M2 Platform Wish List and Predictions

[senttoschool]

Is the thickness issue why we don’t have FaceID on the M1 MacBook Pro with notch? I never understood why the notch, but no FaceID. Thanks for finally explaining the reason!

FaceID is less convenient than TouchID on a laptop.

 

[theluggage]

P.S. Dell and Lenovo websites are utterly terrible. I feel sick.

Amen. That’s part of the problem, though - very hard to make price comparisons when you are presented with half a dozen identical looking XPS 13s with random prices and have to dig into the small print to see the details…

You’re right that there are plenty of $1000/£1000 (not much difference by the time you add tax and import markups - UK price for base Air is £999) laptops with only 8GB - but looking there are also ~1000 XPS 13 configs with 16GB, and 16GB upgrades tend to be bundled with CPU upgrades - often working out at £50-100 for the RAM alone (on the Dell configurator you have to upgrade the RAM to trigger all the bundled updates then downgrade the RAM to see the difference - which, of course, makes like-for-like comparisons slippery).

Also, at least on the Dell UK site, most of the XPSs over about £800 come with 512GB SSDs… and go much above £1000 and 16GB RAM rapidly becomes the norm.

So while it is not true to say “All £/$1000 PCs have 16GB”, it’s not an unreasonable expectation, and Apple’s 200 bucks for 8GB upgrades are steep. What’s less acceptable is that Apples higher-spec models of the Air, Mini, iMac etc, and the base 13” MBP are still stuck with 8GB. In 2022 that should only be a feature of the low end binned SoCs. Apple have been like this forever, though - esp. the old 5k iMac where even the $3000+ 10 core i9 model came with 8GB and Apple wanted the same $200-per-8GB upgrade price for bog standard DDR4 SODIMMS.

I swear they’d start the M1 Ultra at 8GB RAM if it didn’t need a minimum of 8 RAM chips…

 

[darngooddesign]

Is the thickness issue why we don’t have FaceID on the M1 MacBook Pro with notch? I never understood why the notch, but no FaceID. Thanks for finally explaining the reason!

This is why current the notch isn't smaller. But yes, the iPhone FaceID components are a lot thicker so the lid would need to double in thickness for FaceID.

 

[thenewperson]

I swear they’d start the M1 Ultra at 8GB RAM if it didn’t need a minimum of 8 RAM chips…

They wouldn't.

(Also does it need a minimum of 8 RAM chips to work?)

 

[leman]

(Also does it need a minimum of 8 RAM chips to work?)

Shouldn’t it be 16? A 1024-bit memory interface with 64-bit per module. Well, kind of depends on what’s in a “module” anyway…

 

[Boil]

I thought the M1 & M1 Pro SoCs had two memory chips, and the M1 Max had four; so a M1 Ultra would have eight memory modules...?

 

[Tagbert]

FaceID is less convenient than TouchID on a laptop.

I use an iPad Pro that is in a keyboard stand most of the time acting pretty much like a laptop. FaceID works very well there. You essentially don’t need to think about it. You sit down and the device is unlocked. It’s not really more convenient than TouchID but it is no less convenient. Convenience is not a reason for or against Face ID. I think it really is just that the tech is still too bulky and not thin enough to use in a laptop. Perhaps, if Apple can miniaturize it enough, they will ,eventually, put it into MacBooks. I think it should be in addition to TouchID not replacing as people have different needs and different working styles but FaceID would be a natural way to interact with a laptop.

 

[dgdosen]

How about a delay prediction? It looks like Covid BA-2 is wreaking havoc in those countries that were better locked down the first time around. China, Taiwan - both look to be spiking pretty hard.

 

[Tagbert]

How about a delay prediction? It looks like Covid BA-2 is wreaking havoc in those countries that were better locked down the first time around. China, Taiwan - both look to be spiking pretty hard.

At least in China, one of the major problems is that their older population did not get vaccinated at high enough rates. There was a lot of vaccine reluctance. They were depending on a combination of isolation and traditional medicine, but that has proven insufficient against Omicron and later variants.

 

[mr_roboto]

Is the thickness issue why we don’t have FaceID on the M1 MacBook Pro with notch? I never understood why the notch, but no FaceID. Thanks for finally explaining the reason!

Yep, check out this image from iFixit's teardown of the 14" MBP showing the front facing sensors from an iPhone 13 right next to the MBP's display:

https://valkyrie.cdn.ifixit.com/media/2021/10/29113941/MBP_M1_2021_68-letterbox_resize.jpg

 

[senttoschool]

I use an iPad Pro that is in a keyboard stand most of the time acting pretty much like a laptop. FaceID works very well there. You essentially don’t need to think about it. You sit down and the device is unlocked. It’s not really more convenient than TouchID but it is no less convenient. Convenience is not a reason for or against Face ID. I think it really is just that the tech is still too bulky and not thin enough to use in a laptop. Perhaps, if Apple can miniaturize it enough, they will ,eventually, put it into MacBooks. I think it should be in addition to TouchID not replacing as people have different needs and different working styles but FaceID would be a natural way to interact with a laptop.

For unlocking the macOS username screen, yes, FaceID is more convenient.

But for everyday use, it's less convenient than TouchID.

Imagine that Chrome is asking you to use biometric authentication before it shows your stored credit cards.

FaceID:

• Chrome shows a prompt asking you to authenticate
• User moves the cursor to select "Authenticate with FaceID"
• FaceID activates and authenticates

TouchID:

• Chrome shows a prompt asking you to authenticate
• User moves finger to the TouchID and authenticates

TouchID is one less step. The reason why apps can't just automatically turn on FaceID authentication is because the user needs to see a warning before the actual authentication. What if you're doing a presentation, accidentally click on your porn app, and the app went straight to FaceID authentication without asking you face?

For TouchID, the act of moving your finger to the button is giving permission to the app to authenticate.

 

[thenewperson]

FaceID:

• Chrome shows a prompt asking you to authenticate
• User moves the cursor to select "Authenticate with FaceID"
• FaceID activates and authenticates

I think it'd probably be:

• Chrome shows a prompt asking you to authenticate
• User moves the cursor taps any key (or at least Enter/Return) to select "Authenticate with FaceID"
• FaceID activates and authenticates

And it's effectively 2 steps since the Face ID authentication part requires nothing on your part other than you looking at the screen, which you're probably already doing anyway.

 

[senttoschool]

I think it'd probably be:

• Chrome shows a prompt asking you to authenticate
• User moves the cursor taps any key (or at least Enter/Return) to select "Authenticate with FaceID"
• FaceID activates and authenticates

And it's effectively 2 steps since the Face ID authentication part requires nothing on your part other than you looking at the screen, which you're probably already doing anyway.

So how is this better than TouchID?

 

[playtech1]

The question I have is if FaceID cannot fit into the notch, why have the notch at all?

A far smaller and less intrusive punch hole (or smaller notch) would have done the trick for the camera that currently sits there, so Apple must be future-proofing by having the notch and if not for FaceID then what is it for?

 

[thenewperson]

So how is this better than TouchID?

I didn't argue it was better. I just don't think it's less convenient.

 

[Tagbert]

I think it'd probably be:

• Chrome shows a prompt asking you to authenticate
• User moves the cursor taps any key (or at least Enter/Return) to select "Authenticate with FaceID"
• FaceID activates and authenticates

And it's effectively 2 steps since the Face ID authentication part requires nothing on your part other than you looking at the screen, which you're probably already doing anyway.

That is closer to how it works on iPad Pro.

• App triggered function that requires authentication.
• System displays prompt to authenticate by pressing power button
• User presses button

That is no less convenient than Touch ID. Normal unlock is more transparent than Touch ID. Whether one is slightly more or less convenient in any one situation, both are good methods to unblock the computer and would appeal to different user habits. I would prefer that they both be present on some future Mac as well as on iPhone and iPad.

 

[Tagbert]

The question I have is if FaceID cannot fit into the notch, why have the notch at all?

A far smaller and less intrusive punch hole (or smaller notch) would have done the trick for the camera that currently sits there, so Apple must be future-proofing by having the notch and if not for FaceID then what is it for?

Many times people have posted photos of the camera module that sits in that notch. It is not just a simple camera. There is the camera, a light sensor, the true tone sensor and two mounts. That is what defines the size of the notch. Eventually Apple may be able engineer a smaller module or even something under the screen but this is what tech we have now. The notch allows a smaller case while keeping the display larger by moving the menubar out of the display content area. It is a reasonable compromise and something that is easy to adapt to.

I found one of the images showing the camera module from a Mac.
https://forums.macrumors.com/media/macbook-pro-notch_1280x1189-800-resize-jpg.827517/

 

[MultiFinder17]

Legit the only major feature I'd like to see in the base M2 is additional external display support. Limiting it to two total displays (two on a mini or the internal and one external on a laptop) is mildly unfortunate.

 

[playtech1]

Many times people have posted photos of the camera module that sits in that notch. It is not just a simple camera. There is the camera, a light sensor, the true tone sensor and two mounts. That is what defines the size of the notch. Eventually Apple may be able engineer a smaller module or even something under the screen but this is what tech we have now. The notch allows a smaller case while keeping the display larger by moving the menubar out of the display content area. It is a reasonable compromise and something that is easy to adapt to.

I found one of the images showing the camera module from a Mac.
https://forums.macrumors.com/media/macbook-pro-notch_1280x1189-800-resize-jpg.827517/

I would think the true tone and light sensors could go just underneath the display without too much trouble - where there is sill a bit of bezel, or if that didn't work on the body of the MacBook itself.

The notch is 'fine' in daily use, but I still see it everyday and I don't love it. For me it's just about tolerable rather than good. I actually got more bothered with it over time rather than less, once the wow factor of the overall screen quality wore off.

Under screen sensors - even if the screen directly above was lower quality - seem like a good compromise.

 

[Tagbert]

I would think the true tone and light sensors could go just underneath the display without too much trouble - where there is sill a bit of bezel, or if that didn't work on the body of the MacBook itself.

The notch is 'fine' in daily use, but I still see it everyday and I don't love it. For me it's just about tolerable rather than good. I actually got more bothered with it over time rather than less, once the wow factor of the overall screen quality wore off.

Under screen sensors - even if the screen directly above was lower quality - seem like a good compromise.

that is something to hope for in the future but the tech we have now is what you see in the current notch.