New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

[pp_amorim]

I’m due for a new laptop, and my M1 is finally starting to show its age, but want to hold out for the redesign. so hopefully I can hang on another year.

Going to a M4P 48Gb from a M1P 16Gb was a massive improvement, it was a development machine in 2021 when I got it but it started suffering massively from the lack of RAM. I really suggest getting a upgrade.

 

[MaxVerstappen]

I can’t see it being a touchscreen. And I hope it isn’t. If I want a touchscreen I will get an iPad.

 

[pp_amorim]

Because:
1. It drains my iPhone’s battery, probably 2-3 times faster than normal. (It also becomes super hot.)
2. It is super unreliable, regularly disconnects, etc. It’s better if I put the phone right next to the laptop, but it’s really annoying to have to do that in a café.
3. I just don’t want to have to think about it, really. I just always want to have internet on my computer.

Also I faced a state where I couldn't access my iPhone due to a hardware issue on the device. If I had no wifi in the place I was I could be in trouble.

 

[pp_amorim]

Definitely wait for the M5. The M5 is going to bring some huge advancements in GPU performance with your usual efficiency and 10-15% performance gains.

If you do a lot of GPU intensive tasks, the M5 will be a game changer. I personally wish I had waited on picking up my Mac Mini M4 for an M5.

Source?

 

[jlc1978]

I only hope apple has been keeping track of how much the HDMI and SD card slots get used on the Macbook Pros and realize no one uses them and goes back to just USB C ports, far more useful to have an extra USB C that can do everything.

This off us who use it to run presentations definitely need an HDMI output. I get you can do taht with a dongle, but only USB-C means multiple dongles for headphones, SD Cards, video...

 

[backdraft]

That stupid notch in the middle of the screen needs to go.

 

[bradman83]

Source?

The poster is extrapolating off of the A19 Pro on which the M5 is likely to be based (as the M4 was based on the A18 Pro's microarchitecture). While the A19 has only a modest 10-ish % increase in CPU performance over the A18 Pro, GPU performance of the A19 Pro is 40% faster than the A18 Pro with the same GPU core count. Early Geekbench and other third party benchmarks have verified Apple's claims to be accurate.

 

[Adelphos33]

The pro machines are already plenty thin, nobody is asking to make them thinner. As someone else said, beef them up as PRO machines, add more ports, upgrade options, and capabilities that Pros can use. The thin MacBook is already accomplished with the Air.

Not necessarily. One of the biggest complaints about the MacBook Pro is that the boxy proportions are weird, and it weighs a bit more than some people would hope. On the other hand, one of the biggest complaints about the MacBook Air is the lack of the enhanced screen, worse speakers, etc.

So clearly, some people either want a more powerful MacBook Air or a thinner MacBook Pro!

 

[Powerbooky]

Most people only need the M4/M5 MacBook Air. All this OLED screen and thinner design and touch screen with the Pro’s just makes trillion dollar Apple 🍎 more money 💰

Actually, just recently I got a MacBook Pro M3 from reseller who sells leftover Apple stock with 45% discount from its original Apple pricing. 100% new with full Apple support. Perfect for kids going through high school and college. Very fast and quiet. They really don't need the very latest M-series for at least 5-10 years.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Going to a M4P 48Gb from a M1P 16Gb was a massive improvement, it was a development machine in 2021 when I got it but it started suffering massively from the lack of RAM. I really suggest getting a upgrade.

Depends on what you do.. Going from an M1 Air to my M4 MBP felt exactly the same in day-to-day usage. Video work is faster, obviously, but not a huge amount.

When home, it spends 90% of the time in clamshell mode connected a thunderbolt dock, so the additional features don't matter much.

 

[Chambers McMac]

I still feel my MBP M1 Pro is overpowered

Still use mine for daily. It can easily handle Adobe Premiere which was and is a game changer at least for me.

 

[surferfb]

Depends on what you do.. Going from an M1 Air to my M4 MBP felt exactly the same in day-to-day usage. Video work is faster, obviously, but not a huge amount.

When home, it spends 90% of the time in clamshell mode connected a thunderbolt dock, so the additional features don't matter much.

Yep, my "Pro" needs are for hobbies, not work, so I try to be judicious about updating. My day-to-day usage for work is more than fine, I am just starting to see the age of the machine when using it for hobbies. So I think I should be fine to wait another year.

 

[MichaelAdam]

this creative person does not like anybody touching the screen. Not sure which creative people you work with, but no greasy fingers on my screens thanks - thats what the iPad is for.
Come to think about it, I actually have zero uses for a touchscreen MacBook Pro - the trackpad does everything it needs to do, so am unsure what these needs 'we have' are.

this creative person does not like anybody touching the screen. Not sure which creative people you work with, but no greasy fingers on my screens thanks - thats what the iPad is for.
Come to think about it, I actually have zero uses for a touchscreen MacBook Pro - the trackpad does everything it needs to do, so am unsure what these needs 'we have' are.

Not sure what kind of creative guy you are but I respect your workflow, my team and I are thrilled …

 

[turbineseaplane]

I just want a 15" MBA with an OLED.

 

[Naraxus]

Wherever your expectations are at…

Lower them.

Yeah thanks for the buying advice but based on my own experiences with the M4 line I quite eagerly await these new MBPs to hit the market tyvm.

 

[macbookj0e]

I don't understand why people want both a very high quality screen AND a touchscreen, which will be constantly with smudges. Why a touchscreen on a laptop to begin with?
Meh.
Whatever.

Agree. The way we use laptops is not economic for touch screen use. I think Steve was right about this in the first place.

My partner has a touchscreen laptop and never uses it. Think I’d be the same.

Having said that I’m all for thinner designs and cellular!

 

[roken70]

Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest.

Apple often releases new Macs in October, but both Gurman and Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said the next MacBook Pro models might not arrive until early 2026. Apple announced the MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in January 2023, so there is precedent for such a timeframe.

The next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro are expected to be powered by M5/M5 Pro/M5 Max chips, but no other major changes have been rumored so far.

In late 2026, the MacBook Pro is expected to receive four bigger upgrades, including an OLED display for improved contrast ratio, a touch screen, a thinner design, and M6/M6 Pro/M6 Max chips fabricated with TSMC's latest 2nm process.

It has also been rumored that Apple might add cellular connectivity to Macs, so perhaps the MacBook Pro models with an OLED display will be equipped with a similar custom-designed modem as the C1 chip in the iPhone 16e or C1X chip in the iPhone Air. Plus, the notch surrounding the front camera might get smaller on the OLED models.

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Article Link: New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Why doesn’t Apple offer a MacBook Dev version with ctrl keys on both sides to start with?

 

[Ursadorable]

Would love to see “vapor chamber” in MacBook Pros.

Other than being the latest industry buzzword, why? Except for under a heavy load from encoding video, my MBP's fans never even turn on. Clearly the cooling is already top notch, as is the power efficiency of Apple Silicon.

 

[Zdigital2015]

I don’t want or need thinner, current is fine. OLED strains my eyes and a touch screen is for an iOS device. That leaves cellular connectivity, which is nice but not a must have. It would be nice if the regular M6 got TB5 connectivity and up to 48GB or 64GB of max DRAM, but I won’t hold my breath on that considering that the M6 Pro will probably be the +1 for that sort of upgrade potential.

Other than that, what does it really need? Apple is never going to make the MBP user upgradeable again and more ports is unlikely as well.

 

[musicmachine]

Higher base storage and no notch (or at least smaller) for me to upgrade from m1 mbp

 

[Frankfurt]

Hanging on to my 2017 MBP 15” until the 2026 redesign. I DO want a slimmer / lighter MBP. The current Air lacks a great screen and ports. The current MBP design (16”) makes it a brick that is barely portable.

 

[benface]

Because:
1. It drains my iPhone’s battery, probably 2-3 times faster than normal. (It also becomes super hot.)
2. It is super unreliable, regularly disconnects, etc. It’s better if I put the phone right next to the laptop, but it’s really annoying to have to do that in a café.
3. I just don’t want to have to think about it, really. I just always want to have internet on my computer.

Downvoting me for answering their question! Who would’ve thunk! Oh well. If you’re happy with that subpar experience, good for you – I guess you’re the kind of person who would’ve been happy with faster horses – HA!

 

[HazeAndHahmahneez]

The pro machines are already plenty thin, nobody is asking to make them thinner. As someone else said, beef them up as PRO machines, add more ports, upgrade options, and capabilities that Pros can use. The thin MacBook is already accomplished with the Air.

While this sounds amazing and logical in essence…paying 3k plus true corporate pros probably want svelte…damn near demand and expect it….best of the best in performance AND convenience…hence, Apple doing svelte Pros (not even an option of a beefy pro smh)

 

[Shirasaki]

Dear Apple: I don't want thinner MacBook Pros. I don't want a touch screen. It's a Pro machine. I want upgradable memory, storage, and lots of ports without needing to buy a damned dock. I want high durability and beefy cooling systems. I'm using it as a portable workstation, not using it as a laptop.

If you're expecting me to pay $3500+ for the high end CPU to do work with, then you better make it worth my money. I was going to buy one, but, meh, for that kinda scratch, I can buy a real workstation replacement machine and run Linux.

Who knows. Maybe Linux will run best on MacBook Pro. Much better than macOS could ever achieve, minus all the integrated stuff. Apples software has become so bad these days a relatively bug free year is already a blessing. I hope one day Linux can make MacBook Pro the most powerful PC in the world.

 

[Shirasaki]

Why not just connect wirelessly to the hotspot on your phone? Would save an extra data plan.

Then you never truly used hotspot extensively. By that I mean using laptop for hours while connected to iPhone hotspot. I did that, and I must carry 2 power banks or I can maybe use internet 3 hours max, with screen off, before my iPhone dies.
Extra data plan is the carrier issue, not cellular MacBook Pro issue.