Will the M1X MBP design be completely post Ive era?

[satchmo]

Given Apple’s products are created so many years ahead, it’s difficult to determine if Jony Ive had any involvement in the forthcoming MBP.

We know the MBP of the past 5 years have been pretty lean on ports. I can’t help but think this minimalist aesthetic was a direction Jony would have lead.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a popular direction by some even within Apple.

But with Jeff Williams now in charge of Operations, will we finally see a return to ports and less dongle-free world?
Will Apple products be more function over form in the coming years?

 

[theMarble]

Possibly. Jony still works with Apple, even if he isn't an employee. He helped design the M1 iMac earlier this 2021. I'd put it on Jony still co-leading the design for the new MacBooks's, even if in a smaller capacity than in the M1 iMac.

I think Apple has always liked the concept of dongles as it's more money for them as they know that people will have to buy them.

Will Apple products be more function over form in the coming years?

Maybe, I think the start of function over form was with the 2019 Mac Pro, returning to the design of the good ol' cMP's from 2006-12, then the iMac which returned to the very colours which were on the iMac G3.

Could we see a throwback to the 2015 MacBook Pro, I'd put my bets on yes.

 

[Ray2]

I'd rather use a T-bolt hub than have a bunch of cables strewn about. For a laptop, pulling one cable is nice. When I return, plugging in only one cable really has its appeal.

 

[ascender]

I suspect the overall design aesthetic will be very much like what the current laptops look like - so evolution rather than revolution - but with squared-off corners basically (I know that over-simplifying it). The design language will be very much the same as it always has been with Apple.

Apple do seem to be reconsidering some design choices they've made over the last 5 years or so - see thicker phones with bigger batteries. The return of more ports is clearly one of those decisions, but its hard to know exactly how Apple ended up with a laptop design which only had USB-C connectors on it.

 

[mosh.jinton]

I'd rather use a T-bolt hub than have a bunch of cables strewn about. For a laptop, pulling one cable is nice. When I return, plugging in only one cable really has its appeal.

You still have that choice even if there are more ports

 

[iPadified]

Ports are not part of a design choice but part of choice of features. How these features are implemented is made by design choices. The MBP design language will likely be borrowing from the iMac 24 and iPP 2018 which have borrowed designs choices from iPhone 4. Ive's legacy is still very strong.

 

[EmotionalSnow]

I think Apple has always liked the concept of dongles as it's more money for them as they know that people will have to buy them.

Doubt. They don't even make their own Ethernet dongles. They've started selling one from Belkin since I last looked but if they really cared about extracting as much money as possible from you, they would surely make their own dongles.

 

[TheRealAlex]

Given Apple’s products are created so many years ahead, it’s difficult to determine if Jony Ive had any involvement in the forthcoming MBP.

We know the MBP of the past 5 years have been pretty lean on ports. I can’t help but think this minimalist aesthetic was a direction Jony would have lead.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a popular direction by some even within Apple.

But with Jeff Williams now in charge of Operations, will we finally see a return to ports and less dongle-free world?
Will Apple products be more function over form in the coming years?

All John Ivy did was pull a Steve Jobs NEXT he started his own side company is an Apple contractor/consultant. And Apple will probably buy him out one day and reabsorb him back in to Apple.

 

[Abazigal]

You still have that choice even if there are more ports

What happens then when that hdmi or USB A port is taking up the space of what could have been another usb c port instead? Especially when it’s on the other side of the laptop.

I don’t think there’s ever going to be a perfect selection of ports that’s going to please everyone. Only what works for that particular individual, and what doesn’t.

 

[satchmo]

Ports are not part of a design choice but part of choice of features. How these features are implemented is made by design choices. The MBP design language will likely be borrowing from the iMac 24 and iPP 2018 which have borrowed designs choices from iPhone 4. Ive's legacy is still very strong.

The question is who determined the features. Often a creative brief outlining the key goals of a project is determined at the outset by the lead.

If Jony was the ultimate decision maker (assuming Tim wasn’t interested), certain features could have been nixed to suit his agenda.

With him out of the picture, the focus may shift to functionality and usability. Aesthetically, of course they will need to have a common a design language.

 

[mosh.jinton]

What happens then when that hdmi or USB A port is taking up the space of what could have been another usb c port instead? Especially when it’s on the other side of the laptop.

I don’t think there’s ever going to be a perfect selection of ports that’s going to please everyone. Only what works for that particular individual, and what doesn’t.

Well then you could use a USB-C hub, it's just one cable to pull

No I do actually see what you mean, USB-Cs are more universal and support hubs, whereas you can't put a USB-C hub into a HDMI port or SD card slot so easily (I imagine?) I guess on a device like this you'd ideally have a good number of USB-Cs (4) but also SD card/HDMI/MagSafe for convenience of power users.

 

[Fishrrman]

I sense that Ive was "the driving force" behind the 2016-2019 design.
And, as such, his departure from Apple probably had much to do with the problems those MacBook Pro's had.

The 2021 14/16 look to be something of "a return to the time-proven design" of the 2015 (and earlier) MacBook Pro's. More ports. Magsafe charging. An HDMI-out port. Scissors keyboard. REAL function keys.

To me, that's a good thing -- I saw little I liked in the 2016-19 design.

 

[killawat]

Even as a staunch fan of the 2016 4 port TB3 configuration, with apple giving us maximum performance on each port pair. I understand that the average layperson isn't plugging in eGPUs and/or 5k ultra fines on the regular. I suspect that post Ive's apple will give us more ports (obviously this is the case given the leaked schematics) but significantly neutering the TB connectivity especially if apple is moving away from eGPUs . I wouldn't be shocked if there were only 1 single TB4 port and 2 USB-C ports at 10 Gbit, unless Apple is doing some significant enhancements with Mx bandwidth.

 

[iPadified]

The question is who determined the features. Often a creative brief outlining the key goals of a project is determined at the outset by the lead.

If Jony was the ultimate decision maker (assuming Tim wasn’t interested), certain features could have been nixed to suit his agenda.

With him out of the picture, the focus may shift to functionality and usability. Aesthetically, of course they will need to have a common a design language.

Ive probably had much to say about features because 4 X USB C look very nice while any asymmetric port combination looks just awful. The engineers would likely not make a big fuss since the USB-C is more versatile compared to HDMI or SD. Tim would not mind either as sales of adapter would go up.

Who would not want a slim and light power house of a computer? That is the primary function of a laptop: portability. That was Ives vision and I think we will see that on Monday. It would suit me fine with a HDMI port as I teach a lot but I don't mind a dongle either but I am used to it with my iPad.

 

[Serban55]

Given Apple’s products are created so many years ahead, it’s difficult to determine if Jony Ive had any involvement in the forthcoming MBP.

We know the MBP of the past 5 years have been pretty lean on ports. I can’t help but think this minimalist aesthetic was a direction Jony would have lead.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a popular direction by some even within Apple.

But with Jeff Williams now in charge of Operations, will we finally see a return to ports and less dongle-free world?
Will Apple products be more function over form in the coming years?

These new upcoming mbp, like the iphones 12/13 are post Jony Ive era
Also the 16" Mbp was the first mac after Jony
Again, after Jony the current apple products just got better

 

[UBS28]

Probably not. Ive worked on the M1 iMac, so he will probably also work on these machines.

 

[arvinsim]

I'd rather use a T-bolt hub than have a bunch of cables strewn about. For a laptop, pulling one cable is nice. When I return, plugging in only one cable really has its appeal.

I was thinking that Apple should also developer their own Thunderbolt hub....but nah, it will certainly be overpriced

 

[theMarble]

I was thinking that Apple should also developer their own Thunderbolt hub....but nah, it will certainly be overpriced

You bet it will!

"Announcing the new Apple Thunderbolt Hub, a revolution in docking. It is crafted out of 100% surgical-grade aluminium. Ports wise it has a MagSafe charging ring, and a USB-C port. It starts at $499 and the Pro Max Super-Awesome-Sauce 5G Fold SE Ultra Plus version starts at $999."

I can imagine it.

 

[Jeo_cz]

You bet it will!

"Announcing the new Apple Thunderbolt Hub, a revolution in docking. It is crafted out of 100% surgical-grade aluminium. Ports wise it has a MagSafe charging ring, and a USB-C port. It starts at $499 and the Pro Max Super-Awesome-Sauce 5G Fold SE Ultra Plus version starts at $999."

I can imagine it.

I bet it too. But just as a charger for the new Macbook Pro. Connected via a new MagSafe / Thunderbolt ring to a brick, where you can find Ethernet, TB/USB-C and possibly HDMI port.

 

[killawat]

I bet it too. But just as a charger for the new Macbook Pro. Connected via a new MagSafe / Thunderbolt ring to a brick, where you can find Ethernet, TB/USB-C and possibly HDMI port.

So basically an Apple Thunderbolt Display but without the display.

 

[Jeo_cz]

So basically an Apple Thunderbolt Display but without the display.

But hopefully much smaller and cheaper. 😀 I would like it. Same idea as for the new iMac. One (magnetic) cable on a desk, all other cables hidden under it.

 

[Queen6]

I sense that Ive was "the driving force" behind the 2016-2019 design.
And, as such, his departure from Apple probably had much to do with the problems those MacBook Pro's had.

The 2021 14/16 look to be something of "a return to the time-proven design" of the 2015 (and earlier) MacBook Pro's. More ports. Magsafe charging. An HDMI-out port. Scissors keyboard. REAL function keys.

To me, that's a good thing -- I saw little I liked in the 2016-19 design.

I tend to think the same as the 2016 redesign of the MBP & Butterfly Keyboard were both very expensive and highly embarrassing for Apple, ultimately someone signed off on the designs.

Jony Ive was at his best working with Steve Job's, for many the 2016 MBP design was impractical, worse proved to be unreliable with a lot switching to Windows as a direct result...

Q-6

 

[iPadified]

I tend to think the same as the 2016 redesign of the MBP & Butterfly Keyboard were both very expensive and highly embarrassing for Apple, ultimately someone signed off on the designs.

Jony Ive was at his best working with Steve Job's, for many the 2016 MBP design was impractical, worse proved to be unreliable with a lot switching to Windows as a direct result...

Q-6

Sound you think Ive was solely responsible for everything in the MBP. He probably had a team of several hundreds engineers at his disposal. He did for sure not draw every line on the MBP or invented every technical solution. He may have been the final approval but as such he would only see reports from others. How can you ensure that these reports was true according to the robustness of the keyboard?

He was responsible for the shape and the ambition of a laptop and shrinking the thickness and weight has been the driving force for years and asking for a flatter keyboard is part of that process. Axing legacy ports such a thick HDMI ports is also logical.

I believe Ive left Apple because of the sameness of the work. My feeling is that he got bored with the work and who can blame him? Designing for IT devices is not the top of the line work for top designer.

 

[Queen6]

Sound you think Ive was solely responsible for everything in the MBP. He probably had a team of several hundreds engineers at his disposal. He did for sure not draw every line on the MBP or invented every technical solution. He may have been the final approval but as such he would only see reports from others. How can you ensure that these reports was true according to the robustness of the keyboard?

He was responsible for the shape and the ambition of a laptop and shrinking the thickness and weight has been the driving force for years and asking for a flatter keyboard is part of that process. Axing legacy ports such a thick HDMI ports is also logical.

I believe Ive left Apple because of the sameness of the work. My feeling is that he got bored with the work and who can blame him? Designing for IT devices is not the top of the line work for top designer.

Only Apple knows for certain... No he wouldn't have been the sole designer, equally the 2016 MBP design would have very much fallen under his remit and he would have very likely signed off on it. At the end of the day due diligence was not applied to the detriment of the customer.

Companies don't put into place global extended warranties schemes without good reason as very obviously a significant cost is attached. The Butterfly Keyboard was at best divisive, worse unreliable both being a design flaw IMO. Apple has subsequently reverted to a scissor keyboard that now has more travel, greater user satisfaction and above all is reliable.

I do agree that the limited scope at Apple would be an issue and his own design house offers far more flexibility. I think he did get bored and that also was an aspect of the 2016 MBP and it's issues.

Q-6

 

[pookitoo]

It is with this story of macbook pro 2016 which lasted 5 years that I understood how Tim Cook works ... He released a machine that he will reuse for a few years because it facilitates logistics, production.

So we are on cycles of 4 / years on all products. They could have changed the design before for the macbook pro but no. Tim Cook is clearly not Steve Jobs ... A genius in logistics, a pragmatic manager who has raised Apple to today's valuation. Apple produce quality and very practical products but no dreams, no impulses, no love of the products from the manager. It does not prevent me to be excited for tomorrow and surely to throw myself on the pre-orders but I would have liked a little daring from Apple, it's been a long time since our uses have not been revolutionized!