Apple May Discontinue The 17-inch MacBook Pro

Get ready to say goodbye to Apple's largest, most expensive Mac in its MacBook Pro line. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple may discontinue the 17-inch MacBook Pro as early as this year due to poor sales. Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro only accounted for 1.7% of all MacBook sales in the first quarter of 2012, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro ranks up at 46.9% followed by the rest of the portable Mac line. Apple is expected to release refreshed Macs this year at WWDC on June 11. 

Rumored “Ultra-Thin” 15-Inch MacBook Pro

 

Follow up rumors have hinted at the long-awaited “Macbook Air”-esque MacBook Pro being near its launch date. 9to5mac reports of a new 15-inch Macbook Pro’s design sporting a thinner body without both an optical drive and Ethernet port. Both of these features have been excluded in the MacBook Air line and would make sense for the Pro line to follow suit as Apple is aiming for a thin notebook standard.

The report hints at possible USB 3.0 capabilities as well as Thunderbolt connectivity. With the new design, the layout will consist of the MagSafe power connector, two USB ports, with an audio in/out jacks and battery indicator on the left side. Along the right side, it is said to consist of two Thunderbolt ports, one more USB port, an SD card slot, and a Kensington lock slot. Another very exciting feature is Apple’s Retina display that will most likely be taking advantage of OS X’s “HiDPI” option. 

While an exact launch date has yet to be released, we can only guess at possible release dates. Apple’s WWDC which is in just four weeks have been in the past one of the major events where Apple introduces their major products. Digitimes suggests that Apple may be pushing for a possible June release. 

Update on 2012-05-15 04:58 by Bobby Zhang

Bloomberg has come out to confirm reports of the 15-inch MacBook Pro being announced at this year's WWDC. They have also suggested the revealing of Apple's new OS, Mountain Lion sometime this late summer.

Apple WWDC 2012 Announced, Starts June 11

It's the time of the year again where Apple holds its annual WWDC developer conference in San Franscisco, CA starting on June 11. Apple plans to talk about Mountain Lion, iOS with more than 100 technical sessions lead by Apple engineers covering a wide range of technology-specific topics to help developers with integrating the latest iOS and OS X technologies.

• 100 hands-on labs staffed by more than 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and OS X technologies in their apps;
• the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iOS and OS X developers from around the world—last year more than 60 countries were represented;
• engaging and inspirational lunchtime sessions with leading minds and influencers from the worlds of technology, science and entertainment; and
• Apple Design Awards which recognize iPhone®, iPad® and Mac® apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.

We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers across the country and around the world.

Besides the usual focus on Apple software, we're also expected Apple to announce some new hardware like ultra-thin MacBook Pros packing Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processors at WWDC 2012 like it has done in the past.

iOS 5.1 Update Adds 4G To AT&T iPhone 4S, Improved Battery & More

Apple has released iOS 5.1 software update today for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The update brings Japanese language support for Siri and one significant change to the iPhone 4S on AT&T. iOS 5.1 has updated AT&T network indicator to show the "4G" status symbol instead of '3G' when ever your iPhone 4S is hooked up to AT&T HSPA+ 4G network. Although you'll likely be seeing that 4G status all the time, you're internet speeds won't actually be any faster then they are now.

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including: 

- Japanese language support for Siri (availability may be limited during initial rollout) 
- Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream 
- Camera shortcut now always visible on Lock Screen for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation) 
- Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces 
- Redesigned Camera app for iPad 
- Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match subscribers 
- Audio for TV programs and films on iPad optimized to sound louder and clearer 
- Podcast controls for playback speed and a 30-second rewind for iPad 
- Addresses bugs affecting battery life 
- Fixes and issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls

Apple Releases The New iPad With Retina Display, 4G LTE, A5X Chip

Apple has announced the third generation iPad today and simply named it iPad. The new iPad is faster, better and has the same good looks as its predecessor. One of the biggest and most anticipated upgrades that Apple has implemented is a 9.7-inch IPS retina display featuring 44% greater eye-popping saturated colors and a mind blowing 2048x1536 resolution at 264ppi. That's one million more pixels than your full 1080p HDTV. That's insanely sharp! The iPad 2's 1024x768 resolution at 132ppi looks pixelated up close by comparison. In order to power the new iPad's beautiful retina display, Apple's new dual-core A5X chip has a built-in quad-core GPU for better graphics and faster, more responsive user experience.

Other notable new features and improvements the new iPad sports is a 5-megapixel back facing camera capable of shooting full 1080p HD videos with a backside-illuminated sensor and a 5-element glass lens with an infrared filter. The new iPad's back facing camera is as good as the one found on the iPhone 4S minus a few megalpixels and has been given the iSight name. On the front, the iPad's FaceTime front facing camera hasn't been improved and is still of VGA quality. 

4G LTE is now available to serve you with fast internet speeds of up to 42Mbp on DC-HSDPA and up to 21.1Mbps with HSPA+ networks on the new iPad 4G LTE model available on AT&T and Verizon. Despite the upgrades in hardware, the new iPad still boasts incredible 10 hours battery life as past generations did.

Apple's third generation iPad still looks the same as the iPad 2, but it's 0.03 of an inch thicker at 0.37 inch (9.4mm). As a result, we'll be seeing new cases come out in order to fit the new iPad. iPad 2 sleeves, skins and screen protectors should still be compatible with the new iPad.

The new iPad comes in the same old familiar storage capacities, black and white colors and even the price remains unchanged starting at $499 for the WiFi only version and starting at $629 for the 4G LTE version. The new iPad will officially launch on March 16, and you can pre-orders yours starting today. 

Apple Confirms The Use Of Gorilla Glass In iPhones

All these years, Apple has kept quiet as to whether it has been using Corning's tough Gorilla Glass in its products. Today, Apple finally confirmed that it is indeed using Gorilla Glass in most of its shiny gadgets. In a recent job posting Apple has listed the following:

This figure also includes workers in Texas who manufacture processors for iOS products, Corning employees in Kentucky and New York who create the majority of the glass for iPhone, and FedEx and UPS employees.

By the sound of it, it looks like Apple isn't able to be protecting all of its iPhones with Gorilla Glass most likely due to the high demand and rapid production. Gorilla Glass 2 debuted at CES 2012, a thinner more resilient glass that will be used in mobile touchscreen devices. Until someone comes up with a solid way of finding out which iPhone is fitted with tougher glass screens, you'll just have to find out the painful way. Let's hope Apple uses Gorilla Glass 2 in the iPad 3. 

Apple Confirms iPad Event For March 7

Apple has officially confirmed that it will hold an iPad press event slated to start at 10AM PST sharp on Wednesday, March 7 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. Apple is expected to release the third installment to the ever so popular iPad tablet, the iPad 3. Until then, Apple's message on its 2012 iPad event press invite reads "We have something you really have to see. And touch." on top of what might be a home button-less, slimmer iPad 3 sporting a retina display and faster internal hardware.