Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      ‘Oh, Ani!’: Elon’s edgy bot stirs ethical storm

      18 July 2025

      Trump U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China

      18 July 2025

      Netflix premieres first AI-generated scene

      18 July 2025

      MultiChoice: We can’t afford to compete without help

      17 July 2025

      The internet’s weakest link is under the ocean

      17 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » In-depth » Hey Apple, where are the new Macs?

    Hey Apple, where are the new Macs?

    By The Conversation11 September 2016
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Apple's MacBook Pro is getting long in the tooth
    Apple’s MacBook Pro is getting long in the tooth

    It’s been a tough month for mobile phone manufacturers: Samsung has recalled its Galaxy Note7 due to exploding batteries, the European Commission has handed Apple a €13 billion fine for its tax practices in Ireland and Google has withdrawn from the modular phone project which would have allowed consumers to switch out components as and when they wanted.

    So this year’s September keynote product launch should offer Apple an easy opportunity to impress the market with announcements of the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, a slight upgrade to the watch, now called Series 2, and various software updates. But notable by its absence was any announcement related to the product that made Apple’s name: the Mac.

    Apple tends to redesign the iPhone biannually, with alternate years offering speed bumps and minor features. This year brings major revisions, with a new design, a dual camera system that offers better zoom, higher resolution images, and the controversial removal of the universal standard audio jack.

    The diameter of the audio jack limited designers’ ability to shrink the phone further, so its days were numbered. Instead, headphones will be wireless using Bluetooth, or plug into the Lightning port. Apple has of course released its own wireless Airpod headphones (costing US$159, or R2 300 before duties and taxes), or those with expensive headphones can buy an adaptor to keep using them. Dropping such a well-supported standard is a typically bold Apple move, but other manufacturers have already tried it — the Motorola Moto Z for example — with limited success.

    The iPhone’s system software is also boosted to iOS 10, which makes more of the system software accessible to developers — for example, Siri will be available in third-party apps. While improvements will only be felt once apps start to integrate these features, the messages and messaging experience will be improved, an attempt to counter the success of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. This update will arrive for older devices on 13 September.

    The Watch Series 2 follows the same cycle with major revisions every other year, bringing on this occasion a minor upgrade of faster components, a better screen, waterproofing and the new watchOS within the same shell. Significant architectural changes to watchOS should speed up applications, and brings changes to several design metaphors. Adding GPS to the watch allows a degree of decoupling from the iPhone, but the iPhone still has to be in range for much of the Watch’s functions. Despite its sluggish sales, this is still the device to beat, particularly if you are addicted to Pokemon Go (which now runs on the the Watch).

    Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac, Mac

    For many years, there has been a vocal minority arguing that every Apple keynote is the last opportunity for the company to demonstrate that it can still out-innovate the competition and to counter the prevailing wisdom that Apple has abandoned its professional users for consumer-focused devices. For the first time in a long while, Apple’s computer sales recently dropped and even iPhone sales fell.

    To some extent, this is true: the line of Mac computers that made the company’s fortune from the 1980s onwards has been moribund in the past two or three years. Some Mac products have dropped off review site and magazines’ recommended lists. So it’s surprising that there were no updates to any of the Mac products. Most of the desktops and laptops now contain very old components, leaving creative professionals who are the Mac-using Apple stalwarts with outdated and ageing equipment. Someone at Apple needs reminding that the developers who create apps for the iPhone use Mac computers.

    Too much iPhone, too little Mac?
    Too much iPhone, too little Mac?

    So, while the iPhone 7 will be desirable for those using substantially older iPhones, upgrading from the previous generation iPhone 6 or 6s is harder to justify. There probably isn’t enough to replicate the massive sales surge when they first introduced the larger iPhone 6, but the slide towards online services allows Apple to transition towards making more money from storage and services — which encroaches on Google’s income stream. Is there enough here for Android users to justify a switch? Probably not. And while the new Apple Watch isn’t sufficiently different from last year’s model to massively increase sales, it may appeal to those who exercise regularly or for whom waterproofing is helpful.

    But changes to the Pro computer line are needed desperately. Apple needs to bring back more regular updates to ensure it doesn’t begin to lose those who were Apple buyers well before the iPhone took the world by storm. At the same time, it’s easy to see the root of Apple’s laser-like focus on its phone: other mobile manufacturers make very little money from their phones, while each iPhone is sold at a 40% profit, adding to the huge cash mountain upon which Apple sits.The Conversation

    • Barry Avery is associate professor, informatics and operations, Kingston University
    • This article was originally published on The Conversation


    Apple
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleStop using the Note7, Samsung says
    Next Article Breakthrough in Uber rape, robbery cases

    Related Posts

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025

    Apple plans product blitz to reignite growth

    11 July 2025

    AI gold rush propels Nvidia to record $4-trillion market cap

    9 July 2025
    Company News

    Vertiv to acquire custom rack solutions manufacturer

    18 July 2025

    SA businesses embrace gen AI – but strategy and skills are lagging

    17 July 2025

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.