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Apple to Launch 'MacBook Ultra' With These Six New Features

OLED and a thinner design I am looking forward to.

Yes, I'm one of those people who thinks the laptops should be made thinner and lighter if it can be done without sacrificing performance. It couldn't be done with the Touch Bar models because Intel's mobile chips were not efficient enough to run well in that thin chassis. But I think Apple Silicon presents the perfect opportunity to try and do something innovative with the design.

My ideal MacBook would be the Air with a mini-LED or OLED ProMotion display. It would have all the power I need (don't need a Pro/Max chip), but having used the Pro's display since 2021, I can't return to an inferior display technology. I suspect Apple knows this is the case for many and thus won't update the Air with a better screen for a while.

In the meantime, I'm curious as to how the Ultra will perform and what it will look like. I'm not particularly enthusiastic about the touchscreen, but it looks like that's happening whether we like it or not...
 
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ChrisA said:
Someone gave me an older Microsoft Surface, 8GB RAM, and an older Intel i7 inside. It performs reasonably well. But it runs Windows. I am now installing Linux Elementary on it. https://elementary.io/ It will look and act like a Mac.
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ChrisA said:
Maybe I can come back and give an opinion of a Mac-like OS on a touch computer.
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Please do! I've used Linux for years, but, never had any luck getting non-computer-nerds to touch any BSD or Linux system. Partly the steep learning curve, but, more often, they have expressed that these OSes look "ugly" at first blush. Elementary looks like it could be very attractive to that audience. Thank you for pointing it out!
 
dalestrauss said:
Touchscreens are great for scrolling, pinch to zoom precision
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multitouch trackpad

dalestrauss said:
quick selection of links and other targets.
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I have to enter "edit" mode, drag my finger down towards the bottom of the screen, let the screen scroll to the bottom, find the delete button, tap, confirm, done.

or

CMD+A, delete, return key on my keyboard.

talk about nonsense.

dalestrauss said:
They are just another input option and NOT the coming of the devil. If you don't like it, don't use it.
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How do I buy a MacBook Ultra with all of the features except the touch screen which I'm paying extra $$$ for?

dalestrauss said:
People don't use HDMI or SD cards
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I've advocated for 4 TB ports instead of 3 TB + HDMI and SD port.

dalestrauss said:
Even more importantly, with macOS capable of running iPadOS apps, a touchscreen MacBook Pro would be a two in one killer device.
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I've been running iPad apps fine on my MacBook. No need for a touchscreen.
 
Madmic23 said:
If the keyboard folds all the way around, this could finally be the MacOS powered iPad people have been looking for.
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I wish you were right, but I seriously doubt it. All I personally want from Apple is not to have to carry around an MBP and an iPad, but Apple would not want that. They want us to buy as many devices as possible.
 
germanbeer007 said:
How do I buy a MacBook Ultra with all of the features except the touch screen which I'm paying extra $$$ for?


I've advocated for 4 TB ports instead of 3 TB + HDMI and SD port.
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How about 4 TB ports and HDMI? I don't respect HDMI, but, I have to use it. Anything used that much should have a built-in port so I don't need another dongle. A high-end workstation should have ports, otherwise, I have to carry around a full docking station with all the ports.
 
BSDnostalgia said:
How about 4 TB ports and HDMI? I don't respect HDMI, but, I have to use it. Anything used that much should have a built-in port so I don't need another dongle. A high-end workstation should have ports, otherwise, I have to carry around a full docking station with all the ports.
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I'd argue everything should just be usb-c. kill the HDMI port. it's so infuriating to try and plug an HDMI on the underside of a monitor. dp-alt is royalty free while HDMI needs royalty payments.

yes it involves dongles, but at some point, kill it.
 
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germanbeer007 said:
I'd argue everything should just be usb-c. kill the HDMI port.
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Frequently one has no control over that. If you are giving a presentation, connecting to a TV, your own or in a conference room, it is usually HDMI. Thank goodness VGA finally died. DisplayPort is still odd to many people- don't ask me why.
 
BSDnostalgia said:
Frequently one has no control over that. If you are giving a presentation, connecting to a TV, your own or in a conference room, it is usually HDMI. Thank goodness VGA finally died. DisplayPort is still odd to many people- don't ask me why.
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I mean I recall the days of forgetting my vga adapter. same process should just be carried out for HDMI.
 
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germanbeer007 said:
I mean I recall the days of forgetting my vga adapter. same process should just be carried out for HDMI.
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Precisely. There seems to genuine divide between those who enjoyed the fact that the 2011 MBP had:

"802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, a Firewire "800" port, three USB 2.0 ports, separate audio in and out ports, an ExpressCard/34 expansion slot, and a "Thunderbolt" port that is backwards compatible with Mini DisplayPort and, likewise, supports an external display at 2560x1600 and passes an audio signal. Thunderbolt also supports other peripherals"

and those who prefer their system to look more aesthetically pleasing, and, would rather carry around a docking port or handful of dongles to provide connectivity. My point of view is, that is what the Air is for. Why do you want to deny me a system with ports?
 
BSDnostalgia said:
Precisely. There seems to genuine divide between those who enjoyed the fact that the 2011 MBP had:

"802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, a Firewire "800" port, three USB 2.0 ports, separate audio in and out ports, an ExpressCard/34 expansion slot, and a "Thunderbolt" port that is backwards compatible with Mini DisplayPort and, likewise, supports an external display at 2560x1600 and passes an audio signal. Thunderbolt also supports other peripherals"

and those who prefer their system to look more aesthetically pleasing, and, would rather carry around a docking port or handful of dongles to provide connectivity. My point of view is, that is what the Air is for. Why do you want to deny me a system with ports?
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the reason why we still have usb-a ports in many new PC computers is because people like you want these ports.

if we want an accelerated death of HDMI, you have to deal with temporary adapters.
 
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germanbeer007 said:
the reason why we still have usb-a ports in many new PC computers is because people like you want these ports.
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I'll take that as a compliment! You can't change over in 1 year. Tons of USB-A stuff still out there, even though USB-C started to roll out a long time ago (I think I first saw it on Apple). But, only recently has the combination USC-C/DP/USB4/TB4-5/PD port rolled out. Apple is still selling stuff that does subsets of these. Most ports are not full capability yet. Lots of monitors being sold today still have fairly backward inputs and ports -- especially the ones I can afford.

I picked that 2011 MBP specifically because it had good backward and forward compatibility which was extremely useful to me at the time. I had a fairly large investment in FW800, by the way, because it was so so much faster than USB 2.0. TB1+DP was brand new back then. You have to have devices that can talk both old and new to make a clean transition.
 
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BSDnostalgia said:
I'll take that as a compliment! You can't change over in 1 year. Tons of USB-A stuff still out there, even though USB-C started to roll out a long time ago (I think I first saw it on Apple). But, only recently has the combination USC-C/DP/USB4/TB4-5/PD port rolled out. Apple is still selling stuff that does subsets of these. Most ports are not full capability yet. Lots of monitors being sold today still have fairly backward inputs and ports -- especially the ones I can afford.

I picked that 2011 MBP specifically because it had good backward and forward compatibility which was extremely useful to me at the time. I had a fairly large investment in FW800, by the way, because it was so so much faster than USB 2.0. TB1+DP was brand new back then. You have to have devices that can talk both old and new to make a clean transition.
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never said 1 year, but I want it accelerated.

usb-a needs to die ASAP. my literal pc case I bought drilled in 2x USB-A and an optional USB-C port which I had to buy separate wiring.
 
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germanbeer007 said:
I mean I recall the days of forgetting my vga adapter. same process should just be carried out for HDMI.
Click to expand...
HDMI will be here forever. Every projector. Every big screen tv.

Every professional presentation, every class lecture, every talk at a conference, every talk to the local community. Yup, you will need to connect to A/V equipment.

VGA is not quite dead. My MacBook Pro would connect properly and display an image in one room but not another. This has happened to me at two institutions in two different countries so far. Why? HDCP was enabled in one room's switch and not in another. Another attendee came to my rescue with a VGA dongle. VGA has no HDCP problem. Since then, I've always carried a VGA dongle just in case. You never know in which country, in which place you may be asked to present something.
 
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germanbeer007 said:
It's always been a hyperbole. Unfortunately some people didn't understand that so I pointed it out.

The fact that one thought I polled the entire world if anyone wanted it and concluded that 100% of the population didn't want it is ridiculous, yet here we are.
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Yeah… nobody thought you literally polled the entire planet. That’s not the point. You said nobody wants it which is just lazy exaggeration to make your opinion sound stronger than it is. When people push back, suddenly it’s hyperbole. Plenty of people don’t want touch on a MacBook. Plenty do. Acting like it’s universally hated is what’s ridiculous.
 
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