Apple Finally Updates the iMac With Significantly More Powerful CPU and GPU Options

• Today, Apple will finally begin taking orders for newly refreshed 21- and 27-inch iMacs. The new versions don’t change the basic design or add major new features, but they offer substantially faster configuration options for the CPU and GPU.
• The 21.5-inch iMac now has a 6-core, eighth-generation Intel CPU option — up from a maximum of four cores before.
• The 27-inch now has six cores as the standard configuration, with an optional upgrade to a 3.6GHz, 9th-gen, 8-core Intel Core i9 CPU that Apple claims will double performance over the previous 27-inch iMac.
• The base 27-inch model has a 3GHz 6-core Intel Core i5 CPU, with intermediate configurations at 3.1GHz and 3.7GHz (both Core i5). The big news is arguably that both sizes now offer high-end, workstation-class Vega-graphics options for the first time. (Apple added a similar upgrade option to the 15-inch MacBook Pro late last year).
• Apple claims the Vega 48 will net a 50-percent performance improvement over the Radeon Pro 580, the previous top configuration.

The Most Powerful iMac Pro Now Costs $15,927

• Apple recently updated the upgrade options for the iMac Pro, and getting the very best will cost you.
• A baseline model will cost you just under $5,000, and maxing out the hardware to absurd heights runs a whopping $15,927.
• The most expensive possible upgrade is a $5,200 charge for upgrading the RAM from 32GB to a startling 256GB.
• Other addons include an additional $700 for a 16GB Radeon video card and $2,400 for a 2.3 Ghz Intel processor with 18 cores.
• Almost $16,000 is a lot of money for a computer, especially one so overpowered that there are very few reasonable applications of its hardware.
• Most people will never need more than 16GB of RAM to play video games, and 32-64GB will take care of most video editing and 3D modeling tasks. With 256GB of RAM, you could run advanced AI processes or lease computing power to other people.
• But what about when they come out with touch screens?  You’ll be made you spent the money.
• THE HARD DRIVE SUCKS

Sony VR looks like it will go Wireless

• Sony patent filings show a wireless headset for PlayStation VR headset 2.
• The patent shows a person untethered by a cord, able to walk around the room.
• This has been difficult to do in the past due to latency and the refresh rates needed to avoid motion sickness.
  • Typical VR uses refresh rates of 75 to 120 updates per second across two screens. – way more than current Wi-Fi can handle.
• This patent is signifigant because it demonstrates that Sony has achieved a connection of at least 60 Gigahertz or WiGig.
  • HTC already has achieved this with its TPCast but it doesn’t have a feedback loop.
• Sony’s patent shows a 5GHz backup signal maintain a stable VR connection.

Google Debuts Video Games Streaming Service Stadia

• Google today launched its Stadia cloud gaming service at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.
• Stadia is not a dedicated console or set-top box.
• The platform will be accessible on a variety of platforms: browsers, computers, TVs, and mobile devices.
• In an onstage demonstration of Stadia, Google showed someone playing a game on a Chromebook, then playing it on a phone, then immediately playing it on PC — a low-end PC, no less –, picking up where the game left off in real time.
• Stadia will be powered by Google’s worldwide data centers, which live in more than 200 countries and territories, streamed over hundreds of millions of miles of fiber optic cable, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said. Phil Harrison, previously at PlayStation and Xbox, now at Google, said the company will give developers access to its data centers to bring games to Stadia.
• Harrison said that players will be able to access and play Stadia games, like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, within seconds. Harrison showed a YouTube video of Odyssey featuring a “Play” button that would offer near-instant access to the game. Pichai announced the new platform at the Game Developers Conference, saying that Google want to build a gaming platform for everyone, and break down barriers to access for high-end games.
• Users will be able to move from YouTube directly into gameplay without any downloads. Google says this can be done in as little as 5 seconds. At launch, Stadia will stream games at 4k resolution, but Google claimed in the future it will be able to stream at a video quality of 8k. The company says it will launch the service later this year in the U.S. and UK.

The Polestar 2 is more than just a pretty face

• The Polestar 2 was unveiled ahead of the Geneva motor show via a livestream from Sweden. The automaker wanted more time to chat about the electric vehicle than the typical 15 to 20 minutes allotted at auto shows while also sticking to its environmental ethics and not flying journalists from all over the world to an event.
• (parent brand) Volvo.
• This shouldn’t be too surprising considering that a focus on design is part of Polestar’s DNA. CEO Thomas Ingenlath started his career in the auto industry as a designer. That experience gives him a unique outlook.

• It’s not as sleek as the Polestar 1, but it does carry the design language of the brand with a bit of Volvo’s visual heritage thrown in for good measure.
•  the car itself has a beefier stance than its predecessor both in the front and back.

• Volvo’s influence is everywhere. From the headlights to the interior, it’s clear how closely the sub-brand relies on its automotive parent — but it’s more than just stylized headlamps and steering wheels that help Polestar.

• The Polestar 2 is the first production vehicle to use Google’s Android platform for its infotainment system. Unlike Android Auto (which requires a smartphone), the Android platform in the car is a native system. It brings with it immediate access to Google’s suite of services and something that Ingenlath recognizes is becoming more important in the automotive world: voice control.
• So, the Polestar 2 is full of tech, has an impressive expected range of 275 miles, uses dual motors that output 408 horsepower and 487-foot-pounds of torque, and can go from zero to 60 in about 4.7 seconds.
• That pits it directly against the Model 3. The Polestar’s $40,000 price tag helps cement that comparison. But Tesla still has the advantage: Its affordablish EV is available now, while we’ll have to wait for the Polestar 2.
• Production is supposed to start in early 2020 and even when that spins up, for the first 12 months, the “launch edition” will cost $63,000. A lot can happen in the nearly two years it’ll take for the $40,000 version of the Polestar 2 to hit the road. The EV market is heating up with more and more options appearing all the time.

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