What to Expect in the Third Generation MacBook

[Mac 128]

No, there's still room if they alter the shape a bit. Technically there's room for a USB-A port, but I understand what you mean. I really hope they do make a larger MacBook rather than having the base 13" Pro as the option, because it's really not the same as a larger MacBook or thinner MacBook Air - people like the shape and having it like that would also cut down on weight. They could use 15W processors in that shape as long as they used the 12" MB speakers (allow the space for more battery).

Well that's just it, they'll have to redesign the MacBook. So we're not likely to see it until then, if at all, unless it replaces the headphone jack.

I do agree that adding the Touch bar is not a big deal, and it gives Apple the ability to drop the price of the current MB down to the MBA which they'll discontinue, while maintaining the premiums on the MB where they are now. That way, they can leave the headphone jack for the low-end users who tend to use less expensive wired options, and add the second USB-C port for those who tend to pay more for wireless headphones. But Apples not likely to take away the wired headphone option completely until USB-C arrives at standard headphone output specs, since they will also have to offer an adapter for that.

 

[cityboy-100]

Does anyone know if there's a chance the 2017 update will be able to do 5k @ 60hz @ 30bpp? I can't find processor info to say how powerful the GPU will be.

 

[fokmik]

common, to say it is slower to type on the current keyboard...is a lie. It is the fastest keyboard. everybody says how fast you type on it

 

[Justaguy48]

All I really want is touch bar and touch ID, and remove the headphone jack and put another USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port!

 

[Appleaker]

All I really want is touch bar and touch ID, and remove the headphone jack and put another USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port!

Same here, although I would prefer the headphone jack to stay.
My position comes from looking at the education market, and people who buy these for university/college. They often want to charge their iPhone from their computer but can't do that when it's charging as there is only 1 port. As for transferring files, they would probably like USB-A so will have to use an adapter. And photography/film students would much prefer to have an SD card slot, but that will not happen either.
And listening to music with standard headphones is common despite wireless options

This is why the MacBook Air and old MacBook Pros are doing to well.
I think Apple should put more USB-C connectors on the MacBook, and put an SD card slot on the MacBook Pros. Obviously USB-A is out of the question really, so first party multiport adapters should be cjheaper in my opinion.

 

[Justaguy48]

Same here, although I would prefer the headphone jack to stay.
My position comes from looking at the education market, and people who buy these for university/college. They often want to charge their iPhone from their computer but can't do that when it's charging as there is only 1 port. As for transferring files, they would probably like USB-A so will have to use an adapter. And photography/film students would much prefer to have an SD card slot, but that will not happen either.
And listening to music with standard headphones is common despite wireless options

This is why the MacBook Air and old MacBook Pros are doing to well.
I think Apple should put more USB-C connectors on the MacBook, and put an SD card slot on the MacBook Pros. Obviously USB-A is out of the question really, so first party multiport adapters should be cjheaper in my opinion.

I actually am currently in college and have a MacBook Pro 15 inch 2016 version. From my usage I have never plugged in anything into the headphone jack, I always use my AirPods, and I actually use adapters a lot less than I thought. Almost everything done now days is wireless, and for those rare days that I need an adapter I just keep a few in my backpack just in case. i want a second USB-C because I like the option of charging my Mac on either side.

 

[Appleaker]

I actually am currently in college and have a MacBook Pro 15 inch 2016 version. From my usage I have never plugged in anything into the headphone jack, I always use my AirPods, and I actually use adapters a lot less than I thought. Almost everything done now days is wireless, and for those rare days that I need an adapter I just keep a few in my backpack just in case. i want a second USB-C because I like the option of charging my Mac on either side.

Yeah transferring files through USB A is extremely rare, but I just put that in there. You have your AirPods and many people have wireless headphones but there is still a large number of people that use traditional wired headphones with their MacBook, although usually they use their phone for Music so maybe it's not that important. I still think an extra USB-C port on the MBs and an SD card slot on the MBPs would fix a lot of problems.

 

[Justaguy48]

Yeah transferring files through USB A is extremely rare, but I just put that in there. You have your AirPods and many people have wireless headphones but there is still a large number of people that use traditional wired headphones with their MacBook, although usually they use their phone for Music so maybe it's not that important. I still think an extra USB-C port on the MBs and an SD card slot on the MBPs would fix a lot of problems.

Yeah i know im a rare case since im more "techy" than most people. Apple could include a USB-C to headphone adapter in the box like they did with the iPhone. And if they switched the iPhone to USB-C it would make everything more smooth.

 

[bill-p]

USB-C -> headphone jack is not happening. There is currently no standard for it. Apple doesn't control USB-C standards like they do with Lightning, and they need to come to an agreement with Intel, HP, Dell, Asus, etc... before they can try to implement something like it, so it'll take years.

2nd USB-C port will only be likely if...

1. Apple redesigns the MacBook to make more room. This may happen next year for the 4th iteration, but not this year.
2. Apple introduces a bigger MacBook. Why not wait until next year to introduce along with the redesign?

And touch bar is not inconsequential. It's like the Apple Watch. It's not just an OLED screen. It has its own computer system (that means processor, memory, and security chips and etc...) to control both the touch bar and authentication of Touch ID. It sucks power. OLED is not "free beer" when it's on all the time. In actual use, the touch bar can diminish anywhere from 10-20% battery life in the grand scheme of things if not coded for correctly to reduce its up time. Right now people are reporting "okay" battery life even when it's not extensively in use (they probably just use it to adjust display brightness and audio volume). Try to overload it and you'll cut battery life on the MacBook by a good 1-2 hours. That's not insignificant.

More details here:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16...o-touch-bar-and-apples-t1-authentication-chip

And no, next chip (Kaby Lake) will not support 5K @ 60Hz. It needs to support Thunderbolt 3 before it can pull that off, and it doesn't. It's essentially the current chip, just slightly faster (5-10%) and with a newer/more improved video processor for contents >4K. It may provide a decent boost to Final Cut Pro users, but if you're not one of those, the improvement is probably going to be very marginal.

 

[Appleaker]

USB-C -> headphone jack is not happening. There is currently no standard for it. Apple doesn't control USB-C standards like they do with Lightning, and they need to come to an agreement with Intel, HP, Dell, Asus, etc... before they can try to implement something like it, so it'll take years.

2nd USB-C port will only be likely if...

1. Apple redesigns the MacBook to make more room. This may happen next year for the 4th iteration, but not this year.
2. Apple introduces a bigger MacBook. Why not wait until next year to introduce along with the redesign?

And touch bar is not inconsequential. It's like the Apple Watch. It's not just an OLED screen. It has its own computer system (that means processor, memory, and security chips and etc...) to control both the touch bar and authentication of Touch ID. It sucks power. OLED is not "free beer" when it's on all the time. In actual use, the touch bar can diminish anywhere from 10-20% battery life in the grand scheme of things if not coded for correctly to reduce its up time. Right now people are reporting "okay" battery life even when it's not extensively in use (they probably just use it to adjust display brightness and audio volume). Try to overload it and you'll cut battery life on the MacBook by a good 1-2 hours. That's not insignificant.

More details here:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16...o-touch-bar-and-apples-t1-authentication-chip

And no, next chip (Kaby Lake) will not support 5K @ 60Hz. It needs to support Thunderbolt 3 before it can pull that off, and it doesn't. It's essentially the current chip, just slightly faster (5-10%) and with a newer/more improved video processor for contents >4K. It may provide a decent boost to Final Cut Pro users, but if you're not one of those, the improvement is probably going to be very marginal.

USB-C to headphone jack adapters already exist and have for a while, i've used one, so it can happen and (and has).

I don't believe that the Touch Bar is that significant with battery life. It has to power 3% more pixels on an OLED screen. While touch and the T1 must add to that power usage, I don't believe it can diminish battery by 10-20%, but i'm willing to be proven wrong.

I agree with the cases for a 2nd USB-C port to be added. And why are you talking bout Kaby lake supporting 5K @60Hz? Isn't this already what we see from the new MacBook Pros? In which case native TB3 support isn't required.

 

[Esquire1]

1. Apple redesigns the MacBook to make more room. This may happen next year for the 4th iteration, but not this year.

Sounds confident. While you may be right, the Gurman rumor refers to the Pro as specifically only getting a processor upgrade. In the same report, his MacBook update rumor is much more vague and seemingly leads me to believe an update is possible this year.

 

[bill-p]

USB-C to headphone jack adapters already exist and have for a while, i've used one, so it can happen and (and has).

USB-C for mobile usage can support headphone output via the same pins that a manufacturer may modify to support audio output, because essentially it's just replacing USB-A/B in that sense. Just like how Lightning is doing it. Because there is no expectation for a phone to output DisplayPort + USB 3.0 + other stuffs with its USB-C port.

For laptop/desktop usage, you can imagine the situation is a bit more different because DisplayPort + USB 3.0 + other things are in the card.

I don't believe that the Touch Bar is that significant with battery life. It has to power 3% more pixels on an OLED screen. While touch and the T1 must add to that power usage, I don't believe it can diminish battery by 10-20%, but i'm willing to be proven wrong.

It happens to the Apple Watch.

Seriously, it's a full-on computer in there, not just a display with touch controls. Careful coding is necessary. The MacBook Pros can take care of battery drain due to them having 2-3x the battery capacity of the MacBook. In which case, 10% battery drain on the MacBook is roughly only about 3% drain of the MacBook Pro. I think you can see where I'm going with this.

If the MacBook had a bigger battery like the MacBook Pros, it should be fine. Note how Apple had to squeeze more battery into the 2016 MacBook to improve battery life over the 2015 model. The MacBook is very limited in battery capacity compared to the bigger machines.

I agree with the cases for a 2nd USB-C port to be added. And why are you talking bout Kaby lake supporting 5K @60Hz? Isn't this already what we see from the new MacBook Pros? In which case native TB3 support isn't required.

Note: Skylake and Kaby Lake chips used in the MacBook Pros do support Thunderbolt 3, or more specifically, they have more high bandwidth data lanes available, which Apple is "hacking" in order to pull off 5K support on those chips.

The same thing won't happen to the Core M chips because of data lane limitation. Basically, the chips in the MacBook are nice but they ain't up to the same level as the ones used in the MacBook Pros, even though they're from the same generation/family of processors.

Sounds confident. While you may be right, the Gurman rumor refers to the Pro as specifically only getting a processor upgrade. In the same report, his MacBook update rumor is much more vague and seemingly leads me to believe an update is possible this year.

No, I'm sure the MacBook will get an upgrade next week, or some time this year. But if it comes with Kaby Lake then the improvement is less than what people are wishing for is all.

I'm hoping for a much more improved MacBook myself, and I'll most likely get the 2017 model despite the marginal improvements. But I've read up on enough information to not fool myself into expecting Apple to pull off magic with the next upgrade, like what people are wishing for here. Read back and you'll see the following things on the wish list:

1. Faster Processors
2. Faster Graphics
3. Better Battery Life
4. 2nd USB-C port that can do everything including cooking my breakfast for me (hah!)
5. Touch bar + touch ID miraculously not experiencing the battery drain issue of the 2016 rMBP line (I do use the 15" daily, by the way)
6. 5K @ 60Hz support

I mean... those are not unreasonable. But I think the main thing to note here is that Intel is not able to provide us with those things yet, and since Apple is relying on Intel (I would love to be proven wrong here) for most of those things, I think we should manage our expectations.

Either way, we'll probably know come next week.

 

[Esquire1]

Ah, sorry. I didn't mean just an update to the MacBook. I meant a possible redesign. Again, the Gurman rumor is pretty specific with the Pro getting Kaby Lake and that's it. It continues onto the MacBook, using much more vague language. I'm hopeful that contrast in reporting means a MacBook redesign.

I agree with your general sentiment of tempering expectations. You've also grounded those thoughts with hard facts. I appreciate reading your posts.

 

[bill-p]

Ah, I see.

Yeah, it's not like the 4-year refresh cycle is a rule. But I'm not holding my breath over vague language in a rumor. You can see how that's just too far out. Plus the current chips just won't be able to provide anything substantially better, so going with a redesign for marginal spec improvements is a bit wasteful IMO. But we'll see.

 

[fokmik]

The apple watch has a great battery life, and the macbook doesnt need a big battery as the Macbook pros since is running 8gb max and Core M cpu 5W, so a touchbar on the 12" MacBook can be a thing without a real battery drain
Yes, instead of hearing Apple saying the new 12" Macbook with kaby lake has 1h more usage, we would hear Apple say, now it has touch bar and the battery stay the same with 10h usage
[doublepost=1496220865][/doublepost]If Apple really believes in their REQUIM of Functions keys, then they HAVE to put that touchbar and touchid into all of their notebooks AND all of their desktop keyboards...
[doublepost=1496220920][/doublepost]If they not, that means not even Apple believe in it and developers will not adopt hard this thing since is just in 2 laptops that can be operate only if you work with the open lid

 

[bigjnyc]

The apple watch has a great battery life, and the macbook doesnt need a big battery as the Macbook pros since is running 8gb max and Core M cpu 5W, so a touchbar on the 12" MacBook can be a thing without a real battery drain
Yes, instead of hearing Apple saying the new 12" Macbook with kaby lake has 1h more usage, we would hear Apple say, now it has touch bar and the battery stay the same with 10h usage
[doublepost=1496220865][/doublepost]If Apple really believes in their REQUIM of Functions keys, then they HAVE to put that touchbar and touchid into all of their notebooks AND all of their desktop keyboards...
[doublepost=1496220920][/doublepost]If they not, that means not even Apple believe in it and developers will not adopt hard this thing since is just in 2 laptops that can be operate only if you work with the open lid

All very good points. If Apple really wants developers to push the touchbar to the next level they will make it more widely available across their lineup. However I dont see them doing it with next week's release... Definitely with the next one after that though..... I would love to be wrong though as I am in the market for a macbook and will definitely be buying next weeks. Despite all of the criticism of the touchbar I wouldnt mind having one, and the price bump wont really bother me since I am on a 2009 MBP and have been saving up for a new laptop for quite a while now, by accumulating apple gift cards purchased at a discount.

 

[Mac 128]

All very good points. If Apple really wants developers to push the touchbar to the next level they will make it more widely available across their lineup. However I dont see them doing it with next week's release... Definitely with the next one after that though..... I would love to be wrong though as I am in the market for a macbook and will definitely be buying next weeks. Despite all of the criticism of the touchbar I wouldnt mind having one, and the price bump wont really bother me since I am on a 2009 MBP and have been saving up for a new laptop for quite a while now, by accumulating apple gift cards purchased at a discount.

If Apple releases a slight spec bumped MB, with a TouchBar, they can actually keep the price where it is, while dropping the current model down in price, perhaps even eleminating the MBA. I could see a Touchbar MB being released next week, without any other major changes. That puts the current MB into a prime back-to-school position to boost sales, and allows them to potentially drop the MBA to clear inventory and facilities to gear up for the next model redesigns, and 14" MBs just in time for the holidays ...

 

[fokmik]

i would like as well to have the dock into the touchbar while im full screen,to auto launch a second app from the dock to be side by side. The possibilities are very high to add functionality to the touchbar into next macOS

 

[Qu1ckset]

If they add touch-bar to the rMB with the kaby lake spec bump and don't ever a model without touch-bad they will lose me a customer, I don't want that gimmick!

Just give me kaby lake update and I will buy it as soon as the store uodates!

 

[DrDan99]

Don't care about the TB but touch ID would be a bit of a positive. But I can sign in with my watch. If I'm Apple and I'm committed to the TB going forward on the MBP. I would add it here to increase market penetration and developer support. Of course assuming that the effect on battery life is not too bad.

I would like 16mb and one more port but don't expect it. Must keep the headphone port though. All I really expect is Kaby Lake but I'm buying next week even without any update.

 

[utkanpeker]

This is the pickup availability of rMB m5 for NYC. Can somebody explain me the reason why they are making it available on the 5th when there is a keynote in the morning? It just does not make any sense. Getting hopeless about that refresh...

 

[bigjnyc]

This is the pickup availability of rMB m5 for NYC. Can somebody explain me the reason why they are making it available on the 5th when there is a keynote in the morning? It just does not make any sense. Getting hopeless about that refresh...

Maybe the new model will be in stores that day. Sometimes they say available now

 

[fokmik]

yes, any macbook update on the event will be available "TODAY"

 

[Appleaker]

If they add touch-bar to the rMB with the kaby lake spec bump and don't ever a model without touch-bad they will lose me a customer, I don't want that gimmick!

Just give me kaby lake update and I will buy it as soon as the store uodates!

It's only a gimmick to some customers and for the 12" MacBook market as a whole, it's more suitable.

 

[ARK]

yeah i don't want the touchbar on a MacBook. probably enough to make me buy the 2016 model.