O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: 2013

  • Apple adds 2013 “Trash Can” Mac Pro to its vintage and obsolete products list

    Apple adds 2013 “Trash Can” Mac Pro to its vintage and obsolete products list

    You either loved or hated Apple’s 2013 black “trash can” Mac Pro (I loved mine), and Apple added the desktop to its vintage and obsolete products list as of July 11.

    The 2013 Mac Pro, which was designed to be different from the ground up, Apple designing the computer to channel heat upwards through its cylindrical design to help cool the computer.

    Apple considers one of its products “vintage” when it stopped distributing them for sale more than five years ago, and less than seven years ago. Once a product hasn’t been sold new for more than seven years, it’s then classified as “obsolete.” The company provides service and parts for vintage products for up to seven years, assuming the necessary parts are available.

    “We designed a system with the kind of GPUs that at the time we thought we needed, and that we thought we could well serve with a two-GPU architecture,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s hardware chief at the time. “That was the thermal limit we needed, or the thermal capacity we needed. But workloads didn’t materialize to fit that as broadly as we hoped.”

    Federighi also admitted that Apple had designed itself “into a bit of a thermal corner” with the 2013 Mac Pro. Still, the computer remains a capable and somewhat upgradable machine. Even though it can’t officially run macOS Sequoia, it’s possible to install the operating system using the OpenCore Legacy Patcher.

    Apple is rumored to be developing a new Mac Pro tower, complete with an M5 chip. The company’s most recent version of the Mac Pro, released in 2023, features the M2 Ultra chip.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider

  • macOS Sequoia operating system could see mid-September release

    macOS Sequoia operating system could see mid-September release

    If you’re eager to get your hands on the public release of Apple’s upcoming macOS Sequoia operating system, you might not have that long to wait.

    Per internal documentation obtained by MacRumors, macOS 15.0 Sequoia may be officially released to the public by mid-September. The release dates of major macOS updates in recent years are listed below:

    OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) – October 22, 2013
    OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) – October 16, 2014
    OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) – September 30, 2015
    macOS 10.12 (Sierra) – September 20, 2016
    macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) – September 25, 2017
    macOS 10.14 (Mojave) – September 24, 2018
    macOS 10.15 (Catalina) – October 7, 2019
    macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) – November 12, 2020
    macOS 12.0 (Monterey) – October 25, 2021
    macOS 13.0 (Ventura) – October 24, 2022
    macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) – September 26, 2023

    The release of the operating system could be the earliest since MacOS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion), which was released on July 25, 2012.

    The new annual version of iOS has historically always been released at least a week before the new version of macOS. Sometimes, Apple leaves a considerable gap between the releases; in 2020, the company left nearly two months between the release of iOS 14 (September 16, 2020) and macOS Big Sur (November 12, 2020).

    Apple is expected to comment on the macOS Sequoia release at the “It’s Glowtime” press event later today, wherein the company is also set to unveil the ‌iPhone 16‌ lineup, new Apple Watch models, and the fourth-generation AirPods.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors

  • Apple discontinues SuperDrive sales on its official U.S. website, no inventory available

    Apple discontinues SuperDrive sales on its official U.S. website, no inventory available

    It’s the end of an era as Apple has apparently discontinued its SuperDrive CD and DVD reader from its online store. Back in 2008, when Apple first introduced the MacBook Air, it also announced an accessory called the Apple USB SuperDrive – which is essentially a CD and DVD player that can be connected to a Mac via USB. Even though CDs are no longer as popular as they once were, Apple was still selling the accessory. However, Apple’s USB SuperDrive is now being discontinued.

    At present, it’s no longer possible to buy the accessory through the official Apple Store in the United States. The product’s webpage says that it’s “Sold Out,” and given that it’s a product introduced in 2008, it seems very unlikely that Apple will ever produce new units again.

    Customers can still use their location to see if there’s still a unit available for pickup at one of the Apple Retail Stores. The product is still available in other countries such as the UK and Brazil. However, it’s probably only a matter of time before Apple’s USB SuperDrive disappears from all stores.

    The MacBook Air was relatively surprising in that it shipped without a built-in CD drive, leading Apple to produce the SuperDrive. Apple completely phased out optical drives from its computers in 2013, when all the Macs available in the lineup no longer had an optical drive.

    Remaining SuperDrive units can still be found on websites like Amazon and eBay, and tend to retail for around $79. The drive sports a USB-A connector, only works with USB 2.0 speeds, and is not compatible with Blu-ray discs.

    Via 9to5Mac

  • After more than a decade, Apple Car project comes to an end

    After more than a decade, Apple Car project comes to an end

    After a decade-long effort, Apple has officially canceled its effort to build an electric car.

    Per Bloomberg, the move was announced internally by Apple COO Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, who had been leading the Apple Car project since 2021.

    “Apple’s most senior executives finalized the decision in recent weeks,” the report says. The project had reached a “make-or-break point” inside Apple, with Tim Cook also facing pressure from shareholders to make a decision.

    The article cited how over 2,000 people had been working on the Apple Car – or Project Titan – team. It’s also noted that some employees will move to Apple’s AI team led by John Giannandrea.

    Employees who weren’t shifted over to Apple’s AI effort might be able to “apply for jobs on other Apple teams,” but there “will be layoffs,” according to the article. It’s not explicitly clear how many lay-offs will happen.

    Apple is said to have made the disclosure internally on Tuesday. The decision was shared by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president in charge of the effort, according to the people.

    Apple had been working on an electric car since 2014, complete with significant changes to its goals and design over the years. It had been reported that Apple was targeting a 2028 release date for the vehicle with a price tag of around $100,000. The company’s initial goal was to ship a fully autonomous car, without steering wheels or pedals. Those ambitions were dramatically scaled back in recent years.

    The Apple Car project was led by Doug Field. Field was hired away by Tesla in 2013 to help lead the production ramp for the Model 3. Field landed back at Apple in 2018 to help lead the Apple Car project, before departing for Ford in September 2021.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac and Bloomberg

  • Rumor: Apple may only produce between 60,000 and 80,000 Vision Pro units for February 2 launch date

    Rumor: Apple may only produce between 60,000 and 80,000 Vision Pro units for February 2 launch date

    While there are conflicting reports as to exactly how many Apple Vision Pro units will be available at launch, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has stated that the number will be smaller than previously predicted.

    Granted, there have always been questions as to how many launch units Apple will produce for anything at launch. The larger iPhone Pro models have always been tight, and notably, Apple shipped less than 1,000 units of the cylindrical Mac Pro when it first shipped to make a year-end deadline.

    Per a new post on X, Kuo placed the number of available Apple Vision Pro units on hand for the February 2 launch between 60,000 and 80,000 units.

    In November, sources said to be within the Chinese supply chain predicted that there would be 400,000 units at launch. Other predictions have come in around that ballpark.

    Kuo postulated that hype for the headset should mean the Apple Vision Pro will sell out after pre-orders open or when it goes on sale, in turn lengthening shipping times.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and @mingchikuo