I bet Apple will thin out the MacBook Pros again

[exoticSpice]

They're just going to thin out the new 2021 design. Not a lot. Hey with rumors of a 17" OLED display for the MacBook Pro in the works (granted it's coming from Digitimes), that may be an opportunity to tweak the design then.

That will be the MacBook Air. You see Apple has an idea of chips go into the MacBook Pro. The 2016 MacBook Pro was designed so thin because Intel said it could make CPUs that power that thin chassis.

Apple knew what type silicon it was going to put in the 2021 MacBook Pro. These things are planned 3-4 years since release. To get to the end point: Apple was tired of hearing people complaining about thermal performance on MBP so they made cooling beefier.

If you want a thin and light, tell apple to make a 16" MacBook Air.

 

[DHagan4755]

That will be the MacBook Air. You see Apple has an idea of chips go into the MacBook Pro. The 2016 MacBook Pro was designed so thin because Intel said it could make CPUs that power that thin chassis.

Apple knew what type silicon it was going to put in the 2021 MacBook Pro. These things are planned 3-4 years since release. To get to the end point: Apple was tired of hearing people complaining about thermal performance on MBP so they made cooling beefier.

If you want a thin and light, tell apple to make a 16" MacBook Air.

You're missing the point. But whatever. Agreed Apple needs to make a 16" MacBook Air.

 

[Xand&Roby]

The iPad can't even run background apps at all. It can't have M1 Max or 64GB RAM.

Today.
Last sentence of my previous post could help.
Better development from this unbelievable conservative company could help more too.

 

[sb in ak]

I remember buying a 15" G4 Powerbook in 2002 and thinking how compact it was-- and thinking how easily it could slide into my backpack. It also totally roasted my lap and probably my sperm count.

Today feels like a good time to be a Mac user. We essentially have a thin MBP that isn't really heat throttled vs. an even thinner and yet still very capable Macbook Air.

Of course they'll change up the design again and I wouldn't be surprised if they go thinner. But it sure is nice to not be throttled and have the fans kick into overdrive all of the time and still maintain nearly the same footprint.

 

[TheRdungeon]

Playing back and forth with designs will result in insane backlash.

That's literally what they do with iPhone design and people love it

 

[dtm84]

The 2021 macbook pro form factor is a demonstrated winner based on demand and wait times. Typically they refresh the form factor every 4 years or so. Given the success and response I would expect the next form factor to be a minor change. So maybe in 8 years we see a major refresh.

 

[DHagan4755]

Some have interpreted my "thinning out the MacBook Pro" for redesigning it. No. Simply put, it's about taking the new design, just released in October, and making it thinner on a future model. That's it.

It's akin to adding Face ID to the MacBook Pro. They're not changing the fundamental design language by adding Face ID. Nor would Apple change the fundamental design language by making it thinner. When they released the iPhone 13 Pro, it was made thicker than the iPhone 12 Pro & no one batted an eyelash.

An aversion to thinness having been burned by it in the past (no pun intended) is not a reason to shun it in the future if it's done appropriately, all things considered.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The 2021 macbook pro form factor is a demonstrated winner based on demand and wait times.

There are quite a few other factors in the world right now that are heavily skewing the availability situation.

 

[ugru]

People would prefer a thinner, more svelte MacBook Pro — so long as it still feels rigid, battery life remains excellent & it doesn't thermally throttle! Thinning it out again makes some sense.

No.

Last time apple thinned the MBP, with the 2016 model, they came out as a result with the exact opposite. An impractical, thermally constrained, with ****** battery life laptop. To add insult to injury, they removed widely used ports, put in the useless touchbar and, to thin it even more, came out with that dumpster fire of butterfly keyboard...

So, do it again, what could go wrong?

 

[Xand&Roby]

No.

Last time apple thinned the MBP, with the 2016 model, they came out as a result with the exact opposite. An impractical, thermally constrained, with ****** battery life laptop. To add insult to injury, they removed widely used ports, put in the useless touchbar and, to thin it even more, came out with that dumpster fire of butterfly keyboard...

So, do it again, what could go wrong?

This is exactly what I’m talking about: 2016 MBP was a bug product because design, if you talk with people, and not for poor work from Apple and Intel engineers.
This people don’t need a MacBook, an iPad is also excessive.

 

[CarbonCycles]

Previous generation MBP were a pita to type on for extended periods of time...I was always worried about the frame flexing because of how thin it was. Compromise to solder EVERYTHING to save space for light and thin, which turned into a total cluster for future upgrades.

Leave the MBP alone...go buy the MacBook or the Air. They created those products to address the different market segments. If you fall between the segment, pick one and move on..more important things to worry about than staring at how "thin" my laptop is.

 

[DMG35]

Just give us a 15" MacBook Air.

 

[ugru]

This is exactly what I’m talking about: 2016 MBP was a bug product because design, if you talk with people, and not for poor work from Apple and Intel engineers.
This people don’t need a MacBook, an iPad is also excessive.

At Apple, during that period, they were so laser focused on useless thinness, that they made a MacBook even thinner and more under-powered and with less ports than the MacBookAir.

Unbelievable...

 

[nastysailboat]

Apple wants to shrink MacBook Pro by removing speaker grills | AppleInsider

Apple has been researching how to embed a speaker underneath a MacBook Pro keyboard, which would meaning being able to reduce the device's footprint.

appleinsider.com

 

[GumaRodak]

They will never stop.. target is paper thin

 

[Xand&Roby]

At Apple, during that period, they were so laser focused on useless thinness, that they made a MacBook even thinner and more under-powered and with less ports than the MacBookAir.

Unbelievable...

This MacBook is, today, most beatiful of every single Air ever built, as the PowerBook 12” was the most beautiful PowerBook at its times.
MacBook Air were ever a piece of crap hw.
12” was hated ‘cause as usual crowd don’t known what is best for it and a piece of crap like a 13” cheap Mac is most loveable than a 12” magazine/iPad Mac with macOS, but then always that crowd want macOS on iPad.
Stupid like a wall.

 

[Xand&Roby]

Apple wants to shrink MacBook Pro by removing speaker grills | AppleInsider

Apple has been researching how to embed a speaker underneath a MacBook Pro keyboard, which would meaning being able to reduce the device's footprint.

appleinsider.com

“Apple's ideal for the MacBook Pro is apparently the beloved 12-inch PowerBook.” because its the best footprint ever.
“But that model wasn't known for having great audio, not even with its hidden subwoofer inside the chassis.” PB 12” was better than iBook 12”, others issues are just physics. Other point is that no one buyed PB (12”,15” or 17”) for its audio, there was audio output for that.

 

[chongsen]

The design is definitely overwhelming for m1 pro. Like apple usually designed a chassis for 3~4 generations. I think they predicted Intel would catch up in next a few years. High wattage soc is unavoidable. I think at the end of this design cycle. Max chip will reach 90W + to compete with Intel. That is what that chassis for.

 

[exoticSpice]

Today.
Last sentence of my previous post could help.
Better development from this unbelievable conservative company could help more too.

The Mac and will always have more powerful SoC's and higher RAM than an iPad.

 

[Analog Kid]

Apple included the highest capacity battery they could in a laptop that still allows it to be carried aboard an aircraft: ~100Whr. As battery energy density improves the batteries will become smaller and so will the laptops holding them.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The design is definitely overwhelming for m1 pro. Like apple usually designed a chassis for 3~4 generations. I think they predicted Intel would catch up in next a few years. High wattage soc is unavoidable. I think at the end of this design cycle. Max chip will reach 90W + to compete with Intel. That is what that chassis for.

Nah, as we’ve seen in multiple reports on the story about Apple releasing new products, they plan years in advance. When they made the decision years ago to switch, they knew they had the teams that could pull it off. And, there’s NO Intel chip that would ever be able to process ProRes video as fast as Apple’s processor. (Although processing ProRes video may make any Intel system scream in sheer agony

Apple’s competition now is simply the last Mac they released. If a new system outperforms the old by an appreciable margin, then they win. No need to overclock their systems just to squeak out a 4% performance delta over a chip that’s not even in a Mac.

 

[ugru]

This MacBook is, today, most beatiful of every single Air ever built, as the PowerBook 12” was the most beautiful PowerBook at its times.
MacBook Air were ever a piece of crap hw.
12” was hated ‘cause as usual crowd don’t known what is best for it and a piece of crap like a 13” cheap Mac is most loveable than a 12” magazine/iPad Mac with macOS, but then always that crowd want macOS on iPad.
Stupid like a wall.

Not saying it was a bad computer per se but at that time apple had:

- MacBookAir: light and thin and underpowered
- MacBook: even lighter and thinner and still underpowered

And they release a neutered, Light and thin MacBookPro.....see the problem??

The old Air should have been killed. The new MacBook should have been the new Air, and the MacBookPro should not have been thinned. The same error was done with their desktop line..The MacPro trashcan fiasco did not teach them anything.

 

[ugru]

Apple included the highest capacity battery they could in a laptop that still allows it to be carried aboard an aircraft: ~100Whr. As battery energy density improves the batteries will become smaller and so will the laptops holding them.

No, in 2016 they slashed the battery capacity by 25%, it had a 76Whr. that MBP had really bad battery life....

With time they understood their error and in 2018/2019 they brought the battery capacity gradually back to 99Whr...

 

[Ray2]

I disagree. My 16" MBP has been stable with macOS Monterey. These current MacBook Pros are practical and I don't want apple thinning out again on Pro Macs.

“Stable” is a pretty low bar.

 

[Abazigal]

Mysterious port-less laptop is 7 mm thin

Think USB-A ports are getting rare? Count your blessings.

arstechnica.com

The Craob X envisions a world where port-less laptops are a serious consideration. It will be interesting to watch the reception of the Craob X—and even more intriguing to see if it leads other laptop manufacturers to make even bolder omissions in port selection.