hi and welcome to the first LinkedIn live streaming version of Tech Talk I'm
Ken Mingus executive editor at computer world
I'm here with Mac world's Michael Simon we'll be talking about Apple hardware in
particular what's going on with Apple's decision to perhaps by the 5g is it the
5g modem from Intel
so no mic obviously it's been a sort of a busy summer for Apple with hardware
with all of the you know the arrival of the new Mac Pro the various laptop
announcements from this summer nothing really grandmother yeah it's incremental
yeah yeah it's interesting you know I guess we should we should mention the
Mac Pro real quick since that is the the new and shiny bling and the very
expensive new and shocking is a good it starts at $59.99 that's and that only
gets you what a6 core 8 core something like 256 gigabyte hard drive yeah you
know exactly I mean come on rights all right so $59.99 for that the the new
fancy monitors $49.99 and if you want the stand if you want the stand for your
fancy new monitor and your fancy new Mac Pro that's gonna be another 9 yeah
unless you're gonna hold it up you know have somebody stand and hold it but
still I mean obviously I do wonder you know one question I have about that
before we get into the the 5g thing do we think that the arrival of the new Mac
Pro means an Apple realizes the the trashcan version that came out I think
2013 was a bit of a dud yeah I mean they kind of am in a day a little while ago
yeah I see this Mac Pro as a you know just get off our back yeah here's the
thing that everybody wands you can't afford it you want us to make it here it
is yeah it's here and you get but it is it is infinitely customizable right you
can pull the whole thing out and you can adjust I mean you can really keep it
current there's a bunch of slots and it's a you can if you are in the
neighborhood of affording it yes it's a Mac you've wanted for you know
many years that they stopped thinking that yeah right we need 13 Mac so sorry
so six thousand six thousand five thousand and a thousand so by my that's
about twelve thousand dollars justice just to get in the door still need a
little bigger harsher yeah and then you're gonna have to upgrade from 256
most people who are going to buy one probably going to spend upwards which
one eat that was into who's gonna play this it's for creatives and it's a
workstation basics for businesses for rendering farms it's for that type of
stuff it's not for you and I it's not even for like a young professional I
mean it's a it's a ridiculously high end machine so probably I shouldn't go to
IDG and ask them for a new Mac Pro they're doing shmouna yeah I could try
exactly nevermind and will bother okay so anyway that's you know and as you
mentioned the the MacBook Pro has gotten some updates this summer the MacBook Air
has gotten some updates especially the new keyboard theoretically new slightly
changed so you can't get crumbs and and under the keys and stick your keys
people are still finding ways to fix it I mean here's what's funny the new
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro which was released last week yep our part of the
keyboard replacement program okay so that'll tell you all you need to know
about the new MacBook Pro paging Johnny I've yeah they're not they're not fixed
it's a it's been a headache and a problem for years you know I have a 2016
MacBook Pro it's going on three years now and I've never had problems with the
keys and I do eat I mean it's it into issues I'm aware that they're issues I'm
just saying personally I haven't I'm not denying or doubting that they're issues
work I don't like the keyboard because it's loud yeah that's much clattering
very very the travel is light and or low it's just not I don't like you yeah yeah
but I haven't had a problem either but you know even if it's 10% Apple hasn't
addressed um you know that's a massive problem for a high-end $2,000 at least
and some other than that okay and we should also have a moment of silence for
the late lamented MacBook I have to admit I really always kind of wanted to
get a MacBook I kind of liked the design I liked the size and
and I guess it was just too much overlap between that in the MacBook Air
there is my theory is that they're saving that name for something bigger
literally the first means larger in size okay okay okay I think it's gonna be
that mythical hybrid device that we wanted forever this one between an iPad
pro and a MacBook so basically Apple's version of a mecha
of a surface okay I think they pulled that name so they can hold it for you
know maybe two years from now they come out with something that maybe runs I
don't know whatever it runs it's gonna be a different type of device okay good
and finally one more along the rumor in the rumor mill is the idea of a 16 inch
MacBook Pro which may or may not arrive this year and I have to admit that one
that intrigues me I would like time it's the 17-inch MacBook I always did I don't
care it that beautiful screen yeah I didn't take it anywhere but I loved it
no it went from the desk to like my lap and the gen and maybe outside once in a
while and just in case you're tuning in I should note that we're talking about
Apple's hardware announcements this summer in terms of the new Mac Pro
changes to the MacBook lineup MacBook Pro lineup and we're going to be looking
at now the idea that Apple may be trying to get Intel's 5g modem business with an
I I you know I you wrote about this yesterday in Mac world and is I assumed
as soon as I saw that story in the Wall Street Journal that Apple was looking at
5g you know basically in for its for its iPhone business yeah I mean what so
here's a quick quick recap yeah Intel and apple we're working together on a 5g
modem for future iPhones Qualcomm makes the 5g moment it's the best in the
business so really okay so Qualcomm is is okay okay okay and and you know 4G
modem 5g modem they make the best smartphone modems period Apple used them
for a long time Apple and Qualcomm then started fighting in court over patents
and licenses and fees it's not unusual in second it was very contentious and it
was you know and a as that was going on Apple turned to
Intel and set our can you make us modems because we want to distance ourselves
from Qualcomm you know and they did they weren't as good right the 4G ones and
they were working with them on a 5g one - all of a sudden Qualcomm an Apple cell
settled they're friends again they're friends again signed a multi-year
licensing agreement for the chip six years right yep and Intel said yeah
we're not doing that at all anymore that was in April okay and ever since then I
have been waiting for this story because it is tailor-made for a political she's
a billion dollars give us what you got well see what we can do with it Apple
already makes their a-series chips for the iPhone which are awesome yep I mean
awesome they blow away the Snapdragon on Android
they're just fantastic and Apple wants to control the whole stack they always
have yeah so to make their own 5g Monali and 5g it's not just an evolutionary
leap from 4G it's a big deal changes the game yep so to make their own 5g modem
that stands up to what Qualcomm it makes them a real player and in what's coming
over the next 10 years now do we haven't seen a macbook with LTE connected well
this goes back to what you were talking about earlier if they are pulling the
macbook now so that they can come back in a couple of years with some sort of
hybrid device you would have to think he would it would have 5g yeah I mean 5g is
a complete game chip and gives you Wi-Fi speeds well and that's the issue - you
know Mike and I were talking about this earlier is that the issue in terms of 5g
and Apple is that Apple tends to wait and see where the markets going and
waits for the infrastructure to be there first with the 5g networking still very
much you know in a it's literally like blocks long right
very small and very you know limited places cities limited geographic
locations and pinpointed to or if you take three steps this way you might lose
it yeah so it's great if you can get it and
if you can find it well of course you know that's gonna be at least a couple
years I'm sure there'll be no 5g modem in the phone this year that's coming and
maybe next one when if it's 2020 and 2021 it will be a Qualcomm own no matter
whether this report is true or not yeah we're years away from an Apple
modem whether it uses Intel tech or not from being a reality okay
Apple signed a six-year deal with Qualcomm for chips the only chip they
really need is the is that is the fast unit one you know it's it's very kind of
nondescript so they don't have to use the modem they could take audio chip or
something whatever they're gonna take but um it's um I'd say two three maybe
four got it from being just just as a reminder I'm here with Michael Simon
from Mac world I'm Ken Mingus from computer world and we're looking at
Apple's hardware announcements this summer between the MacBook Pro changes
the MacBook demise the new Mac Pro arrival and now we're talking about what
Apple may have in mind for future iPhones and perhaps some sort of hybrid
device down the road you know one of the points that you had made in your story
yesterday was that this is also Apple's way of sort of getting away from patent
trolls if they can lock some of these patents down see I do read your stuff
it's a real problem you know this is Apple's like literally every day finding
a court case from someone that says yeah we own that tech yeah most of the time
they don't even do anything with it they bought a patent from somewhere they
read it they wait this interferes with this let's sue for and it's you know
it's a business there are some business that just solely exists to sue what
their people with patents that they own yeah
so by wrapping up all this 5g stuff that they're getting all of Intel's patents
and now they can say you know taking these and suing us okay one last
question before we go I wanted to ask with the iPhone 11 coming out never
heard of it Yeah right never heard of it coming and this is a personal question
because I got you know my iPhone act at 10s Macs and I want to know if I need to
upgrade this year if I can skip a year other than the the try camera the three
camera you know the relief camera system I think that will be yeah but is it
enough to upgrade from an XS I would say no probably not
Cortana sorry all right that's personal advice for me but it might be useful for
you too you know if you you know if you've got a
quite I'd be curious in fact how often do you folks if you're watching us on
LinkedIn life upgrade your iPhones if you have an iPhone yearly every couple
years when it dies I have in the past tended to be once a year I get up at
three in the morning do the ordering thing because I kind of have to have the
latest and greatest but I'm probably not what most people do it's for work okay
couple questions coming in the MacBook with probably oh the core i9 chip okay
the MacBook itself the MacBook is the one that's been killed but the MacBook
Pro and the Mac yep yeah and the MacBook Pro would get the core I 9 and correct
me if I'm wrong but isn't that a BTO option now I think it is it's certainly
as of as of it certainly is now and it might have been earlier yeah maybe
they're talking about a ninth generation processor well the the you know the new
ones the MacBook Pro that's just been announced and the revamped MacBook Air
available now so if you go under the Apple site you can check and see some of
them start off with I think an i7 and there but I think but I think the
chlorine 9 8th gen yes is available in the MacBook Pro now I mean there and you
can upgrade to the ninth gen it isn't the ninth gen one of the new things you
know they're always a little behind an Apple world and I get confused because I
work for PC roles as well my head but I
remember looking at the specs not a base model correct if you're gonna have to
pay more money for the Iran if you decide to upgrade check the Apple site
go to the BTO option and and I believe the i9 is an option there next question
about battery yeah battery health uh good point I I cover
phones for a living all the time yes and Apple you know
they're they're consistently the best yeah I mean they've gotten dinged about
some of the issues with older phones and batteries and scaling the thing that
we're waiting or the I'm waiting for is this big
breakthrough in battery Texas like three to five days yeah and it's just not
there they lasted if it's not there for anybody that it's not just Apple that's
true of all mobile devices your account through a day with any iPhone mm-hmm
most high-end Android phones most mid-range Android phones to be honest I
mean listen I would love for Apple to put like a five thousand milliamp hour
battery in this thing and have it last like three days they're not gonna do
that yeah they're gonna give you just enough to get through 24 hours yeah and
until the technology changes that they can give you that same or more in in the
same small in fact they've decreased the battery size before yeah just so they
can still catch guys in 15 to 18 hour range that they they consistently you
can go back and look at the entire evolution of the iPhone yeah it's an
iPad 2 same thing 10 to 12 hours 12 the thing yep they don't really mess with
that but they make sure that you have enough you wake up unplug it you don't
really have to worry about it into well I mean think about that you know it
sounds like Apple's not doing anything but when you think about how iPhones and
what they're capable of now compared to say five years ago or you know the
original iPhone they're doing so much more processing so much more and yet
they're able to maintain the same and as far as health goes they've they took
some lumps last year no issue well you weren't paying attention to hold her
phones people said that they were deprecating them but they they took note
they fixed it they addressed older phones they addressed newer phones they
give you that upgrade program Jim they lowered the price of battery upgrades
even after that yep and you know they showed you that yeah a
fine we maybe we should have paid more attention to a lot of phones but they're
doing that now so these phone these newer ones when there are three
generations old they shouldn't have those issues anymore got it okay so you
know there's your answer on the battery phone I mean the battery health on but I
want I want to you might be able to find one for you it'll cost you about five
thousand bucks you know alright good so true
to recap real quick apples had a bunch of hardware announcements this year the
new Mac Pro coming out this fall the revised MacBook Pro no Mac Pro
coming out this fall new MacBook Pro new MacBook Air dead MacBook rumored 16 inch
MacBook Pro which I'm hoping for and of course that's fall will be a new iPhone
as well and this is the simpler lineup I know well it is it is simplified so we
should probably wrap it up there Michael I think that we cover a lot of territory
in a short amount of time so thank you for that a couple things to note if you
have enjoyed this please subscribe to our LinkedIn page we will be doing more
of these live videos this summer we're going to be looking at things like
Android Q we're gonna have our windows expert Preston growl back I talked about
answering your quiz 10 questions I'm sure we'll have you back at some point
to talk about the new phone if you feel if you'll make it in the meantime we
also have a YouTube channel we'd love for you to subscribe to that as well so
I think that'll do it for now thanks very much for watching I'm Ken
Mingus executive editor Computerworld for michael have a great day