Bloomberg: Next-Generation MacBook Pro to Offer Improved Displays, Faster Charging Over MagSafe

[crevalic]

I really hope it wont lose charging over USB-C though because now I have a Thunderbolt 3 dock that gives my Mac a display and charging over the single Thunderbolt cable and I really don't wanna give that convenience up.

Same, with many monitors (like my LG 5K2K) now implementing TB3/USB-C with simultaneous fast charging and data I definitely don't see myself returning to the old days of needing a million cables and a charger around my desk just to use my computer. I definitely get much more use from my laptop now, when unplugging from my desk setup is so easy.

It'd be especially be shocking now, with the proliferation of USB 4 and most Windows laptops and desktops finally shipping with USB-C/USB4/TB3/TB4, causing the peripheral device makers to shift to these standards too.

If the MagSafe rumors are true, I really hope this is not an Apple ploy to extract more money from the Mac users by licensing yet another proprietary port to manufacturers, as with the iPhone MagSafe/Lightning situations. I guess I could live with a extra tiny, almost invisible magnetic port, fully compatible with USB-PD chargers


Apple earned a lot off goodwill recently, with the return of magic keyboard, great progress with Apple Silicon and, not as widely reported but actually very significant, free controller firmware upgrades to ensure compatibility with TB4 and USB4 across all laptops supporting Big Sur. I relatively recently returned to the Apple ecosystem for its simplicity, elegance and consistency and would hate to see Apple squander all of this by going backwards to being like Samsung 10 years ago, with a bunch of different proprietary ports across its devices. Not sure how people can be excited about needing to place a bunch of MagSafe pucks around their apartment to charge their iPhone, USB-C cables for their iPad Pro, lighting cables for their Magic Mouse/trackpad and accessories, and now MagSafe cables for their MacBook?

 

[syklee26]

Magsafe cable sold separately, book it!

 

[syklee26]

How much you wanna Bet?

Touch Bar going away because of Future Touch Screens

I will bet any amount of money that all Mac Laptops including the iMac will be touchscreen.

The Mac Pro will eventually be dropped because of no touch screen.

The future for MacBooks is to resemble the touch Microsoft Surface Pro's in every way.

No More Mac Pro. Not enough people buy them and they wont be converted to TOUCH.

Never bought into touch screen on notebook....not that much useful unless convertible, and convertible macbook is not coming.

 

[farewelwilliams]

The point is that Magsafe is a superior connection technique for charging. It's baffling that Apple ever removed it.

it’s not really.

usb-c can be charged from any port (obviously)
it’s an extra port you have to buy special accessories for
usb-c can be shared with those around you who don’t have apple products
monitors and thunderbolt devices can provide power without a separate connection

magsafe is an inferior port in every way except for that one time that .01% of all customers experience their device falling after someone tripped over the wire.

oh and, there are magnetic usb-c cables that mimic magsafe

 

[helloplebies]

So they’re just going to add back all the features they’ve removed through the years? I feel tricked. Why did I buy the ****** 2016 redesign

 

[Mr Magoo]

Some of the things sound great. But that they ditched their butterfly keyboard before was a step back. And today’s machines looks dated. And now remove the touchbar as well? I think it’s a few voices that sound loudest that brought this on. Thanks for that. Hope your happy now? If this continues we’ll soon have a super fast laptop with the looks of a PowerBook 100.

 

[Acidsplat]

So they’re just going to add back all the features they’ve removed through the years? I feel tricked. Why did I buy the ****** 2016 redesign

fixing the form over function of the Jony Ive era now that he's gone, it started with the 16-inch macbook pro

 

[bruno7]

No Touch Bar option.
Matte display option.
MagSafe.

Please.

 

[Keniutek]

All positive, but I'll be holding off until the Air is redesigned. For me, weight is #1.

Will it though?

 

[iJustines]

Some of the things sound great. But that they ditched their butterfly keyboard before was a step back. And today’s machines looks dated. And now remove the touchbar as well? I think it’s a few voices that sound loudest that brought this on. Thanks for that. Hope your happy now? If this continues we’ll soon have a super fast laptop with the looks of a PowerBook 100.

No. Apple made a heck of mistake with redesigned 2016 Macbook Pro from the horrible butterfly keyboard, lack of MagSafe, lack of user-replaceable SSD and people hate the touch bar due to the omission of haptic feedback.

 

[AlexESP]

Slightly thinner but in the form of symmetry bezel.

The only way to make them thinner but at the same time symmetrical is (significantly) rounded corners, and I’m not sure about that in the Mac.

 

[UKgaryb]

I'm pretty sure they will continue with USB-C PD so you can still charge over USB-C, plenty of notebooks do this today; my Lempur Pro 10 from System76 has a barrel type charger but also charges overt the thunderbolt port from my Dell USB-C Monitor.

 

[DinkThifferent]

Magsafe + No Touch Bar + 14/16inch screen + non-butterfly keyboard = shut up and take my money!

2021’s gonna be a great year!

 

[AlexESP]

I just want, whether it’s USB-C or MagSafe, to be able to charge it from left and right. Believe it or not, it’s a major reason why I didn’t jump into the M1 MBP.

 

[crevalic]

I'm also a bit shocked because of the insanely positive response, especially to the way crazier Kuo reports in the other thread.

What I'd want from the redesign mainly:
1) Implement FaceID to keep the experience consistent across the ecosystem and keep up with competition (higher end windows laptops and desktops have had proper IR facial recognition for ages now)
2) Reduce bezel size for the exactly same reasons, potentially combine this by increasing the size of the screen to 14" for the smaller MBP model
3) Introduce Apple Silicon across the whole MBP range, with the higher end models containing 4 TB3 ports, supporting at least 2 4K+ external monitors (and fixing rampant monitor support issues from M1) and supporting more RAM (although I'll be OK with 16GB)
4) Refresh the design a bit if you must, maybe do something regarding the Touch Bar or make it optional if it reduces the price significantly

 

[Schnegg]

Damn. This all sounds too good to be true!

 

[farewelwilliams]

How much you wanna Bet?

Touch Bar going away because of Future Touch Screens

I will bet any amount of money that all Mac Laptops including the iMac will be touchscreen.

The Mac Pro will eventually be dropped because of no touch screen.

The future for MacBooks is to resemble the touch Microsoft Surface Pro's in every way.

No More Mac Pro. Not enough people buy them and they wont be converted to TOUCH.

nope. won't happen. it's just a stupid idea.

 

[ruka.snow]

6 instead of 4 TB3/4 ports would be handy. But the Touch Bar is too handy to give up now and used daily, function keys don't have any use. If the Touch Bar is removed they can just leave a empty space in-between the esc key and power button. As for MagSafe, I don't imagine we are going back to proprietary chargers. Nothing in this rumour adds up.

 

[leman]

Magsafe? Why? That would be a significant step back, now that USB-C is the dominant port. Not to mention that MagSafe has been rebranded as an iPhone charger. Maybe a wireless charring option for the Mac? I could see that.

Removal of touchbar, possibly. It was there mainly to differentiate the Mac from other PCs. Now that Apple has their own chips, it's not really necessary. But going back to function keys, sounds extremely backwards. What I see as more likely are the reconfigurable OLED keys...

 

[PaulKemp]

So we are talking about the Macbook Pro 13"/16" with M2 here.

Is there no Macbook Pro 16" with M1 being launched?

 

[diddl14]

The MagSafe rumor probably refers to this, hard to imagine new MagSafe charging ports replacing usb-c...

 

[waveman]

The point is that Magsafe is a superior connection technique for charging. It's baffling that Apple ever removed it.

They removed it so people can talk about it > it's like with celebrities, no matter what they say about them, it's important to have all the noise. That's why they often do something controversial, to keep the noise up.

After the noise is gone, Apple is bringing the magsafe back, and even the rumors about it generate noise, it's all good for the business and generate more sales.

 

[Stephen.R]

How are you connecting more cables with MagSafe vs USB C?

... If you connect your MBP to a dock or display or eGPU or whatever, that provides power over TB3, you plug in one cable and you get power to charge the laptop, and data to/from the device, from 1 cable.

If the USB-C/TB3 ports no longer support PD to charge the laptop, you'd then have to connect the TB3 for data, and MagSafe for power.

 

[leman]

The point is that Magsafe is a superior connection technique for charging. It's baffling that Apple ever removed it.

That's a very debatable point. It's a proprietary, limited function connector. Charging over USB-C is standards-compliant, just as convenient and can be used with a wide range of equipment. Actually, it's more convenient, since I can just plug in my eternal display and have charging, video out and all the peripheral connections I need.

Not to mention that MagSafe has been rebranded as a wireless iPhone charging system. I am very skeptical about the old magsafe revival for Mac charging. It's most likely the crucial details were lost in translation. The "MagSafe" her probably ether refers to a wireless charging system for Mac laptops or to the ability to use your Mac as a charging pad

 

[Royksöpp]

... If you connect your MBP to a dock or display or eGPU or whatever, that provides power over TB3, you plug in one cable and you get power to charge the laptop, and data to/from the device, from 1 cable.

If the USB-C/TB3 ports no longer support PD to charge the laptop, you'd then have to connect the TB3 for data, and MagSafe for power.

I don't think they would remove that option. I see MagSafe as more of a portable/laptop only charging method. Many people are using only one cable with monitors, so I doubt Apple would stop that all of a sudden.