Mac Mini Turns 3, 'KRACK' Wi-Fi Vulnerability, 'Anemic' iPhone 8 Sales Ahead of iPhone X - MacRumors

Apple's Mac Mini is Now Three Years Old, but Tim Cook Says It Will Be 'Important Part' of Future Product Lineup Earlier this week, the current Mac mini turned three years old, an eternity for a computer's lifetime. Apple's cheapest computer starts at just $499 (without keyboard, mouse, or display), but it's still running ancient Haswell processors that have long since been surpassed by newer Intel chips and graphics, among other advancements. Frankly, it's an embarrassment that the Mac mini has gone so long without an update, and its birthday spurred a number of Mac mini fans to contact Apple executives to express their frustration. Somewhat surprisingly, Tim Cook responded to one of those fans to note that "while it is not the time to share any details, we do plan for the Mac mini to be an important part of our product line going forward." Cook's comments strongly hint that the Mac mini isn't being phased out, but it's still unclear when we can expect to see an update and whether it will include a significant redesign. At this point, it's unlikely we'll see an update before the end of the year, so some time in 2018 seems to be a safe bet.   Read Full Article Popular Stories Oct 19, 2017 Apple Says 'KRACK' Wi-Fi Vulnerabilities Are Already Patched in iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS Betas A security researcher this week disclosed major vulnerabilities in the WPA2 protocol used to secure Wi-Fi connections and which could allow attackers to eavesdrop on any traffic passing through a connection.  With the disclosure, manufacturers of routers, computers, phones, and other devices have been announcing and releasing patches to protect their users, and Apple has said that the issue is addressed in upcoming versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, all of which are currently in the beta testing phase ahead of their public releases.   Read Full Article iPhone 8 and 8 Plus Production Will Reportedly Drop Nearly 50% When iPhone X Launches We've been hearing word for some time that sales of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have been relatively slow, with many watchers suggesting it points to very strong interest for the upcoming iPhone X. One carrier partner has even called iPhone 8 sales "anemic" and Apple is reportedly planning to reduce production of the device by 50 percent once the iPhone X launches in a few weeks. iPhone X supplies are expected to be extremely tight at launch, although one rumor claims parts suppliers are on schedule to meet production demand through the end of the year. Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has reportedly begun shipping units of the iPhone X into Apple's distribution chain, although the initial batches have been relatively small.   Read Full Article Apple Still Offering Free Delayed Battery Repairs for Some 2012 and Early 2013 MacBook Pros For months now, Apple has been suffering from shortages of the parts needed to perform battery replacements on some 2012 and early 2013 MacBook Pro models. A battery replacement normally costs $199 in the U.S., but Apple is currently offering customers needing a new battery the option of delaying the replacement until November when supplies will have improved. In exchange for delaying the battery replacement, Apple will do it free of charge once the parts are more plentiful.   Read Full Article Nvidia's Free GeForce NOW Beta Lets You Play System Intensive PC Games on Your Mac Announced at CES back in January, Nvidia's GeForce NOW gaming service has been running as a free beta in North America for some time, and we recently spent some time playing with it. GeForce NOW allows you to use a virtual PC gaming rig in the cloud to stream games to Mac hardware that otherwise wouldn't be able to support the games. It works with your existing Steam game library, and is a promising service, although it understandably does require a fast internet connection. Users in North America can join the free beta through the end of the year and an official launch will follow in 2018, although pricing has yet to be announced.   Read Full Article iMac Pros With Custom Xeon Chips Possibly Appear on Geekbench Ahead of December Launch Apple announced the iMac Pro back in June at WWDC, but the computer doesn't launch until December and Apple has yet to reveal detailed specs on what's inside. We have, however, recently seen some Geekbench benchmark results show up that appear to be from the iMac Pro. Interestingly, the machines appear to be running unreleased Intel Xeon processors that may be exclusive to Apple. The chips run slower (and thus cooler) than similar announced chips in the family, so it appears Intel may have developed special chips for Apple to meet the thermal constraints of the iMac form factor.   Read Full Article

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