Top Stories: iPad Pro with Thunderbolt ?, Intel Mocks M1 Macs, iMac Pro officially discontinued

We’re past mid-March and there’s no sign of an Apple media event, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing an event or simply some product launches via a press release in the coming weeks, as rumors of upcoming products continue to circulate.

Perhaps the biggest news topic this week was Justin Long from Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad campaign from over a decade ago starring in a new campaign from Intel promoting Windows machines based on the company’s processors as superior to Apple’s new M1-based Macs. Watch our video above and continue reading below for details on these stories and more!

iPad Pro with Thunderbolt port and mini LED display coming ‘as early as April’

BloombergMark Gurman reported this week that Apple plans to announce new iPads “as early as April”, including new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models.

In particular, Gurman claimed that the new iPad Pro models could have a Thunderbolt port. This rumor certainly makes sense as the new iPad Pro models are expected to be equipped with a faster A14X chip based on the M1 chip in the latest Macs, and the M1 chip supports Thunderbolt. And since Thunderbolt uses the USB-C connector design, the new iPad Pro models will still work with existing USB-C chargers and accessories.

As widely rumored, Gurman said Apple wants to add a minimum of Mini LED backlighting to the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, suggesting the display technology may be exclusive to the larger model.

Well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo valued this timeframe, claiming that mass production of Mini-LED iPads will begin mid to late April. Kuo expects a new MacBook Air with a Mini-LED display in 2022 and possibly a new iPad Air with an OLED display.

Apple event in April? An overview of the latest iPad Pro, AirPods and AirTags rumors

It’s been a month-long whirlwind for rumors about Apple. First we heard from leaker Jon Prosser that an Apple Event was scheduled for March 16, but that was later ruled out by Bloombergis Mark Gurman. When that date passed, Prosser and other speakers then suggested that there would be an Apple Event on March 23, which apparently isn’t happening either.

With attention now shifting to April for possible Apple announcements, we’ve rounded up the latest iPad Pro, AirPods and AirTags rumors from sources like Gurman and noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In addition to new iPad models, new products said to be in Apple’s pipeline include the highly anticipated AirTags item trackers, a new Apple TV with a stronger gaming focus, new AirPods and AirPods Pro, and more Apple Silicon Macs, but some of these products aren’t expected until the second half of 2021.

Former ‘I’m a Mac’ actor Justin Long Throws Shade at M1 Macs in New Intel Ad Campaign

Justin Long, who starred in Apple’s iconic “Get a Mac” ad campaign in the mid-2000s, has turned against the Mac in a new Intel ad campaign.

Intel’s ad campaign tries to poke holes in Apple’s new M1 Macs, including their official support for only one external display (DisplayLink adapters can be used as a workaround), support for a limited number of games, lack of a full touchscreen, and Lake.

Intel’s campaign so far has included a series of videos starring Long, a website comparing the M1 chip to Intel processors, and social media content, including a photo of Long holding various dongles in hand.

The first M1 Macs have received critical acclaim, with the M1 MacBook Air outperforming a maxed-out 16-inch MacBook Pro with Intel’s Core i9 processor in Geekbench benchmarks.

iMac Pro has been officially discontinued, removed from Apple site, and is no longer available for purchase

Two weeks after Apple announced it was discontinuing the iMac Pro and noted that orders would only be available while supplies lasted, it seems the high-end all-in-one desktop has reached the end of the line. Apple stopped taking orders for the machine this week and removed it from the Mac section of the company’s website.

Apple recommends users looking for a high-end Mac to choose the 27-inch iMac, which was last updated in August 2020. The current 27-inch ‌iMac‌ configured with a 10-core Core i9 processor is faster and cheaper than the standard ‌iMac Pro‌ with a 10-core Xeon W processor. Apple is also expected to introduce a redesigned iMac based on Apple silicon chips later this year.

Hands-on: Kensington’s new $ 400 StudioDock for iPad Pro

Kensington started accepting pre-orders for the StudioDock docking station it released for the iPad Pro in February, and now those StudioDock orders are coming in to customers. We picked up one of the new StudioDocks to see if it’s worth the high purchase price for an iPad workflow.

Available for the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro, 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ and 10.9-inch iPad Air, the StudioDock has a magnetic base to which an ‌iPad‌ can be attached, and can be used in landscape or portrait orientation. We have the version for the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, and it resembles Apple’s Pro Display XDR standard. Watch our hands-on video for our full impressions.

iPhone 13 models are likely to have ‘Touch ID’ below the screen

According to Barclays Research analyst Andrew Gardiner and three of his colleagues, iPhone 13 models released later this year will “likely” include a fingerprint scanner built into the screen for authentication in addition to Face ID.

Under display “Touch ID” for iPhones has been circulating several times in recent years. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern have also claimed that Apple is testing at least an under-screen fingerprint scanner for iPhone 13 models, so time will tell if the feature is worth it.

Apple has filed several patents for under-display fingerprint scanners as part of the feature’s research and development.

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