Tag: aluminum

Posted on

Mac Pro (Quad Core, 3.7 GHz, Late 2013)

As the manual for this Mac Pro states, “This is no floor model. Go ahead and keep it right on your desk.” This Mac Pro was a radical design departure from all previous Mac Pro—and other Apple desktop models with its cylindrical design. According to an Apple press release:

“Designed around an innovative unified thermal core, the all-new Mac Pro packs unprecedented performance into an aluminum enclosure that is just 9.9-inches tall and one-eighth the volume of the previous generation. Mac Pro features 4-core, 6-core, 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon processors running at Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz and two workstation-class AMD FirePro GPUs that deliver up to eight times the graphics performance of the previous generation Mac Pro.* PCIe-based flash storage delivers sequential read speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional desktop hard drives, and ECC DDR3 gives the new Mac Pro up to 60GBps of memory bandwidth for seamlessly editing full-resolution 4K video while simultaneously rendering effects in the background. With an incredible six Thunderbolt 2 ports, each with up to 20Gbps of bandwidth per device, the new Mac Pro completely redefines desktop expandability with support for up to 36 high-performance peripherals, including the latest 4K displays.”

As is often the case with unique designs, this Mac Pro is sometimes unfortunately referred to as the “trash can” Mac. I have included a couple of tongue-in-cheek photos in reference to this moniker.

Sources: EveryMac, Apple Newsroom

Posted on

Apple Watch Series 5 (Aluminum, Space Gray, 44mm, GPS, 2019)

The Apple Watch Series 5 looked similar to the Series 4, but had an “Always-On” Retina display “that never sleeps,” a faster processor, and more storage. The GPS model required an iPhone tether to use the phone features (higher-end models had built-in wireless cellular). This watch added international emergency calling that allowed calling “emergency services directly from Apple Watch in over 150 countries, even without iPhone nearby.”

Like all previous Apple Watch models, the Apple Watch Series 5 uses a Digital Crown and a touch display. The screen is OLED at 368×448 with haptic feedback and a Force Touch display. New health and fitness features with Series 5 included Cycle Tracking, the Noise app and Activity Trends.

Previous Apple Watch models used screens that went black to conserve power. The Always-On screen in the Series 5 was made possible by the OLED display and other hardware and software. According to Apple:

“Each watch face has been carefully optimized for the new display and to preserve battery life, the screen intelligently dims when a user’s wrist is down and returns to full brightness with a raise or a tap. Several advanced technologies work together to deliver this new feature, including the industry’s only low-temperature polysilicon and oxide display (LTPO), ultra-low power display driver, efficient power management integrated circuit and new ambient light sensor.”

Three different aluminum options were available: Space Gray with Black Sport Band (this model), Silver with White Sport Band, and Gold with Pink Sand Sport Band. Many other combinations were available by customizing the watch online. The Series 5 introduced the “Apple Watch Studio,” both on the Apple website and on the Apple Store app. The Apple Watch Studio allowed the opportunity for buyers to select a “preferred case and band combination to create a look that is uniquely their own.”

New materials were also offered with the Series 5, including natural titanium and space black titanium. Aluminum cases in silver, gold, and space gray were offered in “100 percent recycled 7000 series aluminum.” Stainless steel cases were unchanged and were offered in gold, silver, and space black.

Source: EveryMac, Apple

Posted on

Apple Watch Series 6 (Red Aluminum Case, 44mm, GPS, 2020)

The Apple Watch Series 6 was nearly identical to the Series 5 models, but the Series 6 added some new internal features: faster chip, a new Blood Oxygen sensor (SpO2), and an altimeter that was always on. Externally, the Apple Watch Series 6 was available in colors including blue aluminum and (PRODUCT)RED aluminum, in addition to aluminum in space gray, gold, and silver; stainless steel in graphite, silver, and gold; and titanium and titanium space black.

This 44mm Apple Watch Series 6 is an aluminum (PRODUCT)RED model that shipped with a (PRODUCT)RED Sport Loop. This model has GPS capability, but it lacks the cellular capability of higher-end options.

Like all previous Apple Watch models, the Apple Watch Series 6 uses a Digital Crown and a touch display. The screen is OLED at 368×448.

When purchased online at the Apple Store, the aluminum Apple Watch Series 6 models were available in four additional color combinations: Blue Apple Watch with Deep Navy Sport Band; Gold Apple Watch with Pink Sand Sport Band; Silver Apple Watch with White Sport Band; and Space Gray Apple Watch with Black Sport Band.

Along with the Apple Watch Series 6, two new band designs were released including the Apple Solo Loop, a soft and stretchable “liquid silicone” loop band with no mechanical closure; and an Apple Braided Solo Loop, a loop band made from stretchable, silicone-infused thread with no mechanical closure. Both the new loops were sold in sizes.

Source: Everymac, Apple

Posted on

iPod mini (original, pink, 2004)

When the iPod mini was released, it was the smallest and lightest version of the iPod Apple had produced. It was made from aluminum and measured 3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5 inches. The iPod mini used a 4 GB Hitachi or Seagate Microdrive hard drive that could store approximately 1,000 songs and play for up to 8 hours.

The iPod mini used the ClickWheel controller, the same as the iPod generation 3’s touch-sensitive scroll wheel. However, it moved the four control buttons to the wheel as mechanical switches, a design that would continue in future iPod models. It had a 138 x 110 pixel, 1.67-inch LCD grayscale screen with a backlight. It came in colors including silver, gold, green, blue, and pink. This example is pink.

This iPod mini includes the white belt clip that shipped with it. The iPod mini also included earbud headphones, an AC adapter, a FireWire cable, and a USB 2.0 cable. This iPod was compatible with a Macintosh computer with a FireWire port running a minimum of Mac OS X version 10.1.5, and it could also be used with a PC with a FireWire or USB 2.0 port running Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or Windows XP Home or Professional.

Sources: Everymac, Wikipedia

Posted on

Mac Pro (Quad Core, 2.8 GHz, Mid-2010)

The Mac Pro Quad Core 2.8 uses a single 2.8 GHz Quad Core Xeon W3530 processor. The “quad core” designation refers to its single processor with four independent “core” processing centers that can work independently or together to increase computing speed and efficiency. It used 3 GB of RAM (DDR3 ECC SDRAM), a 1 TB Serial ATA hard drive, an 18X dual-layer SuperDrive, and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card.

The design of this tower was identical to its Power Mac G5 predecessor, using the same anodized aluminum alloy case with a removable side panel. The sides of the tower were solid aluminum with a light gray Apple logo printed on center. The front and back used a pattern of aluminum perforations as a design element, a structural feature, and as part of the ventilation for the internal systems.

The front of the tower included spaces for two optical drives at the top. On the lower-right was the power button and five ports: 3.5 mm headphone jack, two USB ports, and two FireWire 800 ports.

The back of the tower included five slots. Slot 1 includes a dual-link DVI port and two Mini DisplayPorts. Slot 2 is unused (and uses a ventilated cover), while slots 3–5 are unused. Rear ports include three USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire 800 ports, optical digital audio in/out ports, a 3.5 mm line-out audio jack, a 3.5 mm line-in audio jack, and two independent Gigabit Ethernet ports. Internally, wireless networking options include AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1.

Inside, the Mac Pro includes two 5.25-inch optical drive bays (both are outfitted with Apple SuperDrive drives in this example); four internal 3.5-inch cable-free, direct-attach hard drive bays (this model has three 512 GB drives); and four PCIe 2.0 slots, one with a graphics card installed.

Source: Everymac

Posted on

Apple Keyboard (A1243, unopened, 2007)

This Apple Keyboard was introduced in 2007 and featured an all-aluminum enclosure with flat white keys, similar to laptop keys of the time. The keyboard includes two USB 2.0 ports on the right and left back of the keyboard. This same keyboard was later renamed the Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad in 2009.

There are two versions of this keyboard (MB110LL/A and MB110LL/B). The difference between the versions is due to the icons printed on the F3 and F4 keys to correspond with the release of Mac OS X Lion when the F3 key icon changed from Exposé to Mission Control, and the F4 key icon changed from Dashboard to Launchpad. This keyboard is the original MB110LL/A version.

This was the first Apple keyboard in nearly 30 years to remove the Apple logo that had been previously printed on the Command key (⌘).

As of 2020 Apple has released approximately 20 external keyboard designs. In general, Apple Macintosh keyboards are different from standard keyboards because they include a Command key (⌘) for shortcuts; an Option key (⌥) for entering diacritical marks and special characters; and a Help or fn (function) key. Earlier Apple keyboards also included a power key (◁), while newer keyboards include eject (⏏).

Source: Wikipedia

Posted on

Apple Remote (aluminum, 2009)

The Apple Remote Generation 2 was made of aluminum and featured a circular button array at the top with two buttons below. The button array had an aluminum button at the center (unmarked) used to select, and four directional buttons on a single ring-shaped button marked with white dots at the top, bottom, right, and left positions. The dots were meant to serve multiple purposes. The up and down buttons could be used as volume up/down or moving up/down on menus, while the left and right buttons could be used as forward/rewind or moving right/left in menus. The two buttons below were marked “Menu” and Play/Pause (using symbols).

The remote was aluminum with black buttons and matched the aluminum iMac at the time. This remote was powered by a CR2032 battery accessed on the back of the remote using a coin.

The design of this remote was slightly revised after initial production. The original design had the ring of buttons flush with the aluminum front. The revised design of the ring button bulges out slightly. This example uses the revised button.

This remote shipped with the first generation Apple TV and could also be used with IR-capable Mac computers. This remote can be configured to pair with a single device.

References: Wikipedia.com, Apple.com, Apple Developer

Posted on

Apple Watch Series 2 Nike+ (42 mm, Space Gray aluminum case with Apple Watch Leather Loop, 42 mm, Midnight Blue, 2016)

The Apple Watch Series 2 models were called “the ultimate device for a healthy life” and added “incredible fitness and health capabilities including a water resistance 50 meter rating for swimming, and built-in GPS so users can now run without an iPhone.” The announcement for the Apple Watch Series 2 was made on September 7, 2016, approximately one year after the announcement of the original Apple Watch.

Apple Watch Series 2 models included a dual core processor, water resistance to 50 meters, and built-in GPS. This Apple Watch Series 2 model is a the Nike+ version in the 42 mm size and featured a 312×390 display with an anodized aluminum case.

The Apple Watch Series 2 Nike+ configurations had a custom Nike+ fluroelastomer band with compression-molded perforations—also known as holes—that reduced weight and improved ventilation. The Nike+ models included custom Nike-branded watch faces. There originally were four Apple Watch Nike+ configurations:

  • silver aluminum case with silver/volt (neon yellow) Nike sport band
  • silver aluminum case with silver/white Nike sport band
  • space gray aluminum case with black/volt (neon yellow) Nike sport band
  • space gray aluminum case with black/cool gray Nike sport band

This Apple Watch was purchased with the silver/volt band. In this photo, the band has been replaced with a midnight blue leather loop.

Source: EveryMac.com, Apple.com

Posted on

PowerBook G4 1.33 12-inch (2004)

The PowerBook G4 12-inch featured a 1.33 GHz PowerPC 7447a (G4) processor, 256 MB of DDR SDRAM, a 60 GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive (4200 RPM), a slot-loading 8X Combo drive or a 4X SuperDrive, and Bluetooth 1.1/AirPort Extreme (802.11g). The case was made of an aluminum alloy. The 12.1-inch TFT XGA display was 1024×768 pixels. The small size offered considerable computing power in a highly mobile package.

The PowerBook G4 1.33 was similar to its predecessor (PowerBook G4/1.0 12-inch), but had a new logic board design and faster performance.

Source: EveryMac.com

Posted on

PowerBook G4 1.33 17-inch (2003)

The PowerBook G4/1.33 17-inch was among the first aluminum PowerBook laptops. The PowerBook G4/1.33 17-inch featured a 1.33 GHz PowerPC 7447 (G4) processor, 512 MB of RAM, an 80 GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, a slot-loading 2X SuperDrive, a FireWire 800 port, built-in Bluetooth 1.1 and AirPort Extreme (802.11g), and an ambient light sensor keyboard. The 17-inch widescreen TFT display had 1440×900 resolution, a very large display for a laptop then and now.

The previous version of the PowerBook G4 17-inch laptop had a slightly slower processor (1.0 GHz), a smaller hard drive, and a lower resolution graphics card. This PowerBook G4/1.33 17-inch upgraded the USB ports to the USB 2.0 standard.

This and all 17-inch PowerBook laptops at the time were near-perfect portable solutions for graphic artists and filmmakers. The high performance of these laptops allowed them to run the most recent versions of Adobe Photoshop and Apple Final Cut Pro, allowing creatives to flexibility to work anywhere with the same power available on desktop computers at the time with a very large display.

The internal photos were added in November 2020 when I made a slight repair to the internal hinges to allow the magnetic clasps to keep the lid closed. This example has a structural problem that was likely sustained due to a drop, but it still functions.

Source: EveryMac.com