New Apple Stuff, Today!

Updated April 13th, 2020.

Actually, some of this stuff isn’t really “new.” It’s more like “revised.” But hey.

And most of this stuff wasn’t in the stores today, though it will be in about a week. I found that out by visiting a few Apple Stores this afternoon, in search of a Magic Mouse*. I’ll get one, and when I do, I’ll review it here. That looks to be about a week away.)

I couldn’t find a new iMac (or a Magic Mouse) anywhere, but I did see the new MacBook at the Apple Store in Santa Monica and there are a few notable differences between this one and the one it replaces:

• It’s shinier
• It has the no-button multi-touch trackpad, like the MacBook Pros
• There’s no FireWire port at all
• The bottom has a no-slip texture coating on it (no rubber feet to fall off)
• 250 GB hard drive vs. 120 in the old one
• It has a longer-lasting battery
• Curvier shape (looks more like the MacBook Pros, though still on the plastic-y side)

Here are a few notable similarities between this machine and the one it replaces:

• Same $999 price
• Same 13 inch screen (1280 x 800 pixels)

All in all, it’s better than the machine it replaces, but not wildly, fantastically better. If you want a new Mac laptop this is the cheapest way to go, and based on the specs it gives the $999 13-inch MacBook Pro pretty good competition. Unless you can’t live with a plastic laptop (or if you need a FireWire port) the new $999 MacBook looks like a better deal by far.

I’ll write more about the new iMacs and Mac Minis when I get more information, but in the meantime here are a few nuggets of info:

• The Magic Mouse looks to be really, really cool. And every new iMac comes with one
• The Time Capsule, and the Airport, were updated today too (faster, and longer range)
• The new iMacs can take up to 16 gigs of RAM (4 gigs are standard)
• The 27-inch iMac is wall-mountable (and it’s bigger than any TV my family has ever owned)
• The new iMacs come standard with a no-numeric-keypad wireless keyboard
• The new iMacs come with an SD card slot (for your camera card, unless your camera card isn’t an SD)

(By The Way: It must be fun to announce a record-setting quarter on Monday, and then put out a whole slew of new products on Tuesday. I wonder what they’ll do on Wednesday.)

(It must also be fun to put out a whole bunch of new stuff without any advance notice at all, and without making any big deal about it, as if this is something they do every day at Apple so it’s hardly worth mentioning.)

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