Gurman: 16-inch MacBook Pro Has Improved Speakers, Noise-Cancelling Microphones, and '4% Larger' Screen Than 15.4-inch Model

[Mydel]

Hopefully Apple has improved the FaceTime cam.

3 x yes. Im really annoyed with the can quality. Especially if you compare to iphone front camera. I dont know whats the problem here. I mean other manufactureres wipe the floor with facetime camera. Also i would like the glowing logo on the back. Its iconic and the glossy one we have now is a downgrade.

 

[tharitm]

The Touch Bar isn't going anywhere.
And FaceID isn't that important for a laptop. Any tech-savvy person with focus on security wouldn't want to use it in a corporate or business setting anyway. They would much rather want to use TouchID for security's sake. And Apple probably doesn't want to ship a laptop with FaceID AND TouchID.

A lot of corporations have strict security relating to webcams and stuff like that. Which is why TouchID is considered safer. TouchID can only read fingerprints. TouchID can't record visual stuff on a whiteboard, in a presentation, or see faces in the background (other employees).

Nobody that actually uses their computer for work in such a setting wants FaceID on their laptop, as the cameras often are taped over or covered in some way anyway.

Also some people already have stickers on their FaceTime cameras.

 

[NJRonbo]

I miss the lit logo too.

Hey...uhm...

Am I correct in assuming only base models will be available at the Apple Store?

Anything with a bigger SSD or more RAM will be considered a customized option and delay shipping by a few days?

 

[tharitm]

I have 8 days left to return my 15 inch. Please just launch it

Return it and get it during the holiday return season.

 

[maflynn]

Am I correct in assuming only base models will be available at the Apple Store?

I think they have a mixture of models and configurations available. They may have a small amount of higher spec'd models.

 

[alexandero]

Maybe they are planning a bigger redesign next year (4 years of the current design are over then) and this is a stopgap release to introduce the 16" size?

You think they are going to keep the faulty keyboard on the 13" until a bigger redesign next year?
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They announced a price drop for storage this year, didn't they?

They didn't for the first increase, e.g. from 256 to 512.

 

[NJRonbo]

You think they are going to keep the faulty keyboard on the 13" until a bigger redesign next year?

There is no faulty keyboard on the 2019 13" MBP.

I am typing on it now.

Coming from the faulty 2017 and 2018 models -- both of which I owned and sold --- this is miles ahead of the other butterfly keyboards.

 

[rmoliv]

Excuse me but why do you always refer to whatever place Apple has unveiled this at to journalists and whatnot as a “luxury” loft mansion? Moreover, luxury is kind of subjective, I might not find it luxurious at all. Plus, and more importantly, it’s a tech company, not Dior or Chanel...

 

[jlocker]

I think they have a mixture of models and configurations available. They may have a small amount of higher spec'd models.

Correct but Apple is watching sales very carefully to ramp up production on what will be the popular model config for this model.

This gives them a baseline for next year models.

 

[waquzy]

I think they have a mixture of models and configurations available. They may have a small amount of higher spec'd models.

From previous experiences, usually they have 3 storage options available in-store from day one, 256/512/1TB

 

[DEASFA]

You think they are going to keep the faulty keyboard on the 13" until a bigger redesign next year?
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They didn't for the first increase, e.g. from 256 to 512.

Is there evidence the 2019 version is faulty? I’ve look around online and couldn’t find any.

 

[Soylent Yellow]

The FBI has complained about the background noise. Tim Apple said: "Do worry guys, I've got your back!"

I hope this means that the keyboard is properly muted from the microphone. You just cannot use the keyboard of the current MacBooks when you are in a call, typing totally hammers the dialogue away. Big source of frustration, I'm in calls about twice a day and have to make all my notes on dead trees.

 

[lilkwarrior]

My thoughts on the wishlist .

• The battery ergonomics of rMBP are overdue to be improved, but I agree 4K shouldn't be an option forced on all rMBP users. It should definitely be treated like how retina display Macbook options were treated when they came out: A separate SKU given the dramatic compensation you'd want w/ that option that's more catered to professionals rather than forcing it on all rMBP all at once.
  
  
  
• The Touchbar & its functionality primarily for content production can't be fully replaced w/ OLED keys, so it shouldn't just disappear IMO; it's a can't go back inclusion of the MacOS platform Apple can't simply go back on. It will make a LOT of developers, partners, & creatives upset.
  
  I think it makes only sense to expand on it to be a 2nd display OLED touchscreen much like how the Zenbook Pro Duo innovated in a vastly appreciated way that also supports Apple's efforts of porting iPad & iPhone apps on MacOS.
  
  That said we definitely agree OLED keys should happen to dramatically simplify i18n & manufacturing of Macbook Pros.
  
  
• 4K Web Cam I think is critical for optimal face-timing & apps like Skype support it. It's a chicken & egg, and I think Logitech did a great job showcasing the benefits of it w/ their 4K Web Cam that I hope Apple matches to quickly aid many away from the abysmal 720 chats. This is more personal so I can better appreciate video chatting w/ significant others, but I digress…
  
  TBH, I wouldn't also mind the Macbook Pro getting a Back-facing camera but that's significantly a lot more improbable.
  
  
• HDMI 2.1 has more bandwidth than Thunderbolt 3, so it makes sense to work w/ Intel to introduce TB4 or have HDMI 2.1 for the sake of convenience for all the affordances it also brings that TB3 doesn't have for both content production & everyday use (HDMI 2.1 quick sync, eARC, VRR, & etc).
  
• AR & Atmos I think can't be avoided because it enables more compatibility with the rest of Apple's products & services the Macbook Pro lacks for extremely confusing reasons (no Dolby Vision, no Dolby Atmos, no ARKit on Macbook Pro & etc).
  
  Keep in mind AR definitely has stationary purposes
  
  
• Lack of Nvidia GPUs on Macbook Pros has been depressing to see play out.

 

[NJRonbo]

Is there evidence the 2019 version is faulty? I’ve look around online and couldn’t find any.

I don't think you will. They really got the 2019 butterfly keyboard right!

So much so that if they had kept it in the 16" model I would not be devastated. Fortunately, however, it looks like a new keyboard will be included.

 

[jlocker]

Excuse me but why do you always refer to whatever place Apple has unveiled this to journalists and whatnot as a “luxury” loft mansion? Moreover, luxury is kind of subjective, I might not find it luxurious at all. Plus, it’s a tech company, not Dior or Chanel...

GM does the same thing with new model cars, New York a large city with lots of financial analysts.

 

[alexandero]

There is no faulty keyboard on the 2019 13" MBP.

We don't know that yet, issues sometimes take months and years to develop. I don't trust the 2019 butterfly keyboard to hold until e.g. 2023, do you? And Apple doesn't seem to trust the 2019 keyboard either, or why would they now (presumably) release a non-butterfly keyboard?

 

[1146331]

I don't think you will. They really got the 2019 butterfly keyboard right!

So much so that if they had kept it in the 16" model I would not be devastated. Fortunately, however, it looks like a new keyboard will be included.

They got the 2019 butterfly keyboard so right that they are going back to a normal keyboard.

 

[Oraichu]

All I want is an OPTION to upgrade to a better GPU. It's always the weakest part of the mac. Always holding it back.

 

[mdatwood]

I don't really understand the fascination with SD card slots. They just don't age very well. Cameras that use SD cards are being displayed by phones. My next DSLR will likely use XQD cards. Should I complain about the lack of an XQD card slot?

 

[otternonsense]

Just release it already so I can take my 2017 MBP to the firing range even though it's company property. I haven't resented a laptop that bad before, even my windows ones.

 

[workerbee]

No mention of a new and more powerful/less powerhungry GPU by Gurman makes me think the «waiting for the NEXT MacBook Pro iteration» thread here is going to be epic.

 

[NJRonbo]

They got the 2019 butterfly keyboard so right that they are going back to a normal keyboard.

To date, there have been no complaints about the 2019 keyboard.

It's not a position that they "got it so right that they are changing the keyboard"

It's a position that they had problems with the older keyboards -- heard the complaints loud and clear -- and are going back to the original style.

In the meantime, they did the best fix they could on the 2019 13" MBP and it worked!

 

[maflynn]

. Cameras that use SD cards are being displayed by phones.

So you're saying $2,000, $3,000 and even higher DSLR and Mirrorless cameras are being replaced by the iPhone? No, there is a lot of demand for sd cards and for my its a need. I have two cameras and both have SD cards.

 

[Mandarijntje]

16" just got spotted on Geekbench
Probably some YouTubers or other people testing out the new MacBook at a secret Apple press event right now. 13 results total now from today.

 

[alexandero]

So you're saying $2,000, $3,000 and even higher DSLR and Mirrorless cameras are being replaced by the iPhone? No, there is a lot of demand for sd cards and for my its a need. I have two cameras and both have SD cards.

Apple does not want you to use a $2,000 camera, that's what they designed the iPhone for, and on the long run they seem to assume that anyone who's not a professional filmmaker will abandon such cameras.