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

[Kinotto]

I hope Apple looked over the fence at what Microsoft is doing with their Surface laptop lineup: no nonsense machines, created with the user in mind. Enough with the stupid compromises in each lineup:

-MacBook Air: pretty good all around machine with physical function keys as users want, but hey, Apple slams in it an underpowered cpu, despite all the better alternatives out there .
- Pro 13”: Pretty good “pro” machine, but with botched keyboards, not user serviceable components, still no dedicated gpu and useless touchbar to pump up the price.
- Pro 15”: powerful but still with bad keyboard , useless touchbar, not user serviceable components and a thin form factor forces to compromise on thermals and battery life.

Before 2016 buying a MacBook was an easy decision, nowadays you’ll find yourself sacrificing something at every price point.

All this future 16” machine needs is:

-Good keyboard
-Improved thermals
-Possibility to upgrade at least the SSD and less glue nonsense
-Choice of powerful gpu
-Choice of standard function keys or just ditch the touchbar already, it’s been out for nearly 4 years and if it didn’t pick-up yet it never will.

Screen and trackpad are amazing already.

All easy fixes, anyone in the industry can deliver them, I don’t see why Apple is so stubborn to stick with wrong design choices, besides a plan to slowly kill the Mac in favour of iPad

 

[Jerion]

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.

Probably no. Apple ties cost to performance and performance to size. They'll sell you a 15/16" model but at a very pretty penny.

It honestly sounds like a big iPad Pro (roughly the same screen size as an MBA!) with a keyboard will have you sorted out for that use case. Maybe give it a serious look. The displays are amazing, iPadOS has made a whole bunch of the troublesome 'muscle memory' niggles disappear this year, and unless you're a particularly prolific writer/coder it's an easier form factor to take around the house and out into the world.

 

[KPOM]

I will be a happy camper if it gets better cooling, a new keyboard, and better graphics.

P.S. Apple's ARM chips can't come soon enough.
P.P.S. I understand that true professional applications rely on x86. I'm assuming Apple has something up its sleeve regarding low-level emulation if it goes ARM.

Microsoft is pushing 64-bit ARM now. The Surface Pro X got all the attention at their event this week. My guess is that Apple will make it easy for developers to convert 64-bit Intel apps to ARM. Native apps are better than emulation, which is only a short-term solution.
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I hope Apple looked over the fence at what Microsoft is doing with their Surface laptop lineup: no nonsense machines, created with the user in mind. Enough with the stupid compromises in each lineup:

-MacBook Air: pretty good all around machine with physical function keys as users want, but hey, Apple slams in it an underpowered cpu, despite all the better alternatives out there .
- Pro 13”: Pretty good “pro” machine, but with botched keyboards, not user serviceable components, still no dedicated gpu and useless touchbar to pump up the price.
- Pro 15”: powerful but still with bad keyboard , useless touchbar, not user serviceable components and a thin form factor forces to compromise on thermals and battery life.

Before 2016 buying a MacBook was an easy decision, nowadays you’ll find yourself sacrificing something at every price point.

All this future 16” machine needs is:

-Good keyboard
-Improved thermals
-Possibility to upgrade at least the SSD and less glue nonsense
-Choice of powerful gpu
-Choice of standard function keys or just ditch the touchbar already, it’s been out for nearly 4 years and if it didn’t pick-up yet it never will.

Screen and trackpad are amazing already.

All easy fixes, anyone in the industry can deliver them, I don’t see why Apple is so stubborn to stick with wrong design choices, besides a plan to slowly kill the Mac in favour of iPad

Intel just released some low-voltage quad core Ice Lake chips that could go into the 2020 Air. Until then, I don’t recommend it. The base 13” Pro is much better for not much more money or weight. If the Air were 1/2 lb lighter it might be worth it.

 

[Scottsdale]

It was a few times before that we saw this information. As the You Tube reporter Zone of Tech reported months ago on everything we know about the new MacBook Pro, based on PPI it will be 16.4” and based on Apple’s XDR display outputting 96w and LG display outputting 94w, he reported that it’s likely the MacBook Pro will be 96w.

I just wonder why nobody here can put these things together until someone else points them out? Apple always uses the same PPI in like device technologies when they can for example the iPad mini. It gets a much nicer PPI than even the 11” and 12.9” Pro models. Well, knowing it would be shrunk down to a miniature size at the time, I believe it was Jon Gruber that accurately pointed out size and PPI of mini. I also believe he did the exact same with iPhones XS Max and XR.

It seems pretty obvious by this point some of this stuff is posted by others on YouTube. For your interests, ZoneOfTech on YouTube is a great channel and I have nothing to do with it or gain from it. And most of you know about Jon Gruber. He has some excellent inside information but also gets it right more often than not. His site is DaringFireball.net, and the only words of caution are you have to live with his political commentary or at least ignore it to benefit from his Apple wisdom. Again, no affiliations.

 

[FlyingDutch]

First generation will be insanely expensive, but maybe in a couple of years its price will drop below $2000

 

[kazmac]

You know that's not gonna happen, right?


But no one can forbid you to dream...

Dreaming is good.

You never know, given the lower price of the iPhone 11 and some build-to-order Mac options, Apple might just do that so they can ensure the sales of their services (Which they will not get from me).

What I really want is a scissor style keyboard, and quality control taken far more seriously for all Macs and iDevices.

 

[StellarVixen]

What I really want is a scissor style keyboard

Okay...it's getting worse and worse... It is now questionable if this can happen even in dreams.

 

[kazmac]

Okay...it's getting worse and worse... It is now questionable if this can happen even in dreams.

😂 Sad, but true. Thanks for the chuckle.

 

[satchmo]

First generation will be insanely expensive, but maybe in a couple of years its price will drop below $2000

Frankly, I don't think it'll ever go below $2K...at least the 16" variant. If it's as powerful and geared to pros, $2000 or even $2,500 is not a big ask.
Unfortunately, I think it'll be in the $3500-$4000 range.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Frankly, I don't think it'll ever go below $2K...at least the 16" variant. If it's as powerful and geared to pros, $2000 or even $2,500 is not a big ask.
Unfortunately, I think it'll be in the $3500-$4000 range.

I can’t imagine it ever going below $1,999 either. Definitely not the 16”, and very unlikely for the 15” as well.

Re: pricing, I’d guess about $300-400 higher than an equivalently configured 15”. If the 16” starts at 3,500-4,000, it’ll be due to higher base RAM and SSD specs.

 

[wayoutwest5505]

Still using my 2011 Mac Pro 17 in. 1TB SSD drive 16 Gigs, it even has a CD drive !
Might put 2 TB SSD drive in. Ha !

 

[FlyingDutch]

Frankly, I don't think it'll ever go below $2K...at least the 16" variant. If it's as powerful and geared to pros, $2000 or even $2,500 is not a big ask.
Unfortunately, I think it'll be in the $3500-$4000 range.

In that case I’ll stick with the 13”

 

[Kinotto]

Microsoft is pushing 64-bit ARM now. The Surface Pro X got all the attention at their event this week. My guess is that Apple will make it easy for developers to convert 64-bit Intel apps to ARM. Native apps are better than emulation, which is only a short-term solution.
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Intel just released some low-voltage quad core Ice Lake chips that could go into the 2020 Air. Until then, I don’t recommend it. The base 13” Pro is much better for not much more money or weight. If the Air were 1/2 lb lighter it might be worth it.

True, but my point was that Apple seems to intentionally cripple their products for reasons that benefit just them, there’s no intention to give the users the best possible products.
In the instance of the Air, the underpowered cpu doesn’t make apparent sense. Add to this that recent teardowns reveal the cooling system is completely useless and intentionally botched, with Apple leaving the fan and the cup radiator completely disconnected, limiting the cooling capabilities of the machine a lot.
How come MS can pack more battery life and power in all of their Surface lineup compared to any Air?

 

[femike]

I live in a fantasy and still hope for a reasonably priced plastic macbook with current specs and tech, matte screen and ports. Something like a Inspiron version of the macbook pro.

 

[patent10021]

If Apple were to make this 16" MacBook with a larger footprint I think that would be a step backwards that they do not want to take. It's probably not going to be a wider 16"; It might be the same size as the 15" but without the nasty bezel therefore it becomes 16". It may however be a thicker and therefore heavier MacBook to compensate for a new cooling design and/or keyboard. I wouldn't be surprised though if they have a new cooling design which would allow for the same thickness as the 15" MacBook.

1. Allow a TouchBar-free order config.
2. Improve the coating they use on their displays.
3. Bring back MagSafe.
4. Bring back glowing Apple Logo.

I can't see them making this 16" MacBook more expensive than the 15" MBP. Just because of a new keyboard and bezelless design?

I think they want to redeem themselves by releasing a great 16" and keeping it around the same price and maybe even cheaper.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

More power consumption, more heat, more throttling, probably the T3 chip with crackling exploding sound and unresolved hard crashes, and Apple laughing at users. Did you know it's faster to open some large files on a external USB spinning drive than on the internal 'blazing fast' SSD? You have to hand it to Apple's engineers. They could screw up a cup of instant coffee.

 

[x-evil-x]

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.

have you tried a 2019 model?

 

[MacBH928]

magsafe tips would be nice

 

[Mydel]

I hope Apple looked over the fence at what Microsoft is doing with their Surface laptop lineup: no nonsense machines, created with the user in mind. Enough with the stupid compromises in each lineup:

-MacBook Air: pretty good all around machine with physical function keys as users want, but hey, Apple slams in it an underpowered cpu, despite all the better alternatives out there .
- Pro 13”: Pretty good “pro” machine, but with botched keyboards, not user serviceable components, still no dedicated gpu and useless touchbar to pump up the price.
- Pro 15”: powerful but still with bad keyboard , useless touchbar, not user serviceable components and a thin form factor forces to compromise on thermals and battery life.

Before 2016 buying a MacBook was an easy decision, nowadays you’ll find yourself sacrificing something at every price point.

All this future 16” machine needs is:

-Good keyboard
-Improved thermals
-Possibility to upgrade at least the SSD and less glue nonsense
-Choice of powerful gpu
-Choice of standard function keys or just ditch the touchbar already, it’s been out for nearly 4 years and if it didn’t pick-up yet it never will.

Screen and trackpad are amazing already.

All easy fixes, anyone in the industry can deliver them, I don’t see why Apple is so stubborn to stick with wrong design choices, besides a plan to slowly kill the Mac in favour of iPad

I could not agree more. I have various MBP and if there are 2 things that really drives me nuts its a glue. I was changing the battery on my old MBP 2013 and I could not believe the amount and strength of glue they are using. There is no justification to that. Only one is to be a thorn in the *** of enduser and force regular people to go through Apple.
Apple is all about "environment" and yet to change the keyboard you need to trash halt of the computer. The same with Ssd failure. I mean really?? You need a new board just cos Ssd died? Thats just plain waste of resources!!

 

[zed1291]

Tbh, if it was a clear picture I'd be less likely to believe it
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I think it's gonna start from between 3 to 4 grand. Way outside mine and many people's price range. I would pay $3k max for top of the line laptop.

You just gotta make friends with an Apple employee. 15% off goes way further when you're talking about $3k. And if you're lucky they'll give ya their 25% (once a year for a Mac).

 

[zed1291]

I could not agree more. I have various MBP and if there are 2 things that really drives me nuts its a glue. I was changing the battery on my old MBP 2013 and I could not believe the amount and strength of glue they are using. There is no justification to that. Only one is to be a thorn in the *** of enduser and force regular people to go through Apple.
Apple is all about "environment" and yet to change the keyboard you need to trash halt of the computer. The same with Ssd failure. I mean really?? You need a new board just cos Ssd died? Thats just plain waste of resources!!

Between the cost of the battery and time it took did you really save money compared to Apple doing it? Only $199 from Apple in the US. Of note though, the most recently redesigned Mac portable, MacBook Air, has a removable battery similar to iPhone. Once the bottom case is off, it's 6 screws and some adhesive strips that can be pulled out.

 

[manu chao]

I hope Apple looked over the fence at what Microsoft is doing with their Surface laptop lineup: no nonsense machines, created with the user in mind. Enough with the stupid compromises in each lineup:

-MacBook Air: pretty good all around machine with physical function keys as users want, but hey, Apple slams in it an underpowered cpu, despite all the better alternatives out there .
- Pro 13”: Pretty good “pro” machine, but with botched keyboards, not user serviceable components, still no dedicated gpu and useless touchbar to pump up the price.
- Pro 15”: powerful but still with bad keyboard , useless touchbar, not user serviceable components and a thin form factor forces to compromise on thermals and battery life.

Before 2016 buying a MacBook was an easy decision, nowadays you’ll find yourself sacrificing something at every price point.

The keyboard was a design failure but it is not that Apple set out to create a less reliable keyboard. It's more like **** happens and Apple was too slow to clean up the mess (though, so far the last iteration seems to be noticeably better than earlier versions). And the not-user-serviceable components has been a continuous trend that you just have to live with.

And it is not that the keyboards of most Surface products have that great of a typing experience either. And products like the Surface Book have their downsides as well (thick, top-heavy) that would be castigated as well if they were Apple products.

 

[Duane Martin]

Depends on what you're looking for/ how Apple specs this. If it features a Xeon, ECC memory, SLC SSD, ultra colour accurate P3 XDR display and half decent graphics, then maybe you'd be pushed to find anything at the $3k mark. If it's an existing 15" pro with a new slim bezel screen, there's very competitive alternatives below $2k.

Lol, if “thin bezel screen” is your criteria for what constitutes “top-of-the-Line” then I will graciously concede we have very different expectations. I edit video for a living and able to do much of my off-line work (and even some on-line) on MacBook Pros for which a “thin bezel screen” is not really a consideration.

So, as I originally posted, bring on the compromises but don’t expect me or others to accept them. Let us have our definition of pro.

 

[Mydel]

Between the cost of the battery and time it took did you really save money compared to Apple doing it? Only $199 from Apple in the US. Of note though, the most recently redesigned Mac portable, MacBook Air, has a removable battery similar to iPhone. Once the bottom case is off, it's 6 screws and some adhesive strips that can be pulled out.

Yes. I did a lot. Battery was like 65USD and I don't have apple in Norway. They quoted me around 400USD for battery replacement. And its not the point! There is simply no need to do that. Its a *** move. Thats it!

 

[Falhófnir]

Lol, if “thin bezel screen” is your criteria for what constitutes “top-of-the-Line” then I will graciously concede we have very different expectations. I edit video for a living and able to do much of my off-line work (and even some on-line) on MacBook Pros for which a “thin bezel screen” is not really a consideration.

So, as I originally posted, bring on the compromises but don’t expect me or others to accept them. Let us have our definition of pro.

Get the feeling you're going to be bitterly disappointed with this machine if you're expecting the former of my two examples, 96W is tight for a truly high end machine. Assuming the CPU remains 45W, the rest of the system draws the same as the 15", this is what, 9W extra for the GPU? A laptop RTX 2060 can draw up to 90W alone. That's a reasonable but not exactly monster graphics card. Even a low end gaming laptop comes with a 120W charger, the Razer Blade with the best Nvidia graphics comes with a 230W power supply. Looks like it's going to be closer to the current 15" than what you're looking for.