Perusing Apple products will occasionally grant you a sight of this page and it means one thing: Apple is updating something. It could be a big one, it could be a small one, but no matter what: something is going down in Cupertino. Here’s 5 Fast Facts on why this is probably a big deal and why we think Apple will be updating the Macbook Pro, and possibly some other products.
1. Apple’s Got a Ton of Products Overdue For An Update
The red, yellow, and green indicators used on the seminal MacRumors’ Buyer’s Guide indicate whether or not consumers should be buying a particular Apple product and they are color coded just like a stoplight. As you can see, the MacBook Pros, the iMac, and Mac Mini are all well overdue for an update. The Mac Pro is also due for an update, but its details have already been announced.
2. MacBook Pro is the Most Likely Update
Let’s take a look at the data from the Mac Buyer’s Guide:
The Macbook Pro has really been a long time without an update so it’s a good candidate for a renewal. Meanwhile Mac Mini is getting close, and while iMac hasn’t quite reached its limit, its average is a bit tainted by a particularly long product cycle of 577 days that happened 2 iMacs ago. If you count that outlier out, it puts the iMac into way overdue territory. Still, our money is on the Macbook Pro as the most likely update.
3. MacRumors.Com Confirms an iPhone 5C Update is Right Around the Corner, but an iPhone Update is Unlikely
We already know the 5C will be a low cost alternative to the iPhone 5, and Apple has surprised us before with launching prior to a rumor, so this could easily be the case. Still, if we’re using the logic of “product cycles,” the iPhone product line itself is only just barely overdue for an update. Its cycle is 334 days, and it’s been 338 days since its last update. However, it may simply be the case that Apple is breaking the cycle (not unheard of) because the iPhone 5C is an alternate product line. That said, the chances of a new iPhone are slim and would be a real surprise, even if they are allegedly releasing a gold iPhone.
4. Rumors Have Been Circulating Lately That the iPad May Be Getting an iPad Mini Touch Screen Update
Supposedly, this could improve the iPad drastically. The differences between the iPad screen types has become more pronounced over the past few years. A film-based screen recognizes user gestures, according to Gizmodo. Due to the lighter weight and thickness, it would make sense for Apple to incorporate it into the newest iPad since the technology is already encased in its other products.
While the iPad isn’t due for an update exactly, it is only 10 days short of reaching the end of its average cycle. So, a quick screen fix may be in order.
5. The Update Comes Hot Off the Heels of a Major App Store Security Breach Revelation
Essentially, researchers discovered that the App Store really only tests an app for a few seconds, so as long as there’s no malicious code immediately, an app with some serious ‘viruses’ can get through. In other words, as long as the software assembles itself into an evil concoction after the App Store has checked it out, it will be just fine. This is not good news for Apple since a major selling point of the App Store is its reliability and consistent quality level compared to the Google Play Store and other Android Markets. In any case, nothing bad has happened yet, but this may very well be something that is addressed with this update. Still, it’s highly unlikely that the update would address only something as trivial as this; they wouldn’t close the store just to fix a software issue! Check this post for updates as news emerges.