A Much Needed Refresh Plus Other New Goodies from Apple

Well I’m sure you’ve heard by now but Apple was quite busy this morning. The Mac pros were given a much needed refresh and even though Apple just updated the iMacs they got a refresh too. For the iMacs Apple has done away with the core 2 duos completely replacing them with Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. The new iMacs are also upgradable to 16 GB of RAM. Now time for the big guns, the beast that is the Mac Pro.

Now we all know the Mac Pro needed a refresh and we were also wondering why Apple was taking so long to update the beast. Well the wait is over and Apple did not disappoint, the new Mac Pro is upgradable to 12, yes I said 12, cores. Not only did Apple give you the option to put 12 cores in your machine but they made them extremely fast. When I say fast I don’t mean Michael Schumacher going flat out in his F1 car fast I mean Orbital Sciences X-34 fast (The X-34 can go Mach 8/6,000 mph). With 12 cores the processor speed is 2.93 GHz but when you use the Maximum turbo boost the clock speed is upped to 3.33 GHz (now do you see why I compared it to a vehicle that travels at 8 times the speed of sound). Now I know most people, me included, will never have a need for that type of speed nor will we get the chance to experience it but just think about how amazing it would be to have that power at your fingertips. Yes, these specs will run you a pretty penny and it will probably be more expensive than a small car but these computers aren’t meant for us. Now the new Mac Pros won’t be out until August but if you want to check out the full specs of the new Mac Pro head over to Apple.

Now onto the goodies, you know those little things that you don’t really need but are nice little add-ons. First off lets talk about the charger. Apple has released a product without the Apple logo on it, I know I never thought I’d see the day but its here. For $29 dollars you get 6 rechargeable batteries and a charger. Apple claims that the charger uses less vampire power than any other charger.

The next goodie on the list is the LED Cinema Display. Apple has done away with the 24″ and replaced it with a 27″, that has 60% more pixels. Apple displays are very expensive, the 24″ was/is $799 the 27″ is probably going to cost $999, but like I said about the Mac Pro these products aren’t really aimed at the average consumer they are aimed at those who work with intense graphics. The display has an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a resolution of 2560 x 1440. Anyway the display is due out in September.

The final piece of hardware that Apple announced is the Magic Trackpad. Its a trackpad peripheral for your desktop computer. Apple claims the Magic Trackpad is the largest multi-touch trackpad ever produced, and they are right it is quite big. It is much taller than the trackpad on my MacBook Pro and a bit wider. That being said I am not sure how I feel about the idea of a trackpad being used for a desktop. On one hand I quite like the idea of being able to use the swipes, I have become so accustomed to them I cringe at the idea of using a laptop without them, but on the other hand I quite like a mouse for a desktop. Well let me know what you think about the Magic Trackpad or Apple’s new Lineup.