Five Things You Still Can't Do With a MacBook Pro

[Makosuke]

There was a Razer laptop with UHS-III for some reason. But otherwise it looks completely dead.

Also I posted an article on SD Express, but basically the word on the street is that SD Express is dead on arrival because no camera maker has signed onto the standard. They might adopt it eventually, but most new bleeding edge cameras are using CFexpress. So now the problem is, put a separate card form factor (CFx) and piss off people using SD, put SDx and no one has cameras with it and it downgrades UHS-II to UHS-I, or put UHS-II and people complain about no future proofing like he is in this article. No win situation.

Thanks for pointing me to that Razer laptop (link)--I hadn't seen it and it didn't come up in any searches, but I guess that means that UHS-III is not entirely vaporware, and there must be a controller for it if Razer is using it.

Otherwise, though, it's exactly as you say--essentially a no-win situation. I guess if a controller exists they could have done what that Razer did and put in the UHS-III slot just as hypothetical future proofing for a probably-DOA-standard just to make people not complain, but I suspect they'd just switch to complaining about the lack of a SD Express slot anyway, so it would be whatever the cost for an exotic controller is for nothing.

Also of note: If SD Express (or UHS-III) ever does end up being a more widespread pro standard in 2-3 years, the sort of people who will actually buy pro cameras and $1/GB cards are also the kind of people who will probably have upgraded their pro work laptop by then anyway.

 

[XXPP]

All useless. I only need TB4. They should remove HDMI and SD card.

 

[BrownyQ]

Remember the 140 watt charger is unique

I actually did not know this, but I also tend to overlook small details like this. Nifty.

 

[0194839]

Don’t forget surfing in the ocean. Tried it yesterday, thus from personal experience I can confirm: that’s a no-go! I repeat do not try to use your MacBook Pro as a surfboard. Okay-thanks-by!!!

 

[no_idea]

#6 No USB-A port.

Lol…move on dinosaur

 

[jaytv111]

Thanks for pointing me to that Razer laptop (link)--I hadn't seen it and it didn't come up in any searches, but I guess that means that UHS-III is not entirely vaporware, and there must be a controller for it if Razer is using it.

Otherwise, though, it's exactly as you say--essentially a no-win situation. I guess if a controller exists they could have done what that Razer did and put in the UHS-III slot just as hypothetical future proofing for a probably-DOA-standard just to make people not complain, but I suspect they'd just switch to complaining about the lack of a SD Express slot anyway, so it would be whatever the cost for an exotic controller is for nothing.

Also of note: If SD Express (or UHS-III) ever does end up being a more widespread pro standard in 2-3 years, the sort of people who will actually buy pro cameras and $1/GB cards are also the kind of people who will probably have upgraded their pro work laptop by then anyway.

That kind of gets to the whole idea of future proofing, that you wouldn't need to upgrade in 2-3 years, your current stuff would work with the new standard. But using SDx is a worse experience for equipment today (UHS-II). It'd be intriguing if they put in CFx to see the reaction, because that is arguably the much more future-proof solution but it discards any backwards compatibility so pretty much everyone will get pissed off ("how dare Apple put in CFx knowing that you need a multithousand dollar camera to use it!")

Oh I should also say, there's CFexpress A and CFexpress B, and the B one is the better standard, but A could be used in a reader on one side and SD card on the other (combo readers are available). But I suspect that'll piss off even more people because CF B is the better standard by far and is in many more cameras (only Sony A1 has CF A). So CFx B people will be pissed, the SD enigma still happens because you have to choose which SD standard to use, and CFx A people are just Sony A1 owners.

 

[phillypharm]

So much of this list is dead wrong and that said, if I wanted to hook up dual monitors and ethernet, I don't want to have to constantly unplug 4+ cables (2 monitors, 1 ethernet, 1 power, plus any other accessories) when I want to go mobile. I'd much rather just disconnect a single cable from my dock.

 

[MallardDuck]

6. Intel x86 virtual machines.
7. Bootcamp

You'll never see the former. emulation just isn't able To perform at the os level.

 

[contacos]

#7. Backlit Apple Logo, please.

Apple: It would be nice if you can introduce new colors in the MacBook Pro line up.

Hint: Current iMac line up colors.

View attachment 2003870

Those are reserved for the MacBook Air. For some reason Apple seems to think that „Professionals“ don’t like colors and that colors indicate „budget“. That’s kind of color…ism if you ask me!

 

[Macintosh TV]

95% of the businesses are using Windows. Almost all the business software runs on Windows only. Having no possibility to run x86 virtual machines is a deal breaker for those customers who will want to stay with Intel mac's. And having two machines to carry around is not the best experience.

Most using a virtual machine aren't doing so locally. You can still run x86 virtual machines on Apple Silicon remotely.

It's Microsoft doing this. They're the ones choosing not to license ARM Windows.

But sure, if you're someone that must absolutely have Windows programs and work for an old organization that still uses mostly local apps, then you might not be using Macs anymore. We live in a world where move have moved to the cloud and virtual machines aren't run locally because they can be run much better remotely on servers, which is where they've always been mainly utilized.

 

[harshw]

The MacBook Pro is awful when waking up from sleep with attached Thunderbolt docks and monitors - maybe they should get THAT handled correctly, before even bothering with the 120Hz 4K displays

 

[neuropsychguy]

The headline makes this sound like it will be a set of yet-to-be implemented software or firmware fixes. These are all random hardware decisions and the “still can’t do” phrase doesn’t apply.

 

[rgwebb]

WiFi 6e is a technology made to get people to overspend without justifiable utility. The 6Ghz band is almost useless unless you can see the access point. Any occlusion of the signal drastically diminishes the effectiveness of the 6Ghz band.

HDMI 2.1 and UHS-III support are pretty legitimate misses in the last major MBP update. Wonder if that SOC related? At either rate, those are pretty obvious revision update enhancements imo.

5G cellular in Macs ain't happening until Apple produces their own cellular radios.

 

[ajfahey]

1. Meh. It’s a work computer, not a gaming computer. Would I pay an small premium for it? Yes. Would I use it because iPhone already supports that frame rate? Probably. Do I care right now? No, not really.
2. This is a bigger deal. UHS-III should have been a given. In fact, a technology leader would go one step farther than that to the more recent, if 3 year old, SD Express standard.
3. No thanks. I’d rather use a TB4 port adapter for corner use cases . WiFi-6 or even WiFi-5 is more than enough for virtually everything else.
4. I’m on the fence here. This is an extreme corner case though wifi infrastructure evolution may change that. Right now, wifi hot spots and tethering have me covered.
5. Not really an issue now or even next year. May be ripe by 2024 or 2025.

 

[88Keys]

Wish we could downvote articles, because this is pretty low effort. ?

 

[falkon-engine]

The MacBook can drive 4k 120 Hz, but can only do so IF and only IF that display has a DisplayPort 1.4 port. If that display is say an LG C1 or C2 TV for example with only HDMI2.1 ports, then no the MacBook will only drive it at 60 Hz via the macbook's HDMI port.

Another thing the MacBook cannot do is play most recent AAA games...most of those games that we want to play like Forza Horizon, Battlefield, Call of Duty, Doom, and so forth only work on Windows. Yes there is Crossover and Parallels, but those aren't native solutions. I would love for AAA 3D games to also work natively on the Macintosh and even Apple TV. Imagine if the Apple TV had expandable storage (similar to the PS5) with 64 graphics cores for AAA gaming. That would be a BEAST.

And while true that the MacBooks don't support Wifi 6E I don't think that's really that big a deal...as those routers are expensive or hard to find. Wifi 6 support in the 5 Ghz band is still great. 6 Ghz signal propagation hasn't been well tested by consumers especially in dense urban environments. I think Wifi 7 will be the big big deal when it is ratified in 2023/24 and would love to see Wifi 7 support come to the Macintosh sooner rather than later.

My only main gripe with the Mac is lack of gaming, otherwise I'm cool with the current implementation.

 

[entropys]

Yes to HDMI 2.1, not every display has DisplayPort 1.4.
Yes to UHS-111, not so much for cameras, but, expensive as they are, are still a cheaper path to additional fast storage than the reaming prices Apple charges for internal storage upgrades.
Yeees to wifi6e, just for future proofing.
Yes to USBA, because I have lost count of the times people have given me a file on a stick, and I hate rummaging in my bag looking for an adapter.
A lot of laptops don’t bother with Ethernet anymore, like my dragonfly. I just have it on my display at work with the rest of the peripherals and connect to the display via one USBc cable.

 

[star-affinity]

1. Meh. It’s a work computer, not a gaming computer. Would I pay an small premium for it? Yes. Would I use it because iPhone already supports that frame rate? Probably. Do I care right now? No, not really.

I think 120+ Hz is also worthwhile for desktop use, not just for gaming.
One gets ”closer to the hardware” (if that makes sense) when getting smoother frame rate and lower input lag.

But as far as I know the MacBook Pro's released last year can do 120 Hz on a 4K monitor via USB-C to DisplayPort, so it seems the MacRumors article needs correction, or am I misunderstanding?

 

[aidler]

And if I'm sometimes very critical of Apple and/or Tim Cook, it's because a device you pay 2.5 k and more for should include pretty much all those features. I expect more from Apple. I expect perfection as Steve would have expected.

 

[NeoSe7en]

“It’s been over 200 days since Apple debuted its redesigned MacBook Pro lineup.”

Yeah and it’s been over 30 days since I ordered the darn thing.

 

[nutmac]

While I probably won't notice it that much, but how about upgrading the builtin screens to full 4k HDR 120Hz+ screens, as well? Same with iPad Pros?

I am not sure why the resolution needs to be 4K (3840 by 2160). I vastly prefer MacBook Pro's taller 1.54:1 aspect ratio and iPad Pro's 1.33:1 over wider 4K's 1.78:1.

And what do you really gain from faster 120 Hz refresh rate? I realize that with games, one can notice subtle but noticeable improvements (e.g., sharper motion resolution) with 240 Hz. But macOS isn't exactly a gaming OS and I don't think there's enough benefit for non-gaming use cases.

 

[topdrawer]

MacRumors getting clickbaity

 

[startergo]

if you're someone that must absolutely have Windows programs and work for an old organization that still uses mostly local apps

I don't think many businesses are using remote apps. Probably less than 5%.

 

[spicynujac]

no VGA out either, or how about some other legacy ports? Seriously? I have a few external HDDs, bought 2 usb-c to that stupid flat connector cables for $6. Much better than adding an obsolete port. I have a 13 MBP M1, also bought a usbC to HDMI cable, why do people fall in love with their old cables, seriously?

If USB-A was actually obsolete, I'd agree.
It still has greater market acceptance than USB-C.
I just bought a $6,000 pro camera. Guess what it came with? A USB-A cable.
I bought a $2,000 drone -- same thing, USB-A.
All my thumb drives are USB-A. I primarily need them when transferring files to Windows machines (otherwise Airdrop is far superior). What do all the windows machines have? USB-A.
Of course, cheap products also typically use USB-A, for greater compatibility and universal acceptance.
If these manufacturers all adopted USB-C, that's all I would need, but that's simply not the case.

I have far more USB-A devices than USB-C.
Apple understands this, which is why they include USB-A on their desktop machines (even the Mac Mini). This is really just a relic of the Jony Ive era.

It's not about what we "like" it's about what we need. Display Port is better than HDMI, but I'm glad to have an "inferior" HDMI port since far more places have HDMI adapters (for example, every TV does, and most projector / office presentation displays). Sure, I could be angry that they are using an "outdated" standard but the reality is the "older" version is far more common and performs good enough that it's not replaced. USB-A is still a common port, with even new and premium devices being designed and manufactured with USB-A ports. I use the ports my devices need, simple as.

 

[Shreducator]

I really hope the next Mac mini will have HDMI 2.1. Also 5G in MacBooks seems like a no brainer.