MacBook Air With USB-C Again Rumored, Launch Timeframe Unclear

[MacLawyer]

That depends.

If your workflow and livelihood depends on those particular hardware form factors/products then yes, it's time to move on. That's assuming of course you can migrate your workflow and tools to Linux or Windows. The small-form factor and workstation categories are very well represented by PC makers.

If however, your needs can be serviced by a different Mac, then the less painful transition is to buy one of the (seemingly few) Macs Apple is still interested in maintaining.

I'm curious, as a lawyer what are your computing needs like? A friend of mine is working towards being a barrister and he gets on with using a 12 inch iPad pro as his primary machine.

I'm replying late, but we use iMacs at work. The Mini could be replaced by an iMac at home, but I also need a Pro desktop for video editing.

 

[rodnaynay]

I wasn't really clear about what I meant with the MacBook Pro. I meant that one of the current USB ports would become USB-C to begin setting the technological standard. It would maintain two regular USB ports for professionals who still want to have those connections.
[doublepost=1469726059][/doublepost]

hy would the Retina MacBook have a superior USB standard to the Pro?

Sorry. I wasn't really clear about what I meant with the MacBook Pro. I meant that one of the current USB ports would become USB-C to begin setting the technological standard. It would maintain two regular USB ports for professionals who still want to have those connections.

 

[ssgbryan]

Lol, if you NEED 32gb RAM (unlikely), how are you possibly getting by on your Mac now??

I suspect it is what they WANT to do, not what they CAN do.

 

[pbasmadj]

I wasn't really clear about what I meant with the MacBook Pro. I meant that one of the current USB ports would become USB-C to begin setting the technological standard. It would maintain two regular USB ports for professionals who still want to have those connections.
[doublepost=1469726059][/doublepost]

They would never do that, terrible idea. You are really suggesting they would have the old USB and new USB on the same machine? Highly doubt.

 

[ssgbryan]

1) They use chips that are both small enough for their needs, and powerful enough for what macOS needs.
2) 32 GB of RAM is a lot. I have 24 GB in my iMac and unless I'm running multiple virtual machines, which have RAM allocated to them, I couldn't even come close to using 24 GB. It's simply false that a few Safari tabs and Pro Apps would claim it all.
3) The market had not changed since the 17" was discontinued. It's not coming back. If it did, it wouldn't sell, and then you'd be complaining that it was not updated yearly.

Depends on what you are doing - my workflow will take every core and every byte of ram I can throw at it (software finally caught up to the hardware). 32 GB would mean I can take my hobby (3d art) on the road with me.
[doublepost=1469738676][/doublepost]

Actually Apple did!

For the iMac G3 they replaced all old ports with USB, but for the professional mac they mixed ports a bit and kept the ADB port (for keyboards, mouse and old modems) and brought the new USB ports, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_G3_(Blue_&_White)

My 1st Mac - I loved that thing.

 

[Dammit Cubs]

I just requested my company to pick me up a 15 RMBP.

Maybe i made a mistake...and should of waited.

 

[Tycho24]

I suspect it is what they WANT to do, not what they CAN do.

I think it's silly to name off VERY expensive options & expect it standard on a consumer machine that already many consider overpriced.
Example: NVMe @ 2.5tb. Ummm... ok. Well, New Egg has a raw 1.2tb NVMe drive for $100 off; making it $1000 even.
Yeah- how do you put a $1000 part in a $1200 notebook & not make it at least $2200??
Then I went & looked at the most expensive Alienware gaming laptops... they are all shipping with 8gb standard & a 16gb option.
Soooooo..... saying you "need" 16gb as a MINIMUM on your MacBook, and 32gb as an option is clearly not true.
Even gamers apparently don't "need" those specs.
And use of need vs want was op's wording.

 

[Arthur75]

The terraced battery worked because everything else was redesigned. You're wrong about the larger footprint in terms of useable space. Remember what was taken out to get the terraced design working. Fans. The deeper keyboard. The large logic board. Ports. Do those same things to a MBA and what do you get? A MB. The MB works not because of specific changes, but because of all the design changes working together. So no, your two things of smaller logic board and terraced batteries would not have gotten the same results. By all accounts on the rumors posted to MCR before the concept of an MB, Apple tried to upgrade the Air, but couldn't find a workable solution.

As for the iPad Pro, it's not just branding. The design, better processor, better sound and the Apple Pencil do make it a Pro tablet. as for numbers, I point you to the articles about animators adopting it and Apple's numbers from Tuesday. All on MCR too
[doublepost=1469722930][/doublepost]
We don't need thinner
This is a legit criticism of the MB, so why?
Why?

Skylake? Exactly how does Skylake provide a significantly better experience on the MBP?
[doublepost=1469723043][/doublepost]
The iMac. Oh, you mean for super-pro users? The Mac Pro will get a refresh when Apple can figure out a way to deal with the problems of a trashcan design.
[doublepost=1469723115][/doublepost]
Ancient yes. Significantly worse? Not on the CPU side.
[doublepost=1469723169][/doublepost]
Yeah I was really pissed when they dropped it for the MB.
[doublepost=1469723227][/doublepost]
Thank you
[doublepost=1469723497][/doublepost]
Actually, in the CPU world, that is anything but glacial these days. CPU tech has not advanced significantly in the last 3 years. Discreet GPUs have, but Apple tends to update a product when they can update multiple parts of the product.

Wow that was a complex comment !
What is needed is an update on the MBPs, if you prefer ..
(basic Ameweekan boring dork)

 

[sudo1996]

...and yet it was a massive success that probably saved Apple from oblivion.

Why would it have had a PS/2 port? Previous Macs used the strictly Mac-only ADB connectors for mice/keyboards; Localtalk or RS423 serial for printers (c.f. Centronics parallel for PC) and SCSI for discs & scanners (crossplatform but expensive & with bulky cabling & termination issues - PCs tended to use bi-directional Centronics for 'consumer' products like Zip drives). Releasing the iMac without legacy ports put the boot behind the peripheral manufacturers and within a year or so we had a good choice of USB printers, scanners, keyboards, mice that worked on both PC and Mac (PC keyboards & mice were often USB with a USB-to-PS/2 dongle thrown in).

Apple has actually shown really good judgement over when to kick out old ports, floppy drives, optical drives etc: there's usually a great wailing and gnashing of teeth when the announcement is made, followed by silence a few months later when people realise how little they need them. I'm even realising that I never use the Ethernet port on my MBP except at home where a TB dock would make sense. I agree that they got rid of floppies at the right time. A floppy drive is a large component. Anything complicated like SCSI also deserves to be removed at some point.

Meanwhile, even today, desktop PC motherboards, including little Mini-ITX ones with limited connector space, have PS/2 connectors, as part of a ridiculous "port cocktail" of USB-2, USB-3, USB-C, USB with always-on power, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA and the occasional RS232... If you want to attach 3 displays you need 3 different cables...

The iMac saved Apple because it was an exceptional machine in other ways, and plenty of users could deal with a lack of ports. But enterprise continued using Dell and such for that and many other reasons. What Apple does with removing ports unnecessarily makes their computers less practical for some people while not really providing any benefit to others. I agree about the floppies and CDs, though. Those involve large, clunky, mechanical components. And complicated things like SCSI deserve death.

I've got a rMBP. I always use the ethernet adaptor because wifi isn't reliable ever. My friends with crappy Dell laptops at least get an ethernet port on an equally thin computer. I've got a home-built server with one of those desktop PC motherboards you mentioned. It's great that it has all the ports because I use them, and there's no reason for them to not be there.

 

[rediffusion]

Apple might keep the Air on sale for a while like they did with the 13 inch non retina Macbook Pro.

Did they reduce the price during that period?

 

[theluggage]

But enterprise continued using Dell and such for that and many other reasons.

No, enterprise continued using Dell because (a) at the time they were totally and unconditionally committed to MS Windows and related systems like Netware with patchy Mac support (b) Mac OS 9 was way past its sell-by date and (c) if you want hundreds of machines there's nothing cheaper than a commodity mini-tower PC. These were the Bad Old Days when even websites tended to rely on the quirks of PC web browsers. The iMac was the start of fixing this.

I really don't think the lack of a PS/2 port had anything to do with it (apart from as a rationalisation for refusing to consider anything non-Windows).

 

[Bregalad]

???

Even as a Pro user, you're way out in your own category with a need for 32 GB and 3.5 TB of SSD on board in a laptop.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that you don't need all that. I understand that you do. But I'm also not going to agree that Apple is missing out on any meaningful purchase numbers by not offering a similar config.

And ports? Ethernet? You've basically convinced me that you are trying to turn a laptop into a desktop. They are, even today, distinctly different categories.

In the businesses I've worked (software, finance) everyone sits at a desk the majority of the day, but most cannot use a desktop computer because they need to be able to pick it up and take it with them (meetings, client sites, home, etc.) There are very few people left for whom a desktop is the right choice. So truly "Pro" level notebooks are an important category that Apple seems to be ignoring. Of course they're also ignoring "Pro" desktops so it's probably fair to say that Apple is now a mass-market company that isn't interested in any other potential customers. If your needs aren't being met Apple expects you to make the logical decision to buy your hardware from someone else.

 

[940272]

Neither of those macs have been on display at Apples retail stores for a very long time, so a big chunk of the Mac buying public probably doesn't even know they exist.

Really? Here in the UK the Mac Pros/Minis are present, albeit shoved into a tiny corner alongside the iPods.

 

[Tech198]

I think these rumors are getting unclear too..

 

[Mac 128]

In the businesses I've worked (software, finance) everyone sits at a desk the majority of the day, but most cannot use a desktop computer because they need to be able to pick it up and take it with them (meetings, client sites, home, etc.) There are very few people left for whom a desktop is the right choice. So truly "Pro" level notebooks are an important category that Apple seems to be ignoring. Of course they're also ignoring "Pro" desktops so it's probably fair to say that Apple is now a mass-market company that isn't interested in any other potential customers. If your needs aren't being met Apple expects you to make the logical decision to buy your hardware from someone else.

I'm sorry, but it seems like your example argues for less ports, not more. Chances are you're not going to plug any peripherals into your MacBook at meetings, and if you're the one giving the presentation you bring your dongle, kept conveniently at your desk. Your desk is where your dock is, which supports every kind of port you need. Likewise when you go home, you'd have a similar dock.

Now you have a point with client sites, but again, if you're a professional, you're carrying whatever tools you need at the client site in your bag, it's not a carry he laptop only kind of affair as you might have at an in-office meeting.

Maybe there's something else you're thinking of that truly necessitates have a full compliment of legacy ports, but it seems to me this would apply to the minority of professionals, not the majority.