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WWDC 2019 by the numbers
Apple held its 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose on Monday and took the opportunity to show off its latest MacOS build, a bunch of new features for the iPad, a bonkers 6K display for its equally overpowered Mac Pro, and even a new way to get into Minecraft. Let's take a look.
Apple's iPad and Mac event: By the numbers
For the second time in as many months, Apple's executive leadership took to the stage to reveal the company's latest luxury computing products. This time around we saw a new iPad Pro with a fancy magnetic stylus, a Retina-enabled MacBook Air (made entirely of recycled aluminum), a new Mac Mini, and $9 headphone dongles to make the tablet you just dropped a grand on minimally functional in polite society.
Robot that performs surgery inside your eye passes clinical trial
The next time you go under the knife for retinal surgery, it may not be a human hand holding the blade. That's because a revolutionary surgical system developed University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, which just passed its first set of clinical trials, is able to perform these intricate operations better than even the steadiest surgeon.
Soft, synthetic retinas may offer a better implant solution
Scientists have been trying to replace retinas in otherwise healthy eyes to help people suffering from diseases like retinitis pigmentosa. Unfortunately, earlier efforts were only able to use rigid, hard materials, which are very different from the natural retina. A researcher at Oxford University, however, has created a synthetic retina made of biological materials to better match natural human tissues. The study, titled "Light-Patterned Current Generation in a Droplet Bilayer Array" was published this April in Scientific Reports.
Retinal implant could add years to your eyesight
Scientists have been struggling to fight retinal degeneration in an elegant way. The most practical solution so far involves external devices that send wires to the back of your eyes. There might be a much more graceful approach before long, however. Researchers have developed an implant whose light-sensitive material could at least partially restore retinas and preserve your eyesight. Their invention combines a biocompatible substance (in this case, silk) with a conductive polymer and an organic semiconductor to send electricity to nerve cells whenever the implant is subjected to typical environmental light. Previous attempts at photovoltaic devices like this have required either exceptionally bright light or unusual light wavelengths to work, so this would be far more practical in the real world.
Robots can perform surgery inside your eyeballs
Doctors at Oxford University made medical history recently by successfully completing the first robot-assisted intraocular surgery. Robert MacLaren, Professor of Ophthalmology at the university, and his team managed to gently peel off a 1/1000th millimeter membrane from the inside of a patient's eye. To do so, the team relied on a cutting-edge medical device known as the Robotic Retinal Dissection Device, or R2D2.
Apple will reportedly outfit the 21.5-inch iMac with a 4K display
Almost a year ago, Apple put a Retina display inside its 27-inch desktop. A report from 9to5Mac says we could see a high-res panel on the smaller 21.5-inch model soon as well. The word comes from Mark Gurman, who has a solid track record for news like this, of the new iMac initially tipped by clues inside the upcoming OS X El Capitan. Despite the larger all-in-one getting a 5K Retina panel last fall, the report claims that the 21.5-inch version will come equipped with a 4K display and resolution of 4,096 x 2,304 (up from the current 1,920 x 1,080). While Apple has an iPhone-focused event scheduled for next week, Gurman says the new iMac won't be announced until next month. If you're not too thrilled about paying a premium for a higher-resolution display, chances are the current model will remain available. Even after the 27-inch Retina model arrived, the 1440p option stuck around.
Apple adds Force Touch to 15-inch MacBook Pro, cuts 5K iMac prices
Now that the people are used to the pressure-sensitive trackpads in the new MacBook and smaller MacBook Pro, it's high time that the 15-inch model joined the party. That's why Apple has revealed that it's bringing Force Touch to the larger of its pro laptops. It's not just the user interface that's been tweaked, since there's faster flash storage, a further hour of battery life and AMD's new discrete graphics hardware tucked inside. At the same time, the company has managed to get the base price for its 27-inch Retina Display iMac down to $1,999 by sacrificing the Fusion Drive. Even better, however, is that the top-line 5K iMac with a 3.5GHz chip will now set you back $2,299, at least before you pick some build-to-order options, obviously. Both devices are available from today at the company's online and retail stores, as well as authorized resellers.
Infrared implant brings practical sight to the blind
You can already get a retinal implant to restore some sight when you're blind, but the quality is usually too poor to be useful for more than avoiding collisions. A better solution is close at hand, however: Pixium Vision has successfully tested an implant that should go beyond basic vision. The tiny chip sits just behind the retina and uses infrared light to both stimulate images in your brain and power the whole device. Tests in rats generate vision equivalent to 20/250. That's still far from flawless, but it'd be superior to the 20/500 you can get now -- good enough that you could read the largest letter on an eye doctor's chart. The eventual system for humans, which will use goggles to send images, should manage 20/120 and put wearers above the US' legal standard for blindness. Trial runs start in 2016, so you may not have to wait much longer if you're eager to give the implant a try.
Retina 5K iMac hits the Apple refurbished store
Apple's Retina 5k iMac is a beast of a machine, both in power and price. If you've been holding off on purchasing one due to its $2,499 starting price, you'll be happy to know there's a cheaper way to buy. The Retina 5k iMac has now hit the Apple online refurbished store in Fusion Drive and flash storage configurations, each at about 15% less than full price. The entry-level model will set you back $2,119 and comes with a 27-inch (diagonal) Retina display with IPS technology; 5120‑by‑2880 resolution, 8GB memory, 1TB Fusion drive , AMD Radeon R9 M290X graphics processor with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, and a built-in FaceTime HD camera. That's $380 in savings. For $2,419 -- $80 less than the full price standard model -- you can get a 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5 with Retina display with 16GB memory, 3TB Fusion drive, AMD Radeon R9 M290X graphics processor with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, and the built-in FaceTime HD camera. Head over to the refurbished store to take a look at the available models.
Want a Mac under the Christmas tree this year? Better order now
Online shoppers placing orders for the new Retina iMac on Apple's digital store are seeing notifications of "unexpected delays" as we make our way closer to the biggest gift-giving day of the year. MacNN is reporting that delays of up to two weeks are pushing orders originally slated for November deliveries back into December, with no specific reason offered for the delays. So if you were planning on gifting a new Mac to a loved one this year -- or maybe even picking one up as a present for yourself -- you should probably fill that virtual shipping cart soon, or you'll risk some serious disappointment.
Engadget Daily: New iPad and Retina iMac reviews, the do's and don'ts of social media, and more!
Want to upgrade to an iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3? Maybe you're just drooling over the new Retina iMac. We reviewed them all, so you're covered either way. But that's not all we have on deck -- read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours, including a discussion on video game violence, Google's new email app, and the do's and don'ts of social media.
iFixit takes a peek inside Apple's new '5K' iMac
Sure, we were only just introduced to Apple's 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display, but the folks at iFixit are already tearing one apart. Inside they found a screen made by LG Display, and a setup similar to previous iMacs, including easily-accessed RAM slots for memory upgrades. Overall, the layout is almost exactly like last year's 27-inch iMac, plus that new display controller Apple bragged about and a slightly wider display data cable, enhanced to feed all those pixels. Repairing things might be tricky given its design, but you should check out the teardown for more details and a look at the carnage.
Engadget Daily: unlimited clean power, why there's no Retina MacBook Air and more!
So, why hasn't Apple updated its MacBook Air line with a Retina display? Here's our two-word answer: battery life. That's not all we have on deck though -- check out the rest of our news highlights from the last 24 hours, including a breakthrough in fusion power, further decline of the record industry, a Comic Sans typewriter and more.
Modbook will let you convert your Retina MacBook Pro to a tablet for $1,999
Modbook, the company behind those aftermarket Apple tablets, just launched a Kickstarter campaign for its latest product, the Modbook Pro X. After paying a pre-order price of $1,999 today, backers will be able to convert their own Retina MacBook Pros into a tablet beginning early next year. The conversion incorporates the laptop's original hardware, with components shifted from the lower half of the computer to just behind the 15.4-inch 2,880 x 1,800-pixel LCD.
Retina MacBook Pro gets a processor bump across the line
Eagle-eyed Apple Store watchers noticed the company's online commerce site taking a brief nap this morning, and sure enough when it woke up again something new had arrived: revised models of the 13" and 15" MacBook Pro, with faster Intel Haswell processors and a unified floor on RAM capacity (8 GB for the 13" models, 16 GB for the 15" models), which previously dropped to 4 and 8 GB respectively for the "budget" configuration in each size. You can compare the current MBPs seen here to last week's model seen here via archive.org. Default processor speeds on the 13" model went from 2.4/2.6 GHz i5 dual-core processors up to 2.6/2.8 GHz; BTO options for the 13" include a 3.0 GHz dual-core i7 chip. On the 15" model, both standard configs received a similar clock bump to their i7 quad-core CPUs (2.0/2.3 up to 2.2/2.5), with the fastest BTO processor now at a spicy 2.8 GHz. The price on the higher-end config of the 15" also drops $100 to $2499, as does the price of the non-Retina 13" MBP (from $1199 to $1099) which is unchanged from a spec perspective. These updates (which were hinted at a couple of days earlier via an iPad spec display in a Chinese store, of all places) should be available to ship immediately; if you bought a Retina MBP in the past 14 days in an Apple Store (and possibly at other authorized retailers) you may return it for restocking and move up to the newer model. As MacRumors notes, this is not the "big leap" to Intel's Broadwell chipset that is anticipated for next year's MBPs, but it certainly is welcome in the meantime. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Apple gives Retina MacBook Pros a speed boost ahead of Yosemite rollout
After rumors surfaced yesterday about an incoming MacBook Pro refresh, Apple's store went down earlier today, and now, hey presto! New MacBook Pros. The updated models haven't changed significantly, but look to be better equipped to handle the next version of OS X due in the fall, Yosemite. All 15-inch MacBook Pro Retinas now have 16GB of RAM standard instead of 8GB, and the priciest model has an optional 1TB PCIe-based SSD. The larger Retina models were also bumped by 200Mhz to the latest 4th Core-i7 CPUs, with the top-liner getting a Core i7-4980HQ which hits the magical 4.0GHz mark. Surprisingly, Apple has stuck with NVIDIA's GeForce GT-750M for its top model with discrete graphics rather than updating to the latest GeForce GT800M series. The upside, however, is that the price for that model has dropped by $100 to $2,499 (or £1,999 in the UK).
Engadget Giveaway: win an iPad mini courtesy of Numbridge!
The holidays are upon us and the New Year is rapidly approaching, so it's probably time to ditch the cryptic text messages and get on the horn for a proper chat with friends and family. The folks at Numbridge are offering some incentive for those who choose nice over naughty by giving away a svelte new iPad mini with Retina display to one lucky reader. Numbridge is the iPhone and Android app that's "redefining proximity" by making all international calls into local ones and freeing you from WiFi and broadband dependence. The rates are said to be some of the lowest on offer, with access to 50 countries around the globe, smart caller ID and even local callback numbers. So while you're listening to that distant relative tell the "longest story ever," you could also be enjoying a session of Plants vs. Zombies 2 on one of Apple's latest slates -- just don't forget to turn the sound off! All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below and enter for your chance to win. Winner - Congratulations to Noah B., Arcata, CA
The new iPad mini's Retina display isn't quite as colorful as it could be
Apple's new baby iPad comes with a pixel-pushing Retina display, but the stat sleuths at AnandTech have now declared that while the screen is indeed a fantastic addition to the smaller iPad, it's a bit color-blind. According to the test results, the iPad mini w/ Retina is only marginally better than its non-Retina predecessor in terms of things like saturation and contrast, and in some categories (like white-level brightness) it's actually a small step down from the original mini. When Apple revealed that the Retina mini would come with the same A7 chip as is found in the iPad Air, the line between what the two higher-resolution iPads were capable of became extremely blurred. Now, it seems we can add overall color performance as one of the few things the iPad Air has to hold over the head of its little brother.
Apple is working on a fix for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro's keyboard problems
If you've had issues with your shiny new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro's keyboard and trackpad not working properly, Apple has your back. Cupertino has posted to its support forums that an update for the unresponsive inputs is en route, while also suggesting that closing the display for a full minute to reset the relevant hardware might be an interim solution. If that doesn't work, we'll let you know when the proper patch arrives.
