Is Apple’s new “Pro = Beefy” design language a mistake?

[heretiq]

After exclusively purchasing MacBook Pros, my next Mac is likely to be a MacBook Air — not because I want an Air, but because the MacBook Pro is too damn bulky.

However, this “Pro = Beefy” design language is not relegated to the Apple Silicon MacBook Pros. The issue extends to the M1/M2 iPad Pro and iPhone Pro devices as well.

​

M1 MacBook Pro​

I love my M1 Max 16” MacBook Pro when using it — it’s powerful, quiet, fast, cool and handles anything I throw at it gracefully and reliably; but this love transforms to doubts when hauling it or using it inflight or on anything other than a roomy desk for an extended period of time.

After hoisting my laptop bag to my shoulder, strolling to a gate at the airport or trying to use it inflight my inner talk increasingly turns to “Do I really need the power?” “Can I get away with a thinner, lighter, less powerful Mac laptop?“

The answer today is probably not — I need the 12 core CPU and 32 Core GPU to run discrete event simulations and visualize results as fast as possible. The difference between 30 minutes to run 20 iterations of a one-year complex simulation vs 45 minutes to do the same thing is huge — especially when collaborating with others and relying on simulation results to help others think through problems and solution with each run.

However, that rumored M2/M3 15” MacBook Air is sounding very promising. If it matches or comes close to the performance of my 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro, I’m going for it.

Yes, I’m willing to trade ProMotion, Mini LED display, and 1 Thunderbolt, HDMI and CF ports to eliminate 2 pounds and nearly 1/4 (.22) inch height on my daily driver — and likely pay less for the privilege!

M1/M2 iPad Pro​

I love my 12.9” Cellular M1 iPad Pro, but it’s too damn bulky — the M1 and M2 iPad Pro’s 1.51 pounds and .25 inches height vs 1.42 pounds and .23 inches of their 4th gen non M1 predecessor does not seem like a lot until you use it one handed and notice the significantly greater hand stress than the 4th gen iPad Pro .. or haul it around in your laptop bag along with your M1 Max MacBook Pro — that’s a total of 6.3 pounds without the power brick!

Similarly, the 4th gen 12.9” iPad Pro without mini led was fabulous in many ways (screen, performance, battery life, light weight, one-handed operation) .. and in practice the M1 version did not improve my experience as I thought it would — in retrospect I traded comfortable 1 hand operation for beefiness and the hope of future-proofing.

Likewise, I’m willing to trade off mini-LED, ProMotion and other enhancements for reduced weight and bulkiness of a larger screen iPad Air — and likely pay less for the privilege!

iPhone Pro​

The iPhone 12 Pro marked the leap from a 5.8“ screen to 6.1” screen. I reflexively upgraded from my beloved 5.8” iPhone 10 X to the 12 Pro to follow my practice of always purchasing the most feature rich, top of the line iPhone. However, after 2 months of use I realized that the iPhone X to 12 Pro “upgrade” came with a trade off: give up comfortable one-hand operation for better cameras and a bigger screen. This was a downgrade for me — not an upgrade.

I spent months trying to adapt to this change but could not — I simply valued the smaller 5.8” form factor more than better cameras and bigger, better screen. As soon as the iPhone 13 was released, I purchased an iPhone 13 mini and gave the 12 Pro to a family member. I continue to love the iPhone 13 mini’s combination of size, functionality and performance — and definitely paid less for the privilege!

Size matters​

After my iPhone Pro to iPhone mini conversion, I received an in-depth survey from Apple inquiring A. why I chose the iPhone 13 mini over the Pro and other devices (Answer: size), B. what I wanted (Answer: a 5.8” iPhone Pro model) and C. what I would do if the mini was not available: (a) choose another iPhone model, (b) choose a competitor’s mobile phone, (c) something else. Answer: (c) something else ..

The “something else” for me is to ditch the “phone” completely if the iPhone mini is discontinued and instead rely on my Apple Watch for “phone” functionality. I know the watch is not currently capable of untethered operation; but I hope that is the case in the next 1-3 years — as I refuse to buy an oversized phone when I have an iPad Pro and MacBook Pro for occasions when I need a large screen.

I have sympathy for Apple product managers enduring the stresses and challenges in defining and evolving complex product lines but for me, the recent “Pro = Beefy” trend — first evident in the iPhone Pro, then the iPad Pro, and now the MacBook Pro — is a mistake that will impact the bottom line as it forces those who value compact portable form factors to purchase lighter devices that are often less expensive.

So, I’m wondering if Apple may be making a strategic mistake with this “Pro = Beefy” design approach as it seems to force customers to (a) choose between size and performance — which historically was not mutually exclusive — and (b) pay less for compactness — which historically came at a premium. I may be an outlier in my preference for compactness vs functional overkill; but this feels like a departure from the Apple design culture that saved us from 2 inch bricks masquerading as laptops and made us eager and excited to pay a premium for compactness.

What do you think?

/end-therapy-session/

 

[antiprotest]

I don't want to read your entire post, but I am ready to agree just reading the title. It's getting out of control.

 

[cthompson94]

However, that rumored M2/M3 15” MacBook Air is sounding very promising. If it matches or comes close to the performance of my 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro, I’m going for it.

I don't think this is going to happen, you will be extremely lucky if a M2/M3 Pro chip gets put into the Air. Your Max is already loads more powerful especially in the GPU department (of course CPU too). The RAM will also more than likely be cut off at probably 15gb if there is no pro chip available in the Air otherwise if it is added maybe 32gb, Apple isn't going to eat too much into the MBP lineup.

If you are struggling with having some power along with portability why not get a Max chip mini and a Air. Have the beef/power when needed along with the portability. You can't really expect highly capable laptops without a size increase for cooling/battery life or you end up sacrificing elsewhere. Look at powerful Windows laptops they are monsters in size for cooling/battery and the battery still doesn't last long because of power consumption

 

[heretiq]

I don't want to read your entire post, but I am ready to agree just reading the title. It's getting out of control.

Ha! Artfully said. Lets hope that we see a course correction with M3 Apple Silicon.

 

[sublunar]

Not really paid too close attention to your use case but I get the idea that you're actually a power user (given that you select a Max CPU), who may not care about colour accuracy (and hence Pro-motion) but are you really advocating a return to the Ive 2016-2020 way too thin design?

What are your thoughts on the flawed Butterfly keyboard compromise? Or the relative lack of battery life when using Intel CPUs in that case? Or the resulting lack of sufficient cooling leading to likely higher noise thanks to the Intel CPUs?

If you had taken a 14" MacBook Pro to get it to fit on an airplane tray table you might have complained about the throttling due to the slightly compromised cooling solution when a Max CPU is BTO specified.

Even on a chunky design (as you say) the M1 Max CPU isn't ideal in a 14" enclosure.

Seems to me that you might be just wanting pure horsepower in a lighter case and may be willing to compromise on battery life and screen quality. Not sure Apple's market research includes you in that case as you're likely to want the increased RAM that comes as standard with higher end SoCs.

In that case my feeling is that you might be interested in a fully kitted out (but mythical) M2 MacBook 15" with 24Gb and over 512Gb SSD. Very much an edge case as you'd be complaining about lack of CPU cores.

 

[stevemiller]

Ha! Artfully said. Lets hope that ee see a course correction with M3 Apple Silicon.

having suffered the misery of a 2018 macbook pro, i beg you to please not take away the current 16" model for people who value performance. by all means, wish for a "powerful enough" macbook air, but there's a reason for for pairing tiers of chips with chassis designs.

 

[heretiq]

I don't think this is going to happen, you will be extremely lucky if a M2/M3 Pro chip gets put into the Air. Your Max is already loads more powerful especially in the GPU department (of course CPU too). The RAM will also more than likely be cut off at probably 15gb if there is no pro chip available in the Air otherwise if it is added maybe 32gb, Apple isn't going to eat too much into the MBP lineup.

If you are struggling with having some power along with portability why not get a Max chip mini and an Air. Have the beef/power when needed along with the portability. You can't really expect highly capable laptops without a size increase for cooling/battery life or you end up sacrificing elsewhere. Look at powerful Windows laptops they are monsters in size for cooling/battery and the battery still doesn't last long because of power consumption

I agree that expecting an Air to match the performance of a MacBook Pro is not likely to happen and I have considered the mini / air option; however, my challenge is that I need at least 32 GB RAM, 12 core CPU and 32 core GPU while traveling. My hope is that a 2023 M2 or M3 MacBook Air can match the RAM/CPU/GPU specs of a 2021 M1 MaxBacBook Pro. Keep hope alive! 🙏🏽

 

[heretiq]

having suffered the misery of a 2018 macbook pro, i beg you to please not take away the current 16" model for people who value performance. by all means, wish for a "powerful enough" macbook air, but there's a reason for for pairing tiers of chips with chassis designs.

Agree 100%. There‘s a need for the display, extra ports, awesome speakers and thermal envelope available with the current 16” model — so not wishing for its discontinuance but instead hoping for a 2023 M2/M3 MacBook Air that matches the performance of the 2021 Max MacBook Pro. It’s a lot to expect, but Apple Silicon has inspired me to dream

 

[heretiq]

Not really paid too close attention to your use case but I get the idea that you're actually a power user (given that you select a Max CPU), who may not care about colour accuracy (and hence Pro-motion) but are you really advocating a return to the Ive 2016-2020 way too thin design?

What are your thoughts on the flawed Butterfly keyboard compromise? Or the relative lack of battery life when using Intel CPUs in that case? Or the resulting lack of sufficient cooling leading to likely higher noise thanks to the Intel CPUs?

If you had taken a 14" MacBook Pro to get it to fit on an airplane tray table you might have complained about the throttling due to the slightly compromised cooling solution when a Max CPU is BTO specified.

Even on a chunky design (as you say) the M1 Max CPU isn't ideal in a 14" enclosure.

Seems to me that you might be just wanting pure horsepower in a lighter case and may be willing to compromise on battery life and screen quality. Not sure Apple's market research includes you in that case as you're likely to want the increased RAM that comes as standard with higher end SoCs.

In that case my feeling is that you might be interested in a fully kitted out (but mythical) M2 MacBook 15" with 24Gb and over 512Gb SSD. Very much an edge case as you'd be complaining about lack of CPU cores.

Yes, your diagnosis is spot on: I need Max CPU/GPU performance for engineering analytics and visualization but not for graphics design. So the Air display tech and port complement is adequate, however the current 13.6 inch display size is too small.

I agree with your points — they justify the current design of the MacBook Pro, but I’m hoping that given the year over year Apple Silicon improvements a 15” 2023 M2 or 3nm M3 MacBook Air can come close to or match the performance of a 2021 M1 Max MacBook Pro .. and better accommodate the needs of buyers that value compactness and performance. I also had the 2018 Johnny I’ve MacBook Pro with TouchBar and loved it as I didn’t encounter issues with the butterfly keyboard — however, fan noise was an issue for me. So net-net: not wishing for changes to the MacBook Pro, but hoping for a more capable Air as that seems to be both performance oriented and targeted to those looking for a compact form factor

 

[smirking]

I don't really think it's a problem if "Pro" becomes synonymous with beefy. That's exactly what some people want and anyone who's serious knows the Pro name means whatever people want it to mean.

I'm with you on the weight and size though. I love my 16" M1 Pro, but if a 15" Air comes out that's on par with my current M1 Pro, it might be my next driver in 2-3 years when I decide it's time to upgrade again.

I honestly don't care what they call it. They can call the Air the MacBook Noob. If the specs are suitable, I'll still buy it to do my pro level dev work.

I don't mind the weight and size of my M1 Pro for the most part, but I do miss how my 2018 15" MBP just seemed to disappear into my pack.

 

[Madhatter32]

"Beefy" on a MBP is totally acceptable and warranted. These are devices geared for performance. "Thin and light" on a MBA is totally acceptable and warranted. These devices are geared for mobility.

I agree that the other products (i.e,. iPhone and iPad) should be more geared for mobility -- so more thin and light would be ideal.

 

[UMHurricanes34]

"Beefy" on a MBP is totally acceptable and warranted. These are devices geared for performance. "Thin and light" on a MBA is totally acceptable and warranted. These devices are geared for mobility.

I agree that the other products (i.e,. iPhone and iPad) should be more geared for mobility -- so more thin and light would be ideal.

I agree. This is why separate product lines exist. I would argue the biggest issue during the butterfly keyboard era was too little differentiation between Pro and “non-Pro” models. Once the 15” Air is released, the MacBook line will be in a condition not seen since the earlier intel days before everything became the same general aluminum design (TBD on if they keep stringing along the Touch Bar model).

 

[thenahon]

However, this “Pro = Beefy” design language is not relegated to the Apple Silicon MacBook Pros. The issue extends to the M1/M2 iPad Pro and iPhone Pro devices as well.

LMAO These devices (MBP, iPad Pro, iPhone Pro) are incredibly thin. How in the world do you consider them "beefy?"
You bought the largest MBP and iPad Pro, they are going to be big. The smaller devices work just as well unless you absolutely need whatever crazy display the 12.9" iPad Pro has.

I do agree that a 12" MBP and iPhone Pro mini would be dope af and I'd buy both in a heartbeat.

 

[BadMacRumours]

I insist quite the opposite needs to happen.

For too long Apple prioritized thin and pretty over function and performance. I’m glad they are undoing that mistake as of late.

 

[russell_314]

I agree that expecting an Air to match the performance of a MacBook Pro is not likely to happen

I think it depends on what you’re doing whether it’s going to match the performance or not. It’s like you can haul a small car on a flatbed tow truck, or a flatbed semi tractor trailer. The tractor trailer has considerably more power and it’s going to burn more fuel to do the same task. I think many people are buying flatbed tractor trailers to haul small cars.

The MacBook Air is more than most people need except screen size. The larger MacBook should be more so if it’s available in a M2 Pro option.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Where’s the beef? 😉

Seriously, I wouldn’t describe any of their devices this way. In terms of the MacBook Pro line, you could see the them as establishing a new baseline that could become thinner and sleeker over time. AS will continue to improve and open up this opportunity.

Also, keep in mind that their end goal is to design and control the whole stack — so this in itself will allow them to create designs that other manufacturers will never be able to match.

 

[MBAir2010]

Seems to me that Number and benchmarks are the only rage now in technology these past 5 or so years
YouTubers get more attention then Macworld, deservingly so.
Number Number Numbers, the more the merrier!
how many numbers does your Lenovo produce, HA!
Dell- HA!

this is a fad that might not go away for some time.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Yes, your diagnosis is spot on: I need Max CPU/GPU performance for engineering analytics and visualization but not for graphics design. So the Air display tech and port complement is adequate, however the current 13.6 inch display size is too small.

I agree with your points — they justify the current design of the MacBook Pro, but I’m hoping that given the year over year Apple Silicon improvements a 15” 2023 M2 or 3nm M3 MacBook Air can come close to or match the performance of a 2021 M1 Max MacBook Pro .. and better accommodate the needs of buyers that value compactness and performance. I also had the 2018 Johnny I’ve MacBook Pro with TouchBar and loved it as I didn’t encounter issues with the butterfly keyboard — however, fan noise was an issue for me. So net-net: not wishing for changes to the MacBook Pro, but hoping for a more capable Air as that seems to be both performance oriented and targeted to those looking for a compact form factor

If you need maximum performance from CPU/GPU, or anything close to your description. The laptop needs a fan and Air most likely doesn’t have one. I would want my 16 Inch MacBook lighter like Air but heck my workstation with 4090 runs circles around it, while it’s warm, not hot. I don’t see how Air with out fan can handle that.

 

[russell_314]

Seems to me that Number and benchmarks are the only rage now in technology these past 5 or so years
YouTubers get more attention then Macworld, deservingly so.
Number Number Numbers, the more the merrier!
how many numbers does your Lenovo produce, HA!
Dell- HA!

this is a fad that might not go away for some time.

I find the whole thing silly. I swear every YouTube review I’ve seen on a Mac bases the performance how well how well it renders video to create YouTube videos. Is everyone buying a Mac for making videos to review a Macs?

I’m not saying there aren’t people buying Macs to make YouTube videos, but I can’t believe the majority are sold for that purpose.

Oh yeah benchmarks, I forgot about those. Some numbers just to say this machine has a higher number than that machine but what does that really mean when it comes to using the machine for whatever purpose it’s actually going to be used for.

The downside of all this is it pushes people to buy more expensive hardware and upgrades then they really need. I’m sure Apple appreciates it because I suspect profits on upgrades is very high. Don’t get me wrong, if someone wants to have a fancy thing then go buy the fancy thing. I’m more talking about someone like a student on a tight budget who needs a MacBook. I think it would be better if he spent less on the MacBook and maybe have more money to live off of.

 

[v0lume4]

In regards to their laptops, absolutely not. Thankfully, there's great consumer choice right now with the performant Air line and the absolute beasts that are the Pro models. The raving reviews for Apple's current MacBook Pros seem to indicate their course correction was what the target market wanted.

A case could be made for the weight of the iPads and iPhones, though. But we don't get to have it both ways: we can slim 'er down but we'll lose the two day battery life (iPhone) that we appreciate. As for the size, well, I think the perfect size is the iPhone mini or iPhone SE. I'd love to see a Pro model in that form factor. Actually, for that matter, I'd like to see an iPhone mini, period (RIP).

 

[QuickSilverLining]

Having gone from a 13" 2012 MBP which was 2.0kg to a 16" M1 Max MBP which is 2.1kg, I probably have a slightly different take which boils down to "what's all the fuss about" 😂

The current MBP design is still thin, but it's a tiny bit thicker and heavier than the previous MBP. But it has much better performance, battery life, and runs much cooler. I think they hit the perfect compromise in terms of size with this generation. Of course I do wish that this thing was as light as the MBA, but we have to be realistic. The alternative is either a less powerful MBA or an Intel powered PC, which, considering the current state of Intel's processors, is going to be a big, loud, clunky, hot brick with 30 second battery life.

 

[257Loner]

The labels are starting to confuse me. "I got a MaxBook Pro with M2 Max". "Well, I got a Mac Pro with 2 M3 Pros."

 

[erikkfi]

I’d say yes. I sold my iPhone 13 Pro at a $350 loss about six months after owning it just so I could switch to a Mini.

 

[unchecked]

Personally the labels are meaningless.

There should be two types of machines, a light one and a beefy one.

If the machine you're looking for fall into anywhere in between, unless the market is sizable enough for it and if Tim Apple decides to gamble on it, then you gotta pick either side. Either pony up the extra or settle for something a bit less. They can't make the perfect machine for every single one of us.

 

[Malus120]

Short answer: No.
Long answer: Apple got here by finally LISTENING to what Pros actually wanted. If you don't understand what was problematic about Apple's previous pro lineup they weren't really for you (or perhaps it's more appropriate to say they weren't really for most "Pros" and were inadequate for even a lot of prosumers.)
I do think the designs will probably slim down a bit over time, and perhaps more "mid range" design language options will be introduced.
(PS: Even by my wordy standards, your post is too long)