Apple's WWDC 2017 Hardware: IMac, MacBook, And IPad Pro Updates, Plus The Beastly IMac Pro Teased
Apple's 2017 WWDC address was one of the widest-ranging we can recall. One of the announcements was around macOS X (in a new version called "High Sierra"; more here from our colleagues at PCMag.com), centered around changes to the OS's core file system and the Safari browser, as well as iOS 11, teasing new payment options, Siri tweaks, and a redesigned App Store (more on that PCMag.com, as well). Also, the event wrapped up with the reveal of a new wireless speaker solution for home audio, the Apple HomePod, which will bring spatialized, streamed audio that adapts to the physical speaker placement within a room. (See more on that new gadget, too, in PCMag.com's synopsis.)
We were most intrigued, though, by the torrent of changes to the core Apple computing lines. The MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air, and the iMac all-in-ones are all seeing a slew of changes to their displays, storage, and core components. Plus, the iPad Pro tablet is getting a refresh, in the form of a new-for-2017, 10.5-inch-screened model with all-new innards. And we got a peek at a workstation-grade version of the iMac, dubbed iMac Pro.
Let's take a look at them all.
Apple iMac All-in-Ones: Better, Brighter Displays, Thunderbolt 3, Kaby Lake CPUs
The existing iMacs get a more substantial update than the MacBooks (which we'll get into in a minute), although their silver-metal exterior designs look to be the same.
For starters, Apple says the displays on its updated iMacs are 40 percent brighter than the previous models, now 500 nits, and capable of displaying a billion colors.
Below the display, the iMac 21.5-Inch and iMac 27-Inch models will also get 7th Generation Kaby Lake processors from Intel, along with HEVC (H.265) support. The latter should mean streaming 4K content should arrive on these machines, provided you opt for one with a 4K-or-higher display.
RAM for the 21.5-inch model will max out at 32GB, while the 27-incher makes room for up to 64GB. Apple says the 27-inch model (as well as its top-end 21.5-incher) will now feature a hybrid “Fusion Drive” as standard issue, and the drives here will also reportedly be 50 percent faster than on previous models. And solid-state storage, if you opt for it, will now top out at 2TB.
The port selection is changing on the new iMacs, with both models getting a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports in the form of reversible USB Type-C connectors.
The entry-level 21.5-inch model will now come with Iris Plus graphics, while the 4K model at that size with use either Radeon Pro 550 or 560 graphics with up to 4GB of video memory. The 27-inch model gets Radeon Pro 570, 575, or 580 graphics with up to 8GB of video memory.
The entry-level 21.5-inch refreshed iMac will start at $1,099, with a 4K model now selling for $1,299. The 27-inch model will now start at $1,799. But if you want to load it up with Radeon Pro 580 graphics, lots of RAM, and 2TB of solid-state storage, expect to pay much (much) more.
The Apple MacBook & MacBook Pro: 7th Generation “Kaby Lake” Processors, Speedier Solid-State Storage
It was just last fall that Apple updated its MacBook Pro lineup, including models with and without the the OLED Touch Bar. (See our review of the 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.) And while the current MacBook design has been around for a couple of years now, at 2 pounds and a wispy half-inch thick, it’s probably svelte enough, at least for the time being. So instead of major design changes, Apple is upgrading the internals on its laptop line today.
The smallest 12-inch MacBook will now ship with Intel’s latest 7th Generation Kaby Lake processors that can clock as high as 3.6GHz, and you can opt for as much as 16GB of RAM.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro also gets a Kaby Lake upgrade, with Core i7 options featuring Turbo Boost speeds as high as 4GHz, with the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s Kaby Lake chip upgrade clocking as high as 4.1GHz.
Both MacBook Pro models also get graphics updates. The 13-incher starts with Iris Plus 640 silicon, or you can step up to the modestly better Iris Plus 650 graphics. Both are integrated-graphics solutions that are part of the Kaby Lake CPUs. The 15-inch MacBook Pro, meanwhile, makes room for either AMD Radeon Pro 555 dedicated graphics, with 2GB of video memory, or Radeon Pro 560 silicon (with 4GB).
The long-neglected MacBook Air also gets a CPU update, to a processor with a base clock of 1.8GHz. But there was no mention of the processor generation with the Air. Given it’s a laptop that hasn’t received a major update in years now, the processor in this model is almost certainly previous-generation silicon.
The updated MacBook and MacBook Pros all also get faster solid-state drives (SSDs) that Apple says are “up to 50 percent faster” than previous-generation models. Given Apple’s recent laptops have generally included fairly speedy storage, the SSDs in the new models should be quite fast indeed.
Both the updated MacBook and the 13-inch MacBook Pro (sans Touch Bar) now start at $1,299. The Touch Bar-equipped 13-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1,799, with the 15-inch MacBook Pro starting at $2,399. Orders for the updated models start today, though Apple says they won’t show up in Apple stores until Wednesday, June 7th.
Apple iPad Pro: A New Size
The smaller of Apple's iPad Pros is getting a screen-size boost. To our eyes, that was likely done to differentiate it further from the $329 Apple iPad (2017), which, until now, had the same screen size as the smaller of the two Pros, at 9.7 inches.
The new iPad Pro comes in at a 10.5-inch diagonal screen size, up from the previous 9.7 inches. The overall dimensions of the tablet aren't much different, though, and the weight is the same, at one pound even. Apple kept the footprint trim by reducing the bezels by 40 percent versus before. According to the company, this new screen size is better suited to an onscreen keyboard, as well as for accessorizing the tablet with a new "smart keyboard" accessory that will come with support for 30 languages.
As for the new screen itself, it will support what Apple calls TrueTone, for balancing color and white balance, plus a wide color gamut that will lend support for HDR video. The panel now has a 600-nit maximum brightness rating, as well as a feature, ProMotion, that increases the top refresh rate to 120Hz. Under ProMotion, the screen also makes use of a dynamic refresh-rate adjustment technology to save energy; static scenes or apps that don't require a high refresh rate for smoothness will ramp down to a more efficient slower refresh.
Inside, the new iPad Pro uses Apple's A10X Fusion CPU, a six-core chip using three cores for high-performance situations and three for efficiency-minded ones, moving between them as need be, along the lines of big.LITTLE arrangements in Android devices. The graphics chip (unnamed) is a 12-core GPU; Apple notes 40 percent faster graphics performance (versus what, we are not sure) and a staggering 500 times the graphics performance of the original 2010 iPad.
Despite the screen changes, the same 10-hour battery life is the projection, and Apple is doubling the storage minimum to 64GB on both the 10.5- and 12-inch screen sizes. Starting prices will be $649 for the new, smaller iPad Pro and $799 for the larger model. It will ship with iOS 10, and upgrade free to iOS 11 in the fall.
Teaser: The 2017 iMac Pro
The Mac Pro cylinder/workstation has been long overdue for an update. It's a machine whose time has come and gone, what with a mostly sealed design and ports that are now becoming passe, thanks to new, speedier options. What came clear today: The successor, it seems, may well be not a stand-alone tower or a mini-PC, but an all-in-one.
The teased iMac Pro has much the same design as the 27-inch version of the Apple iMac 5K, done up in a Space Gray finish. The difference: This machine will pack unequivocal workstation-grade performance, at least if its specs are any guide.
Apple will offer the iMac Pro in a choice of eight-core, 10-core, or 18-core Intel Xeon CPUs, with no announced plans for mainstream Core i-series processors. These are serious workstation chips with likely prices to match. As for graphics, the iMac Pros will use AMD's forthcoming Radeon Vega graphics chips, which will come with up to 16GB of dedicated memory, capable of 11 teraflops of raw compute power. According to Apple, this will all be possible thanks to extra, but quiet-running, cooling hardware bolstered by two internal fans.
The main memory in the unit will start (start, mind you) at 32GB and range up to an available 128GB of ECC RAM. Storage, meanwhile, will range up to 4GB of PCI Express/NVMe solid state storage.
The body will also feature four USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, and this will be first Mac with support for 10-gigabit Ethernet. The two Thunderbolt ports will support two high-performance displays to 5K each, plus two Thunderbolt RAID arrays.
Apple notes that machine-learning applications, as well as, of course, fast media encoding, will be the order of the day on a workstation of this magnitude. Look out, Surface Studio and HP Z-series: A base model of the iMac Pro, with an eight-core Xeon, a 1TB SSD, Vega graphics, and 32GB of ECC will come in at $4,999. Expect these AIOs to ship in December 2017.
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