Apple Watch major software update: What’s new in WatchOS 4?

Apple has announced the latest version of WatchOS.

Called WatchOS 4, it’ll replace WatchOS 3 and is meant for Apple Watch. It debuted at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2017. It’s a significant update that brings new watch faces, including a Siri watch face and Disney watch faces, an improved Music app, a new dock, new fitness features, and more.

Here’s everything we know so far about WatchOS 4.

• Apple WWDC 2017: All the announcements that matter

What is WatchOS 4?

WatchOS is an Apple-developed operating system that powers Apple Watch devices. WatchOS 4 is the latest version of WatchOS. Each major upgrade to WatchOS typically adds new software features.

When will WatchOS 4 be available?

Apple released WatchOS 4 to developers on 5 June. Apple will likely seed several other betas, including a golden master version, before it releases the final version for consumers sometime this autumn. Like all of Apple’s software updates, WatchOS 4 will be free to download and use.

What’s new in WatchOS 4?

Watch faces

Apple

First off, there’s a new Siri watch face. It uses machine learning to display information specific to you. It reminds us of the proactive app and contact suggestions in iOS. You should see information and app shortcuts that are relevant, and you can rotate the Digital Crown to scroll vertically through the various notifications and apps on the face.

Second, there’s a kaleidoscope watch face, which you can rotate using the Digital Crown. Doing so produces a hippy effect that rotates and changes shape. There are also new Disney watch faces. Expanding upon the popular Micky Mouse and Minnie Mouse faces available, Apple added Woody, Jessie, and Buzz Lightyear. They’re all from Toy Story, and each one has a different animation.

Apple

They feature a number of longer animations that behave differently when you rotate your wrist. Apple called this “vignettes”. For instance, you may see a character climbing on to the watch face from below.

Activity and workout

Apple

Activity and Workout are popular apps on Apple Watch, and they’ve been updated with more features. Notifications in Activity are now more personalised. You may see one when you’re about to hit an achievement, for instance. There’s also “smart coaching” that will serve up monthly challenges, based on your history and activity records. There’s some new animations, too.

You will see a sparkly animation when you’ve filled your rings in Activity. Apple has further changed the way pool swim workouts work. So, if you’re taking a rest at one end of the pool, your watch will automatically detect it and mark it as the end of one set of laps and the start of another. This is useful for getting accurate timings. Apple also introduced two-way data exchange.

This works specifically with gym equipment. Just tap the NFC tag to connect your watch with the gym equipment, meaning you’ll need to find a gym that supports the tech first. Your heart rate can be read by the watch and sent to the equipment, and data and speed and other info is sent to your watch. You can also pick a playlist that automatically starts with your workout.

And finally, there’s a new High Intensity Interval Training workout available that uses your heart rate to push you to your limits.

Is that it?

Nope. The Music app on Apple Watch has been redesigned, too. You will see album art and can rotate the Digital Crown to scroll. The app also tries to guess what you want to hear, so you’ll see music and playlists that you listen to automatically updated on your watch. WatchOS 4 will support native core Bluetooth too. That means you will have the ability to link and work with smaller wireless products.

The company teased that glucose monitoring is coming to the Apple Watch, but details were scant. We’ll update this article when we know more. There’s also a redesigned dock interface so that you can vertically scroll through recent apps using the Digital Crown. And lastly, Apple added a new blinking light you can activate via Control Centre so that your night runs can be safer.

Affinity Photo is another powerful editing app for iPad

With the announcement of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro today at WWDC, Apple continues to push the idea that its tablet can be a feasible mobile workstation. Third-party developers have been urging the same, like Affinity Photo, piggybacked off Apple’s event to release an iPad version of its professional image editing toolbox.

It’s not the first photo editing software to grace Apple’s tablets. For one, Adobe’s mobile software, Lightroom, seceded from the company’s cloud login service to become a standalone app back in October 2015. But Affinity Photo claims that its iPad version brings most of the toys and tools from its desktop version (both on Mac and the somewhat recent PC release) and optimizes them for the tablet’s touch/Apple Pencil interface. The app is live on the App Store for a $20 introductory price.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Source: Affinity Photo

Apple’s $130 Magic Keyboard adds a numeric keypad

If you hate wires, but love typing numbers of a wide, expansive surface, then Apple has one more important hardware announcement for you. Among all the other news out of 2017’s Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple has just released a full-size, wireless Magic Keyboard with a dedicated numeric keypad. Rejoice, untethered accountants, the dream is real.

As for specs, the keyboard features the same painstakingly designed wedge-shaped profile, scissor-switches and Lightning charging cable as the compact version, but with 31 extra keys that some diehard spreadsheet jockeys and plugged-in coders can’t do without. Even the arrow and function keys, which normally get abused in the name of space savings, get the full-size treatment here. According to Apple, the keyboard will get around a month between charges and it also comes with a USB to Lightning cable that will be completely useless if you ever find yourself trying to charge the keyboard off a recent model MacBook Pro.

While the full-size keyboard release coincides with Monday’s iMac Pro announcement, the Magic Keyboard is available separately for $129.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Apple Store

The new iPad Pro packs a bigger screen into a familiar body

The tablet market isn’t in great shape, but Apple is still convinced that the iPad represents the future of mobile computing. That’s where the Pro models come in: They’re designed to bring serious horsepower to everyday tasks in hopes that people could use them to replace traditional computers. Now we’ve got a new one, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which replaces the 9.7-inch model we reviewed last year. After a bit of hands-on time, one thing is clear: If you’re looking for a premium tablet, this is one slate you can’t ignore.

The Pro 10.5 (which I’m now calling it, for brevity’s sake) is basically the same size and weight as older 9.7-inch Pro, which is no longer for sale. That Apple was able to squeeze a bigger screen into the same trim body is fantastic; the bezels flanking the left and right sides of the screen are dramatically smaller, which means there’s less stuff to get in between you and the glories of the internet. I was concerned that those smaller bezels around this bigger screen would make the iPad awkward to hold. After all, where are my thumbs supposed to go? Well, it’s not really a problem. The combination of a sleek body and minimal, one-pound weight means the new Pro is just as easily to grasp as older models.

Apple refined the display, too. Beyond the bigger size, it packs familiar True Tone tech that tweaks the screen’s color temperature depending on your surroundings, and refreshes at 120Hz. It was tough to see the difference in action (especially in Apple’s dimly lit demo room), but scrolling and writing on the Pro with an Apple Pencil was remarkably smooth. Don’t worry, we’ll compare it more thoroughly to the other Pros when we get one in for review.

Dana Wollman/Engadget

Now, there’s more to that sense of smoothness than just an improved screen. The Pro 10.5 uses a new A10X Fusion chipset; it’s a more powerful version of the chip we got in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, though it’s not clear how much RAM there is inside. Older iPad Pros had already reached the point where everything felt seamlessly smooth, so you might not notice a difference just swiping around and launching apps. Where all that extra horsepower should shine is when it’s applied to graphically intense games, not to mention the forthcoming iOS 11 update.

These Pros were running an early version of iOS 11, as you could probably tell by the dock at the bottom of the homescreen. To be clear, you are definitely not getting features like that when the 10.5-inch Pro launches next week. It’s still iOS 10 all the way. The wait may be a tough one, though: Apple showed off a load of new features that should make iPads more capable across the board. You’ll be able to access the dock while using apps to launch other ones, and even drag them into the two-paned multi-window mode. You can now drag content back and forth between apps, too, a handy touch for multitaskers. And some other features, like swiping up with four fingers to see all your running apps, feel a lot like ones already baked into macOS.

In other words, the line between iPads and Macs is blurring.

With a blend of improved hardware and a smarter OS, the new iPad Pro seems poised to shine when it starts shipping next week — stick around for a full review shortly.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

iOS 11 to Bring ‘Business Chat’ to Apple’s Messages App

On Apple’s Developer site, there’s a section outlining an upcoming iOS 11 Messages feature called “Business Chat.”

Business Chat wasn’t mentioned during the keynote event, but based on the text that describes the feature, it’s going to allow businesses to make themselves available for quick chats directly in Messages for customer service purposes. Customers will be able to find businesses using Safari, Maps, Spotlight, and Siri, and then initiate iMessage conversations.

Business Chat is a powerful new way for businesses to connect with customers directly from within Messages. Using Business Chat, your customers can get answers to questions, resolve issues and complete transactions on their iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Customers can find your business and start conversations from Safari, Maps, Spotlight, and Siri.

As The Verge points out, Business Chat will allow Apple to compete with social networks like Facebook and Twitter, where businesses use direct messaging functionality to interact with customers.

Features like Apple Pay and calendar integration will be added to the Business Chat option, allowing customers to make purchases right in a chat session, and it will also support third-party apps so businesses can develop custom features.

Apple plans to provide more details on Business Chat during a developer session that will take place on June 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
Discuss this article in our forums

Tim Cook Says HomePod Experience Will Blow People Away

In an interview today with Bloomberg TV, Apple CEO Tim Cook said customers will be “blown away” by the experience of the HomePod.

“I think people are going to love it. I know they are,” said Cook. “I think they’re going to be blown away by the experience.”

When questioned about why a customer should choose to purchase the HomePod over the Amazon Echo or Google Home, especially considering it’s the most expensive of the three, Cook said Apple’s focus was on creating a “breakthrough speaker” that delivers a high-quality audio experience in the home.

“What we tried to do is build something that is a breakthrough speaker first,” said Cook. “Music is deep in our DNA, dating back to iTunes and iPod. We wanted something that, number one, sounded unbelievable. I think when people listen to it, they’re going to be shocked over the quality of the sound.”

A portion of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s interview with Bloomberg TV today
Nevertheless, Cook acknowledged that both Apple and customers want a speaker that does more than simply play music.

“Of course, it does a lot of other things, right, and all of those are important as well, but we wanted a really high-quality audio experience,” said Cook.

“There’s a lot of things you can do with it,” he added. “There’s a lot of things that Siri knows how to do from the phone. We’ll start with a patch of those as [Apple marketing chief] Phil [Schiller] showed today during the keynote, and then you can bet there’s a nice follow-on activity there as well.”

Cook said Apple has been working on the HomePod for “multiple years,” and as usual, it wasn’t focused on being first to the market.

“We didn’t have the first MP3 player. We didn’t have the first smartphone. We didn’t have the first tablet,” he said. “For us, it’s not about being first. It’s about being the best, and giving users an experience that delights them every time. We don’t let that impatience result in shipping something that’s just not great.”

Cook also briefly reflected on today’s iOS 11 announcements, ARKit serving as a “foundation” for Apple’s augmented reality efforts, and why he elected against joining U.S. President Donald Trump’s various councils and committees.

HomePod will be available in December for $349 in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It’ll launch in other countries next year.

Related Roundup: Siri Smart Speaker
Tags: Tim Cook, Bloomberg TV
Discuss this article in our forums

Apple Expands Beta Program, Will Allow Public Beta Testers to Test tvOS 11

Apple today updated its Apple Beta Software Program website to announce that iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, and tvOS 11 public betas will be available for public beta testers in the near future.

Apple has offered macOS and iOS public betas for several years now, giving non-developers a chance to try out new software features ahead of a public launch while also providing Apple with extra feedback, but tvOS is a new addition.

For the first time, with tvOS 11, Apple plans to allow non-developers to install the beta software. To download the tvOS 11 beta, public beta testers will need to connect an Apple TV to a computer running iTunes using a USB-C cable. The tvOS software is then installed on the Apple TV using iTunes, with subsequent updates available over-the-air.

The tricky installation requirements are likely the reason why previous tvOS betas haven’t been made available publicly.

It’s not entirely clear when the tvOS beta will be made available to public beta testers, but during the keynote, Apple said iOS and macOS High Sierra would be available for public testers in late June, so that’s presumably when the new public tvOS 11 beta will also be available.

As for features, Apple has not yet detailed what’s new in tvOS 11 and it received little coverage during the keynote event aside from the mention of a new Amazon Prime Video app that’s coming to the Apple TV later this year.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Don’t Buy)
Discuss this article in our forums

‘Monument Valley 2’ Launches Exclusively on the iOS App Store

Amid a day of new hardware and software reveals from Apple, the company also announced the launch of Monument Valley 2, which is out now exclusively on the iOS App Store for $4.99 [Direct Link]. Released by ustwo Games, Monument Valley 2 is the sequel to the popular 2014 iOS game Monument Valley, which tasked players with navigating a princess through a series of increasingly difficult optical illusion mazes.

According to the developer, Monument Valley 2 follows in its predecessor’s footsteps with all-new levels that are “filled with illusory, meditative puzzles,” but this time players are guiding a mother, named Ro, and her child through the game’s puzzles. Ustwo Games notes that knowledge of the original game isn’t needed to enjoy the sequel, but the two games are set in the same universe.

Dan Gray, head of studio at ustwo Games says, “We wanted to find the perfect reason to return to Monument Valley, and the story of a mother who’s not only a parent but a creator of this world is a narrative we felt compelled to tell. We spent two years hiring some of the industry’s most talented people for this team, and we’re excited to show this whole new take on a game fans have been asking for.”

The game’s major features include:

• A standalone adventure – A completely new story from the Monument Valley universe. You don’t need to have previously played Monument Valley to enjoy Monument Valley 2.
• Individually crafted puzzles – Enjoy beautiful levels filled with illusory, meditative puzzles, using brand new interactions to explore the changing dynamics between characters.
• Contemporary visuals – Artwork inspired by an eclectic mixture of architectural styles, artistic movements and personal influences, each translated into stunning geometric structures.
• Beautiful audio – Immerse yourself in uniquely melodic interactive soundscapes, tailored perfectly to every step of Ro and her child’s journey.

Monument Valley 2 is available to download now on the iOS App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS 9 or later, and costs $4.99. [Direct Link]

Tags: App Store, Monument Valley, Monument Valley 2
Discuss this article in our forums

How to choose an iPad: A practical guide to Apple’s tablets

Update: Swapped our “best of all worlds” option with the new iPad Pro 10.5.

It’s been a while since Apple made choosing an iPad easy.

There was an overwhelming number of iPad models on store shelves for quite some time and Apple caught a lot of well-deserved flack for the complexity of its tablet portfolio, most of it centered around the difference — or lack thereof — between iPads. There were multiple versions of the Air and Mini, and that was before the company introduced the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch Pro models.

Thankfully, the iPad hierarchy is now a lot simpler. The 12.9-inch Pro is the most expensive at $800, and its smaller cousin, the new 10.5-inch Pro, sits at $650. The 9.7-inch iPad, at $330, is your budget option, while the $400, 7.9-inch Mini 4 is the only small iPad still available.

Just because the new iPad lineup is smaller, however, doesn’t mean choosing the right model has become any less challenging. Spec breakdowns are one thing, but context is another. What good is a 12-inch screen if you value portability above all else? And why pay more for a top-of-the-line graphics chip if you only game casually?

In an attempt to answer those questions and others, we’ve evaluated every iPad pragmatically in an attempt to identify the most appropriate use for each. It’s a buying guide in the truest sense of the phrase: The merits and deficiencies of each iPad are laid bare in everyday language. To say it’ll lead to the perfect purchase is facetious — there’s no such thing, after all — but our guide should, at the very least, help you choose which iPad to consider and which to avoid.

The budget-conscious iPad — iPad ($330+)

The 9.7-inch iPad, unveiled in March 2017, is one of the most affordable tablets Apple has ever offered. It’s the cheapest option in the current iPad lineup, after the iPad Mini 2 was discontinued.

This is a great tablet for watching movies, thanks to a 9.7-inch Retina display with a 2,048 x 1,536-pixel resolution. It has a speedy A9 processor and a big battery that can go for 10 hours on a single charge. You’ll also find an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, two speakers, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, support for Apple Pay, and a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.

Apple discontinued the iPad Air 2, but there’s actually little difference between the two. The $330 iPad is thicker at 7.5 millimeters, compared to the svelte, 6.1-millimeter Air 2. It also has a newer, faster processor than its sibling, and it’s a little heavier, with a bigger battery. But the 9.7-inch iPad lacks the cutting -edge processing power and the 12-megapixel camera found on the 9.7-inch Pro.

What’s that all that mean in practical terms? If you don’t demand a superior shooter, play the latest games, or run extraordinarily demanding apps, the iPad will suit you just fine. It’s comfortable in the hand and ideal for casual content consumption — reading, watching movies, casual gaming, etc. It may do for productivity in a pinch, too, and you’ll have no trouble snagging a decent keyboard. But for serious work, the Pro range is where to look.

It’s hard to find much fault with the iPad at $330. It’s the cheapest model you’ll find outside the used or refurbished market. If budget is your primary consideration, the 9.7-inch iPad is the obvious winner. Read our full review.

Buy one now from:

Apple

The powerful and compact iPad — iPad Mini 4 ($400+)

If power in a small form factor is what you seek, the iPad Mini 4 delivers. An evolution of the much-maligned iPad Mini 3, it addresses all of its predecessor’s shortcomings and more: it’s got the same A8 processor as the iPhone 6, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, faster Wi-Fi (802.11ac), Touch ID, and a thinner (6.1mm) and lighter (0.65lbs) aluminum exterior.

But the differences end there. It takes design cues from the iPad Mini 3, has the same quoted battery life (10 hours), and sports an identical screen screen resolution (2,048 x 1,536 pixels).

There’s new software to consider. The iPad Mini 4’s updated silicon supports all of iOS’ multitasking features — Slide Over, Picture in Picture, and Split View. Split View, by far the most compelling of the three, lets you arrange and interact with two side-by-side apps. You can copy and paste text from an adjacent Wikipedia article into a Word doc, for instance, or watch a video while answering email. (Multiple windows on a screen size that comparatively small may be difficult to maneuver, granted.)

The iPad Mini 4 has chops in other areas. The 8-megapixel camera packs autofocus and aperture improvements over the iPad Mini 3, and the A8 — which powers the Apple TV, incidentally — can handle almost any graphics-intensive game thrown at it.

In sum, the iPad Mini 4 can multitask like a pro, take great pictures, and play the newest games. If those prospects excite you, go for it. But if they don’t, or if you’d like those features in a larger body, then consider stepping an iPad tier up or down. Read our full review.

Buy one now from:

Apple

The elephant in the room — iPad Pro 12.9 ($800+)

The iPad Pro is Apple’s biggest tablet, measuring a ruler-busting 12.9 inches. It’s thick and hefty, too, at about 6.9 mm deep and 1.57 lbs — a tad thinner, but heavier than the original iPad.

Justifying that footprint is what Apple’s been calling “desktop-level” performance and features, and our impressions support those assertions. The iPad Pro’s display is a whopping 2,732 x 2,048 pixels, higher in resolution than any of the other iPads, and driven by the A10X processor, a beefed-up version of the A10, paired with 4GB of memory. It’s well-endowed externally, too: The Pro sports a four-speaker array, a Touch ID sensor, an 8-megapixel camera, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and LTE connectivity. It’s a multitasking monster.

Accoutrements are only a part of the Pro equation, though. The real value proposition is ostensibly in the accessories. There’s the Smart Keyboard, an iPad cover with attached QWERTY keys, and there’s the far more interesting Apple Pencil. It’s Apple’s first attempt at a stylus, and the company’s touting its superiority to competing styli in the areas of pressure sensitivity (it can differentiate between hard and light presses) and battery (it lasts up to 12 hours).

All told, the Pro may be the ultimate iPad. It certainly delivers on performance, and extras like dual stereo speakers and Touch ID are icing on the cake. But it’s not for everyone. The Pro’s far and away the most expensive iPad at a base price of $800. Its immense screen is as unavoidably awkward as it is unwieldy — it’ll be tough to finagle the Pro on a subway, much less a plane. And the productivity tools that truly make it shine, the Smart keyboard and Apple Pencil, are an up-sell ($100 for the Pencil and $160 for the keyboard).

Apple’s angling for a very particular market with the Pro: enterprise and corporate users who might otherwise be swayed by a PC equivalent, such as Microsoft’s Surface. That’s not to say its features don’t appeal to the average crowd, but unless you’re willing to put up with the very real drawbacks the 12.9-inch Pro’s size confers, you might consider a more portable option.

Buy one now from:

Apple

The best of all worlds — iPad Pro 10.5 ($650+)

Perhaps Apple realized that gigantic tablets don’t appeal to the vast majority of folks. The smaller variant of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro — dubbed the 10.5-inch iPad Pro — will hit the sweet spot for a lot of people. It’s in many ways a carbon copy, albeit a smaller one, of its predecessor. The 10.5-inch iPad Pro replaces the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, however, while the screen size has gotten bigger, the device itself remains largely the same size, thanks to much smaller edges around the screen.

Under the hood, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro offers Apple’s A10X chip, which is touted as being 30-percent faster than its predecessor, the A9X. It also offers a hefty 64GB of storage, which should be plenty for most users. If not, however, there’s also a 256GB model, as well as a 512GB model, which cost $750 and $950, respectively. It’s also compatible with many, if not all, of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro accessories, including the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard.

A big improvement in the new device comes in the form of an adjustment to the display’s refresh rate — it’s now 120hz. This should help maximize battery life and performance when necessary. Apple also upgraded the cameras to include the same sensors found on the iPhone.

For most people, this decision is a no-brainer. The 10.5-inch iPad Pro has portability and processing prowess in its favor, plus the added benefit of compatibility with future 12.9-inch iPad Pro accessories. And for many, the extra $250 will be worth spending for the improvements you’ll get.

If you’re compelled to pick up the latest-and-greatest Apple device and don’t mind putting down a few more Benjamins for the privilege, the iPad Pro is your best bet.

Buy one now from:

Apple

Conclusion

There is, as we said in the beginning, no perfect iPad. The iPad lacks the Pro’s audio and top-of-the-line processor; the iPad Mini 4 is the only compact choice; and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is a bit on the large side. However, there are iPads that are more suitable for some users over others. Want a cheap, relatively uncompromising iPad? The standard 9.7-inch iPad should do just fine. Want a top-of-the-line tablet you can fit in your briefcase? Opt for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

Ultimately, of course, a written guide is no substitute for the real thing. When it comes time to make a purchasing decision, reserve some hands-on time. Scope out the iPads at your local Best Buy or Apple Store, and get a feel for their respective strengths and limitations. They aren’t the cheapest investment, after all, so take it slow and weigh your options carefully.

Afterward, buy your iPad and enjoy the hell out of it.

Apple to support external graphics card enclosures on MacBook Pros, iMacs

Why it matters to you

Apple is working on beefing up the graphics performance of iMacs and MacBooks.

During Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, the company’s Mac-themed segment introduced MacOS “High Sierra,” new iMacs, a beastly new iMac Pro, and even another refresh of Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops. For the new iMacs, Apple is injecting configurations with discrete Radeon Pro 500 Series graphics chips, which means the all-in-ones will finally support virtual reality headsets such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. But what about current iMac and MacBook owners?

Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi showcased a Thunderbolt 3-based external graphics card enclosure supported by MacOS “High Sierra” and Apple’s latest version of Metal 2, a proprietary application programming interface providing developers with near-direct access to a graphics chip. He specifically mentioned MacBook Pros as compatibles devices for customers who need additional graphics performance than what is already provided inside.

Starting on Monday, Apple is providing developers with a kit consisting of a Thunderbolt 3-based graphics card enclosure, AMD’s Radeon RX 580 graphics card, and a USB Type-C hub. This will enable developers to fine-tune their apps and programs to support an external graphics card prior to going live “in the months to come.”

Currently, the Radeon RX 580 is AMD’s top-of-the-line graphics card for the mainstream market. It is based on a tweaked version of AMD’s Polaris chip design that made its debut in the middle of 2016. The card consists of 2,304 stream processors, 144 texture units, and 32 render output units. It has a base speed of 1,257MHz and a boost speed of 1,340MHz, making it an affordable solution supporting high-end VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

But once the SIGGRAPH convention arrives at the end of July, the RX 580 will not be the fastest AMD card on the block. AMD is gearing up to launch its new Radeon RX Vega cards based on its next-generation Vega chip architecture. As we recently saw in a supposed leaked benchmark, one of these cards outperformed Nvidia’s $1,200 Titan XP card in Doom using Ultra settings and a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution.

Unofficially, MacBook Pros can support external graphics cards via Thunderbolt 3 by installing Windows though BootCamp. This is undoubtedly a big hassle, one that should be rectified with the release of the MacOS High Sierra public beta in late June. The latest beta (10.12.2 Beta 2) supposedly already has improved support for external graphics cards.

Currently, we do not know the hardware specifics of Apple’s own external graphics card enclosure outside its Thunderbolt 3 connection, such as the maximum size of a supported card. The size of AMD’s Radeon RX 580 reference design takes up two slots and sports a length of nearly 11 inches long. Razer’s similar $500 “Core” external enclosure supports specific cards measuring up to 11.81 inches in length provided by AMD, Nvidia, and their partners.

Based on a footnote on Apple’s website, its external enclosure plans may not arrive until spring 2018. That is when Apple projects to have support in place for the new iMac with its Retina 5K display, the new iMac Pros coming later this year, and other supporting Macs.