USB 3.1 transfer speeds of up 10 gigabits per second are coming to Macs this fall, and Thunderbolt 3 might too, if code hidden in MacOS Sierra means anything.
9To5Mac.com is reporting that a localizable text string in Sierra refers to “super_speed_plus” and “Up to 10 Gb/sec,” or ten gigabits per second. SuperSpeed+ is the brand name for USB 3.1 Gen 2, the latest incarnation of the USB standard which supports speeds up to 10Gbps. No Mac devices currently offer the USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard, so references to the technology in MacOS Sierra implies that new Macs coming out this fall will ship with the high-bandwidth ports. No such reference exists in OS X El Capitan, and there’s no reason to add the strings unless upcoming hardware offers the feature.
With this in mind, 9to5Mac’s Jeff Benjamin of 9to5 Mac speculates that Thunderbolt 3 might also be on the way. That standard offers 40Gbps Thunderbolt connectivity and DisplayPort 1.2, all in a single USB-C port. With that kind of bandwidth, it’s possible to connect two 4K displays to a single port. External graphics and blazing-fast Ethernet are other possibilities, and the port is also compatible with all USB and DisplayPort devices via adapters. We’re sure Mac users can dream up all sorts of uses for that kind of connectivity.
But as reading the tea leaves goes, this might be a stretch. A plausible stretch, but a stretch nonetheless. Thunderbolt 3 is not confirmed on the new Macs this fall, and this doesn’t change that. But references to USB 3.1 Gen 2 do Thunderbolt 3 feel more realistic, and that’s an exciting notion.
And Thunderbolt 3, alongside the rumored touchscreen bar replacing the top row of the keyboard and an even lighter form factor, could make this fall’s MacBook Pro overhaul the biggest one in years, if not a decade.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.