Today Apple released the long awaited Mac Pro updates a week ahead of Macworld Expo. Similarly, in June, Apple released MacBook Pro updates only 6 days before the WWDC 2007 Keynote. A few notes gathered about the new Mac Pros:
- Today's Mac Pro is called "Mac Pro (Early 2008)" in Apple support documents. - Full Specs and Manual (PDF) have been posted. - New Mac Pros are already in retail Apple Stores. - While Apple has standardized on 8-Core Mac Pros as the "base" model, they actually do offer a single 2.8GHz Quad-Core CPU Mac Pro option for $2299. - Rumors of Apple buying up the high end 3.2GHz Penryn ("Harpertown") processors were apparently true. - The 1600MHz front side bus is up from the previous Mac Pro's 1333 MHz front side bus. - While the new NVIDIA 8800GT is not yet available in the U.S. as a standalone purchase for old Mac Pros, it is available separately at the UK Apple Store for 220. [Update[ Now Available at U.S. Apple Store. - Despite expectations, Apple did not introduce a Blu-ray option. - Reminder that Apple charges a large premium for RAM for their online store orders, so you will always do better to buy ram from 3rd party vendors. (Discussion) - Bluetooth is now a standard option
Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
