Apple seems like wanting the iPad Pros to replace 12 MacBooks. The problem is that the iPadOS is still way too limited and not 'Pro' at all. Even an M1 with 16GB memory seem like too much for that OS in my opinion.
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Jony Ive’s vision was killed today
- Thread starter childu
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Agreed, that would be unfortunate for those who liked the 12" MacBook—partly because of the OS, and partly because, if you use a keyboard, a laptop is a better, more comfortable design than an iPad plus any external KB designed to be portable with an iPad.
Yes the TB4 standard have DP2.0 in it
And and it can ether be two lanes (80Gbps) or one lane at 40Gbps. TB3 supported 40Gbps maximum and Dp1.4 while TB4 supports 40GBps up and down with the ability to use both to double the bandwidth. This is part of the TB4 standard
Apple currently uses compression as this data rate is above TB3 and DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth. Hence why apple XDR monitors have usb 2.0 speeds on the back for power and syncing
It’s actually a hardware limitation of the XDR display as it saturated the TB3 port and it is not able to have anything faster than usb2 plugged in. Link to calculator
Or use minimum DSC for 19Gbps.
but also likely a GPU limitation as it still needs to have the GPU power to drive the data rates needed
Well it depends as I don’t know what monitor you’re using. The mgsafe cable have usb-c on one end so you could just plug it in to your TB display.I was expecting that you’d suggest something like this
Sure, I can do that but it means that I have to carry my charger around (or have a spare one in the office) instead of using my monitors charging capabilities, fiddle with three cables at work instead of two abs then also have a bit of a mess since the HDMI port is located at the wrong side, so I’d have to awkwardly wrap the cable around the desk… it’s simply suboptimal.
Or I could buy a TB dock, but those are not cheap and I can’t really argue that my employee should spend $200 extra because “apple changed the port layout and now my connectivity became slightly more awkward”.
In the end, you win some you lose some. But yeah, the loss of the fourth universal port is somewhat painful.
TB4 have double the usable bandwidth to TB3 that your current Mac have.
So it could be easily solved with a
A single 20-30$ usb hub with a port for power and HDMI
Attachments
MagSafe only transfers power, not the TB signal itself… I can’t use it to connect a display
After a generation of MacBooks which sacrificed function for form having a thicker MacBook Pro for the sake of function is a relief. An SD card reader is great and while I would have liked HDMI 2.1 (I mean seriously!) having a build in HDMI port means when bringing my laptop to give a presentation I don’t need to remember to bring a dongle (and then remember to take the dongle when I leave, I think I have ‘donated’ several USB-C to HDMI dongles around the hospital and University meeting rooms now). Also if the airflow situation lives up to promises having a laptop which doesn’t heat up like the surface of a neutron star so it can remain thin and quiet (until the fans kick in like a jet engine) will be a nice touch.
No, but it allows you to connect it to anything as you no longer need a power brick. But as I said I don’t know your monitor so can’t really say much. But there are many cheap solutions especially if you have a TB display to just expands its number of ports as it already works like a TB dock
My monitor is a regular Dell with USB-C support. I only need a single USB cable to get power, display signal and the small USB hub to connect my keyboard and mouse. With my current Mac, I can have all this and still have three USB ports free. With the redesigned Mac, I only have two ports free no matter how I set it up (and most of the things you suggest is a very obvious regression from my current workflow).
The point is very simple: the new Macs trade one of the universal ports for a built-in limited function USB-c hub (HDMI, power and card reader). This is obviously great for people who routinely use HDMI or card readers. This is not so great for people who have a robust modern setup and actually need four USB ports because they need to get a dongle now.
I don’t mind having the HDMI port, I do use it once in a while and it can be useful. I just wish that Apple didn‘t remove connectivity. Of course, for them it’s a way to save money since they can implement fewer PCIe lanes and thunderbolt controllers.
I would really like a 12 and 14” macbook with M2 chip as a replacement to both the Air and the 13” MBP.
That would make for a nice consumer / pro split and give both lines a choice of screen size. My partner really liked here 12” and I would not mind a very portable 14”.
Well then You should just be able to use all the monitor ports before even thinking of using the other TB ports on your Mac.
conect your Ethernet to usb adaptor on the back and the HDD to you Mac directly.
We’ll see how the 2022 redesigned MacBook Air will be.
I love the new approach that Apple has taken with the MBP.
It's almost something that a brutalist architect would love. Function over form (about 60/40 balance I'd say).
If Jony Ive's vision was the MBP 2016, then I'm glad its dead. That vision can live on in the M1 MBA.
I'm never going to need to need the power of the M1 Pro / Max. But I'm hoping that now Apple are making seriously serious computers, that MacOS can get more serious.
I don't mean going back to Snow Leopard or Mountain Lion. And I think that UX integration and alignment with iPadOS is good.
But can we have the software UX equivalent of the hardware please?
Less saturated colours everywhere.
A light mode that uses platinum instead of vast expanses of gleaming white.
A general emphasis on the UX being usable more than it being aesthetically pleasing.
Apple's UX has started to tip over into the realm of form over function in the past few years - it's time for a course correction.
It's almost something that a brutalist architect would love. Function over form (about 60/40 balance I'd say).
If Jony Ive's vision was the MBP 2016, then I'm glad its dead. That vision can live on in the M1 MBA.
I'm never going to need to need the power of the M1 Pro / Max. But I'm hoping that now Apple are making seriously serious computers, that MacOS can get more serious.
I don't mean going back to Snow Leopard or Mountain Lion. And I think that UX integration and alignment with iPadOS is good.
But can we have the software UX equivalent of the hardware please?
Less saturated colours everywhere.
A light mode that uses platinum instead of vast expanses of gleaming white.
A general emphasis on the UX being usable more than it being aesthetically pleasing.
Apple's UX has started to tip over into the realm of form over function in the past few years - it's time for a course correction.
WHy would you buy the MacBook when you have the 13" MacBook Air?
My biggest regret in my electronics history is purchasing a 15" MBP with the 2016 design. The keyboard sucked, the touchbar was useless, and it was hot and loud. If Apple didn't have the iPhone and everything else to rely on, they would have been dead in the water. Imagine any other company making such questionable design choices, how it would fare for them.
Obviously Jony Ive was wrong (as far as the 2016 MBP design goes) so good riddance to his dream.
Obviously Jony Ive was wrong (as far as the 2016 MBP design goes) so good riddance to his dream.
Ha! I was thinking the same thing. I've been dying to replace my 2016 MBP. I'm just doing email right now and the fans are both running over 5k RPM. The only thing I found useful for the Touch Bar was quick access to brightness settings for my 3 monitor setup and skipping ads on YouTube vids (I don't even know if that still works). Since it sits off to the side and I use a wireless keyboard with my screens, it's never easily accessible enough to be worthwhile.
I do wish, however, that they retained the 4 TB ports as losing a port for HDMI sucks, but I understand why they did it.
If Apple will release a 12 inch MacBook as light as the 2015-2017 ones, With two Thunderbolt 4 ports and the tapered design, it means that Jony’s dream lives on.
If they will get rid of the tapered two-port design for the Air/Macbook line and add more weight and ports, then it will definitely be gone.
If they will get rid of the tapered two-port design for the Air/Macbook line and add more weight and ports, then it will definitely be gone.
I've got 2017 MBP with a 2.9 quad i7 and a Radeon pro 560 GPU. I thought the 2016 keyboard was much worse than the revised 2017's keyboard. I much much much preferred the previous non butterfly keyboard though. I'd have preferred the old form factor but with faster processing power.
I had the keyboard replaced about a year ago. One thing that annoyed me, was letter "A" lost its lettering - it became a white blob. Eventually the keyboard started to very occasionally, get a letter wrong.
The downside of the previous design for me, was that it's curves mean't that overall, it felt quite a delicate casing. I was going to put a plastic case on it when I bought it - but they were not around and then the next day, the notebook - one day old - slipped onto a tile floor and the edge of the monitor casing - near where it hinges from - bent. I therefor never bought the casing, which in many ways, defeats the purpose of compactness, and also would inhibit heat transfer.
I also found the lack of an old style USB-A port really annoying. I've bought about three USB-C to A cables when I did not carry an adapter.
As far as the new model goes, I like the more flexible ports a lot.
I hope it is squarer and hence tougher than the old form factor. I did love the way the MBP would slide into my slim leather should strapped case, which is quite thin when empty. The curves on the screen meant it would slide into the opening of the bag with exceptional ease. But I'd give up that ease instantly for a tougher design.
The size and weight increase is too marginal to even consider. And also, the new model has extra battery life and a bigger screen.
I paid extra for a high end HP notebook for my wife - which was quite an expensive unit, due to its touch screen and that it can be used as a pad. But - my wife never did that. She loves her iPad, and uses it every day and every night. The HP though (as 14") has a magnificent keyboard action, and also, its spill proof.
I don't think a non spill proof keyboard is acceptable in any notebook, but in one that is not cheap, it seems to me to put statistically likely failures into the platform. Let's face it - drinking water while you work is a very healthy thing to do. We don't drink enough fluids guys. If Apple was decent, they'd make the machine more professional. Like HP do with their higher end notebooks that tolerate a clumsy coffee/tea or water drinker.
It's major fault IMO. I like everything else. I'll probably buy one too ...
I had the keyboard replaced about a year ago. One thing that annoyed me, was letter "A" lost its lettering - it became a white blob. Eventually the keyboard started to very occasionally, get a letter wrong.
The downside of the previous design for me, was that it's curves mean't that overall, it felt quite a delicate casing. I was going to put a plastic case on it when I bought it - but they were not around and then the next day, the notebook - one day old - slipped onto a tile floor and the edge of the monitor casing - near where it hinges from - bent. I therefor never bought the casing, which in many ways, defeats the purpose of compactness, and also would inhibit heat transfer.
I also found the lack of an old style USB-A port really annoying. I've bought about three USB-C to A cables when I did not carry an adapter.
As far as the new model goes, I like the more flexible ports a lot.
I hope it is squarer and hence tougher than the old form factor. I did love the way the MBP would slide into my slim leather should strapped case, which is quite thin when empty. The curves on the screen meant it would slide into the opening of the bag with exceptional ease. But I'd give up that ease instantly for a tougher design.
The size and weight increase is too marginal to even consider. And also, the new model has extra battery life and a bigger screen.
I paid extra for a high end HP notebook for my wife - which was quite an expensive unit, due to its touch screen and that it can be used as a pad. But - my wife never did that. She loves her iPad, and uses it every day and every night. The HP though (as 14") has a magnificent keyboard action, and also, its spill proof.
I don't think a non spill proof keyboard is acceptable in any notebook, but in one that is not cheap, it seems to me to put statistically likely failures into the platform. Let's face it - drinking water while you work is a very healthy thing to do. We don't drink enough fluids guys. If Apple was decent, they'd make the machine more professional. Like HP do with their higher end notebooks that tolerate a clumsy coffee/tea or water drinker.
It's major fault IMO. I like everything else. I'll probably buy one too ...
Many threads about this especially in the MacBook forum section. For many people there is a very clear difference in size and weight.
I was a 12" MacBook user and loved the size. When the fanless M1 MBA was released the performance difference was too great and I switched, but if there was ever an M1 12" I would switch back in a heartbeat.
Because the MacBook was significantly lighter.
The 2016 to 2019 MBPs had 4 TB3 ports but one was required for power. The 2021 MBPs have the same number of free TB4 ports if the laptop is plugged in.
A built in HDMI port is useful for a lot of laptop users because the video equipment in most office conference rooms (in the US at least), seem to be equipped with a HDMI ports and regular HDMI cables are far easier to find than USB-C to HDMI cables.
Not only in the US. In Australia HDMI is very common in meetings and classroms. Very useful to have it built in the mac.
Try 99% of every monitor have HDMI. the same thing cant be said to Displayport unfortunatly. and even elss with usb c
Apple certainly won't take over the server market but the server market has already started moving to ARM. The largest cloud provider AWS already offers Linux VMs running on AWS designed ARM SoCs, the other major cloud providers are working on it. Docker now supports ARM based containers. It seems likely that AWS will migrate their own managed services to their ARM SoC. In two years, ARM could made significant inroads into the cloud hosted server market.
You have to be free to fail in order to be creative. The 2016 form factor was popular, except for the TB and Butterfly keyboard