The only thing we know for certain that we can expect from Apple ’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote next week is a prevue of the next versions of iOS and OS X — and that ’s only because Apple execPhil Schiller say soin a press release . But the rumor mill ( coupled with our own boundless optimism ) paint a picture that Apple may use WWDC to bring a refresh or two to the Mac line of work as well .
Last year , Apple CEO Tim Cooktold a customer investigate about the Mac Prothat the company was “ working on something really great for [ 2013 ] . ” Whether that means that the company is plan an updated version of its high - end Mac , or some form of a replacement for it , WWDC seems like a sensible position for Apple to reveal whatever Cook was talking about . After all , developers have it away power , and the Mac Pro ( or its successor ) is all about power . Absolute power grease one’s palms absolutely ; developer would absolutely go nuts for an proclamation of this sort .
And it wo n’t be a shock if Apple postulate this opportunity to update its laptop line , too . Developers — like many Apple customer — appreciate the MacBook Air ’s utmost portability , and last year ’s announcement of the MacBook Pro with Retina display realise plenteousness of envious looks . Even if Apple does n’t update its portable at WWDC , any major new features include in a hypothetical Mac Pro promulgation would probably trickle down to the remainder of Apple ’s batting order over time .
With that in mind , we polledMacworldstaff and contributor to find out what features they ’re hope to see in raw Macs . The obvious answers , of course , were qualities like “ faster ” and “ more knock-down . ” Many also channelize out the embarrassing ways that thecurrentPro lags behind other macintosh : For instance , it lacks both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt — terrible oversights that clearly need addressing . But what else is there ?
And if that ’s not asking enough , he has two extra requests : First , design an energy - effective Mac Pro ; in an geological era of energy efficiency , it ’s clip the Pro joined the crowd . The second is that he ’d like Apple to not only rethink its strategy for a Mac Pro but also rekindle its efforts in the pro market place : thunderclap accessories require more musculus behind them . Pro apps need greater attention and support . And the Mac OS needs to be rejiggered to make certain pros get as much out of it as new users .
Senior Writer Lex Friedmanknows he ’s dreaming , but he would n’t mind seeing the Mac Pro in reality part intotwoMacs . He might not need — or want to pass the money on — the top - of - the - line features that will in all likelihood be build into a new pro - unwavering Mac , but he still wants a more herculean headless Mac than the Mac miniskirt . If you do n’t postulate the space - saving feature of a Mac miniskirt , do n’t need the power of the Mac Pro , and do n’t require the less - expandible iMac , there ’s still no perfect screen background Mac to buy . But Friedman punctuate he would n’t want such a Mac to come in at the expense of the Mac Pro itself ; it would be in addition to , not alternatively of .
Senior Contributor John Siracusawants Apple ’s newfangled pro - level Mac to include support for Retina displays — and , thus , an outside Retina display to link it to . And beyond that , his primary goal for the Mac Pro is that Apple not ruin it . “ take all internal storage except for one tiny hard drive would be lame , ” he maneuver out . “ Or not having room for a big stonkin ’ video card . Or using laptop computer part . ”
verbalize of laptops , Siracusa envisions a powerful battery - focus feature film for Apple ’s notebook computer , one he calls long overdue . expert ( andApple likewise ) say you should n’t go away your laptop plugged in all the metre , and suggest that the idealistic style to maximize the life of a lithium - ion battery is to in general stack away it with around a 40 to 50 percent care . Siracusa suggest that the hardware ought to take care of this for you — optionally . You ’d expend package to switch between keeping your laptop computer fully charged or instructing it to automatically maximise battery life . ( At Friedman ’s urging , Siracusa agreed that by version 2.0 of this feature , it should admit a scheduling option : “ Fully charge my laptop by 9 a.m. Monday break of day ; do what ’s necessary to maximize its overall battery life until then . ” )
aged Contributor Rob Griffithsshares Frakes ’s hope for a pocket-size , lighter Mac Pro . When he dreams grownup , Griffiths wish for PC - stock PCIe 3.0 video cards , “ so we ’re not limited to Apple ’s meager survival of the fittest , ” along with the ability to chain picture cards together . And he ’d love a user - upgradable C.P.U. , “ so we do n’t have to wait three years for a refresh . ” On the more realistic side , Griffiths pronounce he ’d wish outwardly approachable eSATA ports , along with front - accessible USB 3 , Thunderbolt , and eSATA ports . And he ’d wish to see support for up to eight 1 TB solid - state drive , with RAID options .
Like Griffiths , Senior Contributor Adam Engstsays that he ’d like a new Mac Pro to sport lots of larboard . He ’d also like lots of memory board bay laurel , support for a Brobdingnagian amount of RAM , and — of track — a top - of - the - stock CPU . But just as important to Engst is that the Mac Pro go quietly : “ I detest tawdry Macs . ”
So that ’s whatwe’dlike to see . What are you hop for , dear readers ?
