Apple unveils updated iMac and iMac Pro workstation. Three new Macs coming out this year Inspired by imac pro

Will we see a new iMac in 2019?

The new iMac should definitely show itself to the world, and it's no surprise that we'd love to see it as early as 2019. Because shortly after the 2017 iMac, which was powered by 7th Gen Intel Kaby Lake processors, the chipmaker released 8th Gen processors - followed by the 9th Gen Coffee Lake Refresh processors in 2018. As a result, the processors and, therefore, the performance of the current generation of iMac is already two generations behind, when we talk about the processor, it is the iMac 2019 that could make a difference.

| IMAC 2019: WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

And while we don't know too much about what the iMac 2019 will be like, we have a lot of ideas on how to make next version Apple PC multifunctional device. Check out our offerings to make the 2018 iMac the best iMac on the market.

UPDATED DESIGN

While we love the looks of the iMac, its design hasn't changed in the last 12 years, so 2019 might be a good year for a redesign. This can mean minor changes, for example, a general weight loss of the structure, or maybe something more dramatic.

Rumors of a redesign of the iMac have been circulating since the Reddit "Foxconn Insider", who worked for the company. He announced that there will be an update on the iMac and its peripherals.

The aluminum design of the iMac has been a staple product since 2007, so we don't mind seeing a different color option with the Aimac 2019 - perhaps a Space Gray version like the iMac Pro?

INSPIRED BY IMAC PRO

The iMac Pro is a fantastic device, and while it's definitely a product aimed at a completely different audience than the 2019 iMac, there are a few things that the standard iMac could take over from its more expensive sibling.

For example, get rid of hard disk and move to solid-state drives, which would allow Apple to make the 2018 iMac thinner and speed up the machine. Better yet, for photographers and video editors, offer Apple support for UHS-II SD cards, thereby simplifying the workflow.

The iMac Pro also has smart technology cooling that helps reduce component temperatures while again offering a slimmer design without noisy fans, we'd love to see something similar at Aimak 2019.

However, if Apple's new iMac 2019 gets the T2 chips used to provide high-level security and AI with commands like “Hey Siri,” users will have to come to terms with the fact that Apple will restrict third-party warranty repairs. Make sure you buy AppleCare, that's all.

Oh, did we mention we'd love to see a Space Gray iMac?

INSPIRED MACBOOK AND IPHONE

While we're talking about ideas from other Apple devices, there are a few things we'd like to borrow from the iPhone and MacBook for the 2018 iMac.

For example, how cool would it be if Apple moved the Touch Bar from some MacBooks to a redesigned iMac keyboard? These touch sensitive buttons would be a fantastic addition.

We were also quite impressed with Face ID on the iPhone X, so if Apple is thinking about updating the FaceTime camera on the 2018 iMac, we'd love to see facial recognition that lets you unlock your new iMac with just a glance.

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

While we know next to nothing about the hardware included in the 2019 iMac, we'd love to have the latest and most up-to-date components when the all-in-one goes on sale.

Now, what we really want to see is Apple's introduction of the latest 9th Gen Coffee Lake Refresh processors in Aimak 2019 so that Apple fans can get access to the 8-core behemoths. But even if Apple goes the conservative route and uses 8th Gen Coffee Lake processors, the iMac 2019 will still see a significant performance boost over its predecessor.

We're also pretty confident that Apple will use one of its T2 coprocessors in the new iMacs (2019), likely to control “Hey Siri” commands like the rest of Apple's devices.

Also, according to the first reports, Apple is working on the creation of its own processors as part of the actively discussed program "Kalamata Initiative". This will lead to the Cupertino tech giant replacing all Intel processors with its own by 2020. This is certainly an ordeal, but Apple seems to be working pretty well on its own chips in a super-secret lab.

Fingers crossed, we hope that some - or all - of the predictions will come true before the end of this year.

Here are what 2019 has to offer so far.

Apple will update all of its devices this fall, from iPhone and Apple Watch to Mac mini and MacBook. iPad Pro and iMac.

Apple to release new 11-inch iPad Pro and updated AirPods

Apple's spring WWDC was all about software and. It is likely that at the September event, everyone Apple presentations will apply to the company's devices, and not only to the iPhone.

According to a new report released by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will reveal many new products. In addition to the new iPhones, updates are coming to Mac mini, iMac, MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, and iPad Pro. According to the analyst, the company will show updates this fall.

Apple to release new 11-inch iPad Pro, refreshed AirPods and new Apple watches this year

In his new report, Min-Chi Kuo added a few details about Apple's upcoming device update. Some of his predictions refer to three new iPhone 2018, the new Mac Mini and charger AirPower. Here's a breakdown of all projected new devices:

• Apple Watch

It is believed that Apple is currently working on two variants of the fourth generation watch. Both models of the new Apple Watch 4 will receive a large display. One of the displays can be rounded.

Apple Watch 4 will receive two displays at 1.57 inches (39.9 mm) and 1.78 inches (45.2 mm), respectively. That's about 15 percent more than current Watch 3 models. Also, newer versions of Apple watches will have improved heart rate sensors.

• iPhone

This year, two are expected to appear. new iPads Pro. The first will arrive in 11 "and the second in 12.9" in size. It is likely that both iPad Pro models will be made in the style of the iPhone X, with a large screen and no Home button. Apple is expected to install a Face ID sensor on the 2018 iPad Pro instead of the usual Touch ID.

• MacBook

The update will also affect Macbook and MacBook Pro. According to the analyst, the company is engaged in development. It will likely become the successor to the MacBook Air.

• Mac and iMac

With a significant boost in display performance, the new iMac arrives. The long-awaited update will also receive the Mac mini. Specific data were not announced.

• AirPower

Kuo said with hope and confidence that Apple's long-awaited AirPower wireless charging station will be mass-produced in the third quarter of this year. How it will turn out in reality is not yet clear. Although everyone hopes that everything will be launched immediately after the autumn conference.

In addition to all of the above, an update is expected for the second generation of wireless.

I will summarize what was voiced by a respected analyst. Ming-Chi Kuo has more than once justified his predictions regarding new products from Apple. But, these are all only assumptions and guesses, obtained on the basis of rumors and conjectures. Apple has already demonstrated its attitude to this at the spring conference.

The only thing we can say for sure is that only after the official presentation and when the devices can be held in hands, everything will become clear. Until then, we expect new "truthful" data about what Apple will show at the fall conference. We can say that there will be more new products from Apple in 2018 than expected.

We continue to track the most interesting things to share with our readers. Leave comments and subscribe to our groups

1. Testing was carried out by Apple February 2019 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro with 18-core Intel processor Xeon W @ 2.3GHz, 128GB RAM and GPU Radeon Pro Vega 64X with 16GB HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 @ 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of VRAM each and connection to an external 5K monitor, both used 64GB of RAM. Tested in Cinema 4D R20; a scene with a volume of 1.98 GB was used, the number of polygons was 60 million. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
2. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with an 18-core Intel Xeon W 2.3GHz processor with 128GB RAM and preproduction 27-inch 10-core Intel iMac Pro units The 3.0GHz Xeon W and 64GB of RAM, both used Radeon Pro Vega 64 GPUs with 16GB of HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. Testing using Autodesk Maya 2018 with 399.6 MB scene. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
3. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with a 2.3GHz 18-core Intel Xeon W processor with 128GB RAM and Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics with 16GB HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. Tested in Cinema 4D R19.024; a scene with a volume of 1.98 GB was used, the number of polygons was 60 million. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
4. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with an 18-core Intel Xeon W 2.3GHz processor with 128GB RAM and preproduction 27-inch 10-core Intel iMac Pro units The 3.0GHz Xeon W and 64GB of RAM, both used Radeon Pro Vega 64 GPUs with 16GB of HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. Testing was carried out using Xcode 9.1 (9B55), ninja (v.1.7.2), swift (swift ‑ 4.0.2-RELEASE), swift ‑ clang (swift ‑ 4.0.2-RELEASE), swift ‑ llvm (swift ‑ 4.0 .2-RELEASE), swift ‑ cmark (swift ‑ 4.0.2-RELEASE), swift ‑ compiler-rt (swift ‑ 4.0.2-RELEASE), and CMake 3.9.4. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
5. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with 3.0GHz 10-core Intel Xeon W processor with 64GB RAM and Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics with 16GB HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. OsiriX MD v.9.0.1 was tested using CT scan data: 1300 slices of 512 × 512 voxels. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
6. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with an 18-core Intel Xeon W 2.3GHz processor with 128GB RAM and preproduction 27-inch 10-core Intel iMac Pro units The 3.0GHz Xeon W and 64GB of RAM, both used Radeon Pro Vega 64 GPUs with 16GB of HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. Testing was conducted using Mathematica v.11.2.0.0 with built-in WolframMark benchmarks. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
7. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with an 18-core Intel Xeon W 2.3GHz processor with 128GB RAM and preproduction 27-inch 10-core Intel iMac Pro units The 3.0GHz Xeon W and 64GB of RAM, both used Radeon Pro Vega 64 GPUs with 16GB of HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. Application operation Adobe photoshop 19.0 was tested using the following filters: crystallization, dots, circular blur, shape blur, dust and scratches, median. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
8. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with a 2.3GHz 18-core Intel Xeon W processor with 128GB RAM and Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics with 16GB HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. Pixelmator Pro 1.0.1 preview tested using 3.31GB image. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
9. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with an 18-core Intel Xeon W 2.3GHz processor with 128GB RAM and preproduction 27-inch 10-core Intel iMac Pro units The 3.0GHz Xeon W and 64GB of RAM, both used Radeon Pro Vega 64 GPUs with 16GB of HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. The preliminary version of Logic Pro X 10.3.3 was tested by mixing 20 audio tracks from a project (without connecting to the network) and then burning the result to disc in PCM format. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
10. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with an 18-core Intel Xeon W 2.3GHz processor with 128GB RAM and preproduction 27-inch 10-core Intel iMac Pro units The 3.0GHz Xeon W and 64GB of RAM, both used Radeon Pro Vega 64 GPUs with 16GB of HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. Testing conducted using Pre-Release Logic Pro X 10.3.3 and a 200-track Sculpture Synthesizer project. During playback, the playback mode of individual tracks was turned on until an overload occurred central processing unit... Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
11. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with an 18-core Intel Xeon W 2.3GHz processor with 128GB RAM and preproduction 27-inch 10-core Intel iMac Pro units The 3.0GHz Xeon W and 64GB of RAM, both used Radeon Pro Vega 64 GPUs with 16GB of HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercially available 27-inch iMacs with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor and a Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, as well as commercially available 12-core Mac Pros Intel Xeon E5 2.7GHz, dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB VRAM and 5K external monitor connection, both used 64GB of RAM. Testing conducted using a preliminary release of Final Cut Pro 10.4 and a complex 63-second project containing a variety of multimedia content up to 8K resolution. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro.
12. Testing conducted by Apple in November 2017 using preproduction 27-inch iMac Pro units with 3.0GHz 10-core Intel Xeon W processor with 64GB RAM and Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics with 16GB HBM2 memory. Comparison included commercial samples of a 27-inch iMac with a 4.2GHz 4-core Intel Core i7 processor, Radeon Pro 580 graphics processor with 8GB VRAM and 64GB RAM. Testing conducted using Compressor 4.4 preview and a 30-second project that included Apple ProRes 422 video at 4096 x 2160 pixels and 30 frames per second. Testing conducted on specific computer systems and reflects the approximate performance of iMac Pro and iMac.

• Availability individual functions, bundles and configurations of the device depends on the country and / or region of distribution.
• Specifications are subject to change without notice.
• Software and content may be sold separately. Availability not guaranteed.

Hello everyone, friends! Today there will be an unusual issue, which many people asked me about in private messages, in the comments, wrote to the mail. Namely - Is it worth buying a MacBook, iMac or Mac mini, or can you get by with a PC for serious professional work.

Class

Zapin

This release is by no means intended to incite a holivar between Mac supporters and PC supporters, I will only share my experience of working on these two platforms and try to explain why I made my choice. The main goal of this release is a sincere desire to help those who are faced with a choice and to warn about the pitfalls of this or that decision. In addition, I will tell you what equipment I use in my work at the moment.

Over the course of my freelance career, I've tested a huge number of different devices, from cheap Lenovo laptops, monitors to Apple computers such as iMacs and MacBooks. If you watched the video from the "Answers to Questions" section, then from time to time I recommend or do not recommend some devices for work and explain why. I decided to record this video for the reason that 2017 was a decisive year for the PC platform, there are many interesting changes and improvements. I have accumulated a huge amount of test results for various equipment, quite extensive experience in using technology in my work, and this video will be the culmination of my personal experience at the end of 2017. So let's leave aside the outdated archaic prejudices about Windows and take a fresh look at the Mac / PC situation at the end of 2017.

I will not talk about my first computer, how my technical development took place, and so on, but I will start with Apple. Apple technology is great. She has a premium appearance, thoughtful design. It is recommended by many pros as a must-have for professional work. Plus, Apple's purchase of a computer is magic. Unpacking a new device, its smell, appearance ... You are experiencing a real aesthetic pleasure. I have experienced this pleasure 3 times - when buying a MacBook Air, when buying a 2015 iMac and when buying a 2017 MacBook Pro. When you turn on your computer, you are greeted by a pleasant operating system and a stunning bright screen with a wide color gamut that has been unmatched in the world until now. If you put a regular monitor side-by-side to the Apple iMac, you can feel a tremendous difference in image detail. This is largely due to the Retina display, which has exactly twice the pixels per inch to render the image.

In parallel with Apple, I also used a PC. Quite frankly, the average PC was far behind and is still inferior in aesthetics to Apple computers. Most often, these are huge coffins stuck under the table with not very attractive plastic monitors on the table and motley peripherals - a red mouse and an unnaturally huge gray keyboard. The exact opposite of Apple, which has both a computer and peripherals made of aluminum and looks very good on the desktop. Apple left no choice - they just did everything beautifully.

If you carefully read the title of the video, a question arises. Boy, if Apple is so great, then why the hell are you back on PC?

Actually, I haven't quite returned, I have both an iMac and a MacBook and a PC. It's just that I use a PC as my main system for work. iMac serves as a station for working with sound, recording various tracks in Logic X Pro and for watching cartoons for my daughter. MacBook Pro 2017 is the perfect tablet with a keyboard on the go - for small tasks on the go. And the Tsar, on which I perform complex editing, work with heavy graphics, on designs in various programs, record the desktop at 1440p 60fps without lags, in general, I do the main work - this is powerful computer with Windows as the primary operating system. Why did it happen? Why not work on an iMac or just use a MacBook for basic work? Everything in order.

Before 4K IPS monitors, Apple computers were second to none. Retina amazed everyone with her clarity, brightness and image quality. In addition, macOS is optimized to work with HiDPI displays as if they were native. And Retina is essentially the same IPS matrix as in a regular monitor, only with a pixel density per square inch 2 times higher (this is HiDPI). If you are engaged in web design, photography, printing - such a display is really a must-have in your work. You need the correct or reference color reproduction so that color imbalance does not burn out your eyes on most other user's displays or billboards. It was this advantage that influenced my decision to buy an iMac in early 2016.

If we divide the iMac or MacBook into 2 parts, then we get Iron (processor, video subsystem, RAM, etc.) and Display. If the display of Apple computers is excellent, then everything is not so simple with the filling. According to my observations, Apple's policy is aimed at optimizing software for not the most powerful hardware that is on the market at the time of buying a computer. Or rather, the iron is rather weak. It would seem, what's the difference? If the programs run fast, then to hell with it with iron. However, this only works with Apple software, which is really nicely optimized to run on the native operating system.

My iMac has an i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a rather weak AMD-based graphics engine. When the WOW effect from the purchase passed, I was left alone with this computer. After enjoying the way Notes, Reminders, iTunes, Logic Pro, and Final Cut work, I installed the main program of any designer - Photoshop. Imagine my surprise when I opened my average project weighing 1.2 GB. Frankly speaking, I did not expect such brakes. And the brakes were mainly due to the weak video subsystem, which is actively used for hardware acceleration in Photoshop (it's hard to call it a video card). Now I have a beautiful aluminum monitor with a rather weak filling. Of course, Apple computers are more than enough for most tasks. But a step to the left, a step to the right, and you realize that you bought a weak computer with a video card that barely pulls out 5K resolution, for which a simple drag and drop of windows on the table is not an easy task, judging by the friezes. In addition, there is no upgrade option. If the processor and RAM can be upgraded, then the stumbling block will be the video subsystem, which is soldered to motherboard.

Before buying a computer, decide for what purpose you are taking it. Here I am not talking about what tasks you will perform on it. After all, today you are engaged in projects of medium complexity, and tomorrow you will need to do a complex 3D rendering for the site header or open a huge customer project in Photoshop. Here, by purpose, I mean WHERE you will use the computer. Many guys, having accumulated a round sum of money through unbearable work to buy a computer, choose not exactly what they really need. I'm talking about the MacBook. I will not talk about hardware, it is clear that normal hardware simply will not fit into this box. First of all, you need to understand that a MacBook that has been on your desktop for a whole year and wanders only on the sofa when you get tired is an aesthetic collapse. A computer that is designed for the road is often used as the main working system at home, despite the fact that it costs a lot of money, and its performance, frankly, is weak for serious work.

When I took my MacBook Pro 2017 I knew what I was going for - I already had experience with a 2015 iMac. I knew that I was taking it exclusively for work outside the home. I often go somewhere and I need good laptop that would hold the battery for a long time, would be powerful enough for simple tasks, and a MacBook, like no other laptop in the world, is suitable for this. Thanks to good internal optimization, Apple was able to make good tablet with a keyboard that you can use on the road, work with a server, Node, SSH and other programs in the Bash shell, record screen video or perform simple operations in Adobe Photoshop.

Continuing the conversation about the MacBook Pro, I would like to warn about problems in this computer if you plan to take the 2016-2017 model. These computers have a very soft aluminum case, so after six months of heavy use, the price of your MacBook is likely to drop in half due to external injuries. The second big drawback is the keyboard. At first glance, this is a very pleasant low-profile keyboard with good tactile feedback. However, this keyboard is made of very low-quality plastic - the buttons often stick, some fall out after long use. If you decide to clean the stuck button and carefully pry it with a thin plastic or a pick, your edge will break and the laptop will no longer be accepted under warranty due to external mechanical damage. I don’t think this is Apple’s cunning plan, but the keyboard, despite its aesthetic elegance, is extremely poor quality, although this is the main tool that a programmer, layout designer or copywriter works with. Judging by the reviews on YouTube and on the Internet, such jambs are not only in my MacBook, so keep this in mind when buying a MacBook 2016-2017. And third, you shouldn't take a MacBook with a new Touchbar. If you are skilled in touch typing, you will miss the F1, F2, F3, etc. keys, and the touchbar will be an annoying rudiment.

Why is it worth looking at a PC as your main workstation in 2017-2018, if you have enough money to buy an expensive computer from Apple? Let's start with the strongest point of Apple computers - the display. Until 2017, there were simply no normal 4K monitors for adequate money. According to my observations, it was in this year (2017) that good 4K IPS monitors with stunning color reproduction began to be actively released to the masses. And this is mainly due to the improved support of Windows 10 for HiDPI displays. Currently, this trend continues.

For my main workplace, I use a 23.8-inch LG 4K IPS IPS monitor. I will not name the model, if interested - ask a question in the comments, I will answer.

A small digression on 4K monitors. At the moment, there are 3 large manufacturers of such monitors on the market - LG, DELL and Samsung. I must say right away that I only know about Samsung monitors that they mainly use their own PLS matrix, which is a proprietary development of the company, derived from IPS matrices. I recommend choosing monitors with an IPS matrix. We are left with 2 options - LG and DELL monitors. According to my observations, DELL monitors have a fairly high percentage of rejection, very often so. hatch effect on the sensor and dark spots due to uneven illumination on a white background. I am not saying that all DELL monitors are bad, but I tested a fairly large number of DELL monitors and some statistics were generated. What I can't say about LG monitors - there have never been such problems with them. In addition, if you plan to take a DELL monitor, keep in mind that the factory calibration of these monitors is rather "warm", which will be unusual if you have previously used or are using a Retina display in parallel, the color temperature of which is obviously colder. As for LG monitors, you will not see such "warmth", these monitors are calibrated from the factory almost identically to Retina displays. Observations were carried out on monitors manufactured in 2016-2017. And the last - very important point, DELL UltraSharp monitors have a lower coverage of the Adobe RGB, NTSC, sRGB color space than LG monitors, but they have a number of physical advantages - the function of display rotation 180 degrees and many ports on the rear panel, including, USB 3.0 and jack 2.5 for connecting headphones or speakers. I think if you work with graphics and design, the color gamut will be a powerful argument - an experienced designer will notice the difference in color between the models of these two manufacturers.

And the question immediately arises - why take a 4K monitor, if not for size? Why 24 inches, and not 27, for example, or 32? The fact is that the standard for buying a 4K monitor should be the iMac Retina display with the corresponding diagonal and 4K resolution. On such a monitor, for comfortable work and maximum anti-aliasing, the recommended scaling should be 200% in Windows 10, so that the elements are not too large, but have a normal size. By the way - with the release of Windows 10 Creators Update and Windows 10 Fall Creators Update in October 2017, support for HiDPI displays has been implemented almost perfectly and this is good news. You can find issues of "Jedi Layout # 7" on the channel and watch the video in 1440p. This course was recorded in HiDPI and you can enjoy the smoothness of fonts, lines and other elements in Windows 10.

The next moment that took place before windows updates The 10 Fall Creators Update is the lack of a normal Bash terminal on the system, unlike macOS or Linux. Currently, the Bash terminal, which is part of the developer components in Windows 10, and uses the Ubuntu subsystem, is out of beta and works many times faster than its beta version. Of course, someone will say - what's the point of comparing a native UNIX terminal to a kernel that is not native to Bash. And I compared. And the results pleasantly surprised me. I compared generating my sites in Jekyll, compiling Sass, building projects and just working on projects, live refresh in the browser (Browsersync) side-by-side with the same tasks on the iMac and MacBook. The execution speed is the same on iMac and PC with Linux subsystem, MacBook - slower in speed by 20-30%, provided that both systems have an SSD disk.

Another factor that previously played against the PC is the bulky, heavy cases under the table. Here, too, very interesting changes are coming. Iron gets colder, energy consumption decreases from year to year. This means that in the near future, compact and elegant miniITX cases will be very common. Many startups are working in this direction and posting prototypes of their enclosures on the Kickstarter site. Some samples will amaze even a seasoned esthete. Already now you can buy in stores or order a compact miniITX or Slim-Tower case and assemble a very powerful high-performance computer in a small case with a normal video card.

Another highlight is the fast solid state drives (SSD) that Apple boasted at the MacBook and MacBook Pro launches in 2016 and 2017. There is not much to tell here, they just use updated high-speed versions of m.2 drives, a slot for which is present in almost any motherboard since 2016. Now under me operating system set SSD Samsung 960 EVO M.2 500GB with 3,200MB / s read speed and 1,500MB / s write speed. So nothing special about that anymore, Apple. It is also worth noting that the difference between an expensive and not very expensive MacBook is mainly in the volume of a solid-state drive, and the difference in price between these models is disproportionately greater than the cost of the drives themselves.

In total, in 2017-2018 we have powerful hardware in a compact body, a 4K monitor with stunning color reproduction, no worse than Retina for adequate money, and finally, an operating room that has been completely finished. Windows system 10, which is enough for the eyes to solve any problem. All for the price of a 2017 MacBook Pro with Touchbar or the cheapest iMac with Retina display. What you choose is up to you :-)

And in the end, as promised, I will tell you what hardware I use on my main work computer and what peripherals I use.

On the inside, this is a Kaby Lake i7 7700 without the "k" index with a low-profile cooler in a Slim-Tower case. A processor without "k" is enough for your eyes if you are not overclocking your system. Video card GTX 1080, 16 GB RAM with a frequency of 3200Mhz, mat. board on 270 chip and m.2 slot for SSD, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi adapters... SSD Samsung 960 EVO M.2 500GB and HDD 7200rpm with 5 TB, which is enough for everything. By the way, if you take a MacBook with a drive that is less than 512 GB, this will not be enough for you. Unless, of course, you just “surf the Internet” bought it.

The monitor, as I said earlier, is LG 23.8 "", 4K IPS. Currently, this data is enough to buy a 4K monitor, since the devices themselves are not cheap and they are unlikely to put a bad IPS matrix in them. In addition, in 2017, most famous brands finally learned how to make monitors with normal color rendering.

The peripheral that I came up with after trying out many options is the Jet.A SlimLine K9 Black keyboard, already familiar to many from last year's review. The most comfortable touch typing keyboard with cool tactile feedback. The mouse at the moment is a wireless Logitech G603 LightSpeed. While satisfied, no failures with communication or friezes were noticed. Convenient and light enough to use with one battery. It should be borne in mind that a regular mouse with a 1000 DPI sensor is not suitable for use on a 4K monitor. For smooth and precise cursor gliding, I recommend choosing a mouse with a sensor resolution of at least 3000 DPI or a graphics tablet.

Depends on your goals and budget, roughly speaking, for someone "relevant" is the ability to edit 4k raw video and work in parallel with several heavy programs, but for someone "relevant" is when YouTube and VK do not lag. The budget and condition are also important - for the conditional 100 thousand, you can take a completely new model in a weak configuration, or a top-end used car of past years.

But in general, the relevance of the model is determined by Apple itself - it simply gives the status of "vintage" or "outdated" models that were discontinued more than 5 years ago. Most often, although these models receive updates and the latest versions of the OS (after all, this is an apple), they work rather poorly (especially without an upgrade). Now the Macbook pro and air of the beginning of 2011 and earlier are officially obsolete, except for the 17-inch macbook pro, the entire line of old Macbooks (2007, 2008, 2009 unibody). But personally, I would not recommend buying poppies older than 2012.

Here is a small list of MacBooks for different needs (and wallet). All used MacBooks are in good condition, I quote the average prices for Avito in Moscow:

1) The most budgetary option - used Macbook air 11 "or 13" late 2011 (early 2012, which is the same). The cost is about 25-30 thousand. Some of the first have an i5 processor and an ssd disk (though most often 128GB). The ideal typewriter is good screen, the battery lasts more than 6 hours, thanks to the ssd system and light applications will fly.

2) Macbook pro 13 "the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012. The price varies greatly, from 25 to 45 thousand. This is an option" typewriter + " After the upgrade on such a Mac, you can safely work in rather complex and heavy programs, such as photoshop, premiere or final cut.

3) Macbook Pro 13 "late 2012. Price from 30 to 45 thousand. The same as in the previous paragraph, but because of the 1.5GB hd4000 video card, such a Mac shows itself much better in working with video. And even on it you can play!

4) Macbook Air 11 "late 2012 - early 2014. The price depends on the volume of the drive: 30 - 50 thousand. Air 11" is comparable in size to an iPad, but gives much more possibilities. A great option if you need to constantly carry your computer with you for many simple tasks.

5) Macbook Air 13 "late 2012 - early 2014. The price depends on the volume of the drive: 35 - 60 thousand. You need to take with the most productive i5 processors (1.7 GHz and higher). An excellent option is enough powerful laptop, which can be carried with you without any problems, they live 7-8 hours in a mixed mode of use.

6) Macbook Pro 13 "with Retina display late 2012 - early 2014. The price depends on the size of the drive: 45 - 85 thousand. These laptops can be quite successfully used as an equivalent replacement for a working PC. In my opinion, the configuration is 2013, i5 2.5 GHz, 8Gb, 256Gb is optimal in terms of price-performance ratio.

7) Macbook Pro and Air 2015 or 2016, in my opinion, makes no sense, tk. in terms of performance, the difference is less than 10%, and there are practically no other differences except force touch.

8) Macbook Pro 15 "with Retina display late 2012 - early 2014. I highly do not recommend it unless you need a large screen or discrete graphics. Even buying such a new laptop is risky, because they have a widespread problem with discrete graphics. The sellers of such poppies "warm up" the chips in a special way so that everything works for 2-3 days, set a tempting price, sell the poppy, and the buyer simply does not turn on the poppy in a couple of days.

Hope it helped a little.