Anticipated new features for the 2016 MB?

[6749974]

I agree with most of you said. However, I would note that the title of this topic is "Anticipated new features for the 2016 MB?" It's not like I went into a topic called "Why we love the 2015 rMB" and said those things. However, some people here do go into forward looking topics such as this and say stuff like "stop whining," "won't happen," or "just buy something else."

Good point. I think you framed your perspective very well. I don't think you deserve attack (not that you are).

I'd like to add a nuanced counter-point, though. Saying, for example, "we want more ports on the Retina MacBook" is to demonstrate that maybe that person is at odds with the "innovative purpose" or "target use case" of the Retina MacBook.

It would be like saying, "we want more ports on the next iPad Mini." That would be at odds with the general understanding of what an iPad Mini is for—extreme portability. iPads are essentially an interactive screen, no more. A new iPad Mini should maybe only upgrade more battery life, and more features that don't add bulk or weight or complexity. It should be going in the opposite direction of complexity and cumbersomeness. And I think thats what you and others may be fighting over, regardless of what thread we're in. "Should the rMB become more complex and cumbersome, or more essential and lighter?"

More to my point about this product: A Retina MacBook is essentially OS X with a Keyboard. Once you start plugging things into it, if on a regular basis, you're betraying its purpose. The target use case, what Apple is going for, is that

1. rMB is charged at night
2. and then the USB-C port if free all day. And even then, that USB-C port should rarely even be used in a world of Wi-Fi, AirDrop, AirPlay, Dropbox, iCloud, and so on.

My conclusion is this: If and when a person finds themselves wanting for the rMB in a way that betrays its stated purpose, perhaps they should look inward instead of outward and see if maybe they're being inflexible in their vision. Perhaps the point was already well stated—it makes perfect sense to anticipate and desire the 13" MacBook Pro's weight be cut in half, rather that the rMB add components and meet the same processing threshold that is offered by the Air/Pro.

To add to this thread, here is what I want for the rMB, since I don't even own one:

• Cheaper price: I'd like it to start at $999. At a cheaper price I would prob upgrade yearly (and just gift the older one to a family member or friend). Also, if it starts at $999, I'm sure Best Buy et. al. would have sales at $799.
• Lighter, less weight: Anything it can do to shave off weight would make me happy. I want to put this in a small backpack and go for a jog to a cafe every morning. When I get there I can have my coffee and pull out my rMB to check email, write, research, etc. rMB will be my 'aways with me' computer—much more so than an iPad. My iPad stays by my bed/couch for eBooks/netflix/YouTube.
• Longer battery life: Up to 9hr of battery is great, and they will prob keep it there, but if it had Up to 12h with normal use then I would be fanatical.
• Faster charge—I have no idea how long it takes to charge to 100% currently, but if you could fast charge to 100% or even 80% in under an hour, that would be awesome. This way, forgetting to charge overnight wouldn't me much of a problem.
• LTE—If I could pay $30/month or less for data on the go, this would be wonderful. I could work in the middle of a park under a tree.
• Pen or Multi-Touch—It would be sweet to be able to use one for notes, sketching, etc. I don't agree with the need for the OS to become an iOS/OSX hybrid like Windows 10, but... if multi-touch was added you could use it to draw with your finger or pen to supplement notes/writing. What if I could add a little diagram to this post, that I drew, that visually captures some abstract thought or concept? My communication would be that much clearer. Especially for business communication which is very abstract. Sometimes visual representations succinctly show something that is hard to write (show is better than tell).

Like I mentioned, I don't even own one because I currently use the "everyman" 15" rMBP with dedicated graphics card (for games). But my dream setup is a 27" Retina iMac at my desk, and a gen2 rMB for my portable. At that point, I don't even need an iPad. The rMB is just an iPad with a keyboard stand that's #1 feature is it running OSX. In my opinion, iPad/tablets are overrated. Yes—tables are innovative and open up new use cases, so I think everyone should own one, but tables are sort of a do-over that limit it in ways OS X isn't. Which, to tie things all together, is the power-capability of a rMB.

 

[oneMadRssn]

As you stated in #114 " I know this is paranoid" it`s a non issue. the scenarios you are describing are grasping at straws, at the very best. I have travelled globally using Mac`s for litterally decades with no issue; if you leave your current MagSafe charger at home you won't be picking up a "knock off" at every corner store. If you do, you equally risk physically damaging the system.

Your computers are at far more risk by simply connecting to an open network or the internet for that matter, than some random charger that can easily be avoided by using the one provided by Apple. Your argument might have some validity if we were talking about one of the portable workstation power packs that weigh in at more than the rMB, this is far from the case here, with the rMB`s charger being as diminutive as it`s host.

The answer remains; use the provided charger, same as you would with a MacBook Pro with MagSafe, no need for drama, as with much in life common sense applies...

Q-6

We'll see, I guess. It might not happen to you, but it will be happening more and more. Products like this will become more common, as the issue becomes more common. http://int3.cc/collections/frontpage/products/usbcondoms or http://www.chargedefense.com/product/juice-jack-defender-turbo/

 

[6749974]

Also, I want to add a feature:

Apple could/should put Windows 10 on this thing. It would be a huge marketing/promotional benefit if you could order rMB with dual-boot Windows, or Parallels (but Apple's version) type software. Hey, Steve Jobs is not longer there, and I think Tim Cook could see the benefit of offering a bridge.

It benefits OS X lovers because we can easily/seemlessly use Windows software (without needing to manually make it happen—buy software, etc). If it just happened out of the box, it would be very appealing to business-e people.

It benefits Windows lovers because they would have a great laptop, and an easy entry into experimenting with OS X. In fact, I think this could be Apple's way of growing their laptop sales x1000. Holy-S, PC competitors would cry.

 

[8692574]

Also, I want to add a feature:

Apple could/should put Windows 10 on this thing. It would be a huge marketing/promotional benefit if you could order rMB with dual-boot Windows, or Parallels (but Apple's version) type software. Hey, Steve Jobs is not longer there, and I think Tim Cook could see the benefit of offering a bridge.

It benefits OS X lovers because we can easily/seemlessly use Windows software (without needing to manually make it happen—buy software, etc). If it just happened out of the box, it would be very appealing to business-e people.

It benefits Windows lovers because they would have a great laptop, and an easy entry into experimenting with OS X. In fact, I think this could be Apple's way of growing their laptop sales x1000. Holy-S, PC competitors would cry.

Just no!

 

[6749974]

Just no!

Ha. I love your exploration of the subject.

 

[boltjames]

I can't even see Apple given the MBA a retina display but I expect the MBP to get a solid redesign.

You should see the Air getting a retina display. Apple now has 3 notebooks, each addresses a specific niche, none address all 3 niches let alone even 2:

Pro: Tons of horsepower, the go-to device for Fortune 500 media creation, publishing, packaging.

Air: The least expensive MacBook, tons of legacy ports, strong horsepower, the go-to device for Fortune 500 IT departments whose executives insist they don't want a Windows machine.

RMB: Expensive, low value quotient, experimental, a flagship model for the brand and a demonstration of what Apple is capable of for the traveling executive who has a minivan and wants a convertible in the garage for the weekends.

No magazine publisher is going to drop the Pro, no IT department on a tight budget is going to slot the RMB, and no frequent flyer is going to drag around a thick and heavy Air.

Everything you saw in the past from Apple, all the tweaks and changes and revisions, it's when they only had 2 notebooks. They just expanded the line and are differentiating, no different than BMW taking its narrow, staple 3 Series and morphing it into a 2 Series and a 4 Series, we live in a world where choice is important to consumers, boilerplate no longer works.

Apple will focus on the Air and the Pro. The RMB is very new to the market and isn't a priority. The RMB is predicated on A) form factor and B) nonchalance towards processing horsepower. Skylake doesn't affect A or B, it's not happening, at least not now.

BJ

 

[ffnc1020]

You should see the Air getting a retina display. Apple now has 3 notebooks, each addresses a specific niche, none address all 3 niches let alone even 2:

Pro: Tons of horsepower, the go-to device for Fortune 500 media creation, publishing, packaging.

Air: The least expensive MacBook, tons of legacy ports, strong horsepower, the go-to device for Fortune 500 IT departments whose executives insist they don't want a Windows machine.

RMB: Expensive, low value quotient, experimental, a flagship model for the brand and a demonstration of what Apple is capable of for the traveling executive who has a minivan and wants a convertible in the garage for the weekends.

No magazine publisher is going to drop the Pro, no IT department on a tight budget is going to slot the RMB, and no frequent flyer is going to drag around a thick and heavy Air.

Everything you saw in the past from Apple, all the tweaks and changes and revisions, it's when they only had 2 notebooks. They just expanded the line and are differentiating, no different than BMW taking its narrow, staple 3 Series and morphing it into a 2 Series and a 4 Series, we live in a world where choice is important to consumers, boilerplate no longer works.

Apple will focus on the Air and the Pro. The RMB is very new to the market and isn't a priority. The RMB is predicated on A) form factor and B) nonchalance towards processing horsepower. Skylake doesn't affect A or B, it's not happening, at least not now.

BJ

Ive been following your posts. It's pretty funny how you slowly coming to these conclusions and keep convincing yourself like they are absolutely true. Apple is business and you are just one guy. Unless you have done market research/focus groups for them you can't say anything for sure. Thick and heavy Air? I am laughing.

 

[6749974]

Thick and heavy Air? I am laughing.

The benefits of a rMB over Air for travel is:

Lighter: 2lbs vs 3lbs
Thinner: 0.52 inch vs 0.68 inch (at thickest points)
Screen: Retina
Sound: Silent, due to no fan (good for not disturbing fellow travelers)

 

[DNichter]

Yeah, but the odds are 99% that you're going to get what you want out of a long-overdue Air redesign rather than an unexpectedly quick RMB revision. Think about it- which odds are greater? That Apple will finally and simply add a retina display to the Air or that Apple will throw the RMB and it's wireless philosophy into the wastebin after six months and start adding ports and processors where there is no space to house them now?

Simply put, instead of coming here to pound the RMB into submission and insulting the owners of this new device, you should be in the Air forum gathering a large group of supporters who would completely agree with you about improving that old device.

This is the MacBook Subforum. One click away is the MacBook Air Subforum. Over there you're spreading positivity. Over here you're spreading negativity. That's the difference.

BJ

Haha man, I am generally a fan of your posts, but your talk about the "weight" of an extra port or that they need to throw their product in the trash and start from scratch are a joke. Updating the processor, webcam, and potentially another port are all feasible and would be possible. They aren't going to be updating the Air. You'll have the MacBook and the MacBook pro and that's that. We'll see next week I guess.

 

[applesith]

The benefits of a rMB over Air for travel is:

Lighter: 2lbs vs 3lbs
Thinner: 0.52 inch vs 0.68 inch (at thickest points)
Screen: Retina
Sound: Silent, due to no fan (good for not disturbing fellow travelers)

Can you really hear the sound of a notebook's fan over the noise of an airplane?

 

[joscejrod]

Haha man, I am generally a fan of your posts, but your talk about the "weight" of an extra port or that they need to throw their product in the trash and start from scratch are a joke. Updating the processor, webcam, and potentially another port are all feasible and would be possible. They aren't going to be updating the Air. You'll have the MacBook and the MacBook pro and that's that. We'll see next week I guess.

Next week, or next June (WWDC). Not later

 

[DNichter]

Next week, or next June (WWDC). Not later

Correct

 

[boltjames]

Ive been following your posts. It's pretty funny how you slowly coming to these conclusions and keep convincing yourself like they are absolutely true. Apple is business and you are just one guy. Unless you have done market research/focus groups for them you can't say anything for sure.

Thick and heavy Air? I am laughing.

Compared to my RMB it certainly is, its 49% heavier, at 2.96 pounds the 13" Air is heavier than some $499 notebooks on sale now at Best Buy, the thing is a 9 year old design when those specs were impressive. Today they're not even competitive.

Keep laughing, the Jedi Mind Tricks clearly are working on you.

BJ
[doublepost=1458244818][/doublepost]

Haha man, I am generally a fan of your posts, but your talk about the "weight" of an extra port or that they need to throw their product in the trash and start from scratch are a joke. Updating the processor, webcam, and potentially another port are all feasible and would be possible. They aren't going to be updating the Air. You'll have the MacBook and the MacBook pro and that's that. We'll see next week I guess.

Thank you, I can give you an autographed t-shirt for $19.99, PM me if interested.

The 'weight' of all the ports on the Pro and the Air most definitely add to they're significantly heavier designs. The power consumption, even the little trickles, for all those ports hurt battery life. And those ports aren't free- each one is licensed from it's owner, Apple pays money to the USB consortium, the HDMI group, the VGA collective, it's no different than Apple collecting $1 for anyone and everyone who wants Lightning MFi certification for their cables and peripherals.

"They can just throw another USB-C port on there, hey there's room for HDMI and an SD Card on the RMB too!" Those posts always make me laugh, they're usually by the same people who complain about a $69 adapter atop a $1,600 notebook purchase and don't know a damned thing about business.

BJ

 

[oneMadRssn]

Air: The least expensive MacBook, tons of legacy ports, strong horsepower

In BJ world, 2 USB ports = tons of legacy ports.
In BJ world, having a CPU in the bottom 30th percentile of CPU modern cpu performance = strong horsepower.

This guy is like the Trump of Macbooks. Just making siht up.

 

[8692574]

In BJ world, 2 USB ports = tons of legacy ports.
In BJ world, having a CPU in the bottom 30th percentile of CPU modern cpu performance = strong horsepower.

This guy is like the Trump of Macbooks. Just making siht up.

Well they both went to business school....

 

[oneMadRssn]

The 'weight' of all the ports on the Pro and the Air most definitely add to they're significantly heavier designs. The power consumption, even the little trickles, for all those ports hurt battery life. And those ports aren't free- each one is licensed from it's owner, Apple pays money to the USB consortium, the HDMI group, the VGA collective, it's no different than Apple collecting $1 for anyone and everyone who wants Lightning MFi certification for their cables and peripherals.

Pretty much all of this is completely untrue.

1. The weight of the ports is negligible. Sure they weigh something. But compared to the metal body, the dense battery, and the screen, the weight of the ports is negligible. Heck, even the glass surface covering the trackpad weighs probably 10x more than all the ports in a MBP.

2. Unused ports do not consume any additional power. The power is consumed by the bus controller, sometimes built into the CPU itself these days. The ports themselves do not use anything, not even a trickle. Meaning whether the rMB has 4 USB ports or 1 USB port, the energy usage is the same if nothing is plugged in. Go read the technical specs.

3. Regarding licensing fees... no. Just stop. That is not how SSOs work. Lightning is not an SSO like USB or IEEE are. Those organizations have membership levels and sharing of IP, it's way different than you imply. I don't have time to write an entire treatise here, but rest assured, the cost Apple pays to those organization is not computed like that.
[doublepost=1458247648][/doublepost]

Well they both went to business school....

Clown college

 

[boltjames]

In BJ world, 2 USB ports = tons of legacy ports.
In BJ world, having a CPU in the bottom 30th percentile of CPU modern cpu performance = strong horsepower.

This guy is like the Trump of Macbooks. Just making siht up.

USB Ports = Outdated and no longer necessary to millions of notebook users who, as with their beloved iOS devices, are living quite nicely without cords and cables. Someone must offer me a thumb drive once a year, maybe twice at this point. My mouse is Bluetooth. I no longer use Iomega Zip Drives either. Perhaps that's just me.

CPU Performance = The RMB has all the performance it needs, and it's owners aren't complaining, just frustrated Air owners. Apple finally realized that horsepower wars are silly and cause more issues than they are worth for the fraction of the userbase who even stress their hardware to that level ie no one. I don't need an M4 and 550 horsepower if I'm going to Home Depot to pick up some paint.

We don't need ports we don't use, we don't need fans to cool processors we don't strain, we don't need expensive processors that can multitask 4K videos and crunch MS Access databases at the same time, we don't need the weight, we don't need the height, we don't need or want anything extraneous to our user experience. If it doesn't make it faster to hit up Facebook, we don't need it. If it adds bulk or weight as our assistants bring us coffee in the boardroom, we don't want it.

Savvy?

BJ

 

[DNichter]

Compared to my RMB it certainly is, its 49% heavier, at 2.96 pounds the 13" Air is heavier than some $499 notebooks on sale now at Best Buy, the thing is a 9 year old design when those specs were impressive. Today they're not even competitive.

Keep laughing, the Jedi Mind Tricks clearly are working on you.

BJ
[doublepost=1458244818][/doublepost]

Thank you, I can give you an autographed t-shirt for $19.99, PM me if interested.

The 'weight' of all the ports on the Pro and the Air most definitely add to they're significantly heavier designs. The power consumption, even the little trickles, for all those ports hurt battery life. And those ports aren't free- each one is licensed from it's owner, Apple pays money to the USB consortium, the HDMI group, the VGA collective, it's no different than Apple collecting $1 for anyone and everyone who wants Lightning MFi certification for their cables and peripherals.

"They can just throw another USB-C port on there, hey there's room for HDMI and an SD Card on the RMB too!" Those posts always make me laugh, they're usually by the same people who complain about a $69 adapter atop a $1,600 notebook purchase and don't know a damned thing about business.

BJ

It's cool man. Your MacBook will be outdated in a couple weeks. It will all be okay.

 

[oneMadRssn]

USB Ports = Outdated and no longer necessary to millions of notebook users who, as with their beloved iOS devices, are living quite nicely without cords and cables. Someone must offer me a thumb drive once a year, maybe twice at this point. My mouse is Bluetooth. I no longer use Iomega Zip Drives either. Perhaps that's just me.

CPU Performance = The RMB has all the performance it needs, and it's owners aren't complaining, just frustrated Air owners. Apple finally realized that horsepower wars are silly and cause more issues than they are worth for the fraction of the userbase who even stress their hardware to that level ie no one. I don't need an M4 and 550 horsepower if I'm going to Home Depot to pick up some paint.

We don't need ports we don't use, we don't need fans to cool processors we don't strain, we don't need expensive processors that can multitask 4K videos and crunch MS Access databases at the same time, we don't need the weight, we don't need the height, we don't need or want anything extraneous to our user experience. If it doesn't make it faster to hit up Facebook, we don't need it. If it adds bulk or weight as our assistants bring us coffee in the boardroom, we don't want it.

Savvy?

BJ

I think you missed the point entirely. First, I was replying to your comments regarding the MBA, not the rMB.

If you think two USB ports is "tons of legacy ports," then I now see what you mean when you say you have tons of money.

If you think the CPU in the MBA has strong horsepower, I seriously question whether you have actually ever used a good computer.

 

[Amazing Ox Space Monkey]

If you think the CPU in the MBA has strong horsepower, I seriously question whether you have actually ever used a good computer.

he has. His rMB is a good computer. And he's gone to a business school. Everyone who's gone to a business school has only used good computers.

 

[6749974]

Can you really hear the sound of a notebook's fan over the noise of an airplane?

Good question. Maybe. It depends on the frequencies and if the fan vs engine overlap. But also think about frequent flyers as usually execs/salesman who end up in board room meetings in someone else's' turf (eg Japan). It's obv not the worlds biggest deal but if you can be in a board room and not bring attention to your laptop—that's a plus I imagine.

But yeah: first world problems. Let's agree it's a minor pain point.
[doublepost=1458258446][/doublepost]

If you think two USB ports is "tons of legacy ports," then I now see what you mean when you say you have tons of money.

If you think the CPU in the MBA has strong horsepower, I seriously question whether you have actually ever used a good computer.

Honest question: obviously a film-editor needs many-a-ports. But if the rMB is marketed towards "exec types", can you please describe a likely scenario where they need 2 ports? Because I thought the idea was that they would never need any ports except the occasional.

The iPhone comes with a little charger, and you can always ask people to email/Dropbox a file. Most people don't carry USB keys anymore.

Maybe it's functional to be able to plug in an external HD, but when does an exec need more than 500GB. They deal in doc/pdf/text. Even now those things are on Evernote, Dropbox, Sharepoint, etc.

I could see a student wanting multiple ports for the dorm-room but then that's what the USB-C adapter/doc is for, right?

I dunno. Just asking what your vision for 2 ports is. If Apple did it, great, but if they don't, I wouldn't sweat it I don't think, ever.

EDIT: Maybe a more clear way to state this question is: I can see people wanting 1-2 ports at a desk, occasionally, hence the USB-C adapter/dock. But since rMB is for on-the-go and in-the-boardroom computing, when in those situations will a user even need 1-port, let alone 2? And in those cases, won't there at least be 1-port free since it won't be charging in a meeting/work-session?

 

[oneMadRssn]

Honest question: obviously a film-editor needs many-a-ports. But if the rMB is marketed towards "exec types", can you please describe a likely scenario where they need 2 ports? Because I thought the idea was that they would never need any ports except the occasional.

The iPhone comes with a little charger, and you can always ask people to email/Dropbox a file. Most people don't carry USB keys anymore.

Maybe it's functional to be able to plug in an external HD, but when does an exec need more than 500GB. They deal in doc/pdf/text. Even now those things are on Evernote, Dropbox, Sharepoint, etc.

I could see a student wanting multiple ports for the dorm-room but then that's what the USB-C adapter/doc is for, right?

I dunno. Just asking what your vision for 2 ports is. If Apple did it, great, but if they don't, I wouldn't sweat it I don't think, ever.

EDIT: Maybe a more clear way to state this question is: I can see people wanting 1-2 ports at a desk, occasionally, hence the USB-C adapter/dock. But since rMB is for on-the-go and in-the-boardroom computing, when in those situations will a user even need 1-port, let alone 2? And in those cases, won't there at least be 1-port free since it won't be charging in a meeting/work-session?

Not all "execs" are Gordon Gecko-esque paper pushers. For example, the CEO of one great company I worked for a few years back was a PHD, and needed to use his laptop with the microscope imager often, which was essentially a USB camera, while charging of course. But i agree with your point that most folks today probably don't need many ports and the adapter is fine. As I discussed at length above, the only second port I want is a dedicated charging port.

 

[6749974]

Not all "execs" are Gordon Gecko-esque paper pushers. For example, the CEO of one great company I worked for a few years back was a PHD, and needed to use his laptop with the microscope imager often, which was essentially a USB camera, while charging of course. But i agree with your point that most folks today probably don't need many ports and the adapter is fine. As I discussed at length above, the only second port I want is a dedicated charging port.

Fair enough. Thanks.

 

[boltjames]

It's cool man. Your MacBook will be outdated in a couple weeks. It will all be okay.

And if it is, I'll buy a new one.

BJ
[doublepost=1458271844][/doublepost]

I think you missed the point entirely. First, I was replying to your comments regarding the MBA, not the rMB.

If you think two USB ports is "tons of legacy ports," then I now see what you mean when you say you have tons of money.

If you think the CPU in the MBA has strong horsepower, I seriously question whether you have actually ever used a good computer.

Apologies if I misread your post, I thought you were posting shortfalls of the RMB (again).

90% of the world doesn't use 90% of the processing power their computers are capable of. We use browsers, Skype, perhaps an iTunes TV show now and then. A "good computer" is defined as one that has enough horsepower to exceed the needs of its user. The Air, the RMB, they easily qualify.

It would be fun to know what some of you are doing with your notebooks where Skylake is such a major breakthru, so critically necessary. Let me guess. Designing mass transit systems? Calculating the GNP of an entire continent? Compiling a 50 hour miniseries in 4K? Downloading the Library Of Congress on a single lossless PNG? All at the same time?

BJ

 

[duervo]

The benefits of a rMB over Air for travel is:
Sound: Silent, due to no fan (good for not disturbing fellow travelers)

Telling me that the engine/ambient noise from an airplane, bus, or train is quieter than the single fan in a Macbook Air is like peeing on me and telling me it's raining.

#analogies