Pretending a Mac (or any Apple product) is a status symbol. It is buying into a construct of marketing that has no basis in reality.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New Macbook design?
- Thread starter johnjohnsson
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I agree. I think it's ridiculous. I was just pointing out that some people make purchases for this bizarre reason.
well, the thing is, design matters from a usability perspective, too.
the mba wedge was much better for ergonomics,not only thanks to the drop, but also because it was effectively lower and less sharp than the new boxy design. keyboard had more travel than m2. design also makes differences in robustness (although m2 might take the edge on that one).
the new design also has worse sound because it comes from the bottom instead of firing through the sides like regular speakers grills.
point is, it ain't just about looks .
I respectfully disagree, yo. Time to time, boss man say tuesday is commuterful, gotta gets to da big city (Oooh Wheee! Look at all them TALL buildins), So I get my choo choo on.
During the plague times (I don't want to go on the cart! I feel like dancing!"), folks covered up, dressed in sweats like get the **** away from me.
Things turnin' around now, though. Choo choo buffs dressing way, way up, because there's still fewer of us nowadays, and you gots to a-tract if you expect a downtown nooner.. Rail tickets is the new speed dating without Ashlee Madson blackmailers.
So when I whip out the One-Six - Silver so the ports show - they KNOW it's Premium, Pro or better, no scrappy re-covid GFE. Feds don't dollerate no four grand mobiles, peeryid. I also put a sticker on it, say 'No Apple Care', meaning this thigh master cost my COIN, yo, and I got plenty to pay for repairs.
I flash the universal sign of elite techno-affluance: a Celtic S for SWIFT, takes 11 fingers (I keep the extra rubber one in my shirt pocket, because I can't figure out no stupid swallow-bird shape that don't look like Paul and Linda McCartneys' Wings). App Store RESIDUALS comin' hard all the time!
Sure enough, I rate an approach... Oh yesssss... tall, stacked, sugar and spice smell niiiice. Sits down. We make eye contact. Poised, polite, fresh breath shouting, because I sit under the air conditioner (also by the door, so basically everybody has to approach), "That looks heavy. You should come and see me. Maybe I can, otherwise engage your hands." Wedges a business card into my painfully tangled mits. Capital Rheumatology! SCORE! Guaranteed more face to face hand-holding!
Not a status symbol, huh?
Last edited:
I understood some of these words. Did you type this while having a stroke?
😆 Not a stroke. Flashbacks, though... Principal at the ol' parochial school breaking yardsticks over my butt...
"Mom said creative license is allowed," I whimpered...
Then it went something like... "You're!" Whack. "An!" Whack. "Illiterate!" Whack. "MAGGOT!" Snap!
Good Times... Nice to know I still gots the gift.
No one here knows. The best we can venture is a guess based on the product's history. It's not going to be this year. 2025 would be the earliest and 2027 the latest. Even if they released a new design tomorrow, there's no guarantee that you'll like it more (or dislike it less) than the current one.
I dislike the notch a lot and hope they get rid of it the next time around. Unfortunately, my late-2013 MBP is at death's door, so I'm begrudgingly joining the notch club. Everyone says you get used to it.
I dislike the notch a lot and hope they get rid of it the next time around. Unfortunately, my late-2013 MBP is at death's door, so I'm begrudgingly joining the notch club. Everyone says you get used to it.
I felt grumpy about the notch, too. Bezels never bothered me. I was positive it would screw with my flow.
Turns out, I barely notice it cosmetically. Hasn’t messed me up at all so far - bout a month.
I’m hard pressed to figure anything I’d change design-wise. Wiseacery notwithstanding, I agree with @cateye that cosmetics and constant pressure to refresh them as conspicuous consumption, like jewelry, is a distraction from the fact that it’s a tool. It does work.
I’m glad I bought in at this point.
Maybe I’d add knurling in a band around the top cover and base. It’s so slick, I never like my grip when handling it. Nothing other than that… Well, now that I think of it, I liked the touchbar…
Perhaps this is even more superficial than appearance… but the current gen M series MacBook Pros *feel* so good in hand to me. And in day to day use, it doesn’t look or feel as thick to me as it initially did in photos. (I also used a 2012 and then 2018 MBP. The current design has grown on me— I like it. I’m now imagining new iPads and iPhones following the aesthetic.)
What other platforms are you on ? Reddit or sth? I wanna follow your posts , in all seriousness
I too was skeptical about the design language. But when my 13” 2020 Intel MBP died, the 14” Pro was the logical replacement.
My impression is that the design is much nicer in person than on images. They look thicker due to the squarer design with flat surfaces and straight edges, but the thickness is identical to the older design.
In use it’s a lot nicer too. The taller screen is immediately noticeable as is the spacier keyboard layout. When I compare the two designs side by side I find the newer one to feel more premium, with smoother seams and an overall nicer feel.
I'm surprised you could follow that wall of text, much less want to follow their socials. 🥹
If you look at PowerBook and MacBook Pro design from a usability perspective there is no real difference since, what, the TiBook G4? Sure, the display bezels are smaller and the trackpad is larger, but we're talking about the shape of the chassis here.
Awww, shucks 😊, thanx for sayin. In all seriousness, quite possibly the nicest thing anyone ever said to me. The previous nicest thing was "Oh, for Pete's sake, fine," when my lovely girlfriend agreed to marry me in exchange for mucking stalls for a week.
Generally, I avoid social media like the plague. I HAVE accounts on all the majors, just to secure my handle, but I don't post there. I like the proverbial "smaller pond"; easier to sense blood in the water. I post occasionally on DPreview and PetaPixel, where generative AI imagery issues have me riled up. For the record, I am not opposed, just rabid about an honest understanding of what GenAI really is, and the integrity of journalism as a professional endeavor and ethical commitment.
Last edited:
what else are you expecting?
Its been iterated, iterated, iterated... until we are where we are.
Do you want a triangle shape?
Its a slim unibody metal design with a lid containing a screen.
I just dont see any possible further changes apart from occasionally fiddling with 'curved corners vs straight ones' etc etc.
Its like the iPhone - theres nowhere really for that design to go anymore until such time as the phone changes drastically.
Without some unforeseen quantum leap in either keyboard design / completely new paradigm.... or screen design - an ever tweaked but never changing rectangular metal slab it is.
Its been iterated, iterated, iterated... until we are where we are.
Do you want a triangle shape?
Its a slim unibody metal design with a lid containing a screen.
I just dont see any possible further changes apart from occasionally fiddling with 'curved corners vs straight ones' etc etc.
Its like the iPhone - theres nowhere really for that design to go anymore until such time as the phone changes drastically.
Without some unforeseen quantum leap in either keyboard design / completely new paradigm.... or screen design - an ever tweaked but never changing rectangular metal slab it is.
Sorry no info, but my opinion is 180 degrees in opposition to yours. IMO MBPs have been evolving to become superb desktop-replacement-competence mobile computing solutions. Please, no design overhaul.
I don’t like that it reduces usable menu bar space. Those controls get hidden on the laptop screen (they’re visible and usable on an external monitor).
I love tools that are also fashion statement and status symbol...the shovel was once that too. its Before Apple contemplate a new MBP design, it need to fix the charging issue first...
apple hit gold with the aluminium unibody design. of course they've tweaked it over the last 16 years (wow i feel old) but that "same" design is still here today. the current MBA is so close to perfect for me. i don't have a major issue with the notch but i'd like to see it gone one day with an under screen camera/face id sensor but we're still waiting for that to happen on iphone so it's not going to happen any time soon.
i guess i could argue the lack of usb-a, hdmi, sd card slots but if you need that you just get a MBP. 1 usb c port is more than enough for me on my MBA. i don't even use the headphone jack because i have air pods.
hopefully Apple bring OLED to macbook soon. when the Air gets OLED it will be pure perfection.
I really don't see how they can improve the design any further.
i guess i could argue the lack of usb-a, hdmi, sd card slots but if you need that you just get a MBP. 1 usb c port is more than enough for me on my MBA. i don't even use the headphone jack because i have air pods.
hopefully Apple bring OLED to macbook soon. when the Air gets OLED it will be pure perfection.
I really don't see how they can improve the design any further.
I have the M1 MBA and I have it hooked it up a 49" Super Ultrawide, Ethernet, charging, and a million peripherals at my desk with only the two ports. Although the lack of ports is annoying, with the proper adapters, it can be made to work.
On my 16" I have fortunately never quite reached the point of any menu bar content being under the notch.
Most apps have changed their UI for the MBP so that it doesn't interfere with the menu. It's not that big of a deal.
Have you tried holding the MacBook Airs? They might not be wedge-shaped anymore but in the hands they feel amazingly thin and light - with the lid open they're also still remarkably thin (even if they're more rounded than before). Maybe give it a try for a week and if you aren't happy then return it?
Same! The race towards zero bezels has never made sense to me.
Like I said, I'm sure I'll get used to the notch. My biggest hesitation in buying a notched MBP was that I didn't want to vote (with my money) for a design that I dislike so much. At least I saved a few bucks by buying refurbished.