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

[lazyrighteye]

This is for what I, and others, have been patiently waiting: MBP + ASI.

All this talk about the return of ports, function keys, and magsafe sounds too good to be true. Since when has Apple given us what we want? Pretend those all played out... Where will they make us all scratch our heads; price, design, configurations, upgradability? There will be something. As it stands now, in rumor land, ports, function keys, magsafe, and M1 (or better?) sound uncomfortably great.

So... mid-summer? Late-summer?

 

[Pman17]

So the iPad Pro 12 inch has more led's and local dimming zones than the Pro Display XDR and yet the Pro Display XDR is 5 times as expensive.

It's all economics. I'm sure they project to sell enough iPads to cover the costs of producing the iPad XDR Displays vs the Mac Pros XDR Display. Hence why they jumped out of the display business before releasing the $5K XDR Display. The average consumer doesn't need a new display often these days. They know Professionals like Movie Studios will pay.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

size matters too. there' a reason why samsung phones with 4K OLED costs less than their 4K TVs without OLED.

 

[lazyrighteye]

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

While my eyebrows did raise during the reveal, stepping back a bit, I can see where it makes sense. Not only is it an obvious nod, and return, to iMac's colorful, fun, no-frills roots, more interestingly, it very clearly, and intentionally, defines iMac's audience: not pros. This leads me to believe they will not offer an iMac Pro at some point. The iMac family has been defined and positioned. Next?

This sets the stage for some "pro"-feeling, functioning, hardware that will further define their intended audiences. I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. Part of the fun here is pondering and discussing potentials and then seeing how they play out. Or not. Good fun!

 

[robjmurphy]

I'm sitting here with my work issued, JAMF locked-down, M1 MBP 16GB/1TB (received Feb 2021 having been ordered in Nov 2020) that I can't use as Symantec Endpoint Protection client is not yet compatible after all this time (M1 Dev Kit has been available since June 2020).

Due to JAMF policies, which I cannot remove even after complete SSD reformat/wipe, it fails compliance due to omission of SEP and will undoubtedly fail VPN compliance checks thru Pulse Secure also. Colour me frustrated!

In the interim I tried using it, disconnected from internet, for my personal DVD re-encoding projects but the creator of FFmpeg binaries seems unconvinced that an ARM M1 version is worthwhile so the benefits are negligible
But I degress.

My currently useless M1 MBP is connected via USB-C to an ADG 100W GaN power adaptor hub.

Said ADG contains 9 ports: USB-C PD 100W, USB-C PD/hub 100W (which is currently connected to the MBP), another USB-C (less power 30W - connected to my Seagate 4TB TimeMachine backup drive), a USB-A (connected to my USB heated drink coaster , an HDMI capable of 4K@60Hz (connected to my LG 34UC99 monitor), gigabit Ethernet, 104MB/S UHS-I and Micro SD/SD along with a 3.5mm Audio Jack.

Link

My biggest want (other than a 14" M2 MBP 32GB/2TB with 5G option, 1080p webcam, mini LED display and 4 TB3/USB4 ports) is a Space Grey Magic Keyboard sans keypad (with black keys akin to the with numeric keypad variant), ideally backlit and with Touch ID to accompany my Magic Trackpad 2 (just freakin' awesome - I used Magic Mouse 2 for a while but MT2 is unparalleled). Currently using a black key silicon keyboard cover over my MK2 to give some semblance adjacent to my MT2. How hard can that be - they have the MK mould, the black keys from the 'with keypad' variant. Even without Touch ID and backlight why is there no Space Grey MK given that MM2 and MT2 and MK with numeric all provide SG variants?! Just bizarre and so beyond the consistency I would expect of the supply chain focus.
I'd given up hope of MK2 SG w. backlight and Touch ID until yesterday. While not enamoured with the full size direction arrow keys - would prefer a T system akin to the new keyboards on MBP M1/16" Intel - it's a minor inconvenience in lieu of backlight/Touch ID.
Here's hoping Apple finally, finally! wise up and provide a decent aftermarket Touch ID enabled MK2 in Space Grey. One can only hope.

 

[arobert3434]

2500 dimming zones = 50 x 50 resolution for dimming, so the 1M:1 contrast ratio won't be very fine-grained. I'll be curious how these screens will look in practice.

 

[RandomTox]

With white bezels?

Yes and all ports integrated into external power brick. Expect many candy colours as well

 

[Damtoft]

k

 

[Will Co]

I can’t wait for the MacBook Pro model to be released

Likewise. Oh and for VMware/Parallels to properly sort out emulation for x86/x64.

What? A guy can dream....

 

[Damtoft]

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

If they do anything like that to the Macbook I'm going to throw up!

 

[BGarza]

I can't wait to buy the next generation MBP to see if the M1 or M1X can further reduce audio latency, but as of yet, there appears to be no high end rack mount audio interfaces that are compatible with M1 chips. I know it's a niche use case, but I'm looking to mix multiple in-ear monitors to band members, with multiple backing tracks with multiple plugins running on each track, while also providing 16 separate outputs to the house mixer for kick, snare, keys, guitar, singers, etc... , while also piping out sync'd video to a short throw projector.

I bought the latest 16" MBP with an i9 and 64gb of ram, and none of the extra muscle helped. It has twice the latency in comparison to my older 2015 i7 iMac. because Intel's individual processors are clocked much slower on laptops. If M1 can reduce this latency, I would be thrilled, for I could literally tour with just a guitar, a laptop, a rack mount audio interface, and in-ear monitors. No amps, no outboard mixers, no guitar pedalboards all strung together with wall wart plugs that get lost every night. For once, instead of tapping distortion pedals and delay pedals, a band could just automate those effects and focus on the audience.

 

[Flight Plan]

...And I expect M2 will be literally double the M1 in all respects.

This is Apple we're talking about. The same company that nearly let the MBP and Mac die on the vine.

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.

Bear in mind that this is a whole new architecture. 32 GB might not be needed or useful in most cases. We could be at 16 GB for years.

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

You already get a student discount. You want NEW products too? Next, you'll be asking ME to pay for your school computer...

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

All of them?

Ugh "second half of this year" is so vague. Wish I knew at least what quarter it was in.

I can help you with that. 4th Quarter. Guaranteed. If I'm wrong, I'll refund you what you paid for this advice.

 

[Icaras]

Delete.

 

[cmaier]

However, MBP is not always connected to power supply. Still I like this idea.

So you are going to plug it into an Ethernet wire, but not plug it into a power socket? How often is *that* scenario necessary?

 

[morganBH]

I can’t wait for the MacBook Pro model to be released

Yup. 16" is the one for me!

 

[turbineseaplane]

It’s funny that we all seem to think there’s going to be a new chip.

Apple may milk this for several years and just adjust capabilities with cores, clock speeds and cooling.

 

[nquinn]

It’s funny that we all seem to think there’s going to be a new chip.

Apple may milk this for several years and just adjust capabilities with cores, clock speeds and cooling.

Well, at a minimum if they don't at least add more gpu cores, the new models will be far behind the discrete graphics versions of the old 16" macbooks.

For the iMac pro they'd also be pretty far off the performance of the xeon multi-core models.

Additionally, they need to support 32gb of RAM.

Odds of some M1x 8+4 core variant and better igpu are quite high, IMO for the reasons above.

 

[turbineseaplane]

For the iMac pro

You’re assuming that product is going to exist again.

I’m not sure that’s true

Additionally, they need to support 32gb of RAM.

They “need to”? Are you sure?

I’m just playing devils advocate.

I also would like more ram but I do not necessarily agree with the thought that they “need to”

 

[ksec]

I really hope the new chips in Macbook Pro are not 100W, bye bye battery life😅 I can guarantee however, that you will be disappointed. USB-C delivers max 100W, so the WHOLE laptop (not just the chip) under load will be under 100W.

100w?! In a laptop? You'd be lucky to get a 45w one.

100W? This won't go in a MacBook Pro but iMac 30 inch, or MacPro I can see it.

A 100W SoC doesn't need to be running at 100W. The ~25W M1 is running on a passively cooled MacBook Air and iPad Pro with maximum TDP of 10W.

Your Current MacBook Pro 16" uses a Intel TDP 45W Chip with up to 55W Boost along with a 35W GPU from AMD. That is 90W.

And I will be disappointed if a 100W Chip is all they have for iMac 27" or Mac Pro. I expect something more. ( Top Spec should be pushing to 300W )

 

[DeepIn2U]

Apple yesterday unveiled a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a Liquid Retina XDR display that uses mini-LED backlighting to achieve up to 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness and up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness. With over 10,000 mini‑LEDs grouped into more than 2,500 local dimming zones, the display also has an impressive 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Apple has so far branded its mini-LED displays as "XDR" displays, short for "Extreme Dynamic Range," and rumors suggests the iPad Pro won't be the only Apple device to feature the technology this year.

Taiwanese research firm TrendForce today reported that Apple plans to launch new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with mini-LED displays in the second half of 2021, in line with previous reports. The notebooks are expected to be powered by an Apple silicon chip and feature a new design with the return of an SD card slot and HDMI port.

There is a lot of anticipation for the new high-end MacBook Pro models, as Apple will likely equip the notebooks with an improved iteration of its M1 chip, perhaps with M1X branding or something along those lines. 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.

As of this week, Apple has updated four Mac models with Apple silicon, including the iMac, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini. Apple previously said that its transition away from Intel processors would be completed by around WWDC 2022.

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

DAMN STRAIGHT this better happen!

With the relatively slow M1 Apple Silicon rollout (compared to Intel), This should be what we get. Nobody in their right mind now, with Microsoft Windows 10 on Arm beta working on Parallels beta for M1 chips and running FASTER than the top intel laptops ... should be buying anything with 'intel inside'.

Windows PC's next up - NVidia CPU's ... now THAT would be great competition to Apple Silicon.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I am going to be tempted by the 14" even though I have the M1 MBA.

 

[tmarsden]

I'll keep dreaming, but I'm wishing for the day when you can remove the screen and walk off with a fully functional iPad.

That would be great. Sort of like the Surface Book from Microsoft. Let’s call it the MacBook Pro... Book!

 

[1258186]

It'll be the usual British pricing. About £3K will do it.

You’re probably correct. They seem to be stuck on a 1:1 conversion rate even though the dollar is currently at 1.39 to the pound and has been consistently above 1.30 for months. That should equate to lower UK prices but it never does, Apple just use it to make more profits.

 

[1258186]

OK, but how about

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I’m going to have nightmares about this tonight.

 

[contacos]

You’re probably correct. They seem to be stuck on a 1:1 conversion rate even though the dollar is currently at 1.39 to the pound and has been consistently above 1.30 for months. That should equate to lower UK prices but it never does, Apple just use it to make more profits.

they also used to just replace the $ with the € but those days have unfortunately been long gone. Now it’s like 150+ € on top of the Dollar Price