Tiger, fresh iMacs n' eMacs in April [updated]


Think Secret is sporting reports on the upcoming releases of Tiger and refreshed consumer desktops. The former will reportedly be rolled at an "event" on Friday, April 1 and writer Ryan Katz, a true scatologist, cites a number of sightings back this claim:

In recent weeks, Apple has significantly increased the frequency of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger builds released to developers, another indication that development is rapidly wrapping up. Earlier this week, a gaffe on Apple's Mac OS X downloads page also listed three new categories pertaining to Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: links to "Automater Actions," "Dashboard Widgets," and "Spotlight Plugins" all lead to pages that were not yet available at apple.com. Apple has since removed those links from the categories listing.

Perhaps, more telling is the "fact" that Apple has doubled software sales targets for its stores in the upcoming quarter.

[Update] Engadget reports that Tiger will be in stores on Friday, April 15 (tax day), which is the same day pundits say refreshed iMacs and eMacs are to arrive and/or be introduced.

A modest refresh

New G5 iMacs, code-named Q45 C/D, are expected to feature processors up to 2GHz, new firmware and 8X DVD±RW SuperDrives. No other improvements are mentioned.

The eMac, thought by some to be on its way out, will also receive a modest refresh, with processor speed bumped to 1.33GHz or, possibly, 1.5GHz. Think Secret suggests that this new model, code named Q87J, will need a faster GPU to take advantage of Tiger's new "Core Image" graphical environment.

And, PowerMacs?

Logic would suggest that new or refreshed PowerMacs should arrive before the consumer desktops. However, at this time, there's no suggestion from any quarter that this will happen.

Moreover, there's confusion about which "new" IBM G5 processor will find its way into Apple's pro towers. The freshest scat would seem to indicate that the 970MP is on its way. However, ThinkSecret makes the point that "the new systems [will be] based on the yet-unannounced PowerPC 970GX processor."

Editor's note: April Fools' Day? Well, why not...

What's your take?