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New MacBook Pro Still Planned for October, USB-C MacBook Air Also in the Works

Abazigal said:
There will probably be hubs for those. There's already one for both HDMI and USB after all.
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That's true, but it ruins a seamless clean look. I wanted to get an iMac with a 12-South stand on the back of it so I could put my iTunes portable HDD on there and have it plugged in all the time out of sight. Now I'll have this thing hanging down on the desk and the HDD hanging out from the hub like messy octopus.

I realize I'm bing picky, but I guess I think there should still be some USB-A port(s) since it's still so widely used.
 
KPOM said:
Except that USB-C has already been adopted by most phone makers and many PC makers like Dell and HP.
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but there is nothing made for it and the phones all seem to have USB-C to USB-A cables that come with them not USB-C to USB-C
 
Traverse said:
That's true, but it ruins a seamless clean look. I wanted to get an iMac with a 12-South stand on the back of it so I could put my iTunes portable HDD on there and have it plugged in all the time out of sight. Now I'll have this thing hanging down on the desk and the HDD hanging out from the hub like messy octopus.

I realize I'm bing picky, but I guess I think there should still be some USB-A port(s) since it's still so widely used.
Click to expand...
- I don't think you're being picky. It's a legitimate concern about elegance. But I think you're misunderstanding things a bit perhaps. If you have a hard drive that requires whatever form of USB now, you don't need lots of hubs and adaptors. Just a cable that goes from USB-C to whatever USB type you need will do. Adds no bulk. But it does necessitate the purchase of a cable of course.
 
drevilcn said:
same here, also if those upgrades are so significant, i doubt apple would let this go with a silent upgrade.
they would make a big show about it.
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Agreed. If the MacBook Pro does come with the sensor strip then it will have to be demonstrated so people will see how it works and developers to know how to program for it.

The MacBook Air should get:
  1. Retina display, or at least bump the native resolution to 1920x1200.
  2. Core i5 6360U processor (2 GHz, Iris 540) configurable to Core i7 6660U (2.4 GHz, Iris 540).
  3. 8 GB RAM configurable to 16 GB.
Dropping the 11" model makes sense because the 12" MacBook takes care of the low-end.
 
Traverse said:
That's true, but it ruins a seamless clean look. I wanted to get an iMac with a 12-South stand on the back of it so I could put my iTunes portable HDD on there and have it plugged in all the time out of sight. Now I'll have this thing hanging down on the desk and the HDD hanging out from the hub like messy octopus.

I realize I'm bing picky, but I guess I think there should still be some USB-A port(s) since it's still so widely used.
Click to expand...
I get the convenience argument, but not the "seamless clean look" argument for leaving lots of legacy ports. The more items directly plugged into a notebook, the more it resembles a messy octopus. That's why docking stations are popular on the PC side. USB-C enables universal docking stations.
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AVEGA said:
why can't it have both? Is it impossible or something?
2 USB C
2 USB 3
1 Magsafe
2 Thunderbolt
1 HDMI
1 SDcard

So it's both future proof and works well for the present. Why is this such a radical idea?
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That's a total of 9 ports/slots and would take up a lot of space. With 4 USB-C (and at least one of them Thunderbolt 3-enabled) you could theoretically get a dock that supports Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, USB-A, and SD-card, and so is future proof and works well in the present.
 
It feels like desktops and laptops running the traditional Mac OS (excuse me, macOS) are really an afterthought for Apple now; it's all about phones, tablets and watches.
 
Couldn't care less about the HD card reader. Almost a
swingerofbirch said:
I don't doubt that USB C flash drives will proliferate and come down in price. I do wonder if they'll be able to sit as flush with the computer as the current ones. I keep one in my computer all the time for backups, and it sits very securely and is so flush it doesn't snag on anything. It's a very nice feature to have.
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I know what you are talking about, similar to the USB recievers for wireless mice, ya?
 
Hope the rumors are correct. Three people in my extended family alone are limping along on old MBPs and have been waiting on this one for months. They'll be ordering the first day available.
 
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Macbook Air getting a refresh? Does anyone actually stop to think about this logically? The Air is dead. Dead dead dead.

Can someone please explain to me how an updated Air isn't a Macbook or a MBP? It would be the same freak'n thing. Get over the Air.
 
If they are refreshing the MBA. It better be Kabylake because MBA suitable kaby chips are already out and dell has been selling their xps 13 with KL for the past 2 months
 
I'm actually concerned about these going out of stock right away and staying that way for awhile. The pent-up demand is enormous.
 
Thomas2006 said:
The MacBook Air should get:
  1. Retina display, or at least bump the native resolution to 1920x1200.
  2. Core i5 6360U processor (2 GHz, Iris 540) configurable to Core i7 6660U (2.4 GHz, Iris 540).
  3. 8 GB RAM configurable to 16 GB.
Click to expand...

Get a macbook. You really think apple is going to have a 12" MB, 13" MBA that's slightly better than the MB but not as good as the MBP. MB price: 1299, MBP price: 1299, MBA price: ???. Good grief I can't believe you people still hold on to the Air. It has no place.
 
drewyboy said:
Get a macbook. You really think apple is going to have a 12" MB, 13" MBA that's slightly better than the MB but not as good as the MBP.
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Well right now they have a 11", 12", 13" (three 13" laptops), and a 15". I'd say Apple has failed to keep their product lines concise
 
drewyboy said:
Macbook Air getting a refresh? Does anyone actually stop to think about this logically? The Air is dead. Dead dead dead.

Can someone please explain to me how an updated Air isn't a Macbook? It would be the same freak'n thing. Get over the Air.
Click to expand...

Agree. Still trying to figure out how that will pan out. A logical lineup to me would be

- Retina MacBook Pro 15"
- Retina MacBook Pro 13"
- MacBook 13"
- MacBook 12"

While bringing the price of the MacBook down to entry level as technology permits.
If you think about it, the MacBook is kind of the "new Air".
Seems logical to me, but the rumors seem to suggest the Air sticking around.
Regardless, the MacBook Pro 13" Will very likely be my choice.
The one thing that may be missing from this lineup is a good entry level computer for education, college students, etc.
 
Count Blah said:
Except for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. Except for those, no proprietary ports.

What would be AWESOME is for Apple to drop the 3.5mm port on the Mac, and only supply USB-C, so the iOS devices and Macs can't share wired headphones, only bluetooth. That would be hilarious.
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Well, they are going to sell the AirPods.
 
maflynn said:
Well right now they have a 11", 12", 13" (three 13" laptops), and a 15". I'd say Apple has failed to keep their product lines concise
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Yes, I agree, but that is why the MBA is going out. It has no place and it will clean things up. MB is near the point where it can clearly take over the MBA's place except on price.

So with no MBA it's 12",13",15". Personally I really hope, hugely unlikely though, that apple switches MBP to 14" and 16". With screen tech that is out RIGHT now, it would be plenty easy to remove the bezel and place a larger screen in the exact same footprint. So 12" MB, 14" and 16" MBP in same footprint.
 
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maflynn said:
Well right now they have a 11", 12", 13" (three 13" laptops), and a 15". I'd say Apple has failed to keep their product lines concise
Click to expand...

Agree they definitely have failed on that. SJ would not be happy about it right now. It's not the worst line up in the world or anything, but it is very fragmented. The rMB not having MagSafe, while everything else does, adapters everywhere, some retina, some non retina, that awful 2012 MacBook pro still being sold with a CD drive. It is so scattered now and in dire need of a refresh. Hopefully we see them bring the lineup to a sort of Zen.
 
drewyboy said:
Yes, I agree, but that is why the MBA is going out. It has no place and it will clean things up. MB is near the point where it can clearly take over the MBA's place except on price.
Click to expand...

Hopefully but apple has had opportunities to trim their product line before now and has not. I'm not saying they wont', but rather its over due.
 
maflynn said:
Well right now they have a 11", 12", 13" (three 13" laptops), and a 15". I'd say Apple has failed to keep their product lines concise
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They are basically where they were in 2009 except the MacBook is the niche product and the MacBook Air the base product vs. the other way around back then.

Apple may not yet be ready to "mainstream" the MacBook with a significant price drop, so they may retain an updated Air for another generation. I would not be surprised at all to see only minimal improvements to the MacBook Air and to see only the 13" continue. Maybe it just gets Skylake or Kaby Lake and USB-C but retains the existing display.
 
maflynn said:
Hopefully but apple has had opportunities to trim their product line before now and has not. I'm not saying they wont', but rather its over due.
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And sadly that is the truth of the Tim Cook Apple. Drag things woefully along until you have expended all of your inventory of outdated technology.

EDIT: I mean, look at the Air updates. March 2015 was a simple spec bump. So over a year and a half ago it got what should be a mid year spec increase. And since then, nothing (and yes, a RAM upgrade is nothing).

EDIT2: Before March 2015 update, you'd have to go back to June 2013 for an actual "update".
 
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pbasmadj said:
Agree they definitely have failed on that. SJ would not be happy about it right now. It's not the worst line up in the world or anything, but it is very fragmented. The rMB not having MagSafe, while everything else does, adapters everywhere, some retina, some non retina, that awful 2012 MacBook pro still being sold with a CD drive. It is so scattered now and in dire need of a refresh. Hopefully we see them bring the lineup to a sort of Zen.
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SJ sold the eMac for years. The 2012 MacBook with the DVD drive is not displayed in stores and exists primarily for the education market.

I think SJ would approve the 12" MacBook as the "ideal." It is the culmination of the vision he put forth with the original MacBook Air.
 
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