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Apple Announces 'Let Us Loop You In' Event For March 21st (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the infinite-loop-in-Cupertino dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The official Apple Events page has been updated in advance of the newly announced media event. Invitations were sent out earlier Thursday inviting members of the press to "let us loop you in." The event will be streamed using Apple's HTTP Live Streaming technology and will require an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch running iOS 7.0 or later. The company is expected to announce a new, smaller iPhone SE, that will be the same size as the iPhone 5 but with improved specs like a A9 processor and 8-megapixel rear camera. In addition, Apple is expected to announce a new, smaller iPad Pro. It is rumored to feature a 9.7" display and a Smart Connector to support Smart Keyboard -- it may even be compatible with the Apple Pencil. We can expect some kind of update for the Apple Watch, most likely new Apple Watch bands. A black version of the Milanese Loop may be in the works to match the Space Black Apple Watch. Of course, Apple will talk encryption as the event is scheduled one day before the next hearing between Apple and the FBI on March 22. Apple may surprise us with new MacBooks or OS X updates but we will most likely have to wait until Apple's developer conference in June.

17 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Also... by pushing-robot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The event can also be streamed from second-, third- and fourth-generation Apple TV set-top boxes. On a Mac, users must be running Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X 10.8.5 or later, and PC users must use the Microsoft Edge browser in Windows 10.

    In any case Pen support for the regular iPad would be nice, but unless there's some surprise addition this looks like another boring event. Apple has been busy this past year with the MacBook, Watch, iPad Pro, Apple TV, etc, but right now their entire product lineup is either too old or too new to tempt me.

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  2. looking for 1 of 3: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    1 midtower

    2 mac pro that isn't a garbage can (and garbage design, frankly)

    3 mac mini with quad core, actually capable of ooomph and a couple drives, the mini old server format.

    What I'm going to get is another shitty iphone.

    sigh

    1. Re:looking for 1 of 3: by jbolden · · Score: 2

      The trashcan issue, yeah those are non customers. The its been 2 years since an update and it is now very overpriced those are real mac people.

    2. Re:looking for 1 of 3: by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2

      What I'm going to get is another shitty iphone.

      AND a new iWatch strap, you lucky dog!

      Seriously, I like Apple products, I have an iPhone and I recently picked up a refurbished watch for a "good" (in Apple terms) price; as someone involved in app development I kind of started to need one. But when we start getting excited about a new strap for a bloody watch is when we should stop and think if we're not taking our fanboi-ism a tad too far.
      I'm with you on the Mac Mini; I'd love a more powerful model... at a slightly less ridiculous price.

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    3. Re:looking for 1 of 3: by nine-times · · Score: 2

      I agree to an extent. Complaining about the design (that it looks like a garbage can) is pretty silly. Even complaining about expandability and upgradeability is a bit off the mark-- Mac Pros have always had limited hardware compatibility, but the new ones can be expanded and upgraded pretty effectively via the Thunderbolt interfaces, assuming an appropriate Thunderbolt hardware exists.

      However, I would agree that Apple has a big gap in their lineup: A non-pro headless Mac with some power. They have iMacs, if you want an all-in-one. Mac Pros are pretty powerful, but are really in the realm of "professional workstation". Mac minis are a bit anemic. I think Apple would be well served by making an even smaller Mac mini (more like an Intel NUC or Gigabyte Brix), a big/powerful/expensive Mac Pro, and in between the two, a product just called "Mac". The Mac could be in the same price range as an iMac, but let's say... two or three times the size of a Mac mini, with a quad-core desktop processor and discrete gaming video card.

      I think that if they were to do something like that, it would be a popular product.

    4. Re:looking for 1 of 3: by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      But when we start getting excited about a new strap for a bloody watch is when we should stop and think if we're not taking our fanboi-ism a tad too far.

      The Apple Watch is not a technology product. It is a fashion product. You wear it to make a statement about yourself. Apple realized from the beginning that the Watch was not competing with Samsung or LG, but with Rolex and Patek Philippe. From a fashion perspective, a new strap that accentuates the watch is a big deal. There is no point in buying an Apple Watch if nobody is going to notice it.

    5. Re:looking for 1 of 3: by tw2k · · Score: 2

      You seem to be saying that you think that the people saying that Apple doesn't make computers that meet their needs are the same people that don't actually own Apple computers. Surely that makes perfect sense?

    6. Re:looking for 1 of 3: by irrational_design · · Score: 2

      I actually have a mac pro. I had the old tower version and I now have the "garbage can" version. There are two things I don't like about the new version. 1. My old tower mac pro had 4 internal drive bays. Now I have a desk full of external hard drives hooked up to the mac pro. I much prefer the internal drive bays. I wish I could post a picture on slashdot to show you the morass of black cables surrounding the mac pro. 2. I get the spinning beach ball of death much much more frequently than my old mac pro. I don't know why, but that has been my experience.

  3. If they wait even longer... by cerberusss · · Score: 2

    Apple may surprise us with new MacBooks

    That, or they may continue to make good money with 3 year old CPUs.

    Except for the iMac, virtually the entire Mac lineup gets the advice: "don't buy" because they're all based on Intel's previous gen chips (Haswell). Skylake is nowhere in sight currently: http://buyersguide.macrumors.c... Now I have to admit, the MacBook Pro series only uses Intel's high-end integrated GPU, so they've actually been waiting on Intel the whole time. But still.

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    1. Re:If they wait even longer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And 32 GBytes of RAM? I've held-off for three years on an upgrade, because I need more RAM to run vms.

    2. Re:If they wait even longer... by threephaseboy · · Score: 2

      because they're all based on Intel's previous gen chips (Haswell).

      Haswell (4th gen) is actually 2 revs out of date, Broadwell is 5th gen and Skylake is 6th.
      It seems the 13" rMBP has a Broadwell chip, but the top of the line 15" rMBP really isn't that much different, spec wise, than it was in late 2013.

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  4. Let Us LOCK You In by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    The actual announcement is: "Let Us Lock You In"
    FTFY

  5. Re:Apple SE Price: $599 by rsborg · · Score: 4, Informative

    Consumers get to save $50 for a slightly smaller phone. It'll go over as well as the iPhone 5c

    You do realize that for some folks, even the 4.7" iPhone6 and 6s are too big?
    Not everyone wants a large phone or phablet.

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  6. Re:You forgot their new product to stop back doori by rsborg · · Score: 2

    Apple Butt Plug.

    I'll take that over an Android "Share Plan".

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  7. Re:Apple SE Price: $599 by Kjella · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You do realize that for some folks, even the 4.7" Phone6 and 6s are too big? Not everyone wants a large phone or phablet.

    This. The iPhone 4 (that I had, broken now) is:
    115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm
    iPhone 5:
    123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm
    iPhone 6:
    138.1 x 67.0 x 6.9 mm

    Even the Xperia Z5 Compact, pretty much the only other "mini flagship" is up to:
    127 x 65 x 8.9 mm

    It's getting thinner, fine... but it's getting taller and wider because obviously with more space you can put in more CPU, more GPU, more RAM, more cameras, more battery, more misc chips like touch id etc. but I liked how pocket friendly it was. If Apple pulls of a high quality "mini" phone they might at least get one sale and that's me. It's pretty clear the mainstream market is more willing to compromise on size than me though.

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  8. Re:Apple SE Price: $599 by PPalmgren · · Score: 2

    Its only pocket friendly because your pockets are too small. I'm not a big fan of the whole skinny jean hip-huggers so tight they cut the circulation off to your balls and raise your voice an octave.

    In all seriousness, I understand how pockets shrink the smaller you are and you can't expect a 110b 5'1'' woman to wear baggy enough clothes to store a phablet in their pocket. However, while phones have gotten bigger, they've also gotten much thinner and many have tapered edges. My 5.7'' screen phone fits fine in my front pocket because of this, while my droid 1 from like 5 years ago was a bulky mess at half the size because of its thickness and sharp edges.

  9. Aren't Intel's older CPUs actually FASTER? by itsme1234 · · Score: 2

    Didn't Intel say they're going for SLOWER CPUs? AFAIK 4790K is the fastest single thread x86 CPU and it is quite a few years old (it is also considerably more expensive now than it was when launched!!!).

    I know, sure it isn't really the same with portables and there are energy efficiency improvements but still the point is that 3 years old CPUs aren't what they used to be so to speak :-)