Could ship in early August

Some significant changes are coming to the next iLife suite, a "well-informed" source claims. The software is first of all said to be going 64-bit, potentially providing significant performance boosts within Snow Leopard. Allegedly being dropped as a default app is iDVD, Apple's disc-authoring tool, which as been available for Macs since 2001. While it should still be an option, people will have to download it, the source says.

Some other changes are said to include improvements to Faces and Places in iPhoto, and a new MobileMe Gallery beta with Faces and Places support. The suite as a whole should gain better social networking integration. iWeb, meanwhile, is expected to be "totally renewed;" a completely new app could also be included, though what it might handle is unknown.

The source pegs iLife '11 with a $79 pricetag and an August 7th release date. The launch would take place well over a month before the date hinted at in an Amazon book listing. Apple is, however, said to be on the verge of updating both the iMac and the Mac Pro. The company frequently likes to time iLife updates so they can be pre-installed on new machines.

by MacNN Staff