Kuo: New MacBook Pro Models to Feature Flat-Edged Design, MagSafe, No Touch Bar and More Ports

[amartinez1660]

Sigh...... The Touch Bar was a really good concept but the ultimate execution and utilization is awful......

I mean come on, who in the hell will scroll the timeline in Final Cut Pro with the Touch Bar in the first place? It should've been much more useful features such as volume adjustments for individual selected clips instead in the very first place.

But then hey, this also reflects that those who designed the implementation of the features DOESN'T REALLY USES THE SOFTWARE

Sorry for the banter but, seriously, the Touch Bar is just one great feature that was wasted.

People buy these Elgato’s Stream Decks at least enough that the small version is often backdated on Amazon or sold at ultra high prices on alternate stores, which is a quite dumber but button-physical version of dynamically displayed buttons for actions.

I got no touchbar, but on paper and using it on stores with demo machines it looked like a great idea, it spawned things like this: https://pock.dev/
So customizable, the thing accepts swipes and all... it’s really a full touch based display.
On the final cut example, if it is only for scrolling the timeline it is a missed opportunity indeed, maybe that when nothing is selected, but it would be great to have hard to find shortcuts... if I select a clip on the browser it could show available keywords to tag it and/or edit options like replace from start/end/retimed-to-fit, etc

I rarely use the stream deck I think because it doesn’t change to where I’m at like the touchbar does, gotta navigate to the folder and sometimes there’s too much app switching... it would really benefit from having a “global” display and a dynamic per app display.

 

[Daventry]

Is there any news on Apple Silicon supporting multiple external displays? I take it that existing docking stations are not compatible.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Hmmm...this will be very, very tempting. I got the new M1 Air, to replace a year old MBP, specifically to get the new Apple Silicon chip and get rid of the Touch Bar, and now it seems like my dream machine is in the makings... 🤩🥳

Now, an SD card reader** and HDMI 2.1 out (in addition to a handful of USB-C ports), and I might _have to_ upgrade the Air to this. 😳

Already use a 3rd party MagSafe like USB cord for charging, but Apple's original MagSafe was stronger, much stronger than the one I have, so a return of that is just a(nother) dream come true.

** My travel camera has wifi but it's super fiddly to set up, so just removing the card and popping it into the Mac would be much, much easier.

 

[Royksöpp]

it will for me be the first PROPER pro notebook from Apple in close to a decade.

"Am I a joke to you?"
- 2015 15 Inch MacBook Pro.

 

[MacBH928]

Now Cook's announcement how the touchbar is the next big revolution in the laptop industry is going to be so cringey. I still feel like the touchbar could have worked if maybe they used an e-ink screen.

 

[jlc1978]

Good bye Touch Bar!

YOU WON'T BE MISSED

If no Touch Bar that is a recognition that it was a failure and I always felt it was.

I've found the Touchbar useful when combined with Better Touch Tool; it was nice to be able to create custom buttons for various commands instead of having to remember key presses. What would be cool is real keys with an underlying display that changed based on the key's functions for the row of function keys.

This is like a macrumors forum wish list.

Personally, not thrilled by MagSafe, unless you can still charge by usb-c. I have 90’ish watt USB-C chargers everywhere I need them, and it’s nice to be able to plug in any of the family’s macs, ipads, etc. when necessary.

I'm with you - it's nice to have one charger that can be used to charge my Mac, iPad and iPhone. Plus, if it dies, USB-C chargers and cables are pretty easy to get. Ideally the port would be a dual USB-C/MagSafe charger that can also function as a USB-C port; with the remainder supporting USB-C charging; although as long as they keep supporting regular USB charging adding MagSafe would simply be adding one more option.

 

[R3k]

Why? It was never really adopted by devs and most users like me turn off the more advanced features so the thing ends up behaving like a needlessly fancier version of the physical buttons they replaced. Apple itself could never come up with a killer app to justify its existence, so news that it is finally going away isn’t terribly shocking.

Dont get me wrong, I'd be ok with it gone. My thoughts on why it might stay is because functionality will be reduced if they take it away. I dont mean the gimmicky stuff that you can also accomplish with key commands or menu items, but rather the suggestions it gives you (words, emoji, mail folder suggestions like on iOS) and its autocomplete suggestions which are handy with online forms and such. The things that using the Touch Bar actually speeds up.
Also historically, Apple dont seem to like back tracking. Theyre more likely to replace it with something new than to roll back to standard keys imo.

 

[iapplelove]

I haven’t bought a Mac in years because of that stupid Touch Bar so gimmicky

 

[skitidetdu]

In some cases Touch Bar is genius but not all the time. With Logic Pro I use it for special commands and functions not easily accessible with the keyboard. But magsafe is a most welcome to come back!

 

[HALE101]

Introducing the portless MacBook! We think you're going to love it 😂

 

[cocoua]

If they remove the touchbar, just hope remember to put again Fn keys!!! 🙏

 

[brynsmith23]

Seems like it is too good to be true, apple doesn't listen to its userbase, it give us what they think we need.

if we see the touchbar removed and a new MagSafe, im all in

 

[SubduedTiger]

I don’t understand the Touch Bar hatred.

Am I the only person to prefer the Touch Bar to the keys? It wasn’t ground breaking and all as they claimed it would be, but it was a step up from fixed keys that was a baggage from the mainframe era.

Definitely not the only one!

 

[rmariboe]

I love the TouchBar, and I love the simplicity of four USB-C ports. I have once kicked the charging cable and due to the USB-C connection, it simply popped out like MagSafe used to. So I don’t care for MagSafe, but as long as they provide a USB-C to MagSafe solution, I guess I’ll live; a dedicated converter would be an immense step backwards.
Until Windows and all Windows games will run on ARM, I’m not going down that path. When they do, I’ll probably never be looking back.

 

[pshufd]

It's like they listened to customers. Sign me up! The problem is that I'd want one of each. I can't believe this.

 

[UBS28]

Q3 2021, that long.

 

[Tozovac]

3. The ‌MagSafe‌ charging connector design is restored.

6. They are equipped with more types of I/O, and most users may not need to purchase additional dongles.

Remove the unnecessarily monochromatic “Fisher Price My First Mac” aesthetics of Big Sur and mobile iOS’s and bring back the non-flat, non-white-out, non-buttonless, more intuitive interface to mobile & Mac OS’s and the It Just Works APPLE IS BACK!

 

[cupcakes2000]

this is such a random off the wall prediction.

Obviously there won’t be anyway at all Apple will be reintroducing MagSafe the way it was. It will either be some kind of inductive solution to compliment the ‘any port’ usb c method currently in use, or it will be some sort of modified usbc port keeping the regular functionality and ability to use regular cables, whilst also enabling magnetic attachment of a power cable. But this seems backwards considering the push for inductive and the new MagSafe branding being about inductive charging.

Re: the Touch Bar. There is no way they’ll remove this and replace it with traditional f keys. It’s hilarious to read some comments that think that will happen. Vocal macrumours people think they’re the most important mac users on the planet. In actuality, the Touch Bar isn’t ‘hated by most people’. It’s pretty useful when the developer uses it well. Even more useful when used with an app to improve its functionality. It could be improved obviously though, haptics would definitely be a help.
Apple won’t be getting rid of it though. Maybe upgrading it or altering it in some way, but it’s not the flop these forums seem to think, so why would they.

 

[Mykbibby]

I will miss TouchBar. Hated it at first, but once I created a static layout through BTT that DOESN’T CHANGE when you switch applications, it combined the best of muscle memory with the advantages of sliders, graphics, and custom widths for each button. I will miss it dearly...

 

[SubduedTiger]

It's like they listened to customers. Sign me up! The problem is that I'd want one of each. I can't believe this.

Buy one of each and keep them in their original boxes. 20 years later you can sell it on eBay for $25,000 as a first gen relic.

 

[pshufd]

this is such a random off the wall prediction.

Obviously there won’t be anyway at all Apple will be reintroducing MagSafe the way it was. It will either be some kind of inductive solution to compliment the ‘any port’ usb c method currently in use, or it will be some sort of modified usbc port keeping the regular functionality and ability to use regular cables, whilst also enabling magnetic attachment of a power cable. But this seems backwards considering the push for inductive and the new MagSafe branding being about inductive charging.

Re: the Touch Bar. There is no way they’ll remove this and replace it with traditional f keys. It’s hilarious to read some comments that think that will happen. Vocal macrumours people think they’re the most important mac users on the planet. In actuality, the Touch Bar isn’t ‘hated by most people’. It’s pretty useful when the developer uses it well. Even more useful when used with an app to improve its functionality. It could be improved obviously though, haptics would definitely be a help.
Apple won’t be getting rid of it though. Maybe upgrading it or altering it in some way, but it’s not the flop these forums seem to think, so why would they.

If the new Magsafe works as well as the old one, then I will be very happy.

 

[pshufd]

Buy one of each and keep them in their original boxes. 20 years later you can sell it on eBay for $25,000 as a first gen relic.

I'd probably still be using it after 20 years.

Interesting that nothing was said about a new CPU. I wonder if these are M1 or M1X. I think that I'd be okay with the M1 for the 14.

 

[kazmac]

Sounds quite nice, especially no more Touch Bar and extra ports.

 

[mazz0]

Am I the only person to prefer the Touch Bar to the keys? It wasn’t ground breaking and all as they claimed it would be, but it was a step up from fixed keys that was a baggage from the mainframe era.

Yeah, I don’t get it either. I literally never use Fn keys for their F functions, and I very, very rarely use them for things like brightness control or volume control. So rarely in fact that a) I don’t mind looking at the buttons while I do it and b) I have to look at the buttons cos I don’t have muscle memory of where the volume or brightness control buttons are! Therefore the whole issue of buttons-can-be-used-by-touch-but-the-touch-bar-needs-you-to-look-at-it doesn’t make any sense to me. And even if it did, this could be fixed by haptics (which I do think the TochBar should have had all along).

I was glad they put back the physical escape key though, that one really does get used quite often.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Well, I’m glad I got my order in for an M1 MBP 13 then since all the things I thought were neat are on the chopping block.