Retail Packaging for Apple Watch and Bands Potentially Revealed

A series of photos have surfaced on social media today that provide a first look at what could be the retail packaging for the Apple Watch and individual bands. Instagram user Jeremy Gan posted the photos to his profile this afternoon, showing off what appears to be a 42mm stainless steel Apple Watch with Milanese Loop within its official packaging and brown leather band in a separate box.





We cannot guarantee the veracity of these photos, and it is entirely possible that the retail packaging is not official. The long, narrow box for the Apple Watch band in particular appears consistent with an image that appeared on Apple's jobs page last month, which at the time was speculated to be retail packaging for bands. We'll update the post as we learn more details about the authenticity of these photos.

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Posted in 2015 at 11:37PM, April 07

Buying an Apple Watch might be more difficult than you thought

The Apple Watch will soon be available for preorder in various markets, but you likely won't get your own copy of the device by walking into an Apple Store unless you get a reservation first. Furthermore, MacRumors has learned that Apple will have a rather tough policy on reservations that will make it impossible for buyers to reserve more than one Apple Watch unit per person.

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Posted in 2015 at 10:30PM, April 07

From the Forums: Retina MacBook Opinions and Discussion [Mac Blog]

Apple's recently announced 12-inch Retina MacBook has been met with both praise and criticism ahead of its upcoming release on April 10. The new MacBook, positioned at the lower end of Apple's notebook lineup, paves the way for the future with an ultra-thin design, one USB-C port, redesigned keyboard with an all-new butterfly mechanism, Force Touch trackpad, fanless architecture and all-day battery life.





At the same time, the new MacBook has been criticized for having an Intel Core M processor, a system-on-a-chip that Intel typically markets for use in mobile devices. The single USB-C port, which combines power, USB, DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA connections into one, is also an area of concern for some, especially given that costly adapters must be used to connect many external devices and peripherals to the notebook.



Look no further than this parody of an Apple engineer talking about the Retina MacBook on YouTube, where it has amassed over 5 million views since being uploaded in early March. The video pokes fun at the Retina MacBook for, among other reasons, having one port and a 480p front-facing camera. Rest assured, the parody's creator Armando Ferreira is an Apple fan that owns an iPad and a few MacBooks himself.






While waiting for Apple to lift its embargo for large tech publications to publish their in-depth Retina MacBook reviews, we've sifted through the MacRumors forums and highlighted some of the more interesting discussions about the notebook. Read ahead for a roundup of opinions and noteworthy comments about the Retina MacBook, and be sure to join the conversation within the discussion forums.

Forum Discussion Threads

1. 
   


2. Who Else Changed Their Mind? "When Apple announced the new MacBook, I was very excited and was seriously planning on getting one April 10th even after I've seen the price tags and specs. However, two days ago it all of a sudden hit me that I should not get the new MacBook. Even though I can afford one. I've started contemplating. I think it's not worth it at all for the price Apple is asking for it."
   


3. 12" MacBook — Disappointment and Hope: A number of users offer their opinions about the pros and cons of the new MacBook, emphasizing how the notebook paves the way for the future but requires making compromises in the present. Apple has a history of heading in bold new directions with past products such as the original iMac, MacBook Air and iPhone, so this is not unchartered waters for the world's most valuable company.
   


4. USB-C Accessories: Belkin announced a new line of USB-C cables and USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet adapter for the new MacBook last month, while LaCie announced the first USB-C external hard drive. This discussion thread is a valuable resource that highlights a number of other USB-C accessories from HydraDock, MonoPrice, Google and other accessory makers and vendors.
   


5. Retina MacBook Benchmarked: We posted an early 64-bit Geekbench benchmark of the Retina MacBook that places the notebook in line with the 2011 MacBook Air in terms of CPU performance, and this full Geekbench 3 report offers a more in-depth look at the notebook's single-core and multi-core scores based on integer, floating point and memory performance.
   


6. Performance Difference Between CPUs: A side-by-side comparison of the performance differences between the three Intel processor options available for the Retina MacBook. The discussion thread includes speculation that the entry-level CPU may generate the most heat inside the fanless notebook and contains other interesting information about the trio of processor options. Apple recently confirmed build-to-order pricing for the 1.3GHz processor.
   


7. Retina MacBook vs. Surface 3: Microsoft is marketing its new Surface 3 tablet as a potential laptop replacement, so it naturally has been compared with the Retina MacBook. The discussion touches upon a number of factors, including price point, physical design, processors, operating systems, battery life, multipurpose functionality and more. Realistically, the Surface Pro 3 is the more suitable device for drawing comparisons.
   


8. The Can't List — Reasons Not to Buy Retina MacBook: A forum user shares eighteen different reasons not to buy the Retina MacBook, including a lack of ports, planned obsolescence, the need for multiple adapters, a 480p FaceTime camera, no SD card slot and, in his opinion, the notebook's expensive price tag. Some other users are quick to counter that Apple's new MacBook is not designed for everyone, arguing that refreshed MacBook Airs and Pros are still available.
   


9. Software for Retina MacBook: A forum user shares a list of software that he plans to install on his Retina MacBook when it becomes available, including Matlab, Parallels, OrCAD Schematic Capture and PCB Layout Tools (Windows), Freescale Symphony Studio (Windows), Microsoft Office, Microchip MPLAB (Windows), XCode, Handbrake and Windows 7. Other users list software such as Chrome, Scrivener, Pages, Notability, OneNote, Skype, Moom, Caffeine, Dropbox, OneDrive, Reeder, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, 1Password, VLC and Logic Pro X.
   


10. Who's Buying a Retina MacBook Without Trying It? This popular discussion thread within the forums involves users that plan on purchasing the Retina MacBook without trying it out first at an Apple Store. Many users claim they will be pre-ordering the new MacBook on April 10 and having it shipped to their home under the assurance of Apple's standard 14-day return policy.
    


11. Retina MacBook Cases: A list of cases and accessories for the new MacBook.
    

Visit our MacBook section within the forums to keep up with the latest discussions.

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Posted in 2015 at 08:57PM, April 07

Arrested Development Season 5 is official: 17 new episodes coming

Arrested Development fans have a lot to be grateful for this year. While appearing on Bill Simmons' The B.S. Report this week, Arrested Development executive producer Brian Grazer confirmed that Season 5 of the beloved and quirky show is official, with 17 new episodes in the pipeline.

While talking about popular TV shows and their influence on mass culture at large, Grazer let this little tidbit fly.

"People are loyal to it," Grazer said, "and we're gonna do another 17 episodes."

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Posted in 2015 at 07:40PM, April 07

Rumored iPad Mini 4 Rear Shell With iPad Air 2 Design Elements Shown Off in New Video

When Apple launched the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 in late 2014, many people were disappointed with the iPad mini update, which essentially just added Touch ID to the existing iPad mini 2 with no other external design changes. Since then, there have been a few rumors suggesting Apple is working on an iPad mini 4 update that includes iPad Air 2 design elements like a thinner body.



French site Nowhereelse.fr [Google Translate] today shared a video and some images of what's said to be an early version of the rear casing for the upcoming iPad mini 4.






The aluminum shell closely resembles the shell of the existing iPad mini, but it does include several design elements introduced with the iPad Air 2. There's a single row of larger speaker holes alongside the Lightning port at the bottom of the device, rather than two smaller rows, and the mute switch on the device has been removed and replaced with a microphone hole.





Rumors have suggested the iPad mini 4 will be thinner than the iPad mini 2 and the iPad mini 3, giving it a thickness more akin to the iPad Air 2, but it is difficult to determine the device's possible thickness based on the images that were shared. Along with an iPad Air-style design, an updated iPad mini 4 would likely adopt one of Apple's more recent processors, possibly the A8X in the iPad Air 2 or an A9 processor coming later this year.





There's been little word on when an updated iPad mini might launch, but given Apple's historical fall release schedule for iPads, it's unlikely we will see the iPad mini 4 until the later months of 2015.

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Posted in 2015 at 07:13PM, April 07

One Android fan’s righteous rant: He owns 6 Android devices and none of them have Lollipop yet

We all know there are good reasons why Android will never be rolled out as efficiently as the way Apple rolls out new versions of iOS. That said, surely the process can be better than it is right now... can't it?

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Posted in 2015 at 07:14PM, April 07

Do this now: Secure your email account with a simple one-time scan

Email accounts often contain many personal details that owners think are safe from prying eyes, including login credentials for other websites written in plain text. However, hackers who might get access to email accounts could then quickly harvest those user name and password combinations for additional malicious activities. To prevent such accidents, password manager Dashlane has created an online tool that can quickly scan your inbox for such details, and alert you whether there’s any action to be taken.

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Posted in 2015 at 06:49PM, April 07

Designers Imagine Fanciful Concepts for What an Apple Car Might Look Like [Mac Blog]

Job site Freelancer.com recently hosted a contest that called on designers to imagine what the rumored Apple Car might look like. We don't have any details on the car that Apple is said to be developing, so the designs submitted to the contest have no basis in reality.





That said, it's a fun look at how different designers took Apple design aesthetics and applied them to imaginative, futuristic car renderings. The contest had 193 submissions, with the winning vehicle, from Aristomenis Tsirbas, featuring a flat design with smooth curves and sliding doors.

This concept explores a semi-autonomous electric car in the minimalist tradition of Apple design. It features external high resolution LED screens front and back for user selected headlight/taillight designs. This concept explores a semi-autonomous electric car in the minimalist tradition of Apple design. It features external high resolution LED screens front and back for user selected headlight/taillight designs.

Many of the popular entries had similar futuristic designs and explored different car types from traditional sedans and sports cars to vans and trucks. This third-place Volkswagen Bug-style Apple Car from user Maximchernysh features purple accents, a wide frame, no side windows, and a generous number of Apple logos.





While all of the designs are fanciful, some of the renderings look like they came straight from a science fiction novel. This tiny shark-shaped Apple car from DearbornDesign rides low to the ground and has a front panel for entry.





The winning entry, which is the one at the top of the page, received a $1,500 prize from Freelancer.com for getting the most likes during the contest. All of the different car designs people imagined can be seen over at Freelancer.com's contest site.



We haven't heard much about the actual Apple Car in recent weeks as media attention is largely focused on the Apple Watch, but work on the car is still ongoing under the codename Project Titan at an unspecified location near Apple's Cupertino headquarters. We've learned little about the car, but we know that it may resemble a minivan and is being worked on by hundreds of employees.

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Posted in 2015 at 05:47PM, April 07