Kuo: Redesigned MacBooks With Apple Silicon to Launch in Second Half of 2021

[colbylyons]

This might be wishful thinking, or perhaps even silly to some, but the one thing I really want in the newly redesigned MacBook Pro 16 is the capability to use the finger print reader when the laptop is closed. My 16" is typically closed, leaving me using the 49" Dell Ultra Wide monitor, which is powered by a Breakaway Box with a Radeon 5700 XT, as well as the Apple Magic Mouse and sibling Apple keyboard. I understand that I'm a lazy bastard and I should just type in the fricking password, but it would be easier to use the wallet and gain access to all things a finger print could streamline.

As these MacBook Pro increase in performance, they're really taking on a majority of the desktops on the market. Clearly, they don't take on iMac Pros, but 99% of the non-gaming desktops should heed what's coming down the line. I'm actually building a Windows computer with the new i9 10900k, coupled with a RTX 3090. I intend to use it as more of a VR and Adobe Creative suite for all things media. It will be interesting to see how they benchmark against one another.

Apple, if you're reading these comments, please consider incorporating the use of the finger print technology when the MacBook Pros are shut. What would even be better is if one would be able to use the entire control strip when the Mac is closed.

 

[jido]

Apple, if you're reading these comments, please consider incorporating the use of the finger print technology when the MacBook Pros are shut. What would even be better is if one would be able to use the entire control strip when the Mac is closed.

If you don't want to type in the password you can get a second-hand Apple Watch for cheap. It will count your steps and unlock your Mac.

The control strip makes sense but I don't see how they could make it happen other than duplicating it on the Apple keyboard.

 

[Mr.PT]

They shouldn’t get rid of the touch bar but I don’t understand why they don’t have both fn keys and Touch Bar on the 16 inch model since there is plenty of space for it

200% agreed. Don’t understand this implication with touchbar, what’s wrong with customizable UI? Don’t like it don’t use it...my main caveat was solved allready:Esc button.

 

[Mr.PT]

This has nothing to do with laziness. MacOS is not designed for touch, so Apple will not bring touch "back to the Mac" like everything else on iOS.

Apple decided to bring precision pointing (mouse & trackpad support) to iPadOS instead, which given that macOS is precision (i.e. cursor) based it presents few issues when running iPadOS apps on a Mac.

Each device is optimized for it's primary control mechanism: iPad for touch, Mac for cursor. Simple.

Also helps products not to “cannibalize” oneanother...

 

[Mr.PT]

Rumors for months say a re-designed 14” is coming. But if you need to run Windows, go with the Dell. The M-series Macs can’t boot or virtualize Windows anymore, at all.

Let’s hope Microsoft keeps as it is, that would give developers more convincing reasons to adapt their products to ARM Mac, adding to the expected boosting performance based on the M1.
In 3D visualization software nowadays, they just don’t care as you can bootcamp.
Hopefully Apple is also capable of starting truly push Metal adoption and optimization.
This would apply to 16”MBP and Mac Desktops.

 

[Mr.PT]

Redesign of iMac is completely decoupled from the redesign of MacBooks, there is no linkage.

iMac will certainly get a redesign at some point, whether that’s four months or four years from now, but more than 80% of Mac customers buy notebooks. iMac is something like 10% of Mac sales. So redesign of iMac is an extremely low priority.

If developers truly and massively adapt to ARM and specially if optimize to Metal, this could change...

 

[Mr.PT]

I really hope for good redesign. Obviously they want to fill the price gap Intel left with more substantial offering for the same money. Overpriced, as well.

I think the gap on the overpriced will go straight to stakeholders pockets...
Nevertheless also hopping for even better design.

 

[Mr.PT]

Agreed, but That would be compromising, don’t think it’s compatible with Apple’s policies...

Make the TouchBar optional BTO and everyone is happy.

 

[Mr.PT]

does craig need to create bigger slides with the letters NO on it?

touch screens are USELESS on a mac

Why do you say that? Can’t you imagine people standing (guess sitting will make it harder) in front of their iMacs working with pencil on their Adobe suite projects?

 

[Mr.PT]

You don't seem to know anything about Apple. Apple does not care how many years X or Y company has been using X or Y technology. If they think that the technology is not ready or it does not offer any benefits /usability, they simply won't do it. They are not your typical copy-cat company racing to be the first. They take their time to be the first to do it right. That's what makes them special.

It’s just a pity last couples of macOS seem to be debasing this...

 

[Mr.PT]

1000 Likes.

LOVE the touch bar.

1000 more.
I love to be able to customize keyboard.

 

[Mr.PT]

I generally agree, except for Ram. I went with 16 gb in my 2014 rmbp 15, and it's still running great. I'm going to wait until the next 16" upgrade comes, and will upgrade. I think I can hold out a year or two.

Outside of RAM, I generally agree. I go with the smallest SSD, and lower processor.

I agree too, specially if you’re able to upgrade within 2 year, so AppleCare is still valid and you can resale for reasonable price.
What I would really like was Apple offering renting options like iPhone on some operators , through an “AppleRent” service with customizable plans.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Why do you say that? Can’t you imagine people standing (guess sitting will make it harder) in front of their iMacs working with pencil on their Adobe suite projects?

have you tried VR games? i'm tired from standing in one position for 30 minutes. there's barely any movement of the legs so it's worse than just walking around the room for a few hours.

and no, i'm not out of shape. i run 5 miles a day.

with that said, I don't deny pencil support is coming. but that's different from a touch screen.

 

[Mr.PT]

I honestly doubt you (or I) will be waiting till very late in 2021 for the Apple Silicon 16" MBP... and definitely not beyond that into 2022. The MacBooks (pro/air etc) are by far the biggest selling Mac OS machines they make, so getting them all updated is definitely top priority.

They know very well that only some edge-case 16" MBP buyers (ones who really need obscure apps to go native first, or ones who still want another bootcamp-capable machine for a few more years) will be ordering an Intel one. Everyone else has put their wallet down until the update happens.

They also very likely low-balled their estimate on how long it would take to complete the transition, just like they did going from PPC to Intel. Sure, this one is not quite the same because they're also responsible for designing the CPUs themselves this time. But on the other hand, the Apple of today is, by orders of magnitude, a far bigger, wealthier and more capable company than it was way back then. They've likely planned all of this quite a lot more ahead than they make known publicly. In fact, I bet it was pretty weird for those Apple engineers to record that presentation about the M1 when they actually finished work on that design quite a long time ago.

I think it's pretty likely the next wave of machines (with the next step up M-series chip) will be announced at the first or second major Apple event on the calendar in 2021.

Let’s hope you’re right. Unfortunately meanwhile I may need to get a substitute as my 15” late 2018 was “frozen” by Big Sur. Tech repair doesn’t know why as they cannot trace any hardware faillure.
Can’t figure what to get, as I would like to skip intel but need more than 13”.

 

[Mr.PT]

have you tried VR games? i'm tired from standing in one position for 30 minutes. there's barely any movement of the legs so it's worse than just walking around the room for a few hours.

and no, i'm not out of shape. i run 5 miles a day.

with that said, I don't deny pencil support is coming. but that's different from a touch screen.

Don’t get me wrong I was being ironic.
Also run daily but like/need to work sitting for precision tracking sake. That said would appreciate iPad with pencil as working pad interactive with MBP/iMac

 

[Mr.PT]

But missing macOS.

Nowadays do you still think it’s very different? I’m afraid macOS is getting more iOS and not the other way around. My personal experience with Big Sur has been devastating so far...a “frozen” late 2018 MBP, with tech repair stating they have not a clue what’s going on as they cannot determine any hardware issues!

 

[Maximara]

Rumors for months say a re-designed 14” is coming. But if you need to run Windows, go with the Dell. The M-series Macs can’t boot or virtualize Windows anymore, at all.

Not entirely true: CrossOver Allows x86 Windows Apps to Run on Apple M1 Macs Also Parallels and VMFusion are bringing their software to the M1 macs so what CrossOver can't run they most likely will and unless they totally drop the ball it will run as well as the other x86 code is running

Nevermind even if you could bootcamp into Windows on the M1 it would be ARM Windows which
1) currently only does 32-bit code emulation (64-bit code is supposed to come in 2021)
2) Based on Windows on ARM Benchmarked ARM Windows didn't live up to what Microsoft promised; not only did Microsoft's effort not "Run x86 Code at Near-Native Speed" but it blew goats out a freaking wind tunnel.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Nowadays do you still think it’s very different? I’m afraid macOS is getting more iOS and not the other way around. My personal experience with Big Sur has been devastating so far...a “frozen” late 2018 MBP, with tech repair stating they have not a clue what’s going on as they cannot determine any hardware issues!

"do you still think it’s very different?" - are you kidding me, they are miles apart in their capabilities. Just because they are giving Big Sur cosmetic changes to make it look more like iOS, and just because it can now run iOS apps, doesn't mean they've removed all the power capabilities, such as: full access to the file system; or the ability for use any software written for macOS without needing Apple's scrutiny, handholding, and store; or full access to the Unix base of the OS.

I'm still on Mojave, and for very good reason, it's the most recent stable version. Catalina is a joke. And Big Sur is too new. I find it incredible that these days Apple forces you to use the latest version if you buy a new machine, it's as if they are oblivious to the problems with their own software.

 

[otternonsense]

I use the Touch Bar all the time for sound and video editing (not to mention emoji-selection). I'm not sure I understand what all the fuss is about...

Reminds me of a story of someone's grandpa buying a car in the 60's--the salesman pointed out the air-conditioning and gramps was vehemently against buying the car if it had AC because he'd never use it. The salesman politely said, well... you could just not turn it on?...

Reminds me of a rookie who wants to come across as a pro but actually looks down on their keyboard to work.

And... emoji selection on the Touch Bar? If you have any respect for your own time, I'd suggest you use control+command+space and do a search.

 

[ericwn]

Why do you say that? Can’t you imagine people standing (guess sitting will make it harder) in front of their iMacs working with pencil on their Adobe suite projects?

How big do you expect the market is on the PC side tor Wacom Cintiq use cases with Adobe stuff? From my own work experience I’d probably only want the pencil for specific adjustments in Photoshop and would steer back to the mouse for the other apps in that suite.

 

[v3rlon]

I don’t get this. When someone touches my screen, I want to freak out. Never touch the screen....it’s the 11th commandment

and only the 11th because the first 10 were burned into rough granite, which we all know is both fingerprint and scratch resistant compared to plastic and glass.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

It still cracks me up that people worry that macOS will turn into iOS - because according to Steve Jobs himself iOS is built on macOS (OS Ten, if people watch the iPhone introduction keynote).

 

[v3rlon]

I like the touch bar.
There are some things that i just really like about it, and I am not all that excited about function keys anyway.

And who wants a touch screen but then gripes about the touch bar? Madness I say.

Anyway,
Give me a magic keyboard with touch bar in 2021, please.

16" Mb Pro based on M1 and scaled up power by as much as the base models improved (so 3-5 times faster than the i9, while extending battery life to near 24 hours) with options for more RAM.
Maybe dual M1s and up to 32GB RAM would be easy?
still 4 USB-C ports
LTE would be a nice add.

14" MB Pro to replace the 13.3" (mostly courtesy thinner bezels)
One USBC port to do everything.
Keep the touch bar! in fact, expand it to replace the entire keyboard.
Downgrade the webcam to 320*200@30i (like old VHS)
Itanium processor
2GB RAM base with $900 option to upgrade to 4GB
15 minute battery life
Doubles as a room heater
No, really, I do not care about this model. I'm just being mean.

The Mac Pro
again, make it perform like the Intel Mac Pro Nouveau Cheese Grater, but better.
Maybe allow for slots to plug in more processing power? Since the M1 is CPU and GPU and Machine learning, have some method for throwing more of those SOCs in the system to increase processing power and RAM?
If not, then a good way to ingest standard video cards from AMD/NVidia

iMac
similar upgrades to the 16" MB Pro, but scaled for this line and its power requirements.

Mac Mini upgrade
The upper Mac Mini - similar to the MB Pro 16" in max configuration in power.
More USB-C ports
Option to power by USB-C (does it need more than 100 Watts? Does it need more than 85? Could power it with a USB-C monitor and reduce cable clutter.

 

[MareLuce]

16" Mb Pro based on M1 and scaled up power by as much as the base models improved (so 3-5 times faster than the i9, while extending battery life to near 24 hours) with options for more RAM.
Maybe dual M1s and up to 32GB RAM would be easy?
still 4 USB-C ports
LTE would be a nice add.

Agreed. Plus:

Pleeeease Apple designers: a dedicated PageUp, PageDown key.

Coming from Windows / Thinkpad, needing a different keystroke to PageDown in a Safari vs PageDown in Word or Excel is so aggravating and a huge productivity hit.

That, + there are so many extra keystrokes required to do common things in:

a) Finder (MacOS) vs File Explorer (Windows)
Running GoodSync shows me I touch ~ 100+ files on a typical week.

b) TextExpander (MacOS) vs Breevy (Windows)

I had to go back to Windows / Thinkpads for my main work machine

All the extra keystrokes needed to run 8 projects cost me too much time.
Am still totally enjoying a 2019 MBP for play and personal use, but can't use it for work.

 

[v3rlon]

Agreed. Plus:

Pleeeease Apple designers: a dedicated PageUp, PageDown key.

Coming from Windows / Thinkpad, needing a different keystroke to PageDown in a Safari vs PageDown in Word or Excel is so aggravating and a huge productivity hit.

That, + there are so many extra keystrokes required to do common things in:

a) Finder (MacOS) vs File Explorer (Windows)
Running GoodSync shows me I touch ~ 100+ files on a typical week.

b) TextExpander (MacOS) vs Breevy (Windows)

I had to go back to Windows / Thinkpads for my main work machine

All the extra keystrokes needed to run 8 projects cost me too much time.
Am still totally enjoying a 2019 MBP for play and personal use, but can't use it for work.

Would be nice to be able to make custom macros and bind them to the touch bar.
Say pull from a list of touch bar icons or make them in a paint program, then assign keystrokes to them.

Scissors for cmd+x and park on the bar, for example.
I know there is some customization allowed, but maybe a few more options are in order.