Skip to Content

Channel News, PowerMacs, and Q6/Blackrider?

Think Secret fills in some details about current distribution channel trends.

Previous reports of 1.42GHz product depletion are confirmed as well as a new report that 1GHz machines are also being cleared from the channel. Also confirmed are "mystery box" shipments to Apple stores.

Some questions are still left unanswered, however -- with ThinkSecret also suggesting that PowerMac release availability could be limited to entry level machines alone for the first month. The article also discusses the possibilities of 15inch PowerBooks and other software updates.

A mystery hardware product and OS update -- known as Q6 and Blackrider-- is also referenced as a potential upcoming release in ThinkSecret's article, but few details are known.

Related Roundup: Mac Pro
Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Caution)
Related Forums: Mac Pro, PowerPC Macs

Popular Stories

MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

First MacBook Neo Benchmarks Are In: Here's How It Compares to the M1 MacBook Air

Thursday March 5, 2026 4:07 pm PST by
Benchmarks for the new MacBook Neo surfaced today, and unsurprisingly, CPU performance is almost identical to the iPhone 16 Pro. The MacBook Neo uses the same 6-core A18 Pro chip that was first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro, but it has one fewer GPU core. The MacBook Neo earned a single-core score of 3461 and a multi-core score of 8668, along with a Metal score of 31286. Here's how the...
MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

Apple Announces $599 'MacBook Neo' With A18 Pro Chip

Wednesday March 4, 2026 6:15 am PST by
Apple today announced the "MacBook Neo," an all-new kind of low-cost Mac featuring the A18 Pro chip for $599. The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to be powered by an iPhone chip; the A18 Pro debuted in 2024's iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple says it is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5, up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads,...
Multicolored Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature

Apple Accidentally Leaks 'MacBook Neo'

Tuesday March 3, 2026 7:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have prematurely revealed the name of its rumored lower-cost MacBook model, which is expected to be announced this Wednesday. A regulatory document for a "MacBook Neo" (Model A3404) has appeared on Apple's website. Unfortunately, there are no further details or images available yet. While the PDF file does not contain the "MacBook Neo" name, it briefly appeared in a link...