Apple's up comming Hardware updates

Ok here we go, the first entry in this new blog. What a great subject to start with, when will we see new computers from Apple? After the Macworld expo this year, many were asking where is the new hardware. The answer in short is, When Apple is ready. Well I was never good with short answer so here is my take on things.

First is the rumors, and at the top of that list is will their be a redesign of the IMac, MacMini, and/or the MacPro. The Answer is yes, no, and maybe. Lets say 40% yes 50% no. The reason for this is a factor is the fact that the IPhone is on it’s way in June, and with the hype that Apple will have around this product. Apple may want give us a gift with a total redesign of it’s whole lineup. Also last year Apple changed the inside by going to Intel Core Duo processor, why not give a polish to the outside. Some have been pointing to the update after this, in the second half of the year, and this could be true. However, this brings us back to the IPhone. If you think that Apple has been pushing it before the release, just wait till it comes out. Apple may not want to keep anything from stealing the thunder away from the IPhone so this may also bring a redesign sooner then later. I will even go as far as saying that if the redesign is not in the next update; it may not come till next year.

Next is the Santa Rosa Mother Board. This is from Intel’s website:
Santa Rosa is the codename for Intel's fourth-generation Centrino platform for notebook PCs. Santa Rosa is believed to include new mobile versions of Intel's 965 Express and ICH8 chipset family with support for increased 800MHz FSB (front side bus) speeds and Intel's updated integrated graphics engine, the GMA X3000.
Will we see this soon in the IMac / MacMini? Well the MacMini may get this one in the next update. The MacMini has an integrated graphics engine, as well as the MacBook (Non-Pro). As for the IMac I would like to see a desktop processor in the new IMac, but I believe that has a 20% chance.

Speed Bumps and Video updates: This one is a given you will at-least see a faster processor and different video card. 128mb of video ram in the stock version will still be the standard, but once again a build to order version will have a 256mb, if you wish to pay premium.

The processor (or CPU) will be over 2.33GHz, as the build to option right now stands at 2.33GHz. So I would like to see 2.5GHz or 2.6GHz with a 2.8GHz build to order. I think this could happen. Looking across the Internet there are a lot of PCs in the 2.5 GHz – 2.9 GHz range, already out. Now some may say that the MacPro is already at 3.0 GHz, and this is true. However the IMac is the consumer model of the Macintosh line and with Apple always talking Market share, it seems to me that they would want to keep the speeds close to the consumer models in the PC world. Long time Macintosh user would and will disagree with what I just said, but lets face it now that the Macintosh uses the processor as a Dell, people will be looking at speed before switching and Apple knows it.

MacOS 10.5 (Leopard) / ILife 2007: I guess the question here is two fold. 1. When will they ship and 2. Will it be around the time of and will the new hardware have it. This is a hard one. MacOS X is very big at Apple and none are bigger then the new MacOS10.5 version. A lot of people have stated that the 10.4 version for the new Intel Macintosh line seemed like a hack. That it was not quite ready. Well now that the whole Macintosh line uses the Intel chips it seems that Apple will have a better outing with Leopard. To answer the first question, when will it be out? We go back to the roll out of the IPhone. I think no matter what Apple and its CEO Steve Jobs will want a buffer zone of, well just say, as a guess, of May 1st till July 30th where everyone is talking IPhone. As for the second question: Will it be around the time of and will the new hardware have it? The answer is your guess is as good as mine. However I can see an event, between March 20th and April 15th, where they roll out all the desktops at once, with different ship dates and, well by the way they all ship with Leopard and ILife 07.

Final thoughts:
The one thing no one has been talking about is that Apple Computer, is now Apple Inc. I think this is a major shift in thinking at Apple, and for a good reason. I think Apple wants to be more then a computer company. To that I say great, but I do think that Apple will no longer spread these computer announcements over many different events, I think it going to be more like, today we are updating are desktops, then a couple on months here is the laptops, with other stuff in between. What I said here today could be more then wrong. In the end Apple has it’s own time line, and for my part this is only a guess. Who am I, Just a person who has been using Apple since 1992. It doesn’t mean have some special insight on what Apple will do. It just means I know that any thing is possible.