Apple Event to Include 13-Inch MacBook Pro, 16-Inch MacBook Pro, and 13-Inch MacBook Air With Apple Silicon Chips [Updated]

[Tozovac]

Personally I've become accustomed to holding the iPad by the edges when two-handed, as a painter's palette when one-handed, or prop it up somewhere, especially with the 10.5 and up iPads.

As far as protection goes, I never use iPads or phones naked. There's plenty of bumpers, cases, and sleeves to protect the devices.

I don’t share your confidence to light-handedly manipulate your ipad.

There are plenty of cases/bumpers certainly, but with my iPhone 8 I constantly run into issues with ability to swipe from offscreen consistently when using a case offering at least some side protection as well as some protection of the screen such that the screen face is inset a mm or two from the case edge. Trying to call the control panel when in Landcape mode is a constant dance of frustration and retries. I‘m happy my iPhone 8 offers a home button still. The minute the home button goes away and the urge towards bezel-less becomes real, I’ll be a very unhappy case-using iPhone user.

 

[Tozovac]

Other writers have supported your view when it comes to phones (e.g. : https://www.pcworld.com/article/3429607/smartphone-bezels-samsung-oppo-google-pixel-4.html)

But when it comes to laptops, AOI's (e.g., the iMac), and monitors, I prefer smaller bezels. I've owned Apple laptops since 2009, and I've never damaged one, so I'd prefer less bezel and more screen. And for desktops, I use multiple monitors arrayed side-by-side. There, it's much nicer to have the bezels be as thin as possible.

Thanks for that link! Certainly - smaller bezels on a laptop are better in that they directionally offer more screen size for a smaller package. And bezelless on a desktop monitor - great! But I move my MacBook Air around constantly and have a few marks on the edges of the screen case from unwanted impacts after 7 years of use. I can’t help but think a truly edge-to-edge design would move towards a reduction in the robustness of my portable screen.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I don’t share your confidence to light-handedly manipulate your ipad.

There are plenty of cases/bumpers certainly, but with my iPhone 8 I constantly run into issues with ability to swipe from offscreen consistently when using a case offering at least some side protection as well as some protection of the screen such that the screen face is inset a mm or two from the case edge. Trying to call the control panel when in Landcape mode is a constant dance of frustration and retries. I‘m happy my iPhone 8 offers a home button still. The minute the home button goes away and the urge towards bezel-less becomes real, I’ll be a very unhappy case-using iPhone user.

Sounds like you're headed for a reckoning then.

Apple has relegated the Home button to budget devices as a shrewd way to repurpose old hardware as new.

That said, the new-old iPad and iPhone SE are capable enough if you don't need to rely on cameras or any of the other higher-end features.

 

[cloudsorghosts]

They will not reveal/release a 16 inch at the event, though they might talk about it. It's not coming until Q2 2021. This was essentially confirmed by the updates to bootcamp, which mention the 16-inch MBP. My strong hope is that they refresh the 16 one more time with intel 10th or 11th gen and more powerful base graphics alongside the 12 and 13 inch silicon models. This would replace my 2008 (yes!!!) MBP which is still going strong but finally becoming obsolete in terms of software.

 

[Tozovac]

Sounds like you're headed for a reckoning then.

Apple has relegated the Home button to budget devices as a shrewd way to repurpose old hardware as new.

That said, the new-old iPad and iPhone SE are capable enough if you don't need to rely on cameras or any of the other higher-end features.

No reckoning needed. I’m finding Apple to backtrack over the past few years on many minimalist-driven design decisions that are not universally lauded as a great balance of form & function. I anticipate that at some point the quest to zero bezels on a portable hand-held device will have a Come to Jesus reckoning after things “go too far“ from the customer’s viewpoint. Especially once Apple devices look exactly like android devices from 5 feet and marketing will need a differentiator. It’ll be re-realized how having just the right amount of physical framing has distinct functional advantages for grip as well as use, with or without a case.

Come to Jesus reckonings of recent times: Butterfly keyboard replaced with a version of the prior much more robust keyboard...# of ports re-increased to 4 instead of 1 or 2 (happy to see the 10th-gen processor Macbook Pros offer 4 ports and end the need to carry a dongle/hub bag)....a less slippery-to-hold iPhone borrowed from the iPhone 4....and many iOS refinements at each upgrade that are trending away from radically-Flat Design and back towards pre-iOS 7 interface cues having a much more positive indication of being actionable (instead of the silly notion to use text or a Flat Design shape to indicate an actionable item/button).

 

[dannys1]

How do you know they are wrong? Did they change their original story?

Well I was bang on. It seemed pretty obvious to me this was always the plan. M2 for the next set of systems I guess.

 

[Spectrum]

Well I was bang on. It seemed pretty obvious to me this was always the plan. M2 for the next set of systems I guess.

You need to become a paid pundit

 

[satchmo]

Make no mistake, these new laptops will impress. Big time.

You don’t launch a bold new platform with crap performance.

All eyes are on Apple to justify the switch over. They know it, and so do their investors and shareholders.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see 3-5x better than current hardware.

My only concern however, is pricing.

Nailed it. 😏

 

[smulji]

Well I was bang on. It seemed pretty obvious to me this was always the plan. M2 for the next set of systems I guess.

What do you think the next systems to get upgraded will be?

 

[dannys1]

What do you think the next systems to get upgraded will be?

Almost certainly the 21" iMac I think - though it might be the new 24" redesign. I think they're trying to get the mini-led tech sort first. I suspect the 16" MBP will come at the same time as the top 13" MBP, but they'll be the redesigns too, 3rd quarter next year makes the most sense. Could be the same time as the smaller iMac. Large iMac and Mac Pro to be done last.

 

[PutTheFBackIn]

Curious, what are folk around here finding the main issue(s) to be with the current design?

Form: Too much bezel to the point of distraction? Just wanting something new to look at just because?

Function: Height adjustment? A desire for increased access to components for expandability? A desire to separate the monitor from the guts, for flexibility of use later? (I.e., re-doing the past)

Once something reaches a point of refinement after many years of development (and as Apple increasingly decreases the thickness & exterior features/interface ports to the point that there’s not much more to physically change or take away), really how much is left to redesign outside of returning to form factors of the past?

Forgive the late reply, but for me it’s not so much about the redesign as it is just getting an iMac with Apple Silicon. I mentioned the redesign because all reports indicate it’s coming in conjunction with the iMac Silicon debut.

That being said, some of the renders people have come up with have made me really excited about the possibilities.

i’m not a frequent upgrader. I’m actually running a 2011 iMac that still functions fine for my basic needs. I think nearly 10 years is a fantastic run for a computer, so I want the upgrade to really mean something. And I’ll just come out and say it... I’m ready to splurge.