16” MBP - my thoughts

[sammy2066]

As the title says - just my $0.02.

1. Seems to me this is a stop gap release in terms of design - for me this design is getting a little long in the tooth and feels dated (essentially the same design since the uMBPs launched in 2008).

2. Not that it is widespread, but not baking in support for the latest WiFi standard, especially when the newest iPhones support them shows a severe misalignment in strategy (similar to how USB-C is only on select Apple devices).

3. Still using a 720p camera is unacceptable on a $2,400+ laptop. I’m not sure what’s stopping them from rolling out FaceID either.

4. I’m happy about 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSDs on the model. The dedicated escape key and new keyboard should be a good quality of life improvement.

I suspect they will transition the current 13” to a 14” model with the same upgrades sometime down the road. The MBA will continue to use the butterfly mechanism keyboards due to space constraints.

Anyone with an MBP purchased within the last 2 years should probably skip and wait until Intel rolls out their 10nm silicon or until Apple transitions to ARM chips. I’m sure macOS is already leading a ‘secret double life’ (for those who remember that awesome keynote) somewhere within Apple running on future AXX chips.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Howard2k]

It's almost certainly 3x3 802.11ac, and if that's the case it's certainly going to perform better than 1x1 802.11ax, and perhaps even be somewhat comparable with 2x2 802.11ax, depending on the implementation specifics. I'd like to see them move to 802.11ax too but only if they do it properly.

I wouldn't want to see a half baked approach like the 2x2 802.11ac deployment in the nTB 13" and 1.4Ghz 13".

We'll get ax soon, the question will be whether they do a good job with it or not.

 

[sammy2066]

My biggest gripe is definitely the dated design and 720p camera. But I’m sure these will fly off the shelves anyway.

 

[Falhófnir]

My biggest gripe is definitely the dated design and 720p camera. But I’m sure these will fly off the shelves anyway.

I mean it's still a really nice looking, very well built and sleek computer at the end of the day? That its using the same design language maybe hints we've got a more significant redesign coming (alongside XDR mini LED (and ARM) in a couple of years?) but I don't think I would call that a gripe. The thinner bezels help it look a bit fresher than the outgoing 15" as well.

Personally never use the FFC, honestly I'd be perfectly happy if they ditched it altogether and made the top bezel smaller.

 

[jerryk]

I will moved to the new system from my 2018 15.

If there is a transition to ARM it will likely be quite disruptive, and brings the whole MacBook Pro verses iPad Pro argument to a new level.

The 802.11ax is interesting, but would require a replacement of my Access Points, and I am not having any issues with throughput as it is. I get the full connect speed of 450 mbps whether on wifi or ethernet across muitple systems and OSes.

My 2 cents.

 

[Ma2k5]

When the only complaints you have is not having WiFi 6 and a better webcam, you know that it is a fantastic laptop, period.

 

[fokmik]

You dont have an powerful laptop with this kind of design anywhere else
Wifi6 is irelevant since there is no 45w 10th gen Intel cpu
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When the only complaints you have is not having WiFi 6 and a better webcam, you know that it is a fantastic laptop, period.

Yes i think when people complain about those, they better go with surface laptop 3
Us that wanted a more “pro” laptop we are happy with 100w battery,increase thermals navi 7nm based arhitecture and so on..dont care about webcam

 

[leman]

1. Seems to me this is a stop gap release in terms of design - for me this design is getting a little long in the tooth and feels dated (essentially the same design since the uMBPs launched in 2008).

What would you do differently? Yes, it's the same design, just stripped down to its bare essence. There is not much else to do here... changing it in any way would likely mean a regression in ergonomic.

2. Not that it is widespread, but not baking in support for the latest WiFi standard, especially when the newest iPhones support them shows a severe misalignment in strategy (similar to how USB-C is only on select Apple devices).

And yet the larger MBP has still some of the fastest built-in WiFi of all laptops on the market. My 2017 model can saturate a gigabit internet connection using a very powerful 4x4 router. I don't see a practical issue here. The components are just not there. The WIFI performance of the MBP will certainly be good enough for another year or two. WiFi-6 is all about efficiency and I think that it makes perfect sense to roll it out on your auxiliary devices first.

3. Still using a 720p camera is unacceptable on a $2,400+ laptop. I’m not sure what’s stopping them from rolling out FaceID either.

Which laptop with a traditional design uses something better? With a display that thin its kind of difficult to fit a large camera sensor. Same for FaceID. My iPhone is basically as thick as the 16" MBP — and that is also the thickness of the camera sensor.