Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
'MacBook Ultra' Coming Soon With These 12 New Features
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
capamac
macrumors 6502a
There are Windows laptops that do that. *shrugs*
Yr Blues
macrumors 68040
Does Klarna do mortgages for laptops?
They change macbook pro name to macbook ultra with ultra prices with selling your kidney.
Vincent Hanna
macrumors 6502
Anyone complaining about price doesn't need a MacBook Ultra. You may legitimately want one, and you may well buy one as a luxury, as you would any other non-essential purchase. But acting like you're being ripped off, or having some birthright taken from you is ridiculous.
These are high-end machines for professional users who won't blink at the price.
These are high-end machines for professional users who won't blink at the price.
Last edited:
jchap
macrumors 6502a
You probably feel that way because the iPad is a touch-first device, and it is thus optimized for use with touch. It is actually less convenient to use the iPad as it was designed, when you are using a keyboard and mouse/trackpad and not using touch so much. I would agree that touch is convenient and essential for an iPad.
The Mac has never been touch first. They may optimize the OS a bit more to allow for touch control here and there, but it still is primarily designed to be used with a mouse/trackpad and keyboard. Would it be convenient to be able to scroll by touching the screen on a Mac? Maybe once in a while. Is it a "pro" or "ultra" feature? I don't think so.
Many Windows laptops feature touch screens, and many of those machines are not necessarily "pro" or "ultra" at all. If touch is so important to Apple, why have they not introduced it on the machines that would likely benefit from it the most, such as the MacBook Neo, which is Apple's latest inroad to the educational market?
The other thing about touch on a laptop computer is that it's not as convenient as one might think, especially when you're using an external keyboard. It's a "nice to have" option, maybe, but I am skeptical as to whether it actually reduces RSI and fatigue. (It might actually exacerbate the "gorilla arm" syndrome, ha.) There's the screen smudge factor to consider as well. Apple still might offer it regardless on this so-called "Ultra" MacBook Pro, but I don't feel it's going to add a world of difference to the computing experience. If anything, it's mainly an excuse to bump up the price. The tablets are generally going to offer a better touch experience anyway.
A lot of people here aren't old enough to know about lineup hell. Apple was certainly not the only offender, but definitely one of the worst.
Black_Mage
Contributor
capamac
macrumors 6502a
Here's the 1995 Mac line-up https://everymac.com/systems/by_year/macs-released-in-1995.html
21 Performa variants alone on that page. To those who don't know, Performa was the budget line, lower quality.
I do not really care about the touchscreen. But OLED and a cellular modem yes please. Touchscreens I feel were implemented by windows vendors because their trackpads were trash.
capamac
macrumors 6502a
I have this vague memory of using a CRT touchscreen briefly at some point in the 1980s/1990s. I remember thinking it was kinda dumb even then. It's not some hot new tech. It's way the heck old.
What are the main use cases for a touchscreen on a MacBook when you already have the world’s best trackpad? I just don’t get it.
Last edited:
Knowing Apple if the finger gets closer to the screen the elements will automatically change before you actually touch the screen.
Westside guy
macrumors 604
"Pro" became strictly a marketing term with Apple quite a few years ago - it's got absolutely nothing to do with "professional" at this point.
"Ultra" will mainly be descriptive of the size of the hole this new device will put in purchasers' wallets. 😉
Touchscreen reminds me a little of the touchbar, and probably is about as useful
Lots of laptops have these though, so there's some interest I guess. It may be for people who have issues with trackpads. Otherwise, I don't get it. Seems like a lot more effort. Also, you get horrible smudges.
Lots of laptops have these though, so there's some interest I guess. It may be for people who have issues with trackpads. Otherwise, I don't get it. Seems like a lot more effort. Also, you get horrible smudges.
Last edited:
Antilogical
macrumors member
If it ships with M5 chips like expected I think I'll pass on the first hardware revision. My MBP M4 Max is doing just fine for now.
M7 chips with improved on device LLM acceleration and foundation models? Yes, sign me up.
M7 chips with improved on device LLM acceleration and foundation models? Yes, sign me up.
I always understood 'Pro' as 'Advanced' and not as 'Professional'. But maybe this is because my maternal language is a latin-based one, and in latin 'pro' meant 'forward' (and also 'on behalf of').
I must admit to being a little puzzled about what this new Ultra brand will bring to the laptop form factor. Thinner, better screen, faster, battery life? etc. This is just an evolution or where we are today. What we need is a substantial evolution of what the current laptop form factor can provide. Interestingly the Neo seems the greatest change from the current laptop development paradigm. Small, easy to carry, adequate performance and low cost. If they can remove the obvious issues (lower battery life, slow charging, lack of back lit keyboard) then this machine could become the ideal laptop, leaving the heavy duty machines we need for other more processor intensive tasks to the machines we leave at home or the office.
Ask me where we should go from here and I cannot give you an answer since we are stuck in the old laptop paradigm. What I need is a light, portable machine that is easy to carry around and integrates with my ecosystem in a transparent and seamless way. The Neo is nearly there, a super expensive iteration of the existing MBPro is not the answer for me. I can use a Mac Studio or well equipped Mini for the office or home system. I rarely need a very powerful laptop when roaming the house or traveling.
Ask me where we should go from here and I cannot give you an answer since we are stuck in the old laptop paradigm. What I need is a light, portable machine that is easy to carry around and integrates with my ecosystem in a transparent and seamless way. The Neo is nearly there, a super expensive iteration of the existing MBPro is not the answer for me. I can use a Mac Studio or well equipped Mini for the office or home system. I rarely need a very powerful laptop when roaming the house or traveling.
Last edited:
Yet it is the only feature that would determine whether I buy it or not. Funny how this works, no?
Touchscreen, no thanks
at work, I have a touchscreen Dell laptop and it is the very first feature I disabled 🙄
at work, I have a touchscreen Dell laptop and it is the very first feature I disabled 🙄
Nope, just the occasional scrolling or tapping. The flexibility to switch between touch screen and trackpad when you're browsing and scrolling the internet is great for avoiding RSI.
It doesn't need to be touch first.