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What do you wish Apple did differently with the MBA/MBP

Dream MacBook Air: 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM, USB-C port on both sides, ProMotion. 15h+ battery time, much lower price. Bonus points if it has an HDMI port, as I am tired of dongles that breaks all the time or doesn't work properly.
 
MayaUser said:
yea, a Macbook under 500grams even better
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Are you going to write the same joke in every thread someone asks for a under 1KG Mac? It's clear that it's not for you, but there is a market for these ultra compact laptops, including in Apple world. There were offered by Apple in the past and are offered by Windows laptops OEM even today (including high-end devices like Thinkpad X1 series).
Just to be clear nobody asks here to replace the 1.3KB Macbook air with a 900 gram one, so it won't affect you.
 
The 16" with M1 Max is the first machine in a long time for which any complaint I have genuinely feels like a nitpick in the bigger picture. It's just that good. But here we go.

The only substantial criticism I'm going to make is that a gorgeous screen of the caliber of the ProMotion MiniLED deserves better performance in terms of response times. Not a huge deal and it is true that there are known tradeoffs in making panels (professional monitors with very high color accuracy tend to have slow response times) but has been a known limitation for a while, so they need to raise the bar a little. The display is absolutely fantastic otherwise.

The HDMI 2.0 port is also a slightly baffling choice. It's not the latest standard, and even for display connectivity purposes it is strictly inferior to a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port. I get that it's more of a "convenience" feature for those who need to attach external devices without a dongle when HDMI is the only option, happens often in business situations and whatnot, but at this point I would just have kept the 4th TB port.
 
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My only two complaints with my 2021 MBP 14":

A while back I posted this thread:
... about "ticking" and "clicking" coming from the MBP body when touched.

As the thread describes, I took it to an Apple Store, and they sent it out for a trackpad/cable replacement. When it came back, it was fine (no tickin' or clickin'). But lately, the ticks and clicks seem be returning.

I'm resolved to just leaving it as it is, ticks and clicks notwithstanding.

Also...
I find the "force touch" trackpad sometimes more frustrating to use than the earlier trackpads that actually "moved" (and seemed to have make/break contacts inside).

I "right click" a lot (using the lower right corner of the trackpad), and I'll keep one finger of one hand there, while using the other hand to "navigate" to the menu choice I want. But... if I'm even just barely making contact with my "navigating finger" first, I can't invoke the "right click menu".

This wasn't a problem on the earlier trackpads I used for years that didn't "Register" until you actually pushed them down "to click" and make actual contact with something inside the movable portion of the trackpad.

Not a "be-all, end-all" thing for me, just an annoyance now and then.
I'd prefer a trackpad that actually "moved" and "clicked" underneath one's fingers.
 
Currently have an M2 Air. I can always do with a brighter screen when working outdoors. The Air has the battery life to support it too.

-Tristan
 
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  • Stick to type-C only ports on the MacBook Pro, the SD card reader is just laughable because the actually pro cameras don't even use SD cards. So is the HDMI port because now more than ever, so many displays have Type-C.
  • The pro can have MagSafe but the rest should still have type-c but on both sides
  • Instead of having the 13-inch pro, just have the Air but with 2 variants like how they had 2 variants of the 13-inch pro before. The cheaper one would be the same as what they have now, but the more expensive one would have ports on both sides, with more robust but still passive cooling. I think this is why there's actually a huge empty space in the new Air on the right side.
  • Have Touch Bar on the air. The function keys are useless to almost all users
 
We are dreaming - right?

15 inch MacBook Air. 17+ inch MBP. 2X USB-C on BOTH sides of the machine for easy cable management. For us nerds that switch between languages daily, reprogrammable keyboard layouts, ie OLED screens in each key in the keyboard.
 
as a 16" owner who is generally happy with this machine:
  • raytracing hardware acceleration (niche, given that i work in 3d and i'm sure most don't, but would still be lovely)
  • hdmi 2.1; i don't have any monitors that require it currently, but would be much more forwards facing.
  • there is some sort of issue with apple silicon and external monitors flickering/interlacing/glitching out. i don't know if its a hardware or software issue, but its persisted intermittently since i got the machine, even after a complete wipe and fresh reinstall. i've also seen enough support threads about it to be convinced its not just "my monitor/cable/machine" but a wider spread regression that was introduced with apple silicon.
 
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maflynn said:
Apple for the most part has hit the ball out of the park, so to speak. The 14" and 16" MBPs are fantastic machines, the M2 MBA offer exceptional battery life, performance and great looks.

My only wish is that when I went to buy my 14" MBP, I had more color options. I absolutely love the midnight blue color option.

What do you wish that apple did differently with the MBA and/or MBP?
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boot camp. if parallels can download a functional Windows 11 ARM, boot camp on my M1/M2 should be able to also.
 
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Not that Apple would ever do this (could be just another thing that might break), but I thought it would be cool if their (now) full-size function keys had programmable LCD or OLED tops. That way you could customize them for each app, and see what each key's function was. This would combine the best features both of physical keys and the Touch Bar.

I.e., like what you get with the Elegato Stream Deck:

1663268581468.png
 
kasakka said:
  • HDMI 2.1 support. Apple has been twiddling their thumbs on this way too long. With more external displays coming with a single DP and dual HDMI 2.1 ports, not supporting HDMI 2.1 on Macs even with USB-C adapters just plain sucks.
  • Faster pixel response times on their displays. They are absolutely abysmal. The Apple Studio Display is a bit underperforming in this regard for 60 Hz at ~20ms response time but the Macbook Pros are over twice the response time of that while also trying to support 120 Hz. They should be able to hit the minimum required for "no extra motion blur" ~8.3ms @ 120 Hz and ~16ms @ 60 Hz. Instead Apple could add display modes that favor color accuracy over response time for content creators, no different to how TVs have separate modes for gaming vs movies.
  • Add dual monitor support to the MBA, even if it is more resolution limited than the MBP.
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I agree with this. Definitely need multi-monitor support. Now that iPad Pros have M1s, maybe add multi-monitor support to them as well

More Apple Silicon than MacBook Air/Pro; PCIe 5, support. Since the official PCIe 6 spec was released earlier this year, work on that asap

At least with the MacBook Pro & desktop Macs: add a M.2 port (if not multiple) for extra storage. (I know, I'm dreaming)

Work with Intel to make Thunderbolt 5+ work with PCIe 5 (or even 6 now that the full spec is out). Include ability to output HDMI 2.1/DisplayPort 2

With PCIe 5 (and now 6) being out, bring back eGPUs. Hoping that the added bandwidth would be less of a bottleneck
 
  • shutoff onboard monitor when connected to external. I like having the lid open so I can quickly unlock with the finger print reader. I currently set the brightness down to "hide" the onboard monitor, but it always lights up one brightness setting when I log back in or wake from sleep.
  • External monitor wake from sleep issues to black screen. It seems you need the right monitor or usb-c hub to have no issues with this. I've seen forum posts going back years, but no true fix other than buying the right hardware combo.
  • Support CEC for external keyboard volume control on hdmi monitors. I usually route sound to the monitor and output to separate speakers. I can't control volume from the external keyboard unless I use an app like Monitor Control. The app was buggy with my setup, so it would crash if I adjusted the volume too fast. I gave up and hooked up the speakers direct to the 3.5mm jack on my MBA to get keyboard volume control. It works, but just another plug that I have unplug or plug when docking.
 
theorist9 said:
Not that Apple would ever do this (could be just another thing that might break), but I thought it would be cool if their (now) full-size function keys had programmable LCD or OLED tops. That way you could customize them for each app, and see what each key's function was. This would combine the best features both of physical keys and the Touch Bar.

I.e., like what you get with the Elegato Stream Deck:

View attachment 2064309
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They’ve been working on this for a long time from their patent filings. It looks like they’re looking to make glass touchable in the long run…
 
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If I had to be picky for my M2 MBA I would change two things.

1. Make the power button the ONLY key that is a power button. All keys don't need to be power buttons.

2. Move one of the USB-C ports to the other side so I can plug something on either side.


Other than those two I think it's absolutely perfect. I wouldn't change anything else.
 
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Rose Gold MBPs would have been cool as I used a 12' Macbook in that color. But as we all know the lineup suffered supply chain issues. I have Space Grey and that's fine. I do kind of miss a second USB-C connector on the right side, but it's so minor and I keep a dongle in my bag still just like last MB/P.

Boot Camp is probably done with, that was a time when many were risk adverse to move to macOS, and we are now in a cloud world where there isn't that many pro apps left that require Windows. But that does keep Parallels in business.
 
russell_314 said:
1. Make the power button the ONLY key that is a power button. All keys don't need to be power buttons.
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Agree, didn't mention it as this "feature" was introduced across the Mac line years ago, so not a design choice specific to the Apple Silicon machines. Not a dealbreaker, but a rather silly and mildly annoying design still.
 
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Maybe this is just my nostalgia for the early Ive era, but having some of the iMac colours for the MacBook Air (even as a special/limited edition) would be fun. Starlight and midnight are fantastic, but a MacBook in the iMac's green would be very slick.
 
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I'd really like cellular in the MacBooks. It's such low hanging fruit as a feature. I'm sure they leave it out in order to not cannibalize iPad sales, but I feel like that's a stupid reason. Cannibalize sales--the customers will decide if that's a reason to not buy an iPad! And even if it does take a big bite out of another product, it's for a MUCH HIGHER MARGIN DEVICE!

I'm speaking from a selfish, regionalized point of view, but in my area, Verizon has rolled out 5GUW. It's available just about anywhere I go. I'd much rather have that than some coffee shop's crappy wifi or having to rely on tethering.
 
ahurst said:
Maybe this is just my nostalgia for the early Ive era, but having some of the iMac colours for the MacBook Air (even as a special/limited edition) would be fun. Starlight and midnight are fantastic, but a MacBook in the iMac's green would be very slick.
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I'd love some flashier colors.

To me the current "dark grey and light gray" for MBPs are really boring options. Give me the palette of iMac 24" colors.
 
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