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MacBook Ultra: 5 Features That Could Justify the Name
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goobot
macrumors 604
While you are right, comparing it to the phone isn’t the standard when the very thin iPad Pro has Face ID. I do wonder what the limit is for Face ID
Because I guess touching the power button (and thus Touch ID) is too much work…
You’ll have to click something anyway to wake the thing up, why not touch the power button?
SwampYankee0!
macrumors newbie
To me that would be the killer feature. I don't need it anymore, but I could have used it for 30 years of commuting instead of a few years of tethering. Ending up using the company ipad because it had celluar. Obviously cellular laptops would not be a big technical lift. I suspect the problem is either the carriers won't offer it or if they did it would be prohibitively expensive.
Yeah, I do get why it's a natural move, tbh. And I could see it being genuinely useful for some things. My concern is more about how to navigate the workflow change when moving between working away from home to working at my desk, where I use an external display. It's not super obvious to me how I'd bridge that gap smoothly. Maybe there's a setup where I can have it in-front-of-and-below my monitor, but it's not super clear to me how that would work just yet. If it's just too awesome to ignore then I'll have to figure it out (ha!), but it seems like it will likely be a bit of a problem.
But more generally, the rumours are just giving me an "If you have to ask for the price, it's not for you." kinda vibe... Kind of like the last revision of the Mac Pro, which was an absurdly "deluxe" machine in every way (only some of which were functionally significant). Amazing machine, but way outside my price range (and pretty much all my colleagues, as well).
But to your point; yes, it is genuinely case of "just don't touch it, then". The main issue is if the only high-end machine is touchscreen, it adds a premium to the price, and there's no standard screen option. A lot of "ifs" to worry about, so definitely not worth freaking out about until we know what it actually is.
Johnny London
macrumors regular
We already have a touchscreen interface on the macbook every time we open iPhone mirroring. Being able to tap and swipe this interface would feel native.
ThisIsMike
macrumors 6502
er, unless there's suddenly an actual power button again in M5 series, 'click something' is now the default, for whatever stupid reason. I freaked out the moment I opened the lid of my new M4 and it turned itself on, but at least you can kill the lid switch through terminal, unlike 'click anywhere on keyboard' which has the same effect, and which I continue to curse each time I have to clean my machine.
257Loner
macrumors 6502a
At the risk of sounding out of step, out of touch, old-fashioned, geriatric, senescent, and generally left field (not to mention idiosyncratic, which shouldn't be so bad since Apple's motto has been to Think Different), what a MacBook really needs is a good keyboard with deep key travel depth. I'm talkin' the fairly deep 2012 Retina MacBook Pro's keyboard, or even better, the very deep 2008 Unibody MacBook Pro's keyboard, or even better, the ergonomically-scalloped keys of the 2006 MacBook Pro's keyboard.
In other words, keyboards just keep getting worse. And I wish Apple would turn that around and make them better.
In other words, keyboards just keep getting worse. And I wish Apple would turn that around and make them better.
When I think "Ultra" I don't think a "Thinner Design". I think of the Air series for that. The Ultra should be a processing/graphics beast that can run all day without handicapping the clock speeds due to thermal regulation. Make the Ultra a brick house that can chew through generative AI, 12k and VR video editing, and 3D animation.
dmarkman
Contributor
Is this a joke? MacBook Pro m5 max starting from $3899 to get 6299 you have to ask for 4tb ssd and 128gb ram
I haven't been following this closely, but are they going to split the Macbook line along the chip type specification? So Air/Pro/Max/Ultra/Extreme/etc? The only difference between the highends being price and chip type?
Zorori
macrumors 6502
Ever since the M1 I see engineers picking up the Air, when they would normally pick the Pro. Outside of more CPU/RAM and the M1 was a huge jump anyway, the features are not developer focused. e.g. GPU grunt, SD card. So the lighter machine made sense
Likewise there's always that crowd that buy the Pro to do spreadsheets and browse the web...
This could be a move for the Pro to aim towards that market, with the Ultra being for those who want the bigger devices
wolfedude88
macrumors 6502
That is what the "Pro" name was for though. Ultra could mean that it does all of that but doesn't sacrifice thinness? Nah, it's about money and probably that it has a touchscreen.
transpo1
macrumors 68000
Same, still have mine. Most portable laptop form factor ever.
chars1ub0w
macrumors 6502a
I kinda like that name Ultrabook.
Gives vibes of Ultra(thin/slim)book, cf. Superbook, Extremebook, which don't work.
What? The Apple Watch Ultra is super rugged and thick/huge. This looks like a completely different direction. Which is why I don't believe this rumor. Also, how the *$&#$ did they not include cellular in this post???
BB714
macrumors member
I want a haptic glass keyboard, that can become anything when needed.
A jog wheel for FCP. A piano keyboard for Logic. A drawing pad for Pixelmator or Procreate etc. To me, thats the future.
A jog wheel for FCP. A piano keyboard for Logic. A drawing pad for Pixelmator or Procreate etc. To me, thats the future.
There is a 0% chance they ever call this machine, or anything for that matter, 'Ultrabook Mac'.
Macbooks have always needed a touchscreen, however, it wouldn't make much sense if they don't make it a 2-in-1.
It's actually a term for very light/compact laptops, more commonly used 10-15 years ago... at the time it was around, the 12" was considered an ultrabook class laptop.