What should the upcoming M2 Macbook Pros do better?

[kasakka]

I'm on a 2019 16" Intel Macbook Pro and hoping to upgrade to a M2 Pro/Max when they come available.

Those of you using M1 Macbook Pros, what do you feel could be improved from the current iteration, besides the usual performance/efficiency/battery life?

 

[unrigestered]

not truly absolutely necessary for me, but if i was in charge for the improvements:
- update HDMI to the latest 2.1 specs
- update the TB/USB ports to allow the actual full speed of USB4 (max USB speeds are currently capped by a good bit)
- get rid of the notch (not going to happen anytime soon, but still 😂)

the last thing doesn't affect units with US keyboards, but i can speak for the german one:
- include important special characters like []{}~ that are currently not shown on the actual keys

 

[kasakka]

not truly absolutely necessary for me, but if i was in charge for the improvements:
- update HDMI to the latest 2.1 specs
- update the TB/USB ports to allow the actual full speed of USB4 (max USB speeds are currently capped by a good bit)
- get rid of the notch (not going to happen anytime soon, but still 😂)

Yeah HDMI 2.1 support is probably the big one for me and it sucks that we don't have it when Apple is sometimes the first to implement new standards for other ports.

I feel Apple considers external monitors second grade citizens considering how gimped the support is depending on the laptop model, how bad the handling is in MacOS. No controls for bit depth, chroma subsampling, DSC doesn't necessarily work, HiDPI support working is almost arbitrary unless you have a 16:9 4/5/6K 60 Hz monitor and so on.

 

[jav6454]

I'm on a 2019 16" Intel Macbook Pro and hoping to upgrade to a M2 Pro/Max when they come available.

Those of you using M1 Macbook Pros, what do you feel could be improved from the current iteration, besides the usual performance/efficiency/battery life?

The notch has to go and update HDMI. On wish list is perhaps support for higher memory on the base Mx Pro models.

 

[barkomatic]

I'd like different color options, encourage better app support (why no Netflix app that I can download a movie on?) and for Apple to take gaming seriously. I didn't buy my MBP expecting to do gaming on it--but it's a bit of a waste that we can't play some good games on this advanced hardware.

 

[ponzicoinbro]

Before I would say one more USB.

But now I got a Studio Display today I don’t need it.

Just FaceID would be cool.

 

[chabig]

I expect them have exactly the same design as the current 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros. HDMI might be updated. Wifi might be updated. But the ports, cameras, keyboards, and screens will be identical to what we have now.

 

[kasakka]

I'd like different color options, encourage better app support (why no Netflix app that I can download a movie on?) and for Apple to take gaming seriously. I didn't buy my MBP expecting to do gaming on it--but it's a bit of a waste that we can't play some good games on this advanced hardware.

That sounds like a lot of 3rd party developer problems and Apple can't do much about them. But without supporting e.g Vulkan and pushing for their own Metal 3 instead there's less incentive for developers to put in the work to port their games to be Mac native. It doesn't help that Apple has good GPUs for integrated ones but they don't hold a candle to high power draw discrete GPUs.

 

[MajorFubar]

Hopefully HDMI 2.1. I've never got my head round how Apple are sometimes too far ahead of the curve in removing things before we are ready (e.g. but not limited to floppy discs, optical drives, 'legacy' (urgh) ports) then on the other hand take yeeeeaaaars to introduce things that are common elsewhere, like HDMI 2.1, and USB C (on their iDevices)

 

[kasakka]

I expect them have exactly the same design as the current 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros. HDMI might be updated. Wifi might be updated. But the ports, cameras, keyboards, and screens will be identical to what we have now.

I expect the same design too but I really hope they upgrade the display for something with better pixel response times.

I would also like to see a cheaper display option that retains the resolution and refresh rate but drops HDR support. I have external monitors for HDR support so my laptop doesn't need to do that and it would be nice to see some options that let you decrease the cost rather than having to pay an arm and a leg for enough RAM and disk space.

 

[biffuz]

x86 Windows support 😀

 

[Jackbequickly]

I got tired of waiting and just purchased a new 16” M1 Pro 1Tbdrive and 16mb ram and am very happy. May not be quite as fast as the new model but I save like $400 and it will do what I need for years.

 

[MajorFubar]

I would also like to see a cheaper display option that retains the resolution and refresh rate but drops HDR support.

Obviously I'm not working for Apple so anything I say is just a guess, but I can't see them launching an alternative 'Lite' version of the 14" and 16" with a non-HDR display for those who mostly use them rigged to one of more external monitors.

If it ever becomes more than just rumoured conjecture, the 15" MacBook Air will fill that position.

 

[Fishrrman]

Agree with chabig above.

I would expect the 2023 MBP 14"/16" models to be all-but identical to the current version in form factor and ports.

The changes will be inside -- M2 CPUs and perhaps a slightly improved display.

I'd reckon on Jan/Feb/Mar/Apr 2023 release on these.

So... if one is determined "to wait"... better plan on waiting 6-8 more months.

 

[BanditoB]

I'll be surprised if they update the 14" and 16" M2s to WiFi 6E since they didn't do this for the M2 MacBook Airs.

Also, just curious, but why does everyone want HDMI 2.1? Most of its benefits seem to be for gamers and since this isn't one of the Mac's fortes, I'm not sure what it really buys us. My understanding is that labeling it 2.1 doesn't guaranty that they support all of the new features of the specification. In other words, they could call it 2.1, but that wouldn't necessarily mean that it would support higher refresh rates and what not.

 

[VivienM]

The notch has to go and update HDMI. On wish list is perhaps support for higher memory on the base Mx Pro models.

I don't understand the hate for the notch. I have a 2021 MBP with the notch, a 2020 iMac and now a mid-2017 12" MacBook, and in my view, the sliiiiiim bezels + notch are way better than the giant bezels on either of the others. (And yes, this may seem odd, but I actually got the MBP with the notch first, followed by the others... and the huge huge huge bezels are shocking once you're used to the 2021 MBPs)

 

[kasakka]

Also, just curious, but why does everyone want HDMI 2.1? Most of its benefits seem to be for gamers and since this isn't one of the Mac's fortes, I'm not sure what it really buys us. My understanding is that labeling it 2.1 doesn't guaranty that they support all of the new features of the specification. In other words, they could call it 2.1, but that wouldn't necessarily mean that it would support higher refresh rates and what not.

The specification has become a bit **** by allowing lesser implementations but basically HDMI 2.1 would allow for higher resolution and refresh rates.

With many new monitors coming with 1xDP and 2xHDMI 2.1 ports being able to utilize full capabilities of the display using any port would make a big difference. Especially if using more than one computer.

 

[Bearcito]

I'm on a 2019 16" Intel Macbook Pro and hoping to upgrade to a M2 Pro/Max when they come available.

Those of you using M1 Macbook Pros, what do you feel could be improved from the current iteration, besides the usual performance/efficiency/battery life?

Big request. Multiple monitor support, or at least 2 monitors. Love the lap top screens but 13-16 inches just doesn’t give me enough monitor space to do required edits.

 

[TSE]

What we've learned from the M2 MacBook Airs is that the M2 is going to be a small bump in CPU performance, but huge jump in GPU performance. I would expect the same when it comes to the MacBook Pros. I wouldn't bet my money on it going to 3nm process; that just seems like a very fragmented roadmap strategy.

 

[hovscorpion12]

The only thing Apple needs to do better is OS optimizations. MacOS 14 needs to unlock the full M-series potential. 90% of the issues plaguing M1 Macs are intel apps. MacOS 14 needs a better way to have intel apps function better on Roseta. Memory Leaks across the board needs to disappear.

 

[VivienM]

The only thing Apple needs to do better is OS optimizations. MacOS 14 needs to unlock the full M-series potential. 90% of the issues plaguing M1 Macs are intel apps. MacOS 14 needs a better way to have intel apps function better on Roseta. Memory Leaks across the board needs to disappear.

Provocative idea: maybe in Ventura, they should put a big warning on Intel apps and then maybe in 14 or 15, get rid of Rosetta 2 entirely.

It seems like most serious developers have updated their apps for Apple Silicon by now (even Citrix Workspace and Teams are basically there now); aren't most of the Intel-only apps these days from lazy Electron developers? And if those people haven't updated their apps by now, the ONLY thing that will make them do it is if Apple breaks Intel apps.

 

[jav6454]

I don't understand the hate for the notch. I have a 2021 MBP with the notch, a 2020 iMac and now a mid-2017 12" MacBook, and in my view, the sliiiiiim bezels + notch are way better than the giant bezels on either of the others. (And yes, this may seem odd, but I actually got the MBP with the notch first, followed by the others... and the huge huge huge bezels are shocking once you're used to the 2021 MBPs)

On the iPhone it makes sense as you can maximize screen real estate on a smaller device. On a laptop? Makes no sense to maximize something on such a large device already. Also, it stands out.

 

[Fatus_Asticus]

The M2 pros will take more of your wallet for very little gain. Much like the M2 MBA, the biggest gains were from the launch of the new M series chips. Now they are going to be boosting power to run the benchmarks a bit faster and everyone that has a m1 is going to yawn a little.

 

[Honza1]

It seems like most serious developers have updated their apps for Apple Silicon by now (even Citrix Workspace and Teams are basically there now); aren't most of the Intel-only apps these days from lazy Electron developers? And if those people haven't updated their apps by now, the ONLY thing that will make them do it is if Apple breaks Intel apps.

There are some applications which rely on libraries which may never be available on non-Intel macs (Intel MKL for example) and these applications will have to abandon macOS when Roseta 2 is removed. Which would be pity - even under emulation these applications are faster (!) than on Intel chips themselves. So, do not generalize. Why to abandon small but valuable scientific community when most of the work on emulation has been done already and so well...

 

[planteater]

Provocative idea: maybe in Ventura, they should put a big warning on Intel apps and then maybe in 14 or 15, get rid of Rosetta 2 entirely.

It seems like most serious developers have updated their apps for Apple Silicon by now (even Citrix Workspace and Teams are basically there now); aren't most of the Intel-only apps these days from lazy Electron developers? And if those people haven't updated their apps by now, the ONLY thing that will make them do it is if Apple breaks Intel apps.

Theres no reason to get rid of Rosseta. If you don’t want it, don’t use it.