Apple rumours

[JeremyK]

Hey all.

I just thought lately becaue I have been doing alot of "apple related" stuff that I'd bring up a few rumours.

Are any of them true? Ps, as a heads up, long post ahead (sorry)

1. Apple iMac Touch - Pretty obvious, a touchscreen iMac
2. Apple iTouch - Basically a 13" iPhone.
3. Apple iPhone Unibody - iPhone/iPod Touch made out of aluminum
4. Apple MacBook Nano - A small version (8-10") MacBook Pro
5. MacBook Air will get black glass display
6. Apple logo on iMac (Front) will be the power button and will light up
7. Apple will make iMac/external keyboard black and backlight
8. iPod Touch will look like the 3Gs and have a camera

I think that's all I can remember

So, it begs the question, are any of them true or could possibly one day be true?

All comments welcome

[bendrucker]

Apple rumors are just as such: rumors. Rarely is anything ever correctly leaked, and for every accurate leak, there are 10 fakes. However, I'll address each of these.

1. No. I see no possible reason why Apple would ever want to do a touch screen desktop at this time.
2. An Apple media pad is quite likely. It would fit in nicely with the current lineup.
3. Not a chance. Apple switched to plastic specifically to improve the iPhone cell signal and increase its ability to dissapate heat. Short of some magical new metal that's invented, this won't happen.
4. No. Apple doesn't want to be part of the netbook space. The MacBook Air is its netbook. I don't see why everyone hates the Air. It's not that expensive, and it's light and portable. If Apple did release a 10" notebook, it wouldn't be $400 like all the PC netbooks are.
5. The current display is glass, and is an LED display. Not sure what else could be added.
6. Power button, no. Light up? Maybe.
7. Backlight on the keyboard is unlikely. A switch from aluminum and black to only black is improbable as well.
8. Yes and no. It will not look like the 3GS. The iPod is thinner, and doesn't need to be plastic since it's not getting cell reception. The black plastic area at the top for the WiFi antenna takes care of it. I think the Touch will likely get a camera soon.

[JeremyK]

Thanks for replying, bbb
in response,
1. To compete with that fancy new HP touch home desktop
2. I agree, it be a big seller
3. Oh yeah, didn't think of that
4. I realize that the Air is Apples portable computer. But so is the MacBook. And the MacBook is over $400 cheaper than the air, and has a disc drive. I just think that if Apple made their own netbook, then it would do what the iPod did for MP3 players. It would be a cheap, functional version mac! And just imagine how adorable it would be in the range
5. Didn't make this very clear, you now how the MacBook Pros display is black glass, the Airs is white and I don't think it matches the keyboard very well, I heard that they'd change it from white to black to solve this
6. I have used an iMac before an I hate where the power button is, I heard a rumour that apple will make the logo on the front the power button, and light up like on all the other Macs
7. Again, not very clear, the external keyboards are Aluminum with white keys but it would suit better if it was aluminum with black keys.
8. I think that black bit on the top just looks random. I think it should be plastic. Or make it different colours "Toucho-Chromatic"

[bendrucker]

1. Apple doesn't compete for competition's sake. HP's touch home desktop won't sell well, so Apple won't enter that market.
4. You're right about the iPod, except the price factor. The 5GB and 10GB iPods were $399 and $499 respectively. They were by no means cheap, and didn't catch on because they were cheap. As it is, because Apple uses high quality parts and aluminum cases rather than cheap parts and generic plastic cases, iPods are one of the most expensive PMPs on the market. Might Apple release a MacBook Air in 10"? Maybe. But unless they are planning on killing the Air and inserting MacBooks in its place (which would take at least 12 months to do from a marketing standpoint), I just don't see this one happening.
5. Makes sense.
6. I highly doubt it. While the power button may be inconvenient to hit, it maintains the design properly. I have a hard time imagining how Apple could make the logo the power button without it looking totally ridiculous.

[JeremyK]

1. Very true I've only seen one of those things in an electrical store since it's release. We were gonna get one but we got an iMac instead
4. I'm too young to remember the original iPod, but even so, if it wasn't for it, what would pmp's be like today? It's like the Bugatti Veyron, it's a huge, giant leap forward!!
6. Basically You just press the apple logo (like any other button) to turn it on

EDIT: before when you said that apple rumours are never uually correct, I bet you $100 bucks that something from this list will come out.

Why? Because I bet that Apple "monitors" sites like these so they can get ideas. Just look at the iPhone 3Gs thread, cut, copy, paste, push notifications, all ideas we imagined, are on the iPhone 3Gs

this makes them fun to read so that you have false hope there will one day be a mini MacBook Pro somewhere in the line-up!!

[bendrucker]

I did say Apple rumors are usually wrong. Usually, meaning some are right. While I'm sure Apple looks at rumor sites, I wouldn't say they play a significant role in its product planning. Apple, like all other companies, spends money on market research that's far more accurate and descriptive. Rumor sites are read by a small number of Apple product owners. Why do you think Apple has been so secretive and seemingly self-destructive with the App Store? It's because most iPhone and iPod Touch owners don't even know about the rejections or if they've heard they don't care. "Power users" represent a small portion of the market. Apple is a consumer electronics company, and although they do factor in the power user and enthusiast opinion into their decisions, the will of the few is frequently drown out by that of the majority.

[notabadname]

I wouldn't say Apple additions are here because we imagined them. I don't really think many of us imagined many Apple products any earlier than they were by Apple themselves. Apple, I am sure, planned "push", paste, video and other functions on the iPhone, probably since its inception. But Apple is slow and methodical in putting features out that work well. I think they spent their R&D wisely to ensure that first the iPhone would be a hit, and not another Newton. Then, expended further dollars to continue its development once they knew it was and would continue to be a success, worthy of their further investment.

If you make 10 guesses about what the weather is going to do tomorrow, one of them will be right, or close. Guessing that there will be a Mac Tablet isn't rocket science. But my guess is that Apple doesn't want it to be the new "Newton". They wont release it until the technologies, infrastructure and customer base are sound enough to ensure market success. (Such as batteries, touch displays, iTunes and the App store, OLED versus LED displays and 40 million phone users that are hooked on the ergonomics of the iPhone)

It is likely coming, but try and guess exactly what it will be, how it will function and how it will change our lives - that is where Apple surprises us every time, and why they are such a successful company. By comparison, when is the last time you saw "buzz" over the next Dell or Gateway product. No one even cares to guess.

[JeremyK]

True. Very well said indeed, the only excitement Dell has produced was the XPS range. And everyone saw that coming from a mile away.

[GadgetComa]

Has anyone seen the rumors that have started about iTunes 9 and/or a separate app from Apple to support social networking? The rumors appear to be centered around music sharing / recommendations. It's relatively plausible since it could be considered an extension of iTunes Genius. I'm also wondering when hard disks in iPods will go away completely. I've seen a few rumors to that effect, but I think the higher capacity needed to replace the hdd in the iPod Classic is still a bit too pricey.