The next MacBook Pro redesign (merged)

[AirdanMR]

It's not just one less port, it's also that the 3.5 mm jack is pretty long so I bet it'll make the hardware design of the internals a lot easier.
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Not true, just take a look at the iPod shuffle. That tiny thing is purely a motherboard and a battery. The 3,5mm jack only takes the space physically needed for the plug to get inside, nothing more nor special design.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPod+Shuffle+4th+Generation+Teardown/3559

If someone has a lighting cable at home please put it next to a 3,5mm jack and tell us how big is the long difference... I bet it won't enough to make all our music headphones and speakers obsolete!

 

[nicovh]

Not true, just take a look at the iPod shuffle. That tiny thing is purely a motherboard and a battery. The 3,5mm jack only takes the space physically needed for the plug to get inside, nothing more nor special design.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPod+Shuffle+4th+Generation+Teardown/3559

If someone has a lighting cable at home please put it next to a 3,5mm jack and tell us how big is the long difference... I bet it won't enough to make all our music headphones and speakers obsolete!

A lightning cable is 6mm and a 3.5mm jack is 1.4cm

 

[Oppenheim]

Woah, you want to use WIRES? Are you some kind of dinosaur? Wireless is the way to go! I want to see all ports removed from every device Apple produce! /s

How do I access my external 500 MB/sec SSD over 3.5mm jack?

The bandwidth on a 3.5mm stereo plug is ~100 kHz.

The bandwidth on a USB-C is 40 GBps. It also provides power, is aesthetically pleasing, and does a whole load of other smarts (such as power saving and multi-protocol support, among many others).

The only thing going for the 3.5mm jack is that it's reversible and widely used. Neither is good enough reason to keep it 16 years into the 21st century. That's it's lasted this long is an anomaly and a miracle.

 

[cerberusss]

nothing more nor special design.

For a phone, I'm pretty sure that their hardware engineers would love to think about what they can do with that space even though it's not much.

For a Mac, I agree with you. However, Apple already gives you a Bluetooth mouse/keyboard/trackpad. In essence, it comes out of the box "wirelessly". Personally I think it's not a big step to also get rid of the 3.5 mm audio jack. I'm pretty sure that the head design wonko (that British bloke whose name I can't remember) would really like that.

 

[AirdanMR]

View attachment 609742

A lightning cable is 6mm and a 3.5mm jack is 1.4cm

Thank you for the picture! So at the end it's not even a cm, and they should have a similar volume (cm3)

For a phone, I'm pretty sure that their hardware engineers would love to think about what they can do with that space even though it's not much.

For a Mac, I agree with you. However, Apple already gives you a Bluetooth mouse/keyboard/trackpad. In essence, it comes out of the box "wirelessly". Personally I think it's not a big step to also get rid of the 3.5 mm audio jack. I'm pretty sure that the head design wonko (that British bloke whose name I can't remember) would really like that.

In laptops is just pointless... But in iphone, look

Both conectors, jack and lightning white plastic at the bottom... the difference will be minimal, but the experience for wired users will be huge!

 

[cmChimera]

How do I access my external 500 MB/sec SSD over 3.5mm jack?

The bandwidth on a 3.5mm stereo plug is ~100 kHz.

The bandwidth on a USB-C is 40 GBps. It also provides power, is aesthetically pleasing, and does a whole load of other smarts (such as power saving and multi-protocol support, among many others).

The only thing going for the 3.5mm jack is that it's reversible and widely used. Neither is good enough reason to keep it 16 years into the 21st century. That's it's lasted this long is an anomaly and a miracle.

Well just connect the SSD wirelessly.

 

[cerberusss]

In laptops is just pointless... But in iphone, look
the difference will be minimal, but the experience for wired users will be huge!

Lots of truth in both points. I guess it depends on whether the minimalism set by the rMB will continue, or that the style (read: lack of ports) is specifically meant for that machine.

 

[Oppenheim]

Well just connect the SSD wirelessly.

Good tip.

 

[mayuka]

View attachment 609742

A lightning cable is 6mm and a 3.5mm jack is 1.4cm

You should also measure and compare the thickness, length and width of both. With that information we can calculate how much of the volume inside they occupy.

 

[cmChimera]

Good tip.

Are you being sarcastic?

 

[yukari]

Good tip.

Are you being sarcastic?

I think he is as wireless transfer will be too slow compared to wired transfer.
It's ludicrous to think there will be no ports in MBP.

 

[cmChimera]

I think he is as wireless transfer will be too slow compared to wired transfer.
It's ludicrous to think there will be no ports in MBP.

I definitely know he's being sarcastic but I'm wanting him to engage the question.

 

[MarcoCapa]

I definitely know he's being sarcastic but I'm wanting him to engage the question.

Not necessarily.... I own both a seagate and a western digital with wireless... Not as fast as cable one, but very reliable... I will test the speed of both solutions with blackmagic if I find a moment...

 

[Neodym]

With Apple's continuing quest for thinner devices, will the keyboard in a potential 2016 redesign take cues from the rMB or will Apple even go a step further and apply the technology behind the current trackpads to a full keyboard? The click may be harder than on a current rMBP, but the difference to e.g. the rMB keyboard is much smaller imo. Besides - the 2015 rMBP keyboard is too soft and wobbly for me (compared to the late 2013 rMBP keyboard - not to mention the rMB keyboard).

 

[toddzrx]

Wooooh. Did you say 16" ? Did I miss a rumour that there will be a 16"? Is this a weak rumour, solid rumour or all but inevitable?

I notice no one questioned it after you said it. That makes me wonder if there has been a rumour / forum conversation I missed where people have decided this is likely the new lineup.

(I would so love them to do a 16" MBP).

The genesis of this idea actually comes from the new rMB. Here's the logic:

Since the new rMB is 12", and could be a replacement for the MacBook Air line, then Apple may add a 14" rMB and EOL the Air. IF a 14" rMB does show up, then it's a reasonable guess that Apple would shift the MBP screen sizes from the current 13"/15" to 14"/16". Hence, the possibility of a 16" MBP. In addition, the MBP is up for a redesign, if Apple follows it's usual pattern of executing one every couple of years for their laptops.

Obviously lots of speculation in all of this, but hey, it's a future that only Apple knows and we can only guess at.

 

[whitedragon101]

The genesis of this idea actually comes from the new rMB. Here's the logic:

Since the new rMB is 12", and could be a replacement for the MacBook Air line, then Apple may add a 14" rMB and EOL the Air. IF a 14" rMB does show up, then it's a reasonable guess that Apple would shift the MBP screen sizes from the current 13"/15" to 14"/16". Hence, the possibility of a 16" MBP. In addition, the MBP is up for a redesign, if Apple follows it's usual pattern of executing one every couple of years for their laptops.

Obviously lots of speculation in all of this, but hey, it's a future that only Apple knows and we can only guess at.

Thanks

I shall begin my candle vigil to pray for a 16" rMBP. I had given up hope when they killed the 17" which was perfect for me.

 

[spaceballl]

I would certainly love a 16" rMBP... A 16" screen, but with much smaller bezels, thus not actually taking up more space. C'mon, Apple... Gimme.

 

[doitdada]

Dropping the minijack and simcard slot is necessary for innovations to happen in the next iPhone, but space isn't that critical in a Macbook. The fact that there is a minijack port in the retina Macbook 12" may calm down the minijack evangelists. The iPhone needs to get wireless charging that is effective, remove all ports (minijack, sim slot and lightning port) to gain more battery real estte, get touch id in the screen and get thinner. The Macbooks are production devices and will always accommodate professionals needs and a headphone jack is one of those requirements. The iPhone is a consumer device, and the masses are subjected to change through convenience and never to quality.

 

[cerberusss]

Bluetooth isn't there yet. Proven by how few manufacturers make high end Bluetooth headphones.

Adding to your point today... So I ordered Bluetooth headphones last week, the Philips SHB7150. This might be more of a European thing, not sure. It's 50 euros, about US$55. I turn it on, pair it -- and there's a high buzz. I go to their brick-and-mortar store to return it, and the sales guy agrees with my assessment. I get the SHB7250, which is about $80. Same weird high screech at low volumes. I return it and for Bluetooth headphones, the next step up is a Sennheiser which costs $280.... so I got a wired one!

And Apple doesn't help either -- in the past two years, most Bluetooth headphones can be paired with Android devices by touching the phone. But this doesn't work on iPhones or Macs.

 

[doitdada]

And Apple doesn't help either -- in the past two years, most Bluetooth headphones can be paired with Android devices by touching the phone. But this doesn't work on iPhones or Macs.

Android and Windows are superior in the way they support a vast amount of hardware.

...and next to nothing gets fixed with another software update.

 

[MDull]

Dropping the minijack and simcard slot is necessary for innovations to happen in the next iPhone, but space isn't that critical in a Macbook. The fact that there is a minijack port in the retina Macbook 12" may calm down the minijack evangelists. The iPhone needs to get wireless charging that is effective, remove all ports (minijack, sim slot and lightning port) to gain more battery real estte, get touch id in the screen and get thinner. The Macbooks are production devices and will always accommodate professionals needs and a headphone jack is one of those requirements. The iPhone is a consumer device, and the masses are subjected to change through convenience and never to quality.

He is sooooo right about this.

 

[Oppenheim]

The Macbooks are production devices and will always accommodate professionals needs and a headphone jack is one of those requirements

That's hearsay.

What professionals are you talking about?

Audio professionals are a very small minority of MBP user. Surely they would use the larger jack size and not 3.5mm? Surely they would want a high performance noise cancelling option? And what about network professionals? Should they be given an ethernet port? Or is a USB-C to Ethernet adapter good for them, but a <insert-audio-connector-here> to USB-C not good enough for an audio pro?

 

[doitdada]

That's hearsay.

With only two "audiophile" headphones on the list, we can't expect apple to cut the cord yet.
http://www.aptx.com/category-low-latency/headphones

 

[cerberusss]

With only two "audiophile" headphones on the list, we can't expect apple to cut the cord yet.
http://www.aptx.com/category-low-latency/headphones

That is also something crazy.... we've had AptX for how long now? At least 5 years. Everybody else supports it nowadays, I really hope that Apple will start supporting it.

 

[nicovh]

That's hearsay.

What professionals are you talking about?

Audio professionals are a very small minority of MBP user. Surely they would use the larger jack size and not 3.5mm? Surely they would want a high performance noise cancelling option? And what about network professionals? Should they be given an ethernet port? Or is a USB-C to Ethernet adapter good for them, but a <insert-audio-connector-here> to USB-C not good enough for an audio pro?

Proffesionals would use a usb-a port to hook their Audio Interface (DAC) to. I am very curious if a USB-A adapter for the usb-c ports will add latency. That would be a big turn off for a lot of musicians.

There are very high grade, extremely expensive audio interfaces that use usb-a. If people would have a bad latency due to a USB-C to USB-A adpater, then what's that expensive interface worth?
Hopefully the adapters (if needed) will only delay the signal by a few milliseconds so it's imperceivable (that delay should be added on top of the natural delay of the latency settings/speed).