Mac

As mobile future looms, Apple milks iMac margins

Apple's long-awaited Mac desktop refresh Tuesday is evidence of the company's determination to preserve its margins in a category that's fast going out of style.

Three Mac desktop categories were updated Tuesday, but only one really matters: the Mac Mini and Mac Pro aren't nearly as popular as the all-in-one iMac. Apple did improve the specifications of the iMac at the same price points, lowering the cost of acquiring a 24-inch version to $1,499. But it made few significant changes to a design that hasn't been updated since September 2007 and resisted calls to … Read more

Apple overhauls iMacs, 24-inch models more affordable

Editors' Note: As of October 20, 2009, the iMac reviewed here has been replaced by 27-inch iMac models.

In addition to updating its Mac Minis this morning, Apple has new iMacs. Each of the four default models received an update, so we'll break them out below list-style for convenience, with new specs in bold.

$1,199 iMac

2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM 320GB hard drive

256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chip 20-inch LCD

$1,499 iMac

2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 4GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM 640GB hard drive

256MB (shared) … Read more

Apple polishes its desktop line

Updated 8:25 a.m. PST with analyst note.

As expected, Apple announced desktop updates on Tuesday with a focus on energy efficiency.

There are new Mac Pro high-end desktops powered by Intel's Nehalem-based Xeon processors, new and more graphics-intensive Mac Mini machines, and updated iMacs that offer the lowest price yet on these consumer desktops.

All the new machines meet the requirements for Energy Star 5.0 certification, which kicks in this summer.

The new Mac Pro is priced at $2,… Read more

Signs building toward March iMac launch

It's as clear as it gets in the Apple rumor business that if you're in the market for one of the company's iMacs, it's probably worth waiting a few weeks.

Several rumors flew across the Internet over the weekend and Monday, hurled by World of Apple and others, that Apple is finally gearing up for the long-awaited refresh of its all-in-one iMac desktop sometime later this month. Such an overhaul is long overdue in the minds of many Apple watchers, who have been hearing about a potential iMac refresh since last November.

Surprisingly, few details are available about what changes Apple is planning to make to the iMac, which could suggest that the changes will be under the hood rather than design-related. The Nvidia integrated graphics chipsets used in last October's MacBook refresh are a decent bet, perhaps combined with the 9600M discrete graphics card as Apple did with the MacBook Pro.

Maynard Um of UBS put out a research note Monday saying that one sure bet for the new systems are Intel's Nehalem processors. The server version of those chips is scheduled to be out relatively soon, which means Apple will probably also have a new high-end Mac Pro soon, as OSX86 contributor Netkas (via Ars Technica) has uncovered.… Read more

Purported Mac Mini video surfaces

Either Apple's about to launch a Mac Mini, or somebody is really determined to get into the Apple Rumor/Hoax Hall of Fame.

A day after a photo surfaced supposedly showing Apple's design for a next-generation Mac Mini--which was then debunked through some crazy spectral analysis or something--a video has surfaced in the forums of MacRumors claiming to depict a new Mac Mini. The computer shown in the video has the same five USB ports and MiniDisplay port that graced the Mac Mini shown in the photo.

An immediate discussion regarding the video's authenticity flared … Read more

Survey: Apple's Mac customers highly satisfied

Apple may be in for some short-term pain when it comes to the Mac, but it can take comfort in the fact that recent buyers seem very satisfied with their purchases.

ChangeWave released another one of its surveys Wednesday, which chart the likelihood of respondents to buy a personal computer over the next 90 days from one manufacturer as opposed to another. As we pointed out earlier this week, Apple appears to have finally run into the economic storm that is hurting the tech industry, although the more interesting number was the various customer satisfaction ratings assembled by ChangeWave.

Apple customers over the past 90 days reported by far the highest level of satisfaction in ChangeWave's survey, with 81 percent of Apple customers saying they were "highly satisfied." Asus customers were the second-most satisfied group, with 67 percent reporting they were highly satisfied with their purchase, while 61 percent of Acer customers fell into that category. Lenovo was last, with only 50 percent reporting such levels of satisfaction.… Read more

Piper: Q2 Mac sales on pace to decline

Apple's Mac sales for the first month of the year could indicate that the economy is finally catching up with the company.

Piper Jaffray, known as one of the most Apple-positive analyst firms in the financial industry, released a report Tuesday indicating that based on a month's worth of data from NPD Group, Mac sales are on a pace to decline on a year-over-year basis for the first time in six years. Piper is projecting that Apple will sell between 2 million and 2.2 million Macs during the quarter, compared to 2.3 million Macs sold in … Read more

Report: Apple Snow Leopard takes swipe at location, multi-touch features

Apple reportedly is gearing up to offer location and multi-touch developer tools in its Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system, according to a report in AppleInsider

The geolocation tools will take a page from the iPhone software development kit (SDK), by way of the CoreLocation framework, according to AppleInsider. The CoreLocation works inconjunction with the Mac's networking hardware, aiming to provide a GPS-like experience.

Apple's next generation OS will also provide developers with programing interfaces that are Cocoa-based, as a means to maximize the use of the multi-touch features within the MacBook and MacBook Pro … Read more

Apple delays 17-inch MacBook Pro shipments

Apple is going to need a little more time to get its new 17-inch MacBook Pro out the door.

Last week Apple updated its order page for the new MacBook Pro unveiled at Macworld 2009 to reflect a shipping lead time of 7 to 10 days. But AppleInsider now reports that those who preordered the systems from Apple have been told not to expect their systems before February 19.

Apple didn't provide an exact explanation for the delay but told customers via e-mail that "wrapping up the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is taking a few days longer than … Read more

Survey: Demand for Apple notebooks declining

Apple's Mac division was able to withstand recessionary pressures last quarter by neutralizing a decline in desktop sales with a sharp rise in notebook sales. Will it continue?

A new survey released by ChangeWave Wednesday makes it clear that despite a relatively strong first quarter, Apple is not out of the woods yet. Of respondents planning to buy a notebook in the next 90 days, the percentage of those planning to buy an Apple notebook fell six percentage points to 28 percent, as compared with November's survey.

The overall percentage of respondents planning to buy a notebook fell from 8 percent in November to 6 percent, so it's not just Apple that's feeling the pinch. And consumer electronics spending is on the wane as well, with the percentage of those planning to spend more on consumer tech over the next 90 days falling to a two-and-a-half-year low.

But Changewave says that decline is being partially offset by an increase in demand for Netbooks, a category where Apple is taking a wait-and-see approach. The research firm concludes its report by opining that Apple could be in trouble without a Netbook, because the PC market is growing increasingly price-sensitive as the recession takes hold.… Read more