Yes, when they switch ARM if they ever do, that’s going to be interesting how they address it.
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DigiTimes: Apple to Launch MacBooks with Cellular 5G Connectivity in Second Half of 2020
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I'd have some interest in having cellular directly on my laptop because pairing with your phone isn't always quick and reliable and you often have to pair it again if you even close up for just a moment. This becomes a huge pain if I'm trying to demo something to someone on my laptop and the following happens: "Here check this out... Oh wait... hang on. I gotta pair. It'll take just a second... Dang, why's it not finding it? Uh, ok try Airplane Mode and back on again... Ummm, sorry gimmie just a moment. Ok, maybe let's just use WiFi. What's the WiFi password here? Ok, while you go find it, I'll try to figure out why this isn't pairing all of a sudden. Trust me, you really need to see this."
There's a convenience factor that makes it a better option for some people. Also, a wireless laptop is going to be easier to locate if stolen.
Depends on the tech used as I understand it. Millimeter wave has much better penetration power.
I agree it will take a fee years to shake out the tech.
You are funny, if so inclined get an cellular modem dongle that connects to your devices, I believe it is still made unless due to a lack of demand it just made sense to use a cell phone instead.
Everyone has their own needs. You seem to think that everyone always has a phone and can always tether with it. That is not true, and in my case I can and have left my phone behind but not my laptop or iPad since I can do everything on them I can on a phone and more.
There are valid reasons for Apple to add 5G to the MBP. Whether or not they do remains to be seen; but I think 5G can be a game changer in how internet connectivity is delivered and 5G will be, in the future, what wifi is today.
The (cellular) modem itself is a separate chip, it might use an ARM core itself but the power consumption of that separate chip doesn't really depend on whether the main processor of the device is x86 or ARM. Apart from the cellular modem, tethering also tasks the WiFi or Bluetooth chips. It's only with the just announced Ice Lake chips that the WiFi controller is part of the CPU package on Intel chips. On the Apple Watch they probably are part of the S4 package. Now, the WiFi and Bluetooth chips in the Apple Watch might be more power efficient versions than the ones used in laptops.
- Apple Watch 4 is rated as having up to 18 h of battery life. The 44 mm version has a 1.12 Wh (or 292 mAh) battery. This combines to an average power draw of 62 mW.
- The 13" MBP is rated as having up to 10 h of battery life. It has a 58 Wh (or 4957 mAh) battery. The average power draw is thus 5800 mW.
Gosh that would be awesome. I have a second SIM I pay $10 per month to share my unlimited cellular plan. I use it daily with my ipad pro or my mini 5. And when I need to do serious work, my HP windows laptop (with LTE). Apple is only catching up with what has been a reality for years in the Windows world. I only hope it will be the Macbook 12, as I won't replace my MBA 11 with anything heavier (including the new Air). Especially as my main laptop is now a Samsung notebook 9, which is even lighter that the Macbook 12. If the Macbook got 4G/5G connectivity + a new keyboard (no butterfly) I would buy a maxed out version of it in a heartbeat. I do a mix of LTE and tethering (the latter especially when I bring my Samsung laptop) and I mainly tether from my ipad in other to save precious battery on my phone. But a cellular Macbook 12 would be a convenience that would make me upgrade.
Because roughly a third of all iPad sales in the US are through a carrier. Get an iPad for free or 1-2 hundred bucks and you're locked in a data plan for that device.
Note to Apple Engineers, THIS is more what I would expect from you on "PRO" laptops; Horsepower, Flexibility, Upgradability, Utility with Ports and Touch.... why have you continued to fail us and started pumping out toys for people wanting to show off at the coffee shop how much money they spent? Make that the "Plus" line or something and get back to helping the people on the "Pro" line do real work.
https://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ZenBook-Pro-Duo-UX581GV/
https://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ZenBook-Pro-Duo-UX581GV/
You know that 5g is stopped by a few inches of concrete? Thus requiring a bunch of indoor antennas to work? If you have to have an device in your home to transmit signals, why not just have a (5G to) wifi router already supporting everything for a lower cost and likely more power efficient?
Millimeter wave is not as bad as some folks thought it would be. It isn' the better penetrator. If you have lots of high efficiency windows it is bad.
"... Because millimeter waves don’t travel near as far as their sub-6 GHz counterparts, there’s something of a notion that providing coverage will require incredibly dense networks. Not so, Roh said.
...
...Next he took on millimeter wave for outdoor-to-indoor penetration. “This could be an issue,” Roh said, particularly given modern construction materials like low emissivity glass, which is notorious for hindering an outdoor-in approach to in-building coverage. ..."
https://www.rcrwireless.com/20180612/5g/millimeter-wave-myths-realities-tag17
" ... Verizon released a video showing how it’s getting decent speeds even when there’s foliage or walls in between the radio node and the device. ...
https://www.fiercewireless.com/wire...raged-by-millimeter-wave-propagation-analysts
Lots of mmWave testing has been to see just had large the reductions are due to being impacted. It isn't has "unworkable" as some thought it might be, but it isn't the 'better' baseline tech to start from.
You could make that argument for iPads, though, which are being marked as "laptop replacements" -- if a device as thin as an iPad can have cellular data access, why not a laptop?
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Why do I get the sinking feeling this will all boil down to my monthly internet and cell phone bills going up instead of down...
They really doing everything in their power to expose us to those delicious testicle and ovary frying, cranium penetrating 5G signals.
Same reason they have LTE iPads. Not everyone buys an iPhone, especially outside the US. But a lot of people will pay an extra 15-20% for a constant connection so that is easy profit for Apple. Plus making a phone a wifi hotspot eats into your cellular plan, phone battery life, etc.
Go and read the iPad forums and see the list of reasons people buy an LTE iPad even thought they have an iPhone and a hotspot option.
I've heard rumors that 5G kills bees, you know, those little creatures that pollinate plants that feed so many humans.
I can't remember the last time I've had to tether for my laptop. There's wifi everywhere 5G will be. The thing is, 5G might start replacing wifi. We're using wifi for things it's not really designed for, e.g. the handoff sucks.
In principle if you plug your iPhone into your laptop, you'd get the same battery life as if the cellular modem were part of the laptop itself (and thus powered by the laptop battery). In reality, plugging in your iPhone will probably transfer more power from the laptop to the phone than the cellular modem inside a laptop would consume (and thus drain your laptop battery a bit faster but with the benefit of have a better charged phone). Plugging in will also remove the power draw of the wireless connection between phone and laptop).
I've always wondered why is it we have smart phones and tablets with SIM cards but not in our laptops. I know with portable WIFi hot spots and tethering to your iPhone it means one cell phone account and one device to power up when using for extended periods but I can see a case to have a seperate SIM card for your MacBook Pro!
I bought a mobile hotspot that contains a standard Lithium Ion battery form factor.
It lasts forever and charges via USB in my car.
I can connect 20 devices, my MacBook, my iPad and my iPhone.
There are no drivers or software required and my devices do not require power for their internal modems.
I will be doing that once 5G hotspots come out.
They all use my 30GB data plan. I have never had any issues and have WiFi in my car for everyone to use as well.
It lasts forever and charges via USB in my car.
I can connect 20 devices, my MacBook, my iPad and my iPhone.
There are no drivers or software required and my devices do not require power for their internal modems.
I will be doing that once 5G hotspots come out.
They all use my 30GB data plan. I have never had any issues and have WiFi in my car for everyone to use as well.
Close - the UK, there's more signal dead spots here than not. It's probably the worst place in Europe outside of the major cities.