The announcements were made at Apple’s WWDC developers conference event earlier this week. The new products arrive just in time for summer when students and professionals will be looking to buy new devices.
iMac
For people who want a new all-in-one PC, Apple has developed a substantial refresh of its iMac range. The company has upgraded the displays and internals of the devices for a more premium experience. This includes the addition of Apple’s Retina 4K display to its 21.5-inch iMac, a change that sees the relatively compact device match its 5K 27-inch relation for pixel density.
2017 iMac
Apple
Across the range, Apple is touting significant performance improvements including up to three times more powerful graphics. This boost comes from the introduction of new AMD Radeon Pro 500-series graphics cards. It’s designed to work with the upcoming macOS High Sierra update that will see macOS gain support for virtual reality. The iMac now has the requisite hardware to power VR headsets.
Apple has also upgraded the iMac’s processor selection. The entire line-up is now based on Intel’s latest Kaby Lake family. Clock speeds are rated at up to 4.2GHz depending on model with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 4.5GHz. The faster CPUs and graphics cards are coupled with 50 percent faster SSDs, reducing loading times and creating a more responsive overall experience. Apple said the changes make the Mac “stronger than ever.”
MacBook
Apple has also brought a similar range of improvements to its MacBook collection. All MacBook models now come with Intel Kaby Lake processors. The most powerful configuration uses an Intel Core i7 chip with a 1.3GHz base clock speed and 3.6GHz Turbo Boost. The MacBook Pro gets desktop-focused Kaby Lake CPUs with higher base clock speeds of up to 3.5GHz.
2017 MacBook
Apple
Apple has upgraded the graphics performance of its MacBooks and doubled the maximum supported RAM capacity. This addresses a key criticism from professional users who need large amounts of memory for their workflows. Finally, the company refreshed its entry-level 13-inch MacBook Air by adding a new 1.8GHz processor.
“Major updates”
Apple hasn’t unveiled any all-new designs or technology with this mid-season refresh. Instead, the company has clearly focused on modernising the internals of its desktop devices to offer increased performance. With Intel Kaby Lake and AMD Radeon 500-series graphics on the most powerful products, the Mac line is ready to take on the best that the Windows ecosystem has to offer.
2017 iMac range
Apple
“With major updates to iMac, and a refresh of our MacBook and MacBook Pro lines, the Mac is stronger than ever,” said John Ternus, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Engineering. “Today iMac gets a huge graphics performance increase, faster CPU performance, Thunderbolt 3 and a brighter Retina display with support for 1 billion colors. We’re also increasing CPU and SSD speed on MacBook, adding faster processors and making faster graphics standard on our 15-inch MacBook Pro and introducing a new $1,299 (US) 13-inch MacBook Pro.”
All of the new devices are available to buy from Apple Stores starting from today. Pricing varies by model, configuration and region. Apple is emphasising the $1,299 21.5-inch iMac and new $1,299 13-inch MacBook Pro as all-round products with a relatively affordable price tag.
