New MacBook Pro Models Coming at WWDC, Suggests Leaker

[Tagbert]

I think it’s entirely possible the 14 and 16” will be launched at WWDC however, a few things are making me doubt it:

1. Only rumours about an M2 are floating around, which surely will be launched after the September iPhone event, as it will likely be based upon the A15 chip.

2. If the M1X is coming to the 14 and 16 wouldn’t apple need to get a developer kit out to the developers first, like they did before the M1?

3. Last years software only online event was nearly 2 hours long with only software announcements, surely it would mean this years WWDC will be about 2.5 hours long if they include hardware.

I have seen rumors of an M1X chip in the near term. Apple probably doesn’t want to wait for fall/winter for these new laptops.

No one needs a developer kit for an M1X or M2 processor. The dev kits were when there were no Apple Silicon machines available. Now you can use your Air, MBP or iMac do write and test apps that will run just fine on M1X or M2. Devs don’t generally write processor specific code anymore.

 

[orthorim]

Even if true, could still just mean an M1 update for the 16inch like the 13inch got last year and the true redesign delayed. Wonder if Prosser intentionally left out „redesigned“ just to be safe.

That doesn't make sense - the elaborate cooling system for Intels i9 is a huge part of the 16" MBP.

Since the M1x or M2 or whatever they'll call it doesn't need that

And if nothing else, they can shave off a mm or 2 by rearranging the interiors. I think the mainboard is going to be smaller too, fewer and smaller fans, no or smaller heatsink, etc.

A Mx class processor in a 16" chassis suddenly opens up vast amounts of space... it doesn't need a massive battery either.

Meaning - there's no point not doing a redesign. It will be a performance laptop like the world has never seen.

As for losing touchbar - good riddance, what a totally useless and expensive feature - it's worse than buttons.

What irks me the most about the touchbar is that it lags. How does it lag??? Is 8 cores running at 3Ghz not enough to create a touch surface that can keep up with my fingers? How is it not?? Makes no sense, it's just really poor design. iPhone doesn't lag, has never lagged even 10 years ago, and is using the same touch tech.... it's just garbage.

 

[Stephen.R]

They are made for high end professionals who frequently need HDMI ports, SD card slots, and multiple other inputs. So yes, for them, bringing it back is a step in the right direction

You know which one port all “high end professionals” use in common? None.

you know which port adapts to any other type? Hint: it’s not hdmi.

Adding hdmi is a convenience change, and on its own wouldn’t be an issue. When the first rumours of it returning surfaced, a number of us suggested that it’s unlikely Apple would just add it back - and the whiners all insisted that it wouldn’t replace tb3 ports, just as you all still insist that MagSafe won’t negatively impact USB-c charging.

so no, dropping tb3 ports for hdmi is not a step in the right direction for “high end professionals”.

Its very common to need to connect laptops to TV’s or projectors. A dedicated port for that is obviously a must.

Yes because as we all know, Apple has sold 0 laptops since 2016 due to the lack of an essential port.

 

[poematik13]

Is 8 cores running at 3Ghz not enough to create a touch surface that can keep up with my finger

Touch bar has a dedicated SoC that runs it with bridgeOS IIRC

 

[Stephen.R]

But it's not like you cannot use HDMI with current Macbooks. You just need a dongle. In fact, pretty much most Windows ultrabooks use dongles as well. The only difference is Apple sells the dongle separately, while most Windows OEMs include at least 1 basic dongle (usually USB-C to USB-A + HDMI) with the laptop.

I'd rather have a multi-purpose port like USB-C that I can convert to almost anything vs a single-purpose port like HDMI.

You’ll never convince the whiners. At best you’ll get them to acknowledge that it’s merely about convenience for them. After that they’re more likely to claim that no one needs four tb3 than to admit that they just don’t care if their convenience makes others’ workflows flat out impossible.

 

[ian87w]

If they do bring back magsafe, I bet they keep the USB-C charging as an option. It is so built into the spec and their system for USB-C that they would have to do exta work to remove it just to make things less convenient for their customers.

But then what kind of charger will they include? Right now, Macbooks have a multi-purpose USB-C charger. Do we want to go back to the proprietary magsafe chargers? But I guess it makes sense for the current Apple, to have people spend more money on accessories.

 

[smulji]

Big Sur should be called Bug Sur

 

[Scoob Redux]

... just as you all still insist that MagSafe won’t negatively impact USB-c charging.

I don't know anyone who insisted that. We want MagSafe charging, not USB-C charging. It's better. Simple as that.

so no, dropping tb3 ports for hdmi is not a step in the right direction for “high end professionals”.

Sure it is. I have little use for Tb3 ports, but use HDMI all the time.

Yes because as we all know, Apple has sold 0 laptops since 2016 due to the lack of an essential port.

Not zero, but fewer than they would have otherwise. I certainly didn't buy one of the crippled 2016-early 2021 MacBook Pros. The lack of essential ports and the ridiculous Touch Bar were the sole drivers of that decision.

 

[Alexander_im]

It’s interesting that we’ve heard rumours about Mini-LED MacBooks for the last year and a half. But there hasn’t been any mentions about it for the last couple of months… it’s like nobody said it in the first place.

 

[ghanwani]

I don't like the notch. But that's not all. There's OLED flicker and I also find the scrolling to be not as smooth with the OLED displays. I'm still on a 2016 SE, but I think it's time for me to upgrade to a 2020 SE. The battery life with the 2016 is now very bad, even though it shows that it's at 85% capacity.

But based on rumors, it looks like there will be another 4.7" SE refresh so it means those who prefer no notch + LCD + touch ID will continue to have an option with the latest hardware.

 

[macdrej]

What irks me the most about the touchbar is that it lags. How does it lag??? Is 8 cores running at 3Ghz not enough to create a touch surface that can keep up with my fingers? How is it not?? Makes no sense, it's just really poor design. iPhone doesn't lag, has never lagged even 10 years ago, and is using the same touch tech.... it's just garbage.

what irks me the most about the touchbar is that its been broken for almost a year now and flickering like mad. So the thing I never wanted or used (other than to adjust brightness and volume) I will have to pay many hundreds to fix to maintain a decent resale value.

 

[Stephen.R]

48Gbps USB 2.1 bandwidth would be a good reason to have that port instead of a USB-C port (which hits only 40)

I'm guessing you meant HDMI2.1, but still, no. That isn't "a good reason" to have a single-use port when it comes at the expense of a flexible/universal port.

A USB-C port with DP2.0 support will do 80Gbps over a USB-C cable, or it'll do anything else you damn well like.


If the HDMI Forum choose not to update their partner specification for USB-C connectors, that's not a reason to deprive others of connectivity.

 

[entropys]

You know which one port all “high end professionals” use in common? None.

you know which port adapts to any other type? Hint: it’s not hdmi.

Adding hdmi is a convenience change, and on its own wouldn’t be an issue. When the first rumours of it returning surfaced, a number of us suggested that it’s unlikely Apple would just add it back - and the whiners all insisted that it wouldn’t replace tb3 ports, just as you all still insist that MagSafe won’t negatively impact USB-c charging.

so no, dropping tb3 ports for hdmi is not a step in the right direction for “high end professionals”.


Yes because as we all know, Apple has sold 0 laptops since 2016 due to the lack of an essential port.

It is more the case of how many laptops Apple did not sell that it might have otherwise if they had a hdmi and USB-A port. That and the keyboard (now fixed).
The opportunity cost in other words. And I reckon there were a lot of people that just went Dell XPS or HP dragonfly. I went dragonfly for example. It has USB-A, two USB-C, and DP.

but I reckon USB-A is more important than HDMI.

 

[batmanofvietnam]

If you need a new MacBook Pro, buy a new MacBook Pro.
you can wait and wait and wait and wait and wait, because whatever will be announced next year will be better than what comes this year, and whatever comes a year after that will be better than the year that came before.
If the New MacBook pros don’t have mini LED, it’s not that big of a deal. From everything I’ve read and watched on the new iPad Pro, it doesn’t make that big of a difference in regular, everyday usage.
The current LCDs they use on the 16 inch MacBook Pro are fantastic, you won’t be disappointed.

The 'If you need a new MacBook pro then buy a new MacBook pro...there will always be something better' argument does not work in 2021 - writing as a MacBook pro user who has been looking to upgrade lately.

Every time I comment about the frustration of waiting for the 'Pro' silicon lineup that lazy old retort piles up in the responses - please stop using it for now, you can go back to using it when the entire ARM lineup has been released lol, but it's not helpful rn.

We are in the midst of a complete generational shift and last year Apple literally told us that the entire intel lineup would be obsolete by 2022 (Not unsupported, but obsolete). Who want to spend 3K+ on a device in the final months of it's lifespan? Not me!

 

[Stephen.R]

... or they could just put in a USB hub inside the case and spit it to all the ports. You would not get the full bandwidth if you were using them all at the same time. Honestly, split one thunderbolt port and use it to feed all the legacy ports. I doubt it would be much of a problem. You could even power down the old ports when you were not using them.

So you're saying they should go back to the approach of the 2015 MBP, where the SD card slot was hanging off a USB2.0 bus internally, only to have a bunch of whiners claim "it's better" than an external one connected via USB3 or what have you? Sure ok, you can have your slow card reader if it makes you feel better that it's "inside", so long as you keep your mitts off the TB3/USB4 ports we use.

 

[James Godfrey]

what irks me the most about the touchbar is that its been broken for almost a year now and flickering like mad. So the thing I never wanted or used (other than to adjust brightness and volume) I will have to pay many hundreds to fix to maintain a decent resale value.

I am in between getting the M1 Air and Pro at the moment, the Touch Bar is nice but I have always said it’s just another potential failure point, and from what I have heard from most users it’s just not useful at all.

So at this time I am leaning towards the Air mainly because it does not have the Touch Bar, but just want to see what is offered up at WWDC before I pull the trigger.

I am really hoping that either the 14” directly replaces the 13” but doesn’t come in at a $1799 price tag, something around $1499 would definitely be more appealing, or that they also refresh the design of the 13” Pro alongside the higher end models and maybe bump it to $1399.

I just can’t fathom apple firstly having one of their MacBook Pro line having a different design and Touch Bar, with the rest of the line up having no Touch Bar and redesign, and secondly even continuing with the current base pro as the Air is pretty much the exact same minus the fan (which from what I hear barely ever kicks in on the Pro model).

 

[MaxSto]

Prosser…the guy who claims there will be an software update with AirPlay 2 for the AirPods to enable lossless…🤦‍♂️

 

[Unregistered 4U]

yeah, but isnt there a translation layer that affects performance?

You are probably thinking of Rosetta 2. What it does is translate the Intel-based code into AppleSilicon-based code when the app first runs. After that it is the translated code that runs. This is not an emulator. There is very little overhead beyond the initial translation time (seconds). For many apps, the Rosetta 2 translated app run faster on the M1 Mac than the original code ran on the equivalent Intel Mac.

And this is another one of those things the competition won’t be able to follow easily. Since ALL code written for the Mac is written in Xcode, and compiled with Apple’s compiler, Apple knows precisely what all those Intel commands are meant to implement and can directly trade that code for ARM code that’s just as efficient if not more.

 

[Bro...What???]

Hopefully I'll be able to get some decent cash for my MBP 16in '19 and prayers up for a black color on the MBP also ! 🙏🙏 🙏

 

[Stephen.R]

Or they can use the space for 2+ USB-C ports. Allow 2 ports to be bonded together for 80Gb of bandwidth. Then 3rd party vendors can produce dongles to support HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.0, etc.

No need for third party vendors. DP2.0 over USB-C Alt-Mode is part of the spec, and handles 80Gbps.

HDMI Forum, from what I can tell, hasn't updated their USB-C Alt-Mode partner specification beyond HDMI 1.4b.

 

[DUNKonDUNKS]

THE 7th can’t happen fast enough!!!

 

[Stephen.R]

I don't know anyone who insisted that

I mean I dont want to pick on them specifically (I've seen literally hundreds comments claiming the same thing), but literally from this thread:

If they do bring back magsafe, I bet they keep the USB-C charging as an option.

Sure it is. I have little use for Tb3 ports, but use HDMI all the time.

News flash: one single person is not the definition for "professionals". Not you, not me, not any one person.

But here's the thing you people don't seem to understand: a USB-C/TB3 port can provide you with HDMI, with minimal inconvenience.

A HDMI port can't provide eSATA. Or Ethernet. Or DisplayPort. Or any other type of port.

Not zero, but fewer than they would have otherwise.

Right, because they only set an all time record for Mac sales in 2020, and attributed it to the MacBook Pro: https://www.macrumors.com/2020/10/30/apple-says-strong-mac-sales-led-by-macbook-pro/

I certainly didn't buy one of the crippled 2016-early 2021 MacBook Pros. The lack of essential ports and the ridiculous Touch Bar were the sole drivers of that decision.

See, I could imagine not buying one because of concerns over the keyboard. I bought a 2018 and haven't had any issues but I can imagine being concerned before that.

To not upgrade a computer you use for work (??) for.. half a decade? Because you don't want to use a different cable or a tiny adapter, should be the dictionary definition for "cutting your nose off to spite your face".

 

[Stephen.R]

I went dragonfly for example. It has USB-A, two USB-C, and DP.

The irony of trying to "justify" why people wouldn't buy a MBP without HDMI, with an example where you bought one also without HDMI is not lost on me.

This is literally the problem USB-C/USB4/TB3 ports solve.

You want USB-A, and DisplayPort, presumably.

Billy wants a couple of HDMI.

Cindy wants a high speed card reader and some USB-A ports.

Joey wants 10Gb ethernet and DisplayPort.

Patrick wants TB2 and some FireWire800, plus USB-A ports.

 

[MisterAndrew]

I think an Apple Silicon Mac Pro desktop is the only plausible hardware they could reveal at WWDC, like they have with the previous models. They have that recent patent for it too so it is coming. Maybe even the cheese grater style iPhone if they’re targeting it towards developers.

 

[Stephen.R]

We want MagSafe charging, not USB-C charging. It's better. Simple as that.

I mean, are you the Queen of England, using the "royal we"? Otherwise which "We" are you referring to there?

I've owned/used a number of MagSafe equipped Mac laptops. Sure, it worked OK. The cables are quite prone to wear though, and due to it's nature, a damaged cable means replacing the whole charger, not just the cable. It also means you need a separate, dedicated charger. If you travel with several modern devices, you can quite likely carry just one charger and possibly a couple of different charge cables (i.e. USB-C to Lightning/etc).

But just like the HDMI issue: there's a solution to this problem, right now, in the market, for those who want it. USB-C magnetic charge cables are literally a thing that exists, and you can buy, right now.

But no no. That isn't good enough, is it? The only thing you'll be satisfied by, is a return to a single-vendor charging port, and by your own admission, at the expense of USB-C charging that others have embraced, due to it's flexibility.


Thanks for really highlighting how selfish you are.