16-Inch MacBook Pro May Ship With 96W USB-C Power Adapter

[konqerror]

This is very un-green of Apple. I can’t think of many laptops drawing 96W. What the **** are they thinking?

Nope. Only U-series ultrabook CPUs with integrated graphics are at the 60 W level now. Everything else is larger.

I had a Dell Precision M4800 that used an extremely bulky 180 W brick. Most corporate Dells with discrete graphics need 90 W. Their gaming laptops with discrete graphics need from 130 W up to 240 W. Dell E-series with integrated graphics and the full dock need 90 W.

Same situation on Lenovo. Their 15 inch workstation laptop, the P53 requires 170 or 230 W, configuration dependent. The 15 inch gaming laptop, Legion Y545 similarly requires 230 W.

Looking at the photo of the back of the display, what’s with that Mickey Mouse shaped AC adapter plug? Why not use the standard AC adapter plug that everyone has used forever?

That is the laptop standard plug when you need the device to be grounded and you don't need to draw more than 2.5 A. Called the IEC C5. The 10 year old HP brick under my desk uses that plug. All the recent Dell bricks use that plug too. Was used on lampshade iMacs.

The grounding post that Apple uses on their bricks is proprietary.

 

[hunter_a]

They better not increase the price over $2,500.00 ($100 more than the standard 15 inch configuration). One mere inch isn't worth any more.

 

[Zdigital2015]

With the pure chaos that Apple's laptop lineup has been the past years ("Air doesn't mean it weighs less, it means it's cheap"), I am totally expecting them to keep selling the 15" alongside the 16" as "the cheap one". It makes no sense, but Apple's laptop line has also made no sense for very long. They also kept selling the 2015 for quite long, and the ancient Air for years and years, etc. They're trying to hit very many price points/use cases without any cohesive story.

Personally what I would love them to do is introduce a 15" MacBook (non-Pro) that can be the super thin and light machine with no ports, and then have the 16" Pro be allowed to be a little bit thicker with better cooling, more battery, thicker keyboard, a (gasp!) USB-A port and SD card slot, etc. No way in hell that is going to happen though.

A 15” MacBook Air with 10th a Gen Intel CPU might be feasible given that they sport Intel Iris Graphics. It should be fine with the 2880x1800 res of the current 15” Pro and two TB3 ports would give it eGPU functionality.

No more USB-A ports...the rest would be logical. An SD Card slot is of questionable value, but in the interest of building a bridge, I think it would be fine. Apple needs to bump it to UHS-III at a minimum. Also, replace that silly 720p webcam with a 1080p or better yet, one of those 7MPixel TrueDepth cameras. But, no more USB-A ports...EVER.

 

[esskay]

That is the laptop standard plug when you need the device to be grounded and you don't need to draw more than 2.5 A. Called the IEC C5. The 10 year old HP brick under my desk uses that plug. All the recent Dell bricks use that plug too. Was used on lampshade iMacs.

The grounding post that Apple uses on their bricks is proprietary.

Ahh, yes, thanks, now I recall I’ve had some devices that use that plug.

Though not nearly as many as these type of plugs... Regarding typical AC plugs, I was thinking of this type of plug:

 

[konqerror]

Ahh, yes, thanks, now I recall I’ve had some devices that use that plug.

Though not nearly as many as these type of plugs... Regarding typical AC plugs, I was thinking of this type of plug:

That's the C13 desktop connector plug. It's bulkier on the connector. However, the main reason is if you use it, the cord has to be rated to, I think, 10 A, if somebody plugs it into a bigger device. This means a thicker cord and 100s of tons of copper, a relatively rare and expensive element, that are unnecessary.

 

[taoprophet420]

So with this new XDR display You can simultaneously use usbc at full tb3 speeds and three usbc at usb2 speeds

USB 3.1 type 1 speeds check point 3 on the tech specs.

 

[ctdonath]

Could be for faster charging.

 

[Ener Ji]

Yep. I'm guessing a new 16-incher starts at $2999 with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. Upgrade to 32 GB at $3399.

Agreed, that seems pretty likely to me. Imagine if it also came with a Vega or even Navi GPU in the base model? It would actually be a pretty decent deal at those specs and price, assuming you have a need or desire for 16gb/512gb/Vega GPU.
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They better not increase the price over $2,500.00 ($100 more than the standard 15 inch configuration). One mere inch isn't worth any more.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if they increase the base specs (especially storage and GPU) in order to justify a higher starting price. This has the side benefit of constraining demand while they make sure there are no major manufacturing or design glitches in a brand new model. Then, next year they can push the 16" further down in price point by releasing lower configuration versions.

 

[Falhófnir]

Agreed, that seems pretty likely to me. Imagine if it also came with a Vega or even Navi GPU in the base model? It would actually be a pretty decent deal at those specs and price, assuming you have a need or desire for 16gb/512gb/Vega GPU.

I wish, at that spec for around £2,999 it would almost be worth stretching for... unfortunately I get the feeling one way or another it's more likely to be priced in firstborns. Either it will use expensive enterprise grade components and be more in line with the iMac Pro on pricing, start at a really high spec (32GB/1TB/i9/Vega) and be pried accordingly, or they'll just slap an extra £500 on to cash in on those who want new and shiny!

 

[esskay]

That's the C13 desktop connector plug. It's bulkier on the connector. However, the main reason is if you use it, the cord has to be rated to, I think, 10 A, if somebody plugs it into a bigger device. This means a thicker cord and 100s of tons of copper, a relatively rare and expensive element, that are unnecessary.

Good info, thanks. I learn something new every day!

I found a detailed run down of various plug connectors and ratings:

IEC 60320 - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Bellerophon]

Although I'm a long-term user I'm not a Mac expert, so this may be a really stupid question. Is there any chance that the 16" will be a MacBook Air and not a Pro? Secondly, if the Pro is a 16" is there any chance the MacBook Air range will get a 15" model? I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that, most users, like me, don't render video or do anything that really demands a lot of computing power - they/I surf the net, send e-mails, use PowerPoint, listen to music, organise photos and watch Netflix. I'd bite Apple's hand off if they offered a 15" or 16" MacBook Air with huge battery life and a fantastic screen at a reasonable price.

 

[Val-kyrie]

The real problem for consumers is that there will be/are no other options which may offer a reliable keyboard.

Warranty or not, I don’t have time to waste because Apple can’t engineer a keyboard properly.

 

[mscice]

16" macbook pro starting price? 3k ? lol

will the AIR also be updated ? maybe 14" macbook pro ?

 

[EugW]

Although I'm a long-term user I'm not a Mac expert, so this may be a really stupid question. Is there any chance that the 16" will be a MacBook Air and not a Pro?

Chance is almost nil it will be a MacBook Air.

Secondly, if the Pro is a 16" is there any chance the MacBook Air range will get a 15" model?

IMO, unlikely.

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that, most users, like me, don't render video or do anything that really demands a lot of computing power - they/I surf the net, send e-mails, use PowerPoint, listen to music, organise photos and watch Netflix. I'd bite Apple's hand off if they offered a 15" or 16" MacBook Air with huge battery life and a fantastic screen at a reasonable price.

You are probably in the minority of people who buy premium 15" laptops to surf the net on the road.

 

[icanhazapple]

Can't wait until this can be powered via USB4.

 

[deconstruct60]

I assume the upcoming 16" will have pretty much the same footprint as the existing 15" but with thinner screen bezels. .... I'm hoping the 16" is followed in short order by a smaller version with the same features!

The higher wattage charger is indicative of higher power consumption. ( maybe somewhat shorter charging times). How much of that is the screen will be indicative of where that is a good fit for the 13" MBP. If approximately the same 15" footprint but slightly thicker and bigger battery then that may not transition down the the 13" quickly.

If the power draw increase is all the CPU/GPUs then there isn't as much of an issue. Apple will probably be reluctant to increase height on 13" model ( and squeeze Intel/AMD/etc for more logic board z-height savings to trade off going back to a more reasonable keyboard).

 

[Mr. Dee]

I am wondering if the new MacBook Pro design will be influenced by the new XDR display - meaning sharp edges? It would kinda be a go back to the first gen Intel MBP and older PowerBook design. Just with a reasonable thinner design similar to the 2015 MBP.

 

[Falhófnir]

You are probably in the minority of people who buy premium 15" laptops to surf the net on the road.

I don't know about surfing on the road, but as a main home computer in lieu of a static desktop I'd imagine a full sized MacBook Air or cheaper i5/8GB 15" MacBook Pro would be a compelling option. We know about 80% of mac sales are laptop form factor, so there's certainly already a lot of people who are desktop free.
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I am wondering if the new MacBook Pro design will be influenced by the new XDR display - meaning sharp edges? It would kinda be a go back to the first gen Intel MBP and older PowerBook design. Just with a reasonable thinner design similar to the 2015 MBP.

A shame we haven't had any case leaks (I seem to remember there was one of the 13" Touch Bar model a few months before it launched) I am interested to see just what to expect... maybe that could mean expect little change over the current models, though?

Leaked Photos May Show Upcoming MacBook Pro's Top Case With Space for OLED Touch Panel, Four USB-C Ports

Photos have leaked depicting alleged components destined for the rumored redesigned MacBook Pro, giving us a look at the thin body of the device, the...

www.macrumors.com

 

[citysnaps]

This is very un-green of Apple. I can’t think of many laptops drawing 96W. What the **** are they thinking?

Relax. It’s also for charging the battery. More quickly, perhaps.

 

[jaytv111]

Why only 1 Thunderbolt 3 port on the rear of the display in that photo? Awesome to have the extra USB-C ports but at this price point all the ports should have the same capability.

Thunderbolt 3 doesn't have the bandwidth for both a 6K display and upstream Thunderbolt devices. The Apple Display is even listed as using only USB 2.0 for the upstream ports, which means there just isn't enough bandwidth for USB 3.0. It's similar for the 5K display from LG, as there are only USB 2.0 USB-C upstream ports on the back of that display.

Edit: the Apple page for the display does say it's USB 3.1 Gen 1 speeds when it's run at 5K resolution, so there's bandwidth for 3.1 Gen 1 at lower resolution than native, but then when it's native (6K) it'll be limited to USB 2.0
Also, I was wrong, the LG has USB 3.1 Gen 1 for the USB C ports.

 

[Ener Ji]

You are probably in the minority of people who buy premium 15" laptops to surf the net on the road.

Could be, but they are not alone. I use a 15" MBP as my primary machine and I'm really paying for the screen size, not the power.

 

[jaytv111]

USB 3.1 type 1 speeds check point 3 on the tech specs.

1. For Mac models with Thunderbolt 3 driving Pro Display XDR at 5K resolution, USB-C ports have USB 3.1 Gen 1 data transfer speeds.

That point 3 is saying it is Gen 1 (5 Gbps) but only when it's using 5K resolution. Use the new Mac Pro or possibly new Macbook Pro at 6K resolution then it'll be limited to USB 2.0

 

[cmaier]

They better not increase the price over $2,500.00 ($100 more than the standard 15 inch configuration). One mere inch isn't worth any more.

And it’s well known that, like fish, laptops are priced by the inch.
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Although I'm a long-term user I'm not a Mac expert, so this may be a really stupid question. Is there any chance that the 16" will be a MacBook Air and not a Pro? Secondly, if the Pro is a 16" is there any chance the MacBook Air range will get a 15" model? I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that, most users, like me, don't render video or do anything that really demands a lot of computing power - they/I surf the net, send e-mails, use PowerPoint, listen to music, organise photos and watch Netflix. I'd bite Apple's hand off if they offered a 15" or 16" MacBook Air with huge battery life and a fantastic screen at a reasonable price.

No chance it’s an air.

 

[Jack Burton]

Gimme some good 3d hardware in there. Pretty please.

 

[Jerion]

Gimme some good 3d hardware in there. Pretty please.

Prepare to be disappointed, but also workably satisfied.