Concept Imagines What a Dynamic OLED Touch Panel Could Look Like on a MacBook Pro

[mdriftmeyer]

I fail to see how a thin strip OLED touch panel is innovation.
[doublepost=1465545246][/doublepost]

Nov thru Jan, I believe.

That's first quarter. Q4 is Back to School to the end of October.

 

[any-key]

The actual power button was removed so that the nMBP could be thinner. But you can always buy an adapter.

Instead of a button there is this new intuitive gesture that will allow the MBP to be turned on and off. Strike of genius by Sir Jony.

'smash MBP on the floor once' to turn on
'smash MBP on the floor twice' to turn off

 

[where is it]

Not sure if it's been mentioned - I didn't read the full 8 pages of comments on this but...

Functionality-wise this strip is going to take some getting used to and in a lot of cases it just doesn't work.

Having the wifi icon on the strip for example, when you change network are you going to tap the strip and a magic floating panel is going to appear on screen? Not a very intuitive design.

Same with spotlight search icon. Inconsistency with the UI is what is killing Windows 10.

Also replicating the menu at the top of the screen above the keyboard is kind of like a throwback to the Windows Taskbar.

The limited angle of view is restrictive.

Sticky fingers all over the strip after a while will look ugly.

All seems to gimmicky, geeky and half baked to me.

Yes theres a market for it but mainly for people with combovers and pencil pouches.

Please Apple. No.

 

[dafire]

I really hope for real keys on the new high performance macbook pro. I have a 12" macbook (2015) and writing on it's keyboard is ok.. but it's much better with real keys

My main problem is that not every key feels the same, or sounds the same with the low profile butterfly keys .. and I hate that.

 

[dylin]

Reminds me of my old HP DV 6000 series laptop.

Didn't really like the controls that much, and the buttons never felt satisfying to use.

If apple does use these touch panel, lets hope it feels like a good match for the macbook.

 

[hello12]

Minority report: i find the creation of a touch bar pointless.

What if it includes Touch ID and a variety of features on top of that in the touch screen. More options than physical buttons.
Can it really be pointless if it brings functionality?

 

[Geurt]

Innovation is not equal to invention, it is about finding new functionality based on combining technologies. In this case: combining laptop function keys and a touchscreen technology for control into a new way to operate it. Innovations are everywhere, you just need to be able and want to see it

I fail to see how a thin strip OLED touch panel is innovation.
[doublepost=1465545246][/doublepost]

That's first quarter. Q4 is Back to School to the end of October.

 

[mdlooker]

Hmm I just got my Mid 2014 rMBP.. I may give this to my daughter and pick up this one.

 

[Even Longer]

Ha! Fancy OLED F-keys...
MacBook Pro with Apple Pencil support - that would be an instant buy!

 

[x0vash0x]

I'd prefer physical buttons instead. Looks gimmicky to me. Above all else I would like a Retina display in a MacBook Air.

This. Will. Never. Happen.

Can this meme stop? Please? PLEASE?!

I never look at my keyboard since I can type really fast and I know where the keys are placed. To me that kind of bar would be useless, why would I take my eyes out of the screen to look at informations on the bar and then look back on the screen?
Even with fullscreen apps I can go up with the pointer and look at the toolbar, so I always have access to those icons and informations.

Of course I'm talking about me, many people constantly look at their keyboard and the oled screen would be really handy.

Something I didn't think about: perhaps it's a way to get people into full screen apps more? You need access to volume and such within full screen, and currently full screen apps on OS X hide those within the OS. If OS X is going to become more 'iOS' like, then full screen apps (sans top menu bar with clock/wifi) will be the future.

 

[linus303]

Oh jeez ... no traditional F-keys? A true dealbreaker for me, unfortunately.

 

[hleewell]

I have to agree: no physical ESC key and power button will cause significant problems if the software locks up.


Remember this little guy?

[doublepost=1465544139][/doublepost]
Why do you hate touch typing so much?

No I don't hate it. What make you think so?
Would virtual keyboard eliminate keylogger hacks?

 

[Elijen]

This concept can never be true, because there are more than 1 USB-C ports

 

[2457248]

i like the concept and the idea of having the top bar down low (hint: since ElCap the top bar can be set to show/hide with mouseover).
i'm still not sold on the position of those usb ports, there's something missing imo.

 

[robeddie]

Because the vast majority of the world doesn't need computers like 'you' do. Apple is now a mass market company, albeit one with high profit margins. You are a minority Apple consumer.

What you need to do is get a Mac Pro to do you mainframe 'computing' on that and quit ruining the market for people like us who want a thin and light computer with power, sans ports, and features. You already have your stupid MacBook Pro, why do you insist on ruining our tool as well?

Yeah, see what I did there? I'm going to drink your tears when Apple disappoints you, you go to Microsoft and bitch and moan even more about how crappy Microsoft is. You and your computing needs are becoming relics outside of special niche circumstances.

Well the 'vast majority of the world' doesn't use macs, they use windows (not necessary because they want to, but they feel Apple gives them no choice)... so in your little world with blinders on where only macs exist, yea you're right, most people don't need those kinds of computers. Why? Because they've already left.
And by the way you wrote 'I already have my stuipid macbook pro'. Well, we're talking here about the neutering of that macbook pro, so I won't "have' that anymore either. If I did, I wouldn't be complaining LOL.

 

[soupcan]

Well, as long as the F-keys are still there I wouldn't mind. But we need the F-keys.

 

[MH01]

This. Will. Never. Happen.

Can this meme stop? Please? PLEASE?!

it's what apple consumers have been asking for years. Maybe in your world this will never happen, though decisions are made in apple HQ, I respective what the MR experts dictate.

 

[x0vash0x]

Well the 'vast majority of the world' doesn't use macs, they use windows (not necessary because they want to, but they feel Apple gives them no choice)... so in your little world with blinders on where only macs exist, yea you're right, most people don't need those kinds of computers. Why? Because they've already left.
And by the way you wrote 'I already have my stuipid macbook pro'. Well, we're talking here about the neutering of that macbook pro, so I won't "have' that anymore either. If I did, I wouldn't be complaining LOL.

Yeah. Exactly. Apple is looking for growth, not to placate a niche market. The computers you demand are not the growth market. The computers you need are placated by PC Manufactures. Life is full of hard choices: get an OS you prefer but hardware you don't like, or hardware you like but an OS you don't prefer.

 

[MXBY]

You could also use it for the dock icons. That I would love to see.

Being able to tap at Dock icons to activate the application you want to use, would be amazing.

Much quicker way of switching between apps than CMD + Tab, or keyboard shortcuts.

 

[x0vash0x]

it's what apple consumers have been asking for years. Maybe in your world this will never happen, though decisions are made in apple HQ, I respective what the MR experts dictate.

It's called a Macbook. If you want it, buy it. If you can't afford it, that's a personal problem. Stop complaining that you want a $1,200 at $900.

 

[MH01]

It's called a Macbook. If you want it, buy it. If you can't afford it, that's a personal problem. Stop complaining that you want a $1,200 at $900.

Pointless. I have a MacBook. Price aside can you comprehend why a MBA with a Retina display would be a superior machine? Nothing to do with cost ! And it would be the $1650 model

Interesting how you are debating with others how you want portable and small, and yet cannot grasp why the MBA is one do the best laptops Apple has, bar the screen?? Hello the rest of the Apple range is retina....

 

[Knocklaun]

I can see so much potential in this. Imagine using Photoshop and having all your tools spread out across the strip saving you screen space. I hope though that Apple have other uses for this strip that we haven't even thought about yet. Very exciting!

 

[pmau]

I can see so much potential in this. Imagine using Photoshop and having all your tools spread out across the strip saving you screen space. I hope though that Apple have other uses for this strip that we haven't even thought about yet. Very exciting!

I like it too. Media Control in iTunes, Maybe even Extensions in Safari, Recompile in Xcode.
I like it a lot. I just think that if we like it too much, it might not be real

 

[stef06]

Useless bar.....What about just iPADpro + MBpro = ONLY 1 superpowerful machine?

Isn't it what designers and other professionals only need?

Following rumors suggesting the next-generation MacBook Pro will feature an OLED touch panel that replaces the function keys, designer Martin Hajek has created some renderings imagining what such a MacBook Pro might look like.

Hajek's design incorporates some recent information indicating the touch panel on the MacBook Pro could be contextual, with icons and imagery that changes based on the app that's in use. Hajek imagines music controls when Spotify is open, which morph into a download monitor when using Transmission.

Also included in the images is an example of Siri on the Mac, with the colorful Siri waveform depicted on the touch panel. Siri for Mac is rumored to be one of the main features coming in OS X 10.12, set to debut on Monday. Not pictured is a Touch ID button, a feature also expected to be included on or alongside the panel.

In addition to an OLED touch panel, Apple's next-generation MacBook Pro, which will come in 13 and 15-inch sizes, is expected to be thinner, incorporating metal injection mold-made hinges, thin speakers at the sides of the machine, and USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 support.

As has been seen in a leaked chassis image, the OLED panel will be located at the top of the keyboard, where the function keys would normally be positioned. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said the upcoming MacBook Pro will feature "the most significant upgrade ever undertaken by Apple."

We don't yet know when the new MacBook Pro will launch, but Kuo has said he expects it to debut in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Make sure to check out Hajek's website for the full selection of concept images.

Article Link: Concept Imagines What a Dynamic OLED Touch Panel Could Look Like on a MacBook Pro

 

[kgorin]

I need all buttons in the top row to stay as they currently are regardless of the opened application, what like you don't need to change volume or play/pause unless you're in Spotify? What's even the point of making this bar dynamic?