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Why no cellular internet option?
- Thread starter AdonisSMU
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It's still a Mac, no matter how small it is. Apple wants you to use the iPhone hotspot feature.
Why would they put cellular Internet on a computer? Do you people really not understand that this is an actual computer? The software you will find on mobile devices is totally different software than you will find on the rMB. I just don't get it. There are laptops, actual computers that are just as thin as the rMB and I don't see people considering them mobile devices. What you do on your iPad will feel different on the rMB, it's not the same at all.
As for some it is a desirable feature for those who are highly mobile, forget tethering phones. Some business Ultra Portables do have an option for cellular and there are specific MiFi Routers that perform far better than a phone and are far more secure than open networks.
Requiring a cellular data connection has absolutely nothing with the devices usage, it has everything do with the users need. I have used the Huawei MiFi`s for years and they are by far the best solution for those of us on the go with a mind for speed and security.
Q-6
Don't you get that this is a portable computer? Whose main appeal is its portability? I can absolutely understand that some ask for a builtin WAN option, but with apples current business philosophy that won't happen, usefull as it might be. Apple just wants you to tether to one of their mobile devices, and if you carry those around that actually does work quite well.
However, wirelessly tethering to an iphone is pretty hard on the phones battery, an iPad copes better with that. The huaway hubs are pretty good as well if you want a dedicated hotspot appliance. Personally i didn't want to carry another appliance around, but a good friend and colleague uses them a lot.
It's a mobile laptop. Laptops are mobile devices. That was the sole function. Why else the need for endlessly shrinking everything down in the laptop if not for greater mobility?
Yeah I have been using the Huawei mifi for about a year. No complaints, it is always a great reliable connection.
If I'm understanding the posts correctly, then I think you're missing the point of miniaturizing the MacBook. It has nothing to do with mobility. It's solely to increase the available space on your desk for the real productivity tools... paper, pencils, and encyclopedias
Yeah, in theory. In practice that means that instead of using the relatively huge battery on the computer to connect via cell you wind up using the relatively small battery on the phone. When I do this, I usually use my iPad instead so that I don't kill the phone battery, but an integrated chip would be better than using an external device (iPhone, iPad, mifi hotspot). I understand that I'm probably in a small minority here.
Using an integrated chip is faster performance wise and more convenient IMO. I thought Apple made this to be a machine on the go....not a machine that you can really only get full use out of with other machines.
It would definitely be a nice option (not just in the Macbook, but also other Apple laptops). This is pretty common in Windows business laptops.
It might be difficult to integrate the additional antennas in the Macbook though due to the all-metal enclosure (in the existing MBPs and MBAs the Wifi antennas are in the black plastic part of the hinge).
Because I don't want to kill my phone's battery using it as a hotspot for my notebook.
I agree with the OP just cause in my experience having a laptop with a dedicated, direct connection to cellular is better than hopping on a cellphone created hotspot. the experience is just better imho.
and the reason that Apple and other OEM's don't do it is because licensing the tech is very expensive.
but I long for the day when a laptop can seamlessly go from wifi to cellular just like a cellphone can. and for those who travel a lot, it would be nice to just open your laptop where ever you are and just have service like a cell.
plus it would be more secure and more convenient than finding and using other people's wifi service.
and the reason that Apple and other OEM's don't do it is because licensing the tech is very expensive.
but I long for the day when a laptop can seamlessly go from wifi to cellular just like a cellphone can. and for those who travel a lot, it would be nice to just open your laptop where ever you are and just have service like a cell.
plus it would be more secure and more convenient than finding and using other people's wifi service.
Dell, HP, Lenovo and many others offer the option in their business models. It's usually a pluggable module (using an M.2 socket or similar), so you only pay for it if you actually want the option.
your phone can be charged by the laptop...see one device helping the other one..that is looove
What you are seeing as symbiosis feels to me like parasitism.
But I take your point. There is another issue that may have been partly solved. Until VoLTE, a VZW phone couldn't do data and voice at the same time, so using the phone as a hotspot meant no voice calls. VoLTE should have fixed that but coverage where I am is poor, at least on the route that I commute. (I commute by train, so no one needs to get excited about me using a laptop while driving car. )I like the seamless, always connected to the internet of the iPhone and the LTE iPad. That would be great in a laptop. I've seen a Lenovo with 4G built in, but I definitely don't want a Windows laptop.
Yes, I could connect to my iPhone, but I'd rather have the convenience of cellular built-in. My iPhone's battery often doesn't get thru the day without tethering. I'd rather rely on the bigger battery built into the laptop itself.
I can see people who don't travel or move around a lot not needing this. But it would be awesome for those of us who do.
Yes, I could connect to my iPhone, but I'd rather have the convenience of cellular built-in. My iPhone's battery often doesn't get thru the day without tethering. I'd rather rely on the bigger battery built into the laptop itself.
I can see people who don't travel or move around a lot not needing this. But it would be awesome for those of us who do.
I do agree with that. I would love for that to happen. I was just speaking from Apple's standpoint of why they will never include it.
And at the end of the day, it's anything but a deal-breaker.
The solution that sorta scares me vicariously is the USB cell modems that I see people stick into their computers on the train. It would be so easy for another passenger to snag the thing and break either the modem or the computer's MB. A mifi hotspot or using a phone or iPad feels like a far better idea in that situation (which is a niche case, I know).
