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iMac Pro Will Have An A10 Fusion Coprocessor For 'Hey, Siri' Support and More Secure Booting, Says Report (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the always-listening dept.

According to Apple firmware gurus Steven Troughton-Smith and Guilherme Rambo, the upcoming iMac Pro will feature an A10 Fusion coprocessor to enable two interesting new features. "The first is the ability for the iMac Pro to feature always-on 'Hey, Siri' voice command support, similar to what's currently available on more recent iPhone devices," reports The Verge. "[T]he bigger implication of the A10 Fusion is for a less user-facing function, with Apple likely to use the coprocessor to enable SecureBoot on the iMac Pro." From the report: In more practical terms, it means that Apple will be using the A10 Fusion chip to handle the initial boot process and confirm that software checks out, before passing things off to the regular x86 Intel processor in your Mac. It's not something that will likely change how you use your computer too much, like the addition of "Hey, Siri" support will, but it's a move toward Apple experimenting with an increased level of control over its software going forward.

4 of 164 comments (clear)

  1. Is it me or... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 4, Insightful

    do you want your computer listening all the time? Is there any way to turn Siri off short of pulling the plug out?

    1. Re:Is it me or... by Dog-Cow · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Don't try to reason with bigots. It can be fun, but it's essentially pointless.

  2. More Secure Booting? by IWantMoreSpamPlease · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Meaning you can't install an alt-OS to it?

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    So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
  3. I'm surprised by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A couple dozen comments in, and no one has pointed out the silliness of touting "Hey Siri" as a defining feature for a supposed pro workstation.

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    #DeleteChrome