Based on "highly reliable sources", Think Secret reports that Apple is expected to announce a $499 G4 iMac at Macworld Expo, probably 1.25GHz, with 256MB of RAM, a 40GB to 80GB hard drive, a Combo optical drive, USB 2.0, Firewire 400, 10/100Base-T Ethernet, a modem, and support for Airport Extreme, VGA, and DVI, packaged with Appleworks and a special version of iLife without iDVD.
The new Mac is said to be incredibly small and will be housed in a flat enclosure with a height similar to the 1.73 inches of Apple's Xserve. Its size benefits will include the ability to stand the Mac on its side or put it below a display or monitor.Apple has been working on the low-end Mac for almost a year, sources report. Indications are Apple has been working mostly on finding the right mix of price, performance and features that would motivate Windows users to consider a Mac, and less on the actual engineering of the product. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to design a bare-bones PC," said one source familiar with the project. "What it takes is a team of marketing and software experts to find the right mix to convince Windows users to buy a Mac at a price that is not much more than the cost of an iPod."
[Update] AppleInsider adds a few other details: There are to be two USB 2.0 ports, a single port for VGA or DVI, the iMac will draw power through an external power brick, and the price is "sub-$600".
According to sources, the headless iMac was to include a built in iPod dock, though sources say this feature was scrapped and may reappear in future versions of the headless iMac.
Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
Oh god, a new G4 desktop. Why not give it at least a 1.5GHz G4? The benefit of getting this system should be that it is absolutely tiny. Otherwise, they basically just made a headless eMac. YAY!! :o
