TechCrunch reports that Apple is preparing to seed the first golden master candidate version of Mac OS X Lion to developers. While Apple may yet issue several such candidates before reaching the final version to be released to consumers, the candidate designation would suggest that Apple has essentially completed development on the new operating system version and will simply be fixing bugs that crop up at the last minute during the testing process.
Specifically, Apple is gearing up to deploy an OS X Lion update to developers that they may be classifying as the “GM1″ release, we’ve heard. “GM” or “Golden Master” is a title reserved for software that is complete. But from what we’ve heard, this is only the initial Golden Master candidate. In other words, don’t get too excited just yet.
Apple first previewed Mac OS X Lion at its “Back to the Mac” media event in October, and the company released a developer preview version just over a month ago. The company has stated that it plans to release Mac OS X Lion this “summer”, and TechCrunch‘s report suggests that the launch could occur relatively early in that timeframe following a formal introduction at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
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According to a new research note from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, Apple’s manufacturing partners are now pushing out two million iPads per month, with Apple urging them to boost production to three million per month for the fourth quarter of this year.
Says Huberty, “Apple recently indicated to its suppliers a desire to move to 3 million per month in C4Q10. This implies a run rate of 36 million in CY11, close to the current 40 million supply chain forecast.”
Huberty’s comments suggest that the 2-million production rate is a new milestone, although a report from early July claimed that Apple was planning for about 2.3 million units that month. A few weeks earlier than that, Apple was claimed to have been shooting for production rates of 2.5 million per month by the end of the year, and today’s report suggests that Apple has continued to increase its targets in order to meet strong demand for the tablet device.
Apple’s increased iPad production has apparently finally helped the company to close the supply-demand gap, with shipping date estimates for orders placed through its online store dropping rapidly over the last several weeks before reaching the minimum “within 24 hours” level just last weekend.
The rapid decrease of shipping estimates had led to questions about whether increased production or sagging demand was driving the supply-demand ratio into balance, but it appears that Apple’s continued increases in production are at least a major factor in achieving equilibrium.
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