Apple Oct. 22 event: We Still Have A Lot To Cover

[bearxor]

An A6 on a Retina Mini would bring per-pixel performance that's equivalent to an iPad 3. As an owner of an iPad 3 running iOS 7, I can tell you that is absolutely unacceptable, and I'd be floored if Apple management thinks differently and releases a new product based on that.

The answer then is either an A6X or an A7 for the rMini, with the A7 being the obvious choice, as it has a more die efficient GPU design and is already benefitting from the iPhone 5s's manufactory ramp.

I agree an A6 isn't going to be offered on a RiPad Mini. I think the processor is going to come down to one thing.

Will there be a A7X? If yes, I think the RiPad Mini gets an A6X. If no, then it gets an A7 along with the iPad 5.

Edit: There's recently been a lot of blog posts and articles from the chattering class regarding possible price points. Building off of that, I'm going to guess $299 A6 vanilla Mini, $399 A7 retina Mini, $499 A7X full-sized iPad. Also, if the leaks showing the full-size iPad's volume reduction are indicative of the final weight (I'm betting on <1.2lb but hoping it's close to 1.1lb/500g), the product's achilles heel might be "solved".

I've talked about it before, but I strongly believe the $329 price point of the original iPad Mini was to mark Apple's "spot" on the pricing tier for the iPad Mini in general.

A RiPad Mini will be $329. The old iPad Mini will be $229.

 

[ponyo]

Looking forward to the new AppleTV and hopefully new retina iPad Mini.

 

[Drekce]

I just want a new Mac Mini for my living room.

 

[Joe1987]

If Apple nails a smart cover keyboard for the iPad, it'll eviscerate the consumer laptop market. Although it's already doing that.

 

[MrX8503]

If Apple nails a smart cover keyboard for the iPad, it'll eviscerate the consumer laptop market. Although it's already doing that.

I remember when people thought netbooks were the next computing device. At the iPad Keynote Steve's famous words were "Netbooks aren't good at anything!". Then once the iPad was released, netbooks were phased out and laptops went down a faster decline.

I think tablets can replace laptops for simple general use, but I still like my laptop. Tablets definitely has come a far far way though.

 

[Kaido]

I remember when people thought netbooks were the next computing device. At the iPad Keynote Steve's famous words were "Netbooks aren't good at anything!". Then once the iPad was released, netbooks were phased out and laptops went down a faster decline.

I think tablets can replace laptops for simple general use, but I still like my laptop. Tablets definitely has come a far far way though.

Which is really unfortunate, because the netbook concept was excellent, it was just terrible executed. imo the only real problem was the standard 1024x600 screen resolution...there were too many programs that you couldn't access the buttons in full-screen because you couldn't see them! The 11" Air is fine because of the 1366x768 resolution, as are other ultra-portables now.

I still have one at work that I use solely for network testing on the shop floor haha.

 

[Eug]

Netbooks sucked. Yes it was the implementation, but not because of the resolution. The things were simply too small and too underpowered, and the reduced-size keyboards made them painful to use. Single or even dual-core Atom with insufficient RAM, Windows 7 Starter, uber-slow hard-drives, and annoyingly small keyboards were a recipe for disaster.

I clamoured for an Apple ultrabook for a long time, and they finally released one, with a full-sized keyboard, in the 11.6" Air.

The usability of the Air is not because of the 1366x768 screen. In fact, on an air-sized machine, I'd prefer a 1152x720 or 1152x768 screen, for better font sizing. The reason it is usable is because it has a decent CPU and a full-size keyboard, and (now) SSD. Too bad the screen on the Air isn't very good either, but at least it's usable.

 

[mavere]

KGI&#8217;s Mingchi Kuo offers his thoughts.

If the iPad 5 is actually 500g or less, I'd be first in line.

Edit: One of 9to5's editors expressed disbelief on Twitter that a retina Mini wouldn't have an A6X. I don't get the preoccupation with that SoC simply because it has an X at the end. The A7 has superior CPU and GPU performance and comes in a lower TDP envelope as well as 20% less die area on a matured process. Any regression in raw memory bandwidth (which is still comparable to the A5X) would be alleviated by the A7's improved controllers. In short, it has almost better everything for likely the same cost. It's been the obvious choice from day one.

 

[Joe1987]

I'm kind of thinking of getting a 12" iPad if they're offered, I use my 10" iPad for media consumption at home and another 2" would be nice.

 

[bearxor]

My likelihood of processors for a retina iPad mini are:
A7
Some new processor we don't know about yet
A6
A6X

 

[boomhower]

While I'd like a retina iPad Mini I don't see myself upgrading to one. I'm interested to see what they can do to the Apple TV to make an upgrade worthwhile, I'm certainly game if they have something big enough. I'm mainly looking forward to Mavericks, I'm kinda broke right now so it's more in my price range anyways. Also interested to see just how nuts the price of the Mac Pro is going to be.

 

[MrX8503]

While I'd like a retina iPad Mini I don't see myself upgrading to one. I'm interested to see what they can do to the Apple TV to make an upgrade worthwhile, I'm certainly game if they have something big enough. I'm mainly looking forward to Mavericks, I'm kinda broke right now so it's more in my price range anyways. Also interested to see just how nuts the price of the Mac Pro is going to be.

The Mac Pro price will probably be $2500 with low specs as a base and ridiculous price for decent specs.

 

[Kaido]

Engadget has a pretty good discussion on what to expect:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/21/apple-october-22nd-event-rumor-roundup/

Just grabbing their headlines:

1. THE HEADLINERS: IPAD AND IPAD MINI REDESIGNS
2. SAFE PREDICTIONS: OS X MAVERICKS AND MAC PRO AVAILABILITY
3. DISTINCT POSSIBILITIES: MACBOOK PRO AND MAC MINI REFRESHES
4. WILD CARDS: APPLE TV, SMARTWATCHES AND SOFTWARE

They said they have a lot to cover, so who knows? Personally I'm holding out for a Retina Air & Retina iPad Mini 🙂

 

[Kaido]

I'm kind of thinking of getting a 12" iPad if they're offered, I use my 10" iPad for media consumption at home and another 2" would be nice.

Wow 12" of metal & glass? That would be kind of a bear to handle - the 10" model is already kind of big, especially to hold for an extended period of time!

 

[Joe1987]

Engadget has a pretty good discussion on what to expect:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/21/apple-october-22nd-event-rumor-roundup/

Just grabbing their headlines:

1. THE HEADLINERS: IPAD AND IPAD MINI REDESIGNS
2. SAFE PREDICTIONS: OS X MAVERICKS AND MAC PRO AVAILABILITY
3. DISTINCT POSSIBILITIES: MACBOOK PRO AND MAC MINI REFRESHES
4. WILD CARDS: APPLE TV, SMARTWATCHES AND SOFTWARE

They said they have a lot to cover, so who knows? Personally I'm holding out for a Retina Air & Retina iPad Mini 🙂

After looking at this YouTube video in that story, I think the fingerprint sensor and an A7X cpu are a lock for the iPad 5, supposedly, the fingerprint ID has to have a 64 bit cpu to function so beautifully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6zEOiPlYtw

 

[Aikouka]

supposedly, the fingerprint ID has to have a 64 bit cpu to function so beautifully.

The A7 features hardware-based encryption, which is why Apple would required for the fingerprint sensor. I'd suspect an A7X, because that's what makes the most sense. Ever since the switch to the Retina display in the iPad 3, Apple has used a beefier variant of the iPhone SoC to handle the extra screen real estate.

 

[smackababy]

I am just hoping for a rMBP refresh. Maybe a retina iPad Mini just to play around with.

 

[MrX8503]

Engadget has a pretty good discussion on what to expect:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/21/apple-october-22nd-event-rumor-roundup/

Just grabbing their headlines:

1. THE HEADLINERS: IPAD AND IPAD MINI REDESIGNS
2. SAFE PREDICTIONS: OS X MAVERICKS AND MAC PRO AVAILABILITY
3. DISTINCT POSSIBILITIES: MACBOOK PRO AND MAC MINI REFRESHES
4. WILD CARDS: APPLE TV, SMARTWATCHES AND SOFTWARE

They said they have a lot to cover, so who knows? Personally I'm holding out for a Retina Air & Retina iPad Mini 🙂

There are a lot of updates. Personally I'll be grabbing an iPad, rMBP13, Apple TV, and Thunderbolt Display.

I'm hoping we'll see updates to the last two.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

iPads will never eviscerate the laptop market because they only excel as consumption devices. To replace a laptop you need to be able to produce content on an iPad, which at this point in time is an inferior experience to a standard laptop.

iOS still cannot even multitask. Let's stop this premature talk about the death of laptops and PCs.

 

[Kaido]

There are a lot of updates. Personally I'll be grabbing an iPad, rMBP13, Apple TV, and Thunderbolt Display.

I'm hoping we'll see updates to the last two.

It was rumored that Apple will have 5K displays to go with the new Mac Pros. That would be the bomb. But still not good enough for the RED Epic Dragon :biggrin:

 

[bearxor]

iPads will never eviscerate the laptop market because they only excel as consumption devices. To replace a laptop you need to be able to produce content on an iPad, which at this point in time is an inferior experience to a standard laptop.

This goes back to Steve's "PC's are a truck" point of view.

Will tablets like the iPad COMPLETELY replace PC's? No, of course not. But for the vast majority of consumers, it will.

iOS still cannot even multitask. Let's stop this premature talk about the death of laptops and PCs.

I used to think this was a big deal with the general public but after working on a help desk now it's less of an issue. People don't realize they can even have more than one application open on a full blown laptop. I get "let me close my email so I can open my internet" all the time.

 

[Koing]

I am just hoping for a rMBP refresh. Maybe a retina iPad Mini just to play around with.

I'm going to cry if they don't release haswell rMBP 🙁

It was rumored that Apple will have 5K displays to go with the new Mac Pros. That would be the bomb. But still not good enough for the RED Epic Dragon :biggrin:

No chance of a 5K display. I haven't heard of anyone with a 5K display out. 4K is still very pricey but it's coming down 🙂.

A 4K display at £1k would be VERY cool but I'm very doubtful. Saying that I remember getting my Sony 23" back in 2002/03 for £2.3k! Then in 2005 or 2006 I got the Del 24" for £650? lol

Koing

 

[Joe1987]

iPads will never eviscerate the laptop market because they only excel as consumption devices. To replace a laptop you need to be able to produce content on an iPad, which at this point in time is an inferior experience to a standard laptop.

iOS still cannot even multitask. Let's stop this premature talk about the death of laptops and PCs.

Sorry, should have specified "consumer laptops" And arguing content creation will take much more time than I wish to commit to the discussion, but a keyboard cover will make it even easier to "create content"

And you've seen the same stats I have, it's already happening.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

Sorry, should have specified "consumer laptops" And arguing content creation will take much more time than I wish to commit to the discussion, but a keyboard cover will make it even easier to "create content"

And you've seen the same stats I have, it's already happening.

Even with a keyboard the iPad doesn't come close to what I can produce with a standard PC or laptop. I'm trying to imagine simulating my work environment on a tablet and it makes me cringe.

 

[saratoga172]

This goes back to Steve's "PC's are a truck" point of view.

Will tablets like the iPad COMPLETELY replace PC's? No, of course not. But for the vast majority of consumers, it will.

I agree with this. It'll replace for lots of people. Not for many on AT though.

I used to think this was a big deal with the general public but after working on a help desk now it's less of an issue. People don't realize they can even have more than one application open on a full blown laptop. I get "let me close my email so I can open my internet" all the time.
I've seen actually the opposite. Rarely do I encounter users wanting to close apps...except when connecting to fix something. Usually they are tapping out their machines because they haven't rebooted/shut down in 25 days, have 12 Excel files open for no reason, Outlook, 4 IE browsers (not tabs but browsers), and maybe Word or something else. And you can't reason with them about closing anything because they need "quick" access to it all...I can see it hasn't been saved or touched for days and it takes them minutes to fumble through it all...Rant over.

See bold in above.