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Apple To Launch Thinner, Lighter MacBook Pro Models With OLED Touch Bar, Touch ID In Fall (9to5mac.com)
Apple plans to refresh its MacBook Pro line later this year. The makeover will see both 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models replace their function keys atop laptop keyboards with an OLED touch bar, according to a report. Both the models will also have Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and will support Thunderbolt 3 USB-C port, multiple outlets are reporting citing ever-so-reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The refreshed MacBook Pro model will be thinner and lighter as well. There's no word on if -- and when -- the MacBook Air lineup will receive a refresh.
This is still the main marketing touch point?
I am starting to believe all the "Apple is starting to stagnate" hype...
Apple, I think it's time to reformulate the sales pitch...
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
My iphone is warped. Your products are becoming crap. Please stop. Full stop.
I don't want a thinner laptop but I would like a more tactile keyboard. (sent from my 2015 mac pro)
Swapping the function keys for a touch bar is gimmicky on a machine that is labeled as "pro". And that is before even getting to the stories of OLED burn in.
Upgraded ports are always nice, but again on a Pro model you need to have as many as you can cram in.
But what is obviously missing from TFA is the things that make a computer important: CPU, memory, drive space, screen resolution. None of them get a mention.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
This isn't about professionals. Apple missed that boat awhile back. Professionals need a decent keyboard. Ooops. Professionals need computing horsepower. Not quite oops but certainly nothing high end about the presumed stats. And don't talk to me about soldering RAM on the motherboard.
Professionals need ports. More than one or two. Dongles are for dorks. Professionals need batteries. Professionals need screens that do not double as a mirror. Nor do they need 3D touch or the latest silly gizmo thingy that Apple dreamed up.
Professionals DON'T need super thin. Professionals are strong. They can cart around a few extra ounces. Triple shot 16 oz mochas go a long way. As long as they can get their work done, we're happy. Professionals actually need a decent graphics system.
And for the love of God, bring back the 17 inch MacBook Pro.
Gotta go. Nurse says its time for morning meds.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
You'll notice that over the last few years, even the fanboys are getting annoyed by the stupid shit Apple is doing.
Keys with less travel on a supposedly "pro" laptop? Thinner computers for the sake of... what, exactly? People want more battery life, Apple keeps innovating on that end but it only results in the same battery life because they stupidly keep making their laptops thinner.
The low-end computers keep getting slow 5400 RPM drives, as if 7200 RPM drives were somehow incredibly more expensive. And Apple keeps using laptop parts in desktop computers which is just insane, not to mention that they're even making their desktop computers thinner. That doesn't help anyone. The last straw is that they're now soldering the RAM, meaning you can't even upgrade your computer a few years later. That's the complete opposite of being a green company. You can use all the solar panels all you want, Apple, it doesn't mean squat if your hardware gets discarded sooner than it needs to be.
I've been waiting to upgrade my MBP for a year now. It is a 2012 and feeling long in the tooth. Been waiting for a "redesign" - but Q4? Lord.
Why is Apple stubbornly staying with soldered memory when users clearly don't like it? Are they not supposed to be the company of great customer service that loves and listens to their community? Not in this case. I can sure see how it benefits Apple to do it that way but Joe Public...not so much.
Here is my wish list:
1) Bring back the 17" Macbook Pro. Yes it's big and bulky but I'm willing to put up with that for the extra screen real estate.
2) Bring back user upgradable memory. If it truly is a Macbook Pro then it should come with 8GB minimum and I should be able to plug in up to 32GB (or maybe even 64) as and when I need it. If the laptop was aimed at home users I could maybe see not wanting them to be able to do this but I'm a professional and I know how to open laptops and upgrade them. I should be able to do this on my own and without a trip to the Genius lab.
3) Ports - lots of them. Wireless is nice but sometimes I prefer a hardwired network connection. Gimme a network port. I also need a couple of HDMI ports and at least 3 USB ports. Why not throw in a Firewire port too? I know that it's kind of old technology now but a lot of people still have firewire drives and would like to be able to plug them in.
4) Bootcamp. Why not have the option to have Bootcamp pre-installed if you know you're going to use it? Or maybe a prebuilt virtualized Windows. Yes, some of use would prefer to do it ourselves but others might appreciate the convenience.
5) I'm tired of the race to the thinnest laptop. I want something with a battery big enough to last the whole day, or more, doing intensive processing. If that adds a half pound or a half inch so be it. This is supposed to be a big boy laptop, not some hipster toy.
6) 4K display. Could you imagine a 4K display on a sweet 17" laptop with a matte finish? Heaven.
Until then I'm hanging on to my creaky old 2008 era Macbook Pro.
I don't know the investments he's trying to rescue... but Ming-Chi Kuo at KGI Securities has been predicting OLED and AMOLED displays for Apple products the last 3 releases, and Apple has not been stupid enough to oblige him with a product containing one.
Also, I can not see Jony Ive putting a different looking bar at the top where the functions keys normally go, and breaking up the overall design into three zones that end up looking so incredibly different from each other, and certainly, not to draw a display down where it ends up taking up attention from the main display. That just totally violates the design principles he espouses when you talk to him about it.
But I'm sure a lot of people clicked that link, which I guess is the point...
LOL grow a set of balls and violate that TOS.
Completely agree with your entire post.
I'm a professional developing high-performance, scientific simulation software. My entire development team (which is about 50 scientists) all use 15" MBPs and MacPro desktops... all backed by large linux clusters for the heavy lifting.
MBPs are just the perfect mix of power and portability.
As long as they keep battery life about the same I would love for mine to be thinner and lighter. We travel a lot for conferences and meetings and any weight savings is always a blessing.
I always find it funny that people think "pros" want a huge Dell brick of a laptop...