14-Inch and 16-Inch MacBook Pro Models With XDR Displays Expected to Launch Later This Year

[JackHinkle]

After seeing the design aesthetic of the new iMacs, I'm prepared to be disappointed with the new MBPs.

Eh, I'm not really sure. The iMac was always a consumer-oriented product. I can see somebody walk into a Best Buy and instantly become mesmerized by an iMac. I also don't particularly like the design of the new iMac, but I do realize that it is a consumer product, meant for, well, consumers. I doubt Apple would make their Pro line look like a toy.

 

[Lemon Olive]

Then I guess I would get ready for another $100 price increase too, since somehow small LEDs justified that.

And I assume we've now seen a preview of the new Magnetic charger in the form of the iMac's new power adapter. Something similar to that in MacBook size.

 

[Lemon Olive]

Would love to see a 16 core chip in these things with a config of up to at least 32GB of memory.

I fully expect M2 to be 16-core and 32 GB. Literally double the M1 in all respects.

I do not expect it to go any higher than that for memory.

 

[JackHinkle]

This looks like it'll be good for Apple. Bringing back what the Pros want. Hopefully the price increase won't be that bad, if any.

I bought the M1 MBP back in December and I'm honestly afraid that I'll be jealous when these new machines come out. It is what it is though.

 

[citysnaps]

With a USB-C only iMac freshly revealed, I just don’t buy they’re going to bring back any ports.

I certainly hope not. Especially USB-A, a 25 year old standard that's way past its shelf life.

 

[chad.petree]

I don't care that much about mini led, just give me a promotion display on the Mac Apple...

 

[Yoeddy007]

I really wish they'd launch these things in August so college students could get them before the semester starts.

 

[NT1440]

Then I guess I would get ready for another $100 price increase too, since somehow small LEDs justified that.

And I assume we've now seen a preview of the new Magnetic charger in the form of the iMac's new power adapter. Something similar to that in MacBook size.

Mini-LED is a new technology from a manufacturing perspective.

I thought the same thing last night about the power adapter. My guess is the actual pro line (not the entry level M1’s) are getting a gigabit Ethernet port in at least one variant of the charger.

 

[Adithya007]

Really weird how the iMac doesn’t have an SD card slot and the new MacBook Pros are supposedly getting one. Perhaps they’d bring in the SD slots for iMac Pro then!! 🤞🏼

 

[alternamelka]

please please please give us the same colours as the new iMacs for the MacBook Pro. I need a pink MBP so bad. The grey and silver are so bloody boring. Imagine matching the MBP to airpods max, would be perfect.

 

[NT1440]

I really wish they'd launch these things in August so college students could get them before the semester starts.

I’d imagine the thinking goes that the M1’s are more than enough for the VAST majority of college students, including undergrad CompSci majors. My 2015 MBP was, these blow that out of the water.

 

[Stella]

They may give the MBP the ”Ethernet in the power supply” treatment.

A lot better than having to use up a port for an Ethernet dongle, and it gets around the issue of having a laptop that's physically too thin to accommodate an ethernet port.

 

[mazz0]

Reputable sources like Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have also claimed that the Touch Bar will be replaced with physical function keys, and that a MagSafe magnetic power cable will return.

To be fair they also claimed it'd have all sorts of connectors like USB A, HMDI, SD card etc. Given that the redesigned iMac only has USB C I think we can agree these rumours were wrong.

Edit
Or not: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/04/21/macbook-pro-stolen-schematics-ports/
Unless the schematic was planted by Apple to trick people...

 

[Doomtomb]

Just remember, the HDMI port and SD Card slot are Pro features

 

[Lemon Olive]

😭😩

 

[Macintosh IIvx]

IIvx… I had one of those.

Twas an interesting machine. People complain about the price of Apples now, but they were much more expensive back then. The IIvx was $2950 (that's $6,605 adjusted for US inflation) and that was with the base 4MB RAM and 40MB hard drive and without CD-ROM.

You're looking at well over another $1000 (about $2239 adjusted for inflation) to go to the 68MB of RAM and 400MB hard drive and 2x CD-ROM. So a mid-level Mac that cost $8,000+ and was killed off just a 4 months later when the Centris 610 was released for the same price.

It was the first Mac to have a metal case.

 

[Anarchy99]

They may give the MBP the ”Ethernet in the power supply” treatment.

As long as they bring back MagSafe as well I’d be OK with that.
that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to charge with USBC but making that the only way to charge was a downgrade

 

[mazz0]

A lot better than having to use up a port for an Ethernet dongle, and it gets around the issue of having a laptop that's physically too think to accommodate an ethernet port.

What would have been even nicer would have been powering the iMac through one of the USB C ports. The power adapter cum Ethernet port is basically a very limited hub. If it connected to the Mac over USB C (carrying both power and data) you could have replaced it with a more versatile hub with exactly the ports you want.

 

[Macintosh IIvx]

Just remember, the HDMI port and SD Card slot are Pro features

Truth is most pros don't use SD cards and the vast majority of users never ever used the SD slot. That's why it went away. If you really need it, you can get a reader for under $5. It's funny to see so much crying about it.

I'd much rather have Thunderbolt over a dedicated HDMI port. Can do so much more with it, including HDMI.

 

[mazz0]

As long as they bring back MagSafe as well I’d be OK with that.
that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to charge with USBC but making that the only way to charge was a downgrade

Just include a magnetic breakaway section in the USB C power cable. Same safety benefit, no wasted extra bespoke port.

 

[nevhoffman]

In regard to discussion about the new iMac design and how it might influence the new MacBook Pros - I don't think it will. I'm expecting Apple to take an entirely different approach to the Pro models. I also think the 27" iMac will be replaced by a new iMac Pro that has a different design from the newly introduced 24" iMac. Whether they call it iMac Pro is of course up for debate but I think that would be the smart move to differenciate it from the low end one.

And as for ports, the 24" iMac is low-end and they didn't keep old ports because the M1 is limited when it comes to I/O - I fully expect the reports about returning SD-Card and MagSafe to be true - more skeptical about HDMI and possibly USB-A but who knows. Apple is finally reconciling their Pro machines in all areas - this began with the new Mac Pro a few years ago, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, and culminates with these new MacBook Pros with Apple Silicon.

 

[transpo1]

It will not be branded M1X or anything like that.

I hope it's an M2 but have a feeling it will be a stopgap M1X until they get the new v9 Arm architecture for next year. Here's to hoping for an M2X though.

 

[Spock]

I wonder what features they can take away and still charge an extra $200 for it...

 

[reubs]

I got my 2019 16" right around the time it all hit the fan last spring, but when Apple Silicon was announced, I knew it'd be a trade-in/upgrade machine almost immediately upon release of the updated machines.

I can't wait to get that in a 16" machine.

 

[transpo1]

Just include a magnetic breakaway section in the USB C power cable. Same safety benefit, no wasted extra bespoke port.

Also hope they use a USB-C plug on the other end of the Magsafe cable so that our USB-C charging accessories aren't useless but I find this possibility remote...