DigiTimes: 16-Inch MacBook Pro Will Feature Narrow Bezels and Launch in September

[SuperCachetes]

So the 100k MRI machine you just bought needs to be trashed to get one with USB-C sure... Nope!

An MRI costs a lot more than that, as does most medical imaging equipment.

More importantly, equipment like that will typically be in service a lonnnnng time. If you want 10-year old specialty equipment driving new laptop design, I imagine you are in the minority.

Yes! Its still faster than WiFi and its private! In some environments Bluetooth and WiFi are just not possible or allowed.

Someone already pointed out that you can hardwire your network via USB-C just fine, but again, just because there are special situations where there is no wireless due to security etc, that small subset of use cases shouldn’t govern the ports on a mass-market laptop.

By the way, I’m not sure I’ve seen this ever come up, but at some point MagSafe is just not practical. Apple is driving towards <2 lb laptops. They are becoming so light, that the breakaway force on a magnetic connector would have to be trivial to work like it used to. You can almost pick up a current MacBook using just the clamping force within a USB-C socket. What good is a breakaway cable when a gust of wind will blow your featherweight laptop off the work surface?

 

[Lalatoon]

Rather than na SD card I'd go with microSD so you can have nothing extending beyond the edge of the MBP.

Right! I wish my Macbook Air Retina has one

 

[code-m]

Apple does not make laptops for users such as me? Then why do I own so many Apple laptops?

As for the dongle, I went crazy and spent like $5 for three, and keep them scattered around for the rare times I need to use somebody’s thumb drive. I hear apple charged $5 less than they were planning, just so I could spend the extra dough on dongles. Very nice of them.

You choice to buy whatever Apple is selling and taking whatever financial hit, not everyone jumps on new port connectors and discard their previous investments with established connectors. Chances are if you are planning on connecting your USB-C MBP to most office projectors you will need a dongle. Maybe you are just the type to buy new Apple hardware to brag, dunno. I am sure you will have no problem when the next USB replaces USB-C standard and you will proclaim that everyone here should just suck it up as no one uses USB-C anymore.

Some USB-C dongles are not compliant for power, data, and video with the specified bandwidth. The expensive ones are and support can vary depending on manufacturer. All your $5 USB-C to USB-A dongles are doing is converting the connector type, the speed, bandwidth or other specifications are not supported. It is if I had an external SSD and connect it via USB-C it will support the specifications as defined by the manufacturer, if I put a USB-A connector on that other end, it will only work to that specification thus defeating the intended purpose. However if the SSD is only set to use USB-3 via Type A specifications and it had the option to plus a USB-C connector the data speed and bandwidth will be capped at the lower speed.

 

[alexhardaker]

Just when I thought they’d simplified the Mac lineup...

 

[Zdigital2015]

Nobody is saying they don't want USB-C/TB3 ports for those few devices that can actually take advantage of them. All they're asking for is a couple of good old USB-A ports - and maybe a HDMI - as well so that they don't need to use up the (very limited number, 2 to 4) of high-speed ports for boring old peripherals that might not even need USB 3 - and so that they don't need to rummage for a dongle when they're "on the road" and somebody hands them a USB stick, or they want to use a cellular modem, or charge a USB gizmo, or...

You may notice that far fewer people are complaining about USB-C/TB3 on the Mini/iMac/iMac Pro because Apple managed to add them without removing all of the so-called "legacy" ports.

Apple had one job to do in 2016 - take the Retina MBP design that everybody liked (including the industry-leading keyboard), update the innards and change the TB2 ports to TB3. Instead, apparently, what we wanted was something a few mm thinner (immediately offset for many people by the sudden need to carry a multiport hub and extra dongles around).



Nay, nay and thrice nay = that's impossible - because the Mac Mini retained its "legacy" USB-A, HDMI and Ethernet ports alongside TB3/USB-C, and apparently the only way for people to bask in the pure new light of the one true connector is for all of those hated legacy ports to be banished into the outer darkness and denied to all those who might find them useful.

Sorry - you've been corrupted - you may not be using those USB-A ports but they're there, tempting you, and there could come a day when you will think "Hey, that audio interface doesn't even need USB3 so why don't I just use the cable that came with it to connect it to a USB-A port and save a Thunderbolt port... what harm could it do?" and, lo, thou will have forsaken the Perfect Port, fallen from grace and shalt be excommunicated by the First Church of the Reversible SmartPlug.

TLNR: If it works for you, that's great - how hard is it to understand that it might not work for other people?

(Plus, its a mini desktop so having a few dongles hanging off the back is not the issue it would be with a laptop).

I have a 2016 15" MacBook Pro and I simply purchased a USB 2.0 Type-B to USB-C cable for my Focusrite Scarlet 18i8 and it worked just fine. I started having issues and I immediately thought that it might be the cable, but come to find out that as Focusrite updated the Control software, they also updated the driver for the 18i8, and I needed to manually remove the FocusritePCIe.kext, which along with updating Focusrite Control to version 3.2.1, which got rid of the issues I was having. My point being is that I have zero USB-A ports on my MacBook Pro and I simply spent a few dollars on new cables that work exactly the same as the old USB-A cables. I hook up a WD Passport that came with a USB 3.0 Mini-B to USB-C cable for Time Machine and I use a Sandisk Extreme Portable with USB-C on both ends for external storage. I print wirelessly and I use Apple's Bluetooth keyboard, trackpad and mouse. I do have an adapter to charge them using the included USB-A to Lightning cable, but I also use my Lightning to USB-C cable to charge them directly off of the MacBook Pro. I wish Apple (Tim Cook) would pry open their wallet and put a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box, but then they wouldn't sell as many USB-C to USB-A dongles, so we know that won't happen.

I still would like Apple to add a USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) port to each side of this 16" MacBook Pro and call it a day. If they want to fit some sort of MagSafe style recessed ring around those two ports to bring back MagSafe, so be it. But then they should be done. We're 4 years into the USB-C switch and I don't want to see any USB-A ports back on the MacBook Pro...ever.

Desktop machines can generally keep legacy ports, because the are not meant to be portable, have no battery life to manage and generally have a larger footprint. However, the mini traded off a dGPU to have 4 Thunderbolt ports and a 65w TDP CPU inside it. The iMac is big enough that USB-A is no big deal, but everything on the back of that box had to run through the PCH since the CPU has zero leftover PCIe lanes for CPU attached TB3 or PCIe SSD. It's a compromise. One of many Apple makes. Both MacBook Pros have compromises, but are still better able to adapt to the end user than the 2012-2015 MacBook Pros. I have zero need for HDMI, 1 or 10GbE or an SD Card, but I can add them easily if I want to do that. I would rather have the flexibility of those 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports any day than two TB2 ports and two USB 3 ports. Especially with the advent of eGPUs and PCIe expansion boxes that coupled along with 4-, 6- and 8-core CPUs make the MacBook Pro a much better desktop replacement for those that intend to use it that way. I would have to argue that if users are buying one with zero intention of ever moving it, they really should buy a Mac mini or an iMac instead of fussing about missing ports on the MacBook Pro.

 

[questionwonder]

Just ditched my 2018 MBP for everything but iOS development. The thermals are so atrocious. I got a new 15" Alienware M15 R2 with a RTX 2070. It is thicker, but the thermals are what makes the difference. It also has a 4K OLED screen which is crazy nice. Build quality is not as good, but my productivity is through the roof in comparison.

For my MBP, sitting in a Windows VM with Visual Studio kept the stupid fans blowing all day. It throttles like crazy, rarely running in boost. The AW can run at 4Ghz sustained(!). The keyboard was also terrible and the touchbar made developing a chore without an external keyboard.

Until Apple gets serious about thermals in the Pro machines I'm out. I'll have a MBP for doing iOS development since I cannot do that elsewhere, but that's it. Windows 10 has started to get relatively nice too -- on my LG 5K screen it really is stunning with the latest update and some visual tweaks. Though animations and stuff in the GUI are poppy and laggy unlike macOS. Cannot have it all. I'll take thermal performance at this point.

I was having the same issues with my macbook, then I installed Visual Studio Code for Mac and run all my development directly on my Mac. Never looked back to a Win VM again. VS Code runs with only 80+ MB RAM and installs in 380+ MB of space. Fast to load, debug, etc. Won't use full version of VS again until they make for improvements.

 

[Sabelonada]

Prices have stayed steady with inflation...back to 2013, atleast. As some expenses decrease, apple adds new expenses, like touchbar and "security" chips. Also they keep pushing the limits for size and weight, so there is always new engineering costs and tooling costs.

Nobody complains about a $1,000 phone with soldered in memory, so why not a computer? Okay, so they complain about the $1,000 part, but not the memory part...

Because there are very different expectations in a phone and a computer.

 

[jlc1978]

By the way, I’m not sure I’ve seen this ever come up, but at some point MagSafe is just not practical. Apple is driving towards <2 lb laptops. They are becoming so light, that the breakaway force on a magnetic connector would have to be trivial to work like it used to. You can almost pick up a current MacBook using just the clamping force within a USB-C socket. What good is a breakaway cable when a gust of wind will blow your featherweight laptop off the work surface?

It's the force over time. The sudden application of a significant amount of force, such as tripping over a cable, is different than the gradual introduction of an equal amount of force over an extended period of time. It's like the old table cloth trick - a quick jerk leaves the dishes on the table but the same total force over time pulls them off the table.

I actually have a breakaway USB-C cable I connect to my power supply to act like the old MagSafe.

 

[lec0rsaire]

Wow. Don't read the news much, huh? Most (if not all) MBP users want USB A. Dongle hell is still very much a reality. USB C is attempting to be the standard, but most don't like it. At least if they were to redesign the flimsy connector and port it wouldn't be such a close runner up to one of the worst designed keyboards ever. And you're calling others haters? Okay.

It’s not that most don’t like it. It’s that manufacturers haven’t eliminated Type-A and USB-C peripherals still tend to cost more. I don’t think any consumers have ever said,”I really love making sure I’m plugging this thing in the right way.”

 

[Mr. Dee]

For those who have the money and already own a 2018 and 2019 model, don’t upgrade because you can. Use your computer if its meeting all your needs. Stop with the upgrade for upgrade sake. In fact, keep your 2018 and 2019 for the next 5 to 8 years and maximize it to its fullest. Save the money, put it towards health insurance and retirement. Stop trying to seek attention at StarBucks or your local cafe.

 

[code-m]

I simply disagree that it is a better user experience. I have a touchscreen WinBoxen and find it a pain to try to do anything beyond click on a button via the screens; and I can do that just as easily with the touchpad or mouse and not get fingerprints all over a screen.

The TB, using BTT, is much more useful for me. It's customized for apps as well as allows me to have a dock when in full screen. I find it to be a natural evolution of function keys, but as I said YMMV.

If you are looking to control all UI/UX elements on present macOS then the experience can be limiting as it is not designed for Touch input, that does not mean that when one looks at a video to play/pause or to zoom in and out of images for example it is not a good idea to have a TouchScreen. Finger prints on the display is due to glass, one way around it to have a Nano anti-reflective coating on it and it would be resolved. When Apple moved the MBP lineup to glass without offering anti-glare options was the day fingerprints became a problem regardless if it was a TouchScreen or not. Besides when the brightness or display is ON it is less visible and I hear no complaints from people using iPhones and iPad, so you point really is overblown.

 

[xxray]

Part of me wishes that I hadn’t got my 2018 MBP a few months ago and had waited. The other majority of me knows this 16” MBP would probably start around $3000 (which is literally $1000 more than the MBP I got on sale), made little difference in my computer experience compared to my current MBP, and I would still be stuck using a Windows laptop while waiting for the 16”, so I don’t feel too bad.

 

[code-m]

For those who have the money and already own a 2018 and 2019 model, don’t upgrade because you can. Use your computer if its meeting all your needs. Stop with the upgrade for upgrade sake. In fact, keep your 2018 and 2019 for the next 5 to 8 years and maximize it to its fullest. Save the money, put it towards health insurance and retirement. Stop trying to seek attention at StarBucks or your local cafe.

Sound advice, however most use Apple hardware as status symbols and that is the sad reality, even going to Starbucks to sit there and surf the web for hours is projecting ones symbol. Just shallow mentality.
[doublepost=1564419178][/doublepost]

Mercedes is all in with usbC also...so there is no need to go back to usbA , floppy disk,optical drive etc
1 port to rule them all UsbC/Tb3

Yes, I am going to buy a brand new Mercedes to get USB-C, your logic is profound

 

[Kinotto]

You mean that photoshop for iOS they announced nearly a year ago to help sell iPads? Sounds like 2019 iPads will appear before this. Wonder why people aren’t a bit upset. This was often the reason cited for those getting a 2018 iPad Pro.

They clearly stated it will come in 2019, and it’s been in beta for a few months now, so I don’t see any lies or why people should be upset.

 

[code-m]

It’s not that most don’t like it. It’s that manufacturers haven’t eliminated Type-A and USB-C peripherals still tend to cost more. I don’t think any consumers have ever said,”I really love making sure I’m plugging this thing in the right way.”

If one does not know how to correctly plug in a device the correct way, when their plug in a USB-C cable will they know it is for power, video, data, ethernet, etc. If one is that incapable to discern the difference maybe a computer is not for them.

I plug in a HDMI to USB-C cable from my TV and expecting a data drive to mount on my desktop

 

[ksgant]

Just give us the dam ports back!

• 2 - USB-A
• 4 - USB-C
• Rear USB-C ports (L&R) recessed to accept flush MagSafe Plug & cable with charge LED
• Ethernet & SD Slot

And a SCSI connection port. I mean, really. It's 2019 and there's no SCSI port?

Pfft...

 

[code-m]

They clearly stated it will come in 2019, and it’s been in beta for a few months now, so I don’t see any lies or why people should be upset.

December 31, 2019
[doublepost=1564419449][/doublepost]

And a SCSI connection port. I mean, really. It's 2019 and there's no SCSI port?

Pfft...

I want my Zip and Jazz drives

 

[ksgant]

You mean that photoshop for iOS they announced nearly a year ago to help sell iPads? Sounds like 2019 iPads will appear before this. Wonder why people aren’t a bit upset. This was often the reason cited for those getting a 2018 iPad Pro.

I didn't know that Apple is developing this. Does Adobe have no input on it?

 

[code-m]

Part of me wishes that I hadn’t got my 2018 MBP a few months ago and had waited. The other majority of me knows this 16” MBP would probably start around $3000 (which is literally $1000 more than the MBP I got on sale), made little difference in my computer experience compared to my current MBP, and I would still be stuck using a Windows laptop while waiting for the 16”, so I don’t feel too bad.

Always wait for the after college/university promotion ends is when you want to purchase. Those promos are to get rid of stock.

 

[Lalatoon]

An MRI costs a lot more than that, as does most medical imaging equipment.

More importantly, equipment like that will typically be in service a lonnnnng time. If you want 10-year old specialty equipment driving new laptop design, I imagine you are in the minority.



Someone already pointed out that you can hardwire your network via USB-C just fine, but again, just because there are special situations where there is no wireless due to security etc, that small subset of use cases shouldn’t govern the ports on a mass-market laptop.

By the way, I’m not sure I’ve seen this ever come up, but at some point MagSafe is just not practical. Apple is driving towards <2 lb laptops. They are becoming so light, that the breakaway force on a magnetic connector would have to be trivial to work like it used to. You can almost pick up a current MacBook using just the clamping force within a USB-C socket. What good is a breakaway cable when a gust of wind will blow your featherweight laptop off the work surface?

I think you misunderstand what USB-C is and what Thunderbolt 3 is. The one in Macbook's is not USB-C standard but Thunderbolt 3 using USB-C port.

The difference is the protocol used. The problem with USB-C protocol is that each manufacturer is allowed to not support all standard protocol for USB-C. Meaning, a laptop with USB-C protocol not (Thunderbolt 3) is not required to support all USB-C standard. For example there are laptops with USB-C port that are not Thunderbolt 3 and it does not support charging, video out or networking but it does support file transfer like USB-A. Thats why USB-C is broken in that concept because it's not like Thunderbolt 3 where once you use it, it is expected to support all those other features.

And I think thats the main reason why manufacturers are slow to adapt USB-C because there is no cost benefit in using the port. The problem is if supporting all USB-C feature is mandatory it will drive the cost for producing the port. For example a mid-tier phone using USB-C standard, if it is mandatory to support all features of USB-C it will drive the cost of the phone higher because those features needs different IC then drivers and etc.

Thats the reason why USB-C is not quite the port that will rule them all yet. For now most of USB-C ports (not Thunderbolt) functions the same with USB-A. Well, I have to admit USB-C connection is much stable compared to microUSB.

 

[lec0rsaire]

Sound advice, however most use Apple hardware as status symbols and that is the sad reality, even going to Starbucks to sit there and surf the web for hours is projecting ones symbol. Just shallow mentality.

Most buy Apple devices because they like macOS and iOS. Many don’t like their operating system hijacking their computer and upgrading itself whenever it wants to. Many like being able to walk in to a store to get support instead of spending hours on the phone with someone from India.

 

[cmaier]

You choice to buy whatever Apple is selling and taking whatever financial hit, not everyone jumps on new port connectors and discard their previous investments with established connectors. Chances are if you are planning on connecting your USB-C MBP to most office projectors you will need a dongle. Maybe you are just the type to buy new Apple hardware to brag, dunno. I am sure you will have no problem when the next USB replaces USB-C standard and you will proclaim that everyone here should just suck it up as no one uses USB-C anymore.

Some USB-C dongles are not compliant for power, data, and video with the specified bandwidth. The expensive ones are and support can vary depending on manufacturer. All your $5 USB-C to USB-A dongles are doing is converting the connector type, the speed, bandwidth or other specifications are not supported. It is if I had an external SSD and connect it via USB-C it will support the specifications as defined by the manufacturer, if I put a USB-A connector on that other end, it will only work to that specification thus defeating the intended purpose. However if the SSD is only set to use USB-3 via Type A specifications and it had the option to plus a USB-C connector the data speed and bandwidth will be capped at the lower speed.

LOL. "Financial hit."

As for office projectors, my office provides all the necessary adapters in every conference room.

And why would I "brag" about buying macs? I buy them because they are the best machines for doing what I need done.

Why is it so hard for you to believe that most people who buy MBP's are perfectly fine dealing with all USB-C?

 

[Zdigital2015]

You mean that photoshop for iOS they announced nearly a year ago to help sell iPads? Sounds like 2019 iPads will appear before this. Wonder why people aren’t a bit upset. This was often the reason cited for those getting a 2018 iPad Pro.

Photoshop for iOS was announced on October 15th, 2018, so it hasn't been a year yet. Pre-announcing software to help sell hardware has existed since the advent of the computer age, so please don't act as though this is some recent phenomenon.

There is zero guarantee that Apple is going to announce any new iPad Pros before the end of the year. Regardless, the 2018 iPad Pro is a beast and its potential has not even been really tapped yet. iPadOS should go a long way towards doing just that. Adobe knew Apple was going to fork iOS for the iPad and that's what they are targeting as their ideal platform. They also have to support older versions of iOS and that all takes time to get right.

If you pinned your hopes and dreams on Photoshop on the 2018 iPad Pro, then I have to question your reasoning. Any Photoshop vet worth their salt knows that this is a giant beta test, even when it is released. We're talking an application that is over 30 years old. Adobe is not going to nail this on the first try...even Adobe knows that.

 

[nwcs]

In photography our tools in the field are portable USB-A drives and SD cards. So I need to trash all of that and my cameras which use SD cards... Nope! By the way what camera has USB-C built in? None!

Nikon Z6, Nikon Z7, Canon EOS R, Phase One XF IQ4, Fuji XT-3, Sony A7 rIV, Canon EOS RP, and there are probably others. You’re a bit out of date on your information. And you’d have no issues with dongles if you simply swapped cables with good ones from monoprice.

 

[Lalatoon]

LOL. "Financial hit."

As for office projectors, my office provides all the necessary adapters in every conference room.

And why would I "brag" about buying macs? I buy them because they are the best machines for doing what I need done.

Why is it so hard for you to believe that most people who buy MBP's are perfectly fine dealing with all USB-C?

We are not perfectly fine but we have no option

like the butterfly keyboard...
like no physical ESC key...
like touchbar (all Macbook Pro are TB only)...

I hate to say it, Macbook Pro are one of those devices who have the balls to call themselves pros but provide little options