. Amongst these, Apple has updated the MacBook Air and discounted the entry level price significantly.

Apple today also updated the incredibly thin and light MacBook Air, making it more powerful and more affordable. Measuring just 0.16 to 0.76-inches thin and weighing just three pounds, the MacBook Air is available in two models starting with the new entry price of $1,499 for a 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system with a 120GB hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, and a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system with a 128GB solid state drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics for $1,799.

The $1499 entry level price represents a $300 drop from before, while the $1799 model represents a $700 drop in price for the high end model. Meanwhile, the clock speeds have increased from 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz to 1.86GHz and 2.13GHz respectively.

Apple today released a revamped version of the 15" MacBook Pro. The new model incorporates the same non-user-replaceable battery found in the 17" MacBook Pro and offers up to seven hours of runtime and up to 1000 charge cycles. Apple has also replaced the ExpressCard slot found in the previous model with an SD card slot and improved the display quality. Pricing starts at $1699, a $300 reduction from the previous entry-level model, and the new models are shipping today.

Three standard 15" MacBook Pro configurations are offered:

- $1699. 2.53 GHz, 4 GB RAM. NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 250GB HD. Firewire.
- $1999. 2.66 GHz, 4 GB RAM. NVIDIA GeForce GT. 320GB HD. Firewire.
- $2299. 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM. NVIDIA GeForce GT . 500 GB HD. Firewire.

Additional options include:

- Up to 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo
- Up to 8 GB RAM
- Up to 500 GB HDD or 256 GB SSD

Apple also announced minor spec updates to the 17" MacBook Pro today and dropped the entry-level price to $2499 from $2799. The new entry-level 17" MacBook Pro offers 2.8 GHz processor and a 500 GB hard drive. The new 17" model also retains the ExpressCard slot and begins shipping today.

Apple today updated its 13" aluminum MacBook, rebranding the model as part of its MacBook Pro line. The new model offers the same non-user-replaceable battery found in the 17" MacBook Pro and adds a FireWire 800 port and an SD card slot. Pricing begins at $1199, a $100 drop over the previous entry-level price point, and all models include backlit keyboard.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is a significant upgrade at a lower price than the original aluminum MacBook it replaces. With the same sleek and durable design popular with consumers, students and professionals, all 13-inch MacBook Pro models now include a seven hour built-in battery, an SD card slot, a FireWire 800 port, an illuminated keyboard and an improved LED-backlit display with 60 percent greater color gamut.

Hard drive and RAM options for the 13" notebook are the same as in the new 15" MacBook Pro, topping out at 500 GB and 8 GB respectively. The new MacBook models offer the following price points and features:

- $1199. 13" MacBook Pro. 2.26GHz. 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400. 160GB HD. Firewire
- $1499. 13" MacBook Pro. 2.53GHz. 4GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400. 250GB HD. Firewire

Apple is now reserving the "MacBook" name for the white polycarbonate model. The new MacBook is available immediately.

Apple's 2009 WWDC Keynote is going to start soon. Here's a photo from one of the banners from the second level of Moscone which reads:

Threading has left the station.
Grand Central Dispatch

The banner is referring to a new feature in Snow Leopard that will allow developers to more easily support multi-core processors for improved performance on the Mac.

We're providing live coverage for the event at MacRumorsLive.com and all traffic from MacRumors.com will redirect to that page when the time comes.

Notes:
- iCal has the date of June 19th. The default date for the icon has been July 17th, the day the app was first announced in 2002.
- There is a new QuickTime icon.
- Apple's online stores are down.

WWDC 2009 is upon us and we've traditionally provided a rumor roundup prior to the big event to summarize the most likely rumors surrounding the Apple event.

iPhone

The product that seems to be getting the most attention ahead of the keynote is the next iPhone. Especially with the recent attention the Palm Pre has gotten as a potential "iPhone killer", everyone is eager to see what Apple is preparing for their next iteration. The Palm Pre, itself, provides some hints at what technology could realistically be delivered in the new iPhone.

The Palm Pre uses the ARM Cortex-A8 processor which represents the next generation ARM processor that is currently used in the iPhone. Apple is certain to use the ARM Cortex as it provides "the highest performance, most power-efficient" ARM processor available. Apple's job listings have also revealed that they are looking for ARM Cortex-specific programmers to take advantage of the more advanced features of the processor.

As well, Apple is believed to have licensed future 3D graphics chips from Imagination Technologies. Apple currently utilizes the 4th generation of this graphics chip, though the 5th generation is now available and ready for use. This new graphics chip will allow for more advanced 3D graphics on the next iPhone.

This information is also in line with reports by John Gruber who suggest that the next iPhone will be disproportionately faster than the current iPhone.

Other features that seem almost certain at this point based on the mounting evidence include:

- Magnetometer (MacRumors, Boy Genius Report, AppleInsider, Daring Fireball, UMPCFever)
- Auto Focus Camera (MacRumors, UMPCFever)
- Video (MacRumors, Engadget Mobile, Boy Genius Report, Businessweek)
- 4GB to 32GB sizes (Engadget, AreaMobile.de, Tweakers.net, Analyst)
- 7.2 Mbps 3G (AT&T, Boy Genius Report, MacRumors, Silicon Alley Insider, iLounge).

Surprisngly enough, this final list matches up well with an anonymous post from a Chinese forum, so it'll be interesting to see how right those details were after the event.

Despite the multitude of possible case designs that have been circulating around the internet, most of them are either believed to be fake or have been proven to be fake. The most credible case leak came in February when a matte iPhone case appeared forum sources in China. This possibility of a Matte case was later repeated by iLounge which has had a good record in the past. Meanwhile, most of the depictions of front-facing iChat cameras have been artist renditions and we feel there has been no real evidence that Apple will be launching that feature tomorrow.

iPhone 3.0 will certainly be discussed during the WWDC keynote and a launch date will also likely be announced.

Snow Leopard

Despite having such a long lead time, few new rumors about Snow Leopard have been circulating. Apple has been seeding developers with early releases over the past 12 months. While there have been minor revelations here and there, there are few major new details about Apple's upcoming operating system. Developers are expected to get the latest build of Snow Leopard (Build 10A380?) at WWDC and we hope to hear more definitive plans about the launch.

Meanwhile, the one secret change that had been rumored (Marble interface) may not be seen at all in Mac OS X 10.6.

Laptops

Finally, there had been some rumors about the possibility of notebook updates at WWDC back in April. These small updates could incorporate 3G into some of the laptops, or lower the price to stimulate sales. There has also been talk of rebranding all aluminum notebooks under the "MacBook Pro" moniker.

This sort of talk, however, has died down in the days leading up to WWDC and it would be strange for Apple to devote much time to their laptop line at their development conference. If these changes are to take place, it seems likely they would be "quiet" updates or perhaps occur a few weeks after WWDC, itself.

Live Coverage

The 2009 WWDC Keynote kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific / 1 p.m. Eastern time and will be given by Phil Schiller. MacRumors will be providing live coverage on MacRumorsLive, twitter @macrumors, and a Spoiler Free notification system.

John Gruber articulates what he believes we'll see at tomorrow's keynote. Gruber first reiterates his predictions from before regarding the iPhone update:

I expect Apple to announce updated iPhones with significantly faster processors, twice the RAM, and twice the storage. I expected prices to remain the same as the current lineup: $199/299 for 16/32 GB, respectively. The video camera is going to be a major selling point.

And also reveals that "iPhone 3GS" is the codename for this next gen iPhone. It may or may not carry over to the official brand name and he is not sure what the "S" stands for.
Meanwhile, he offers some speculation about how much Apple might charge for Snow Leopard but does not believe the rumored "Marble" interface will actually make it into this version of Mac OS X:

But while I am convinced that "Marble" is a real design project at Apple, I no longer believe it is slated for Snow Leopard. A new visual appearance isn't something Apple can spring on third-party developers at the last moment. If they plan to ship Snow Leopard soon say, by the end of August that just isn't enough time to allow developers to update their software to look good under a new UI theme.

Finally, he is convinced the Apple Tablet is real but that we won't see it tomorrow.

Gruber has been known to have some inside knowledge of Apple's plans and his last-minute predictions can be quite accurate. MacRumors will have live coverage of the event at MacRumorsLive.com and we will have our own rumor roundup posted shortly.

NoWhereElse.fr originally posted these images which are being mirrored by Engadget that claim to be photos of the next generation iPhone. The photos appear to depict a front-facing camera which has been on everyone's wishlist since the first iPhone came out.

Given the increasing reports that Apple will be pushing "video" as a killer feature of the new iPhone, it seems feasible that Apple could introduce video-chat. But, it's best to remind everyone that no even semi-credible source has actually suggested that the next iPhone will have a front facing camera. It's mostly been a common theme amongst these widely-circulated mockups. Some have even gone on to depict (created by a MacRumors forum member) what making a video phone call might look like.

In our mind, the most credible photo of the next generation iPhone was the matte photos that leaked a number of months ago. Unfortunately, those did not reveal what the front of the iPhone casing would look like.

Here are a collection of news and rumors in the last days leading up to WWDC:

- For those who were worried, here is a photo (above) of a banner for Snow Leopard "The World's Most Advanced Operating System" in Moscone West. Adam Jackson also posted a video of the entrance of Moscone West which is now covered in iPhone App icons.
- We've heard that Build 10A380 is likely to be the Snow Leopard build given to developers on Monday. The last build provided to developers was 10A354.
- Tweakers.net reports that the Dutch T-Mobile System lists 5 new iPhone models labeled as "iPhone 2009". These include: 16GB and 32GB models in black and white as well as one with no size given.

- MacTalk.com.au was issued a cease and desist for their Vodafone End-of-Life's iPhone story.
- Gear Live believes that the new iphone will be called "iPhone Video" and availability will be limited at first.
- DoubleTwist has managed to place an ad right under the San Francisco Apple store by renting the window from the BART transit system. Another picture showing where the subway opens to ground.

WWDC kicks off with a keynote speech by Phil Schiller on Monday, June 8th, 2009. MacRumors will have live coverage on MacRumorsLive of the keynote along with photos. We also have a Spoiler Free notification system in place to watch the video later.

As most readers are no doubt aware, the Palm Pre will go on sale to the general public tomorrow, just two days before Apple is expected to provide further details on the next generation of iPhone software, and possibly hardware. Early reviews of the Pre describe a promising product with a few shortcomings.

Last week, news broke that the Palm Pre is able to sync with iTunes, allowing for easy loading of DRM-free media. At the time, Apple DRM expert Jon Johansen surmised that the Pre must be emulating an iPod by transmitting Apple-specific vendor and product IDs to iTunes. In a follow-up post, Johansen reveals confirmation of the Pre's use of the emulation method, also noting that Palm's implementation of the technique would allow Apple to easily block iTunes syncing with the Pre in the future should it choose to do so.

With the release of iTunes 8.2 earlier this week, many users wondered if the Pre would continue to sync with iTunes. While it does in fact continue to do so, Johansen cautions against reading too much into the lack of action on Apple's part. Johansen notes that Apple certainly would have had to finalize the iTunes 8.2 release prior to the news breaking about the Pre's ability to sync with iTunes.

A Chromium blog post yesterday has announced the availability of developer builds of Google's Chrome browser for both OS X and Linux. The news comes several weeks after the release of initial OS X builds of Chromium, the open source project behind Chrome. The announcement, however, warns that most users should not install the new builds, as they are buggy, unstable, and feature-incomplete.

How incomplete? So incomplete that, among other things , you won't yet be able to view YouTube videos, change your privacy settings, set your default search provider, or even print.

While the release indicates that Google is making progress on the OS X version of Chrome, it does appear that Google has significant work ahead in order to meet its previously-announced plan for launch in the first half of this year. Google Chrome offers three release channels ranging from developer previews to stable releases, indicating that the OS X version of Chrome has several thresholds to pass before it is ready for public launch.

Many Mac users have been looking forward to the public launch of Chrome for OS X and some have expressed frustration with the length of time it is taking to complete development of the Mac version. Google co-founder Sergey Brin even went so far as to call the lack of a Mac version alongside the Windows beta launch last year "embarrassing". But as Google developer Mike Pinkerton, who has been working on the OS X version of Chrome, notes with some frustration, deploying Chrome for OS X is more difficult than many think.

We're lucky in Chromium that we can leverage a lot of shared code from the windows side, but we do have to write a bunch of UI code (unless you want the UI to just look and behave exactly like windows...I didn't think so). We're also not just embedding WebKit and dragging in a couple buttons and a text field. The team has made significant changes to how WebCore works (resource loading, sandboxing, multi-process, etc) and those take time to get right on other platforms.

Financial Times confidently reports that Apple is planning on launching a "cut-price" version of the iPhone on Monday.

Apple plans to introduce a cheaper version of its popular iPhone as soon as Monday, in a move that could dramatically increase the companys share of the market for web-surfing devices, people familiar with the initiative said on Thursday.

Analysts are predicting the cut would be either $50 or $100. If true, the drop would significantly stimulate sales of Apple's iPhone by up to 100%. The new phone is expected to start production in July.

Financial Times has been reasonably accurate in the past, though most their previous information had been surrounding Apple's negotiations with record labels.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that Steve Jobs is on track to return from his six-month medical leave of absence later this month.

While Mr. Jobs has been on sick leave, some Apple directors have gotten weekly updates about his medical condition from the CEO's physician, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Jobs's recovery "is coming along" and he is on schedule to return to work later this month, said this person, who has seen Mr. Jobs in recent weeks.

"He was one real sick guy," added this person. "Fundamentally he was starving to death over a nine-month period. He couldn't digest protein. [But] he took corrective action."

While there has been much speculation about whether Jobs will make an appearance at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has continued to officially claim that he will not return until the end of the month. The Wall Street Journal's sources claim that, true to Jobs' style of showmanship, Apple is preparing for his return to coincide with a media event of some sort.

Much of the buzz appears to be conjecture of the type that has swirled around Apple and Mr. Jobs for years. But two people who do business with Apple said senior Apple managers have told them the company is now trying to coordinate Mr. Jobs's return with a product launch or public event.

The report also cites a source who claims that the next-generation iPhone is ready to be introduced at WWDC, with a launch to possibly occur by early July in order to accommodate owners of the original iPhone whose two-year contracts will begin expiring. The source, who has seen the iPhone, reports that the iPhone will be similar in appearance to the iPhone 3G but will possess more processing power and have additional features such as video editing, claims which are consistent with previous reports.

In the days leading up to any major Apple event, the rumors tend to reach a frenzy with an avalanche of reports and images claiming to be real. The most common "fake" images that begin circulating are mockups that claim to be screenshots from Apple's site. Unless these "leaks" were actually witnessed by a large audience of people, they have historically always been fake.

The latest of these images come from italian site SpazioCellulare who posted an image yesterday and a more convincing set today (embedded above) that seems one of the more believable images that have been posted. The image appears to reflect many of the circulating rumors that have been released about the iPhone and as such may simply be an ambitious mockup. TUAW notes there are some unique findings to the images, however. There appears to be an extra button on the lower-side of the case (camera shutter?) and the headphone jack for the iPhone appears to have moved down to the bottom of the unit. We certainly aren't confident that these images are real, but do serve as interesting speculation.

Some other rumors with even less evidence surrounding them include claims of iPhone Video and a German launch (iFun.de) of the next iPhone set for June 19th.

We're only 4 days away from the WWDC keynote. Stay tuned.

AppleInsider reports that UK authorized iPhone distributor Carphone Warehouse has added four new iPhone "V3" entries to its inventory system covering 16 GB and 32 GB models in both black and white.

Entries in resellers' inventory systems should typically taken with some skepticism, as such additions are frequently made on a "best guess" basis without any inside knowledge of future product releases. In some cases, however, as in last week's case of an entry in Best Buy's system preceding the release of the updated white MacBook, such changes to inventory systems can not be entirely discounted.

Increasing reports of iPhone 3G shortages and rumors of third-party manufacturers already shipping parts for the next-generation iPhone certainly point toward the release of new iPhone models in the near future. Previous reports from Boy Genius Report and Engadget have pointed to iPhone capacities as low as 4 GB, ostensibly in an effort to offer lower-priced models, while others such as this most recent report have suggested that Apple may continue offering only two different capacities.

While the iPhone has dominated the rumor scene in the weeks leading up to WWDC, we've heard little about the status of Apple's Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system. Snow Leopard was first announced last summer at the 2008 WWDC. At the time, Apple had announced that Snow Leopard would be delivered in "about a year".

While Apple has been making steady progress, some reports pushed the release date of Snow Leopard back to September. We've since heard, however, that Snow Leopard may be further along than we thought. Apple is reportedly referring to internal builds of Snow Leopard as Gold Master candidates, suggesting that the operating system could be feature complete and mostly bug free. We've heard no further evidence, however, of the rumored "Marble" interface that was said to be part of the final Snow Leopard release.

Apple will likely detail its launch plans for Snow Leopard at WWDC next week.