14 DAY TRIAL // Sources in the Apple blogosphere are beginning to leak not only the technical specifications pertaining to the next-generation of Macs, but also the prices. It’s all but confirmed almost a full week before the WWDC opening keynote.
Obtained by two Mac-centric sources, the pricing and the specs reflect some of the most recent rumors regarding Apple refresh, including new versions of the Mac Pro, Retina MacBook Pro notebooks, MacBook Airs, and iMacs. Nothing for the Mac mini, though.
9to5mac identifies some part numbers as being an Entry Mac Pro, a Server Mac Pro, and a higher-end Mac Pro, and a $12.00 accessory that should be a new iPod Shuffle connector. The $99 MD564ZM/A is believed to be a USB3.0 Super Drive, and the $35 piece should represent a new USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter.
MIC Gadget chimes in with hard technical specifications for Apple’s new range of Mac Pro workstations.
Drawing its information from industry sources, the Chinese site reports that “SATA III/SAS connectivity is now native,” and that customers should expect PCIE3 to be native as well [...] Also expect up to 40 lanes per socket, rather than the usual 36 of the previous generation,” says the Chinese publication.
The systems will further boast USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectors. The processors are supplied by Intel. They’re not Ivy Bridge, because of voltage concerns. Rather, they are Xeon processors with onboard memory controllers. The Mac Pro will have its memory spec upgraded from 1333 Mhz to 1600 Mhz with 25% more memory capacity and 8 physical memory lanes.
The Mac Pro line will not arrive with a new design, according to the sources leaking this information. Apparently, Apple doesn’t want a rack-mountable design, despite touting the Pro as a good server computer.
“Apple does not wish to be present in the enterprise market as the units sell very poorly in comparison to the other products they sell,” the sources said.
