I’m not a fan of Apple’s new design language direction

[spiderman0616]

I disagree, other than the notch, I like everything about the new Mac aesthetic.

I really disliked the tapered MacBooks of the last few years that always looked like a device designed for high speed travel.

I also disliked the rounded iPhone design that started with the iPhone 6, and am glad they brought back the squarer aesthetics, which just feel so much easier to hold and more compact.

Can’t say you are wrong though. We are just talking aestetics here - not sure there is a right or wrong.

I do not like tapers or wedge shapes either. I have never understood why the Air needed to retain this wedge shaped chassis other than just branding, but it looks like Apple is about to remedy that. The M1 MacBook Air is still my favorite laptop of all time--best one I've ever owned by a mile. I just have never been a fan of "the wedge".

 

[Tagbert]

the problem with this is that it doesn't get rid of the issue of menu options skipping to the other side of the screen and eating into other menu bar items.
I dont feel bad about losing 40px when you get a non obstructed menubar.

If you have more than a handful of menu bar icons, you should get Bartender to hide those away. That will free up a lot of space, particularly if you have one of the very few apps with enough menu items to spill over to the right.

 

[flapflapflap]

the 13 inch MBP is a beautiful design, the new 14/16 inch MBP are bulbous and ugly. THICK. Yuck.

 

[tmoerel]

the 13 inch MBP is a beautiful design, the new 14/16 inch MBP are bulbous and ugly. THICK. Yuck.

Thank you for your statement of opinion. Now could you please complement it with statements of fact please!!
Other wise your post is just a meaningless jumble of words which is not contributing anything and could be considered trolling!

 

[MajorFubar]

the 13 inch MBP is a beautiful design, the new 14/16 inch MBP are bulbous and ugly. THICK. Yuck.

At least OP had the courtesy to say 'in my opinion'. If this is your usual attitude, it would explain why your reaction score is half your post count.

 

[Makisupa Policeman]

I really would love to see a design more like the 2017” rMB. My first Mac was a 2011 11” MBA. Given the battery gains with M1, they could probably scale down the battery from the Air and give us a 12” rMB that is light weight and gets 8-10 hours

What I wouldn’t give for this.
I like my rMB but I got it used and it’s not exactly flawless. they’re nearly impossible to find in pristine condition, unless you’re going to way overpay for it—might as well get an M1 for cheaper.

 

[wonderings]

From pictures I like the new designs, they are simple and clean and not distracting. More importantly I like that they have brought back ports, useful ports. Apple was going in the wrong direction of form over function. This is a return to what Apple used to be great at, balancing form and function. I don't think they can really match the Steve Job era and the amazing machines that came out under his leadership, but these new MacBook Pros have amazing power for pro's across the budget range. I am still waiting on my 14" M1 Max to arrive, end of the month, early March so maybe it will change when seeing gin person. I currently have a 13" MacBook Pro, I like the size as it fits well in my motorcycle top case, I can't see having any issues with the 14" so maintaining something that packs light and offers way more value with less dongles is a huge plus.

 

[appleArticulate]

The only part that bothers me is the increased weight. I want a powerful lightweight notebook.

I don't. I want one that works. Finally Apple delivered.

 

[jdb8167]

I don't. I want one that works. Finally Apple delivered.

My M1 MacBook Air works spectacularly well. But I don’t need 18 hours of battery life. 10 to 12 hours would be fine. Give me a lighter version of the M1 MacBook Air and I would find it nearly perfect.

 

[Tagbert]

My M1 MacBook Air works spectacularly well. But I don’t need 18 hours of battery life. 10 to 12 hours would be fine. Give me a lighter version of the M1 MacBook Air and I would find it nearly perfect.

18 hours is pretty optimistic. that 10 hours is a more realistic estimate of battery life and is a good goal for actual battery life.

I suspect that Apple will slim down the Air for the next design and make even more of a distinction between it and the pro line

 

[madebybela]

If you have more than a handful of menu bar icons, you should get Bartender to hide those away. That will free up a lot of space, particularly if you have one of the very few apps with enough menu items to spill over to the right.

this still looks dumb and distracting!
"particularly if you have one of the very few apps with enough menu items to spill over to the right."
Most professional software has enough menu items that will spill over to the right. Even Apple's own software.

 

[darngooddesign]

this still looks dumb and distracting!
"particularly if you have one of the very few apps with enough menu items to spill over to the right."
Most professional software has enough menu items that will spill over to the right. Even Apple's own software.

That looks like every Retina Mac laptop screen since 2008.

I really like the new laptop style, but more importantly I love the performance, and silence, that proper cooling allows. So far none of my UX/Design software spills its menu across the notch. I like the rounded corners so much I use Displaperture to add them to the bottom...LOL

I went into the store to try lift the massive boat anchor people described the 16" to be, what a laugh, feels barely heavier than my 2014 13".

 

[turbineseaplane]

I think the 14/16's look like bloated generic overly rounded "bath tubs" of sorts.

Not sexy, sleek or anything of the kind

That said -- if that's the tradeoff they had to make in order to get performance and thermals the Pro units need, so be it.

Now if they ditch the wonderful MBA wedge and svelte feel/look, then I can fully say they've screwed it up.

I like the lines having some physical differentiation honestly.
The Pros are just not for me (don't need them nor do I like how they look anymore)

 

[flapflapflap]

I think the 14/16's look like bloated generic overly rounded "bath tubs" of sorts.

Not sexy, sleek or anything of the kind

That said -- if that's the tradeoff they had to make in order to get performance and thermals the Pro units need, so be it.

Now if they ditch the wonderful MBA wedge and svelte feel/look, then I can fully say they've screwed it up.

I like the lines having some physical differentiation honestly.
The Pros are just not for me (don't need them nor do I like how they look anymore)

Forget the 16, I laugh when I see that in person. The 14 is still too heavy, thick and bulbous. The inferior battery life when compared to the M1 13 is a tough pill to swallow. The screen is great but that useless notch....

 

[Kardinal1911]

You might be joking but we now have two of these new MBPs in our household and we haven't even unpacked either of the new chargers. We have a perfectly fine USB-C working station used to charge our laptops and iPads, MagSafe messes everything up again. Luckily enough its still a USB-C charger, all I need is a new cable... still annoying.

i'm trying to ascertain how charging via magsafe messes anything up it frees up the USB space and it prevents accidents trips and drops of your Macbook Pro

 

[Kardinal1911]

this still looks dumb and distracting!
"particularly if you have one of the very few apps with enough menu items to spill over to the right."
Most professional software has enough menu items that will spill over to the right. Even Apple's own software.

This is so not an issue, use bartender. it'll tuck them away!

 

[Tagbert]

This is so not an issue, use bartender. it'll tuck them away!

I’m just fascinated by the rich wooden bezels on that thing

 

[leman]

i'm trying to ascertain how charging via magsafe messes anything up it frees up the USB space and it prevents accidents trips and drops of your Macbook Pro

I explained this before. MagSafe replaces a full-function USB-C port. This means that when I plug in my USB-C display (that provides charging, video + wired mouse/keyboard hub), I only have two useable USB ports left. With the previous design is still had three. It is a practical problem for office connectivity.

Another problem is that we are back to a proprietary connector. Right now we have a single cable on my home office desk where we charge all our laptop and the iPads. I haven't even unpacked the Magsafe cable from the original box yet — why would I mess with an additional cable?

As to "prevents accidents trips"... this was maybe useful in the olden days when you barely had 4-5 hours battery and had to keep your laptop plugged in busy meeting rooms or university auditoriums. These laptops have such a good battery life that you can really afford to go the whole day without a charger, only plugging in in the safety of your workspace. Charging habit changes already minimises the risk of tripping over random cables. And frankly, in my experience, USB-C detaches almost as easily as MagSafe (depending on the angle of course).

Of course, Apple did this in the usual Appel way. They played the retro card, pleasing many fans of the "old good Macs", which allowed them to cut down the cost on full thunderbolt and PCI-e wiring on the new machines (three controllers vs four), while introducing a new proprietary cable to sell. For them its great. I don't really see how it is great for the user though, nostalgia aside. You objectively get less functionality for a gimmick feature.

 

[MajorFubar]

Everyone complaining about the 'design language' of the new Macbook Pros being too bulky / thick / heavy / bulbous / lack of slope hurts your ickle wrists...where were you all in <=2012 when Macbook Pros typically looked like this (and this was the smallest one btw):

Literally no one complained. Are you really all that young that you never used these?

 

[wonderings]

My M1 MacBook Air works spectacularly well. But I don’t need 18 hours of battery life. 10 to 12 hours would be fine. Give me a lighter version of the M1 MacBook Air and I would find it nearly perfect.

I think he was talking about a laptop that works well and gives you options as in ports.
What do you really need a lighter version of the MacBook Air for? They are incredibly small and light already, are you lugging around that much stuff that a laptop is even noticeable? I have a 13" MacBook Pro and don't even notice that in my messenger bag.

 

[pshufd]

My favorite era is the Retina era. Ports, thin, light, classic design, and it has stood the test of time. There is one thing that I really love from the 2007-2009 era and that's the keyboards. I really love the curved keys and raised lettering on the keyboards. The 2021 MacBook Pros feel like an industrial factory. It's all business and no-nonsense. I can live with it because it does everything so well for me.

I never had the 2016-2019 stuff because of all of the reported problems.

The M2 Air looks fine to me. It's clearly a consumer device and it looks like a fun device. If they came out with it in 15 or 16 inches, I could see getting one and selling my 2021 MacBook Pro 16, assuming it has the option of 32 GB RAM and one more USB-C port.

Apple can do whatever they want to. I'd like more choices but they seem to be listening better to their customers and it may well be that what is coming is what people want.

This is a 2007 MacBook Pro 15 next to a Dell Inspiron 4100. The latter is 1.4 inches thick. Weight with battery is 5.5 pounds. If you add the floppy drive or the CD drive, then it's 6 pounds. You could always take both of them too. Very modular computer. I haven't charged it in at least a year. I put a 48 GB ExpressCard SSD in the old macBook Pro and it's surprisingly usable.

 

[wonderings]

Apple can do whatever they want to. I'd like more choices but they seem to be listening better to their customers and it may well be that what is coming is what people want.

I would not say they are listening to their customers more so they are convincing people this is what they want or need. That is what marketing when done well does. How many of the things in modern tech devices do we really need? They are luxuries that we are wowed with at events as they brilliantly market to us why our lives will be better with their devices. They all do it, they are all in it to make money.

 

[pshufd]

I would not say they are listening to their customers more so they are convincing people this is what they want or need. That is what marketing when done well does. How many of the things in modern tech devices do we really need? They are luxuries that we are wowed with at events as they brilliantly market to us why our lives will be better with their devices. They all do it, they are all in it to make money.

I disagree.

They certainly listened to the loud voices on the MacBook Pro forum when it comes to the 2021 MacBook Pro.

 

[spiderman0616]

I disagree.

They certainly listened to the loud voices on the MacBook Pro forum when it comes to the 2021 MacBook Pro.

I'm sure Apple is aware of the MacRumors discussion boards, but I seriously doubt they look to them for any significant advice on product direction. Half the people that post here don't even like Apple products.

Apple has been in between a rock and a hard place for years with the Mac. It's mostly Intel's fault, but also their own fault because of some crappy product decisions. Now they're going their own way and doing what they feel they need to do to make these "pro" machines rather than just fancier MacBook Airs. I don't have the foggiest clue why anyone would rage against this, regardless of if you like the design or not.

The new design is the new design. It will change again in a few years. There are plenty of other tools out there besides MacBook Pro that you can use if it just grinds your gears too much that Apple added ports and weight or whatever.

 

[pshufd]

I'm sure Apple is aware of the MacRumors discussion boards, but I seriously doubt they look to them for any significant advice on product direction. Half the people that post here don't even like Apple products.

Apple has been in between a rock and a hard place for years with the Mac. It's mostly Intel's fault, but also their own fault because of some crappy product decisions. Now they're going their own way and doing what they feel they need to do to make these "pro" machines rather than just fancier MacBook Airs. I don't have the foggiest clue why anyone would rage against this, regardless of if you like the design or not.

The new design is the new design. It will change again in a few years. There are plenty of other tools out there besides MacBook Pro that you can use if it just grinds your gears too much that Apple added ports and weight or whatever.

Well, if not those, then class action lawsuits, YouTube videos and article sites.

If you really like the operating system and tech, then you can overlook a few things that you don't like. I personally love the new stuff.