Macworld San Francisco 2006 Rumor Roundup

With Macworld San Francisco (MWSF) quickly approaching, the Mac rumor scene has been buzzing with rumors and reports. As usual, MacRumors provides this Rumor Roundup as a summary of major rumors circulating around the Mac Web before the big event. In last year's roundup we discussed Flash Based iPods (-> iPod Shuffle), New Apple Apps (-> iWork), and a $499 Headless iMac (-> Mac mini) during the pre-show roundup.

Intel Macs

The big news this year was, of course, Apple's announcement that the Macintosh will be moving to Intel processors. Understandably all eyes are on this possibility at this year's Macworld, despite official promises that the first Intel Macs would be shipping by mid 2006.

Interestingly, the first rumors and speculation about the Intel Macs came from Intel's processor roadmap. Immediately following the announcement, MacCentral sources pointed to Intel's upcoming low-power dual core Yonah processor as the likely candidate for the first of the Intel Macs.

First actual hints at a timeframe came in November with an early report from Appleinsider that the first Intel Macs would be appearing "much sooner" than mid 2006.

There has since been a flurry of disjointed rumors about various Intel Mac models appearing in January -- Mac mini (Forbes), iMac (Appleinsider), iBook (ThinkSecret).

Amongst them, however, ThinkSecret appeared most confident with a report from "reliable sources" that Apple is planning on introducing both Intel iBooks and Mac minis at MWSF 2006.

The new iBook is expected to be a widescreen model with a 13.3" screen 1280x720 screen. This correlates with an earlier report from Appleinsider noting a similar 13" widescreen look to the upcoming iBooks. And indeed our Buyers Guide shows that the iBooks have had the longest lead time since their last update.

Meanwhile, the Mac mini is expected to evolve into a digital media hub with support for DVR, an iPod Dock as well as an updated Front Row media application. We've also received hints that Apple is planning on adopting Intel's Viiv platform which promises to help provide much this functionality.

iPod

With back to back releases of the iPod nano and the 5G iPod before the 2005 shopping season, there are few expectations for updated iPods in January.

Only the iPod shuffles are expected to be updated, but with few details on the changes.

iLife '06

Apple typically updates their iLife suite of applications each year at Macworld San Francisco. This year appears to be no different after a small mistake on Apple's website Thursday morning. Apple's site revealed links to iLife '06 as well as a new application called iWeb.

There's been very little information about upcoming iApps from Apple this rumor season, but Appleinsider claims that the new application will be a Web design application with "easy drag-and-drop capability for a variety of Web-optimized content and media types."

Other?
There has been surprisingly little buzz about brand new products from Apple. One potentially interesting rumor of an Airport Express for Video appeared in early October and was coupled to an accurate report of the 5G iPod. Though no further rumors about this product have since surfaced, it would fit in conveniently with a media center Mac mini.

Finally, Appleinsider also reported that Apple is planning new iPod "companion" products -- one of which will be an iPod Boombox unlike "anything Apple has released in the past".

Coverage

Apple will not be providing a live Quicktime stream of the event. Instead a replay will be posted following the keynote address. MacRumors.com will be providing live coverage if at all possible.

In the meantime, you can read an insiders perspective on Steve Jobs' lead up to the keynote and all the preparation required:

Steve starts his preparation for a keynote weeks in advance, reviewing all the products and technologies he might include.

Related Roundups: iMac, MacBook Pro, Mac mini

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Supports 8K Video Recording, Suggests Leaker [Updated]

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China. Our original article follows below. Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...