Anyone who travels extensively sees a lot of value in this. Airports are hit and miss with wifi, and conference venues charge an arm and a leg for the service (last one I saw was $75 a day). Stopping off the side of the road for a quick Webex or Teams call is another example. There are many others. Yes, one can pull out their phone and hotspot, but it's just another step to take and another device to dig out if you don't have hotspotting enabled. I would love to just whip open the screen of my MBP and begin to work.
Honestly if you have an iPhone and a Mac Apple's made hotspotting stupid easy. But if you have an Android and a Mac then I can see cellular on the Mac being a bigger draw, same as the iPad with cellular.
Now that we have MagSafe.. how should the notebook handle the ethernet connection with sudden disconnects/reconnects, any concerns for data integrity?
That doesn't bode well for Apple. If it was all about just what we need vs what we like, there would be zero reason for anyone to buy a Macbook.
Glad my 2017 MBP is still going strong (would still be using my 2011 if not for AMD....). I can wait. Ethernet port though is how I do all my system upgrades. Hope the re-introduce it in future models.
It's been over 200 days since Apple debuted its redesigned MacBook Pro lineup. Offered in 14-inch and 16-inch display sizes, the new-look MacBooks wowed Apple fans and creative pros alike with their powerful custom Apple silicon, mini-LED screen, and multiple connectivity options. But there are still some things you can't do with a MacBook Pro. Here are five features some Mac users are still waiting for.
1. Support for 120Hz 4K Displays
Five years after it removed the HDMI port on the MacBook Pro, Apple in 2021 brought back the much-used multimedia interface to its top-of-the-line notebook. Unfortunately, the HDMI port that returned isn't so top-of-the-line – it's an HDMI 2.0 port instead of an HDMI 2.1 port.
HDMI 2.1 technology would have allowed the port to run a 4K display with a 120Hz refresh rate. As it stands, the HDMI 2.0 port on the current MacBook Pro supports only a 4K display with a refresh rate of up to 60Hz.
Apple's decision not to support 4K at 120Hz may well have been based on bandwidth limitations, but connecting Thunderbolt/USB-C displays results in a similar maximum refresh rate. According to Apple, the M1 Pro MacBook Pro models support up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, while the M1 Max MacBook Pro models support up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz.
2. Support for UHS-III SD Cards
In its bid to placate photographers and video producers, Apple reintroduced the SD card slot, not seen in a MacBook Pro model since 2015. What it didn't explicitly advertise is that the slot doesn't support UHS-III cards, which offer read and write speeds up to 624 MB/s. (That wasn't the only disappointment: The SD card slot on the new MacBook Pros supports UHS-II cards, but only up to 250MB/s of data transfer, not the 312MB/s speeds that the standard is theoretically capable of.)
There may not be many UHS-III cameras out there yet, but future-proofing the connectivity on a notebook that costs upwards of $2,000 is always going to be a welcome measure.
3. Ethernet Port
There's a simple enough reason why Apple didn't add Ethernet connectivity to its latest MacBook Pro: A standard Ethernet port is actually thicker than the notebook's chassis. So why should this even be considered a glaring omission?
In fact, Apple faced the same challenge with the thin design of the latest 24-inch iMac, which unlike the MacBook Pro has traditionally included an Ethernet port. Apple's solution was to place the Ethernet port in the power adapter. Apple says this "cool new innovation" allows users to keep their desks less cluttered, while still enjoying the benefits of Ethernet, which makes the lack of a similar port on the MacBook Pro power brick all the more surprising.
4. 5G Network Connectivity
Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, Dell, and HP all offer laptops with 5G connectivity, yet no Mac in Apple's notebook lineup currently supports the cellular standard. The same can't be said for Apple's iPad range, with LTE versions of both the iPad Pro and iPad mini readily available.
Should we expect the situation to change anytime soon? Perhaps so, if a report from January 2021 by well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman is anything to go by. Apple has developed "underlying Mac support" for cellular connectivity, according to Gurman, and given that we know Apple is working on its own custom modem set to appear in iPhones as soon as 2023, here's hoping that it makes an appearance in next year's MacBook Pro.
5. Wi-Fi 6E Support
Some say Wi-Fi 6E is still too new for it to be worth Apple's support yet. The counterargument is that the Google Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra already comply with the standard, and users typically upgrade their smartphone far more frequently than their notebook.
Wi-Fi 6E offers the features and capabilities of Wi-Fi 6, including higher performance, lower latency, and faster data rates, extended into the 6 GHz band. The additional spectrum provides more airspace beyond existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, resulting in increased bandwidth and less interference for devices that support Wi-Fi 6E.
Since early 2021 – months before the new MacBook Pro was launched – half a dozen routers and mesh systems have included the latest Wi-Fi 6E band. There will be more as time goes by. All of these reasons speak to why Apple is expected to support the standard in its first mixed reality headset, which is expected later this year or next. That it could feature in the next-generation of MacBook Pro is by no means outside the realms of possibility.
Article Link: Five Things You Still Can't Do With a MacBook Pro
I mean, 120hz on a 1440p display would be nice even. Don't really need 4k necessarily, but it certainly seems like 4k@120hz should be possible on these machines.
It's been over 200 days since Apple debuted its redesigned MacBook Pro lineup. Offered in 14-inch and 16-inch display sizes, the new-look MacBooks wowed Apple fans and creative pros alike with their powerful custom Apple silicon, mini-LED screen, and multiple connectivity options. But there are still some things you can't do with a MacBook Pro. Here are five features some Mac users are still waiting for.
1. Support for 120Hz 4K Displays
Five years after it removed the HDMI port on the MacBook Pro, Apple in 2021 brought back the much-used multimedia interface to its top-of-the-line notebook. Unfortunately, the HDMI port that returned isn't so top-of-the-line – it's an HDMI 2.0 port instead of an HDMI 2.1 port.
HDMI 2.1 technology would have allowed the port to run a 4K display with a 120Hz refresh rate. As it stands, the HDMI 2.0 port on the current MacBook Pro supports only a 4K display with a refresh rate of up to 60Hz.
Apple's decision not to support 4K at 120Hz may well have been based on bandwidth limitations, but connecting Thunderbolt/USB-C displays results in a similar maximum refresh rate. According to Apple, the M1 Pro MacBook Pro models support up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, while the M1 Max MacBook Pro models support up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz.
2. Support for UHS-III SD Cards
In its bid to placate photographers and video producers, Apple reintroduced the SD card slot, not seen in a MacBook Pro model since 2015. What it didn't explicitly advertise is that the slot doesn't support UHS-III cards, which offer read and write speeds up to 624 MB/s. (That wasn't the only disappointment: The SD card slot on the new MacBook Pros supports UHS-II cards, but only up to 250MB/s of data transfer, not the 312MB/s speeds that the standard is theoretically capable of.)
There may not be many UHS-III cameras out there yet, but future-proofing the connectivity on a notebook that costs upwards of $2,000 is always going to be a welcome measure.
3. Ethernet Port
There's a simple enough reason why Apple didn't add Ethernet connectivity to its latest MacBook Pro: A standard Ethernet port is actually thicker than the notebook's chassis. So why should this even be considered a glaring omission?
In fact, Apple faced the same challenge with the thin design of the latest 24-inch iMac, which unlike the MacBook Pro has traditionally included an Ethernet port. Apple's solution was to place the Ethernet port in the power adapter. Apple says this "cool new innovation" allows users to keep their desks less cluttered, while still enjoying the benefits of Ethernet, which makes the lack of a similar port on the MacBook Pro power brick all the more surprising.
4. 5G Network Connectivity
Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, Dell, and HP all offer laptops with 5G connectivity, yet no Mac in Apple's notebook lineup currently supports the cellular standard. The same can't be said for Apple's iPad range, with LTE versions of both the iPad Pro and iPad mini readily available.
Should we expect the situation to change anytime soon? Perhaps so, if a report from January 2021 by well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman is anything to go by. Apple has developed "underlying Mac support" for cellular connectivity, according to Gurman, and given that we know Apple is working on its own custom modem set to appear in iPhones as soon as 2023, here's hoping that it makes an appearance in next year's MacBook Pro.
5. Wi-Fi 6E Support
Some say Wi-Fi 6E is still too new for it to be worth Apple's support yet. The counterargument is that the Google Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra already comply with the standard, and users typically upgrade their smartphone far more frequently than their notebook.
Wi-Fi 6E offers the features and capabilities of Wi-Fi 6, including higher performance, lower latency, and faster data rates, extended into the 6 GHz band. The additional spectrum provides more airspace beyond existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, resulting in increased bandwidth and less interference for devices that support Wi-Fi 6E.
Since early 2021 – months before the new MacBook Pro was launched – half a dozen routers and mesh systems have included the latest Wi-Fi 6E band. There will be more as time goes by. All of these reasons speak to why Apple is expected to support the standard in its first mixed reality headset, which is expected later this year or next. That it could feature in the next-generation of MacBook Pro is by no means outside the realms of possibility.
Article Link: Five Things You Still Can't Do With a MacBook Pro
What do you mean by "in the field" exactly? What kind of software are you referring to?
Perhaps you mean specialist industrial software for manufacturing, or for areas where the working environment is remote (and not the software) without Internet connectivity?
Yes and power generation and control etc. Non of them uses software which can be installed in Unix. Windows only.
Not true. A lot of businesses of various types are using a mixture of Macs and PCs, either as issued laptops, or because they have a BYOD policy. When I joined one company they asked me if I wanted a Mac or a Windows PC. (The Mac was pretty disappointing though - a 2017 dual-core i5 MBP13 with 8GB - that was pretty unimpressive).
That's what I imagined. I would expect that this kind of industrial software - which might extend into specialist design, modelling, scientific and engineering software - would be more limited to particular platforms and would be unlikely to run as web application over the Internet.
Totally agree on the superiority of dongles as chosen by the user. Apple probably laughed all the way to the bank on this one, thinking, "there you go critics, you have your SD port". That SD port is probably much cheaper than another Thunderbolt port and far less useful - good for a point and shooter, but likely to be unused by a pro or even a serious amateur. Edit: point and shooters are far more likely to be iPhone users, air dropping their shots onto their mac, so even they have no need for the SD port.
I have to disagree about the SD port. Yes, it is not the standard used in pro-level video/cinema cameras, but most high-end stills cameras include SD + CFExpress/XQD. There aren't many DSLR/Mirrorless cameras *without* an SD slot (exceptions are Nikon Z6, Z7, D6, Canon EOS-1D)
Yep. If you don't need it, nobody should. We got it.So let's see...
120hz 4k display, that'd be nice if I owned one
SD Card? Nope, waste of a port to begin with
Ethernet? use a dongle.
5G? why would I want that built in, use a hotspot
6e? Nice if it was there, but unless you're in a congested area, doesn't have much impact
