Apple Receives FCC Approval for Unreleased MacBook Pro [Updated]

[NoIdentity]

Idk, I am ok with the touchbar. I even miss it when using an external keyboard. i do think if I would have less years in experience in using the F row, would find it even more useful. It is har to break habits, so I try and push myself to use that instead of muscle memory, just to kind of give it more of chance.

The only major downside I have found so far is a non physical escape key, this is one key that should have stayed regardless.

But I like the linear volume and screen brightness toggles. I also find it easier to switch between keyboards layouts through to the touchbar, especially mid typing. No need to grab the mouse, move the cursor or anyway move away from the text. Tap, expand, tap click, and bam I can get the special characters that the EN keyboards lacks. Also puting the computer to sleep is easier and faster than using the trackpad mouse. Idk, it has quite some potential. In the end on an old apple keayboard the F row is unused in my case. Except when playing Starcraft.

 

[natepaschall]

Had a MBP with touchbar for 2 years and now using a 13" MBP no touchbar and I have yet to miss it. It was neat but I virtually never used. Several apps I actually defaulted back to the function keys because they worked better. Additionally, I cannot tell how many times I incidentally touched the escape key, it was very frustrating.

For the cost of having the touchbar I'd gladly go without it. Rarely used it and prefer the static keys.

 

[Falhófnir]

Again, basically the Non-Touch Bar MBP 13" getting Dual Core IceLake update. along with new keyboard design and max 32GB Memory.

I doubt the RAM option, given the flagship TB model doesn't even offer a 32GB option yet. What dual core Ice Lake with iris plus graphics are even mooted at this point? I thought all U series were meant to be going quad core, and the Y series don't have sufficient TDP to support HD 620 graphics, let alone Iris Plus 640. I don't think any 8th gen 15W chips even had Iris; Apple's pretty screwed with options for this model unless Intel's whipped them up a couple of custom SKUs - in which case it's very unlikely to be Ice lake given constraints in supply.

 

[am2am]

I was skeptical when the first rumors on new MacBook machines appeared - now it looks more and more legit. Cannot wait to see what happens.

 

[S3R6i0]

the touchbar is a great thing, that they completely half assed and stopped improving.

They should've made a track pad that doubles as a touch screen.

 

[tresmith]

Give me a...

non-touch bar, butter-fly keyboard with deeper travel, with the same specs as the the touch bar version.

Don't understand why the TB version got touch id but the non TB didn't only to put in the feature in a cheaper laptop, the MacBook air. Makes no sense what so ever.

Also don't understand why the TB version received a brighter screen and bluetooth 5.0 and the non TB didn't.

 

[dapa0s]

Lol, I just bought the Macbook Pro 13 inch touch bar model from 2019. Should I return it while I still can?

 

[Freida]

Why do you care about bezels on a non-portable machine?

its simple - less bezels -> more screen. The bezels on iMac are ridiculous now. Literally no reason for them. They should cut them in half and put bigger screen in. Maybe 30" or around that.

 

[alexandr]

They should've made a track pad that doubles as a touch screen.

yea, but not everyone's on a laptop. and that standalone trackpad is weird(imho).

 

[borntrouble]

Touchbar no, butterfly keyboard no, I’m a buyer.

Haha, count me in!

 

[nvmls]

If you use the apps then you know what the TB does for those apps; it’s not like the TB does random things each time you switch to Mail, for example. You might as well complain about how different apps have different keyboard shortcuts.

Impressive, didn't know I was lacking screen size.

 

[TComm]

Please bring back the old keyboard! I need to replace my old MacBook and no way I am but a new one with butterfly keyboard.

 

[x-evil-x]

Why say this is for a 61watt model suggesting a smaller 13” size then say Apple is planning on releasing a 16” model which this isn’t it.
Where’s the evidence of a new 16” model then?

 

[MistrSynistr]

It just dawned on me that the Touch Bar is prepping Macbook users for keyboard-less touch pad screens.

 

[hawkeye_a]

Please, no more"courage"..... i don't want a "touchbar" or "butterfly keys" just for the sake of being differentiators.

I wouldn't mind a thicker chassis for the purpose of batterylife.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Refreshing the non-TB 13” MBP seems like an odd choice, since the machine serves no legitimate purpose in the MB lineup now that the MBA has been updated with a Retina screen.

Sure, you get a higher clock speed in the nTB MBP, but I doubt pros or even prosumers would opt for a dual core machine. So, you’re really just splitting the entry-level 13” market across two lines.

Then again, Mr. Cook has been more than willing to sacrifice simplicity/parsimony for Apple’s bottom line, so the machine must sell well enough for a refresh.

I tend to agree with the first 2/3 of your post, and I actually thought the nTB would be discontinued after the release of the refreshed Air. (I suppose not refreshing it and just continuing to sell the 2017 model isn’t all that different, could just be a temporary reprieve before it eventually gets the axe.)

Yeah there are a few differences, but like you say you’re really just splitting the 13” entry level/dual-core demand. At this point they know exactly how well it’s selling vs. the Air, and if there’s sufficient demand, I guess they’ll refresh it.

I know that the nTB being so similar in features and price to the Air seems to be very upsetting to some, but if a (likely) less technical customer can’t decide between the two, does it really matter which they choose? Anyway, that’s not something I bother concerning myself with. (Both are well-differentiated from the 12” MacBook and the 13” TB quad-core MBP.)

Personally I prefer the nTB over the Air, but others like the Air better ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[nt5672]

Count me in if it has no Touch Bar, has ram expandable to up to 64GB, has a better keyboard, has a bigger screen than today, has a little more weight, and is capable of either longer battery life or more CPU power depending on how it's configured.

 

[konqerror]

It's a major regression, not to mention what I already pointed out: the touchbar goes to sleep, so you have to tap it gingerly somewhere to wake it up, THEN peer at it to poke at it... to step over a line of code.

Caught you. You've never owned a Touch Bar because your description of its behavior is wrong.

Moving the mouse or typing wakes the touch bar. The touch bar stays on for a minute. The only scenario in which you need to do something to wake the Touch Bar is a walk up scenario. It is not reasonable to have 60 seconds without mouse motion while stepping through code.

Being an actual Touch Bar owner, I will say the added functionality is useless, but there is absolutely no wake up problem as you describe.

 

[rols]

Count me in if it has no Touch Bar, has ram expandable to up to 64GB, has a better keyboard, has a bigger screen than today, has a little more weight, and is capable of either longer battery life or more CPU power depending on how it's configured.

I don't like the butterfly keyboard much and would prefer expandability however if I could just have a 15" or 16" Macbook Pro without the touch bar, even if it still had all the other flaws, I'd go to the Apple store tomorrow.

 

[pbjfarm]

The dimensions posted with the FCC don't match the 13" MBP - specifically the thickness. The thickness matches the Air. I'm guessing this is a processor refresh for the Air.

Apple this week received FCC approval for an unreleased MacBook Pro with a model number of A2159, which is one of the model numbers that was recently registered with the Eurasian Economic Commission.

In the FCC documentation, Apple specifies that the unreleased A2159 machine is a MacBook Pro, which is curious as the MacBook Pro already received a 2019 refresh in May.

 

[Icaras]

Oh god, those rounded corners look gorgeous. I want!!!

 

[Darth Tulhu]

That render looks great, except for the TB and the too-big trackpad.

I hope they reduce it a bit, enable Pencil support, and for God's sake, FIX THE KEYBOARD.

Oh, and that they don't price it the same as the Mac Pro.

 

[igroeg]

Slightly thicker chassis, better cooling, slimmer top bezel (unified with the rest), new keyboard with decent travel, no touch bar, 6 core option for the 13" inch.. a man can dream. Oh, and hopefully Apple won't go with the rounded display rendered above. I don't think it's practical for a computer and frankly, it doesn't look good to me.

 

[cppguy]

I need those physical F keys. Not the brightness and volume features, but the actual F keys. Asus and Intel are planning a far superior display above the keyboard, where you can actually drag windows and apps. The Touch Bar feels like 1994 after Intel's plans, where you can tower two displays vertically for a much larger combined screen.

Also HP and Lenovo have physical PgUp/Dn, Home, End buttons, which I use 20 times a minute all day every day. It's significantly faster than Fn+arrow keys for serious development work. And the F keys are used for debugging, stepping, breakpoints, jumping to code, all very frequent features in Visual Studio. Probably not in Xcode, but customizing your F keys is always more productive than the Touch Bar emojis.

 

[rachleff]

Absurd to come out with a 16", which is .6 inches larger than the current 15. Either Apple is going to do a 17" or replace the 15 with a 14". something is not right here