MacBook Pro updates show Apple listened to pro users, who never warmed to the Touch Bar or lack of ports

- Apple's new MacBook Pro models, announced on Monday, conspicuously lack many of the least popular features from the 2016 design. — They include ports for connecting cameras and displays …

CNBC 2021-10-19 Kif Leswing

Discussion

@ow @ow on x
It's really good to see Apple put the Pro back in MacBooks after years of frustrating hardware decisions. These new MacBooks hit on almost everything that pro users were annoyed about! Magsafe! HDMI! Ports! Function Keys! Apple listened. https://twitter.com/...
@anildash Anil Dash on x
It's wild that the Touch Bar came and went from Apple's devices without ever having a single killer app. Meanwhile, devices like Stream Decks are selling more than ever, disproportionately to Mac users. Big missed opportunity.
@stshank Stephen Shankland on x
@ghaff @jeunice I also applauded Apple for trying something new. I quickly grew to resent the Touch Bar though, and it undermined my faith in Apple engineering. Would focus groups have nipped this in the bud? https://www.cnet.com/...
@jeunice Jonathan Eunice on x
MacBook Touch Bar = brilliant innovation. 1st fundamental rethink of keyboards since IBM TrackPoint in 1992. Kudos! Also: Major, New Coke-level failure. Terrible UX for most users. Electronic version of those plastic keyboard overlays once used for overly complex apps. A geegaw.
@dsilverman Dwight Silverman on x
Apple giveth, Apple taketh away, Apple heareth pro users whine, Apple giveth back. But also: those chips! OK. Want.
@anildash Anil Dash on x
Today's Apple event felt like the culmination of that influencer outreach they did in 2017 to try to prove they still cared about pro users after the trashcan Mac Pro flopped. In retrospect, the Space Gray Very Pro versions of iMac & mini were clearly buying time for the M1.
@kifleswing Kif on x
MacBook Pros are strategically important for Apple because programmers can only make iPhone apps on a Mac. And picky programmers, like those walking the halls of Apple Park, often choose the most powerful machine they can get. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@anildash Anil S. Pumpkins on x
Wow I can't believe Apple is announcing the new MacBooks Pro next week and all that they've done is replaced the Touch Bar with a row of function keys that use scissor switches, and replaced the keyboard with five full-width touch bars that have letters on them instead of keys.
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
I'm old enough to remember when the broader commentary was convinced that Apple has given up on Pro computer users.
@harrymccracken Harry McCracken on x
MagSafe, SD, and HDMI are back, Touch Bar is gone. Apple has abandoned a whole era and is giving pro users what they want instead of what it thinks they should want. https://twitter.com/...
@kawaljit Kawaljit Singh Bedi on x
Today Phil Schiller can come back and really say “Can't innovate anymore, my ass” again. 2017 is when they apologised and decided to bring back real Pro machines to Pro. Today they delivered. https://www.computerworld.com/ ...
@kenshirriff Ken Shirriff on x
how it started: how it's going: https://twitter.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
For those who think the M1 Pro and M1 Max in the MacBook Pro are impressive, the new Mac Pro desktop is expected to come in at least two variations: 2X and 4X the number of CPU and GPU cores as the M1 Max. That's up to 40 CPU cores and 128 GPU cores on the high-end.
@ryansmithat Ryan Smith on x
Apple's keynote is still going on, but the transistor count on the M1 Max is just astounding. 57B transistors is more than even NVIDIA's Ampere A100 GPU, the biggest GPU out there. M1 Max is built on 5nm, so it'll be a good deal smaller. But that's still going to be a large chip
@geoffblaber Geoff Blaber on x
It's hard to overstate how concerning this is for the PC industry. There's a big opportunity for Arm + Qualcomm + Nuvia but there's a formidable gap to close #AppleEvent https://twitter.com/...
@michaelbabich Michael Babich on x
Properly speaking, when one gets used to Dell XPS bezel-less displays anything with a chin, not to mention notch!!!, looks really strange. https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
Apple's not afraid to name their competitors this time: that's an M1 Max with roughly equivalent GPU perf to an RTX 3080 Laptop edition. Apple effectively came out of nowhere with GPU performance competitive with Nvidia. Imagine how this could scale in a Mac Pro with a 1300W PSU …
@gassee Jean-Louis Gassée on x
Great thread on Apple & Industry. Steven Sinofsky is on fire. Consider his vantage point, coming for two decades at Microsoft before he retired as President of Windows. https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Thread. It's not just the speed. https://twitter.com/...
@obrien Chris O'Brien on x
It's amazing to me that Apple still gets this kind of extensive and fawning coverage of routine product announcements. They have about 8% of the global PC/laptop market. Lenovo, HP, and Dell are all far bigger. https://www.techmeme.com/...
@iancutress @iancutress on x
The peak M1 Max GPU is rated at 10.4 Teraflops and 400 GB/s. Assuming that's the regular definition of TFlops, then we're looking at RTX 3060 class, which is 12.7 TF and 360 GB/s.
@mukulneetika Mukul Kumar on x
M1 Max is massive, see the die shots. “Essentially it's no longer an SoC with an integrated GPU, rather it's a GPU with an SoC around it.” https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
Apple's slides on M1 v Intel were super confusing unless you look carefully. Most people might look at them and conclude the opposite of the data. Apple is so focused on performance v. power that they don't mention they can win on raw performance too :-) https://twitter.com/...
@anildash Anil Dash on x
Great thread showing the decades of pre-history which got to Apple's milestone today. Other key aspect was Apple taking control of the developer ecosystem by monopolizing developer tools and using both carrots & sticks to force apps to obey their needs for platform flexibility. h…
@grady_booch Grady Booch on x
An outstanding thread on @Apple's journey to M1. https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
This is such an amazing step-function change across the entire stack of software and hardware.
@snazzyq Quinn Nelson on x
Keep in mind the new Mac Pro is expected to offer a “Jade-4C” die which is literally FOUR M1 Max glued together. Bananas. https://twitter.com/...
@ryansmithat Ryan Smith on x
We'll see what the teardowns report for die size, but it'll easily be over 300mm2. Given that A100 was 800mm2+ on 7nm, a 57B 5nm chip may very well pass 400mm2
@munster_gene Gene Munster on x
7) Five years ago it was believed Apple could never match Intel's performance. Today, Apple's crushing the specs on Intel chips. Talk about majoring in a minor.
@iancutress @iancutress on x
What we have now is GPU-class bandwidth for the integrated graphics as well.
@benbajarin Ben Bajarin on x
If Apple is accomplishing this performance and efficiency with the current M1 architecture it is mind-bending to think about what M2 architecture is going to accomplish.
@cszechy Colin on x
some personal news... I spent part of 2019, all of 2020, and most of 2021 working on the new MacBook Pros announced today! I designed the M1 Pro and M1 Max dev boards. then I was the M1 Pro and M1 Max system integration lead, and new miniLED and camera system integration lead. ht…
@tapbot_paul Paul Haddad on x
HDMI port is only HDMI 2.0, exactly why I'd much rather have had another T4 port, what a waste. https://twitter.com/...
@pogue David Pogue on x
The new MacBook Pros (14" + 16") are remarkable. New M1 chips, 3 USB-C jacks, 17-hr battery, 6 speakers, etc. But also: the RETURN of SD card slot, MagSafe charger, and Fkey top row! (TouchBar is gone!) When has Apple EVER restored a feature it once eliminated—let alone 3? BRAVO!…
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
The new MacBook Pro is here It has a notch It has MagSafe It has ports https://twitter.com/...
@pinboard @pinboard on x
This is like boasting that you no longer get blackout drunk and soil yourself. You wasted five years of our life. [image of MacBook physical function keys]
@pogue David Pogue on x
OMG, I cannot believe that people are complaining about the camera notch on the new MacBook Pros. You do understand that you're GAINING screen area, right? Apple extended the image up into what used to be blackness. (And put the menu bar there. The notch doesn't block anything.) …
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
A lot of attention will go to the high price point, but the “low end” models will be more powerful, battery efficient, etc. than most every Windows laptop.
@rjonesy Ryan Jones on x
Actual courage. We were wrong about TouchBar We were wrong about HDMI We were wrong about SD card slot We were wrong about MagSafe
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
Apple flexing so hard about how they gave back ports that they took away is just poetry.
@paulg Paul Graham on x
Apple got rid of the touch bar! Finally I can buy a new laptop.
@marcoarment Marco Arment on x
For the first time in five years, the MacBook Pro looks like it was designed by and for people who love computers.
@nielsandersen Niels Andersen on x
@tapbot_paul It feels like they ran a marathon with the Thunderbolt ports only strategy and then tripped on the finish line just as the rest of the industry has finally moved.
@vladsavov Vlad Savov on x
Love that half the new MBP features are: we ditched the Touch Bar, we gave you your ports back and we stopped screwing around with unreliable battery life. MagSafe is great, display sounds great, don't love the notch. But price really is for pros only.
@sdw Sebastiaan de With on x
me going into this keynote: i'm fine with my i9 MacBook Pro :) me seeing the design of the new laptops: fuck this piece of garbage laptop I have. what a giant heap of trash
@michaelhodapp_ Michael Hodapp on x
@Pogue These are basically exactly what enthusiasts have been asking for for years. You love to see it.
@impatrickt Patrick Tomasso on x
the greatest apple retcon is just erasing everything in between the mid 2015 MacBook Pro and the new M1's. it's like going from Carpenter's Halloween to the 2018 sequel. https://twitter.com/...
@rsgnl Joe Rossignol on x
Hand it to Apple. It really seems like they took customer feedback and listened with the new MacBook Pro. Some people will miss the Touch Bar, but overall this feels like the most crowd-pleasing MacBook Pro ever.
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
There was a rumor the new MacBook Pro packaging would hide the notch. Looks like Apple chose otherwise. https://twitter.com/...
@bobcurrysf Bob Curry on x
@Pogue Pretty unusual for Apple indeed to essentially admit they were wrong. Maybe a result of a post-Ive Apple, where slimmer/minimalism is subordinate to the actual needs of customers (like a thicker, heavier iPhone 13 Pro with bigger battery)?
@pogue David Pogue on x
@michaelhodapp_ That's exactly right. Seems weird to say “I'm so surprised that Apple listened to our complaints”!, but this time, they did it.
@lukemiani Luke Miani on x
This is a disappointment and I have no earthly clue why they did this https://twitter.com/...
@stevemoser Steve Moser on x
The things that excite me the most about the 14" & 16" Apple Silicon MacBook Pro: 1) 120 Hz first party Mac display 2) iPad like battery life 3) Cheaper ‘internal’ storage via a low profile SD card. https://twitter.com/...
@tonx @tonx on x
All these MacBook Pro capabilities make me wish I had skills or talents.
@mralancooper Alan Cooper on x
Call me crazy, but that sounds like Apple—APPLE—admitted to making a mistake. THREE mistakes, in fact. And all three are about interfaces. Awesome! https://twitter.com/...
@stshank Stephen Shankland on x
In case you're wondering how long it take to make a new laptop (with an entirely different processor family, during a pandemic and global chip shortage), the answer is ~2 years. At least in the case of the new MacBook Pro laptops. #AppleEvent https://twitter.com/...
@beccafarsace Becca on x
things i never thought i'd hear apple say #957: ["Having a wide range of ports can make life a lot easier for pros."]
@jeffbenjam Jeff Benjamin on x
Like I said, RIP PC Laptops.
@bzamayo Benjamin Mayo on x
Closing thoughts before I go to sleep: crazy good MacBook Pro generation. I bought one. All that being said, most people in the world should still buy a $999 M1 MacBook Air and be insanely happy. Apple's MacBook lineup is so strong at the low end and high end now.
@benthompson Ben Thompson on x
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster trucks. And they were right!” Apple, finally.
@christianselig Christian Selig on x
Wow, Apple asked users what they wanted for this laptop and just said yes to everything haha
@mcwm Mike Murphy on x
they got rid of the dongles, they gotta find that cash somewhere https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
PCs are not the future. But, Apple is lapping the field over and over.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Mac geekery: Apple kills the touch bar, adds back all the ports. But put a notch on the screen. Let the fanboy wars commence.
@lukemiani Luke Miani on x
Apple basically gave us back everything they took away with the 2016 MacBook Pro, added insane performance on top, and left the room. I'll take it
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
Today's MacBook Pros are for sure the retro throwback editions. They've come back around to the 2004-era PowerBook design language; the 14" really reminds me of a 12" PowerBook G4 https://twitter.com/...
@spencerdailey Spencer Dailey on x
i hide my menu bar for maximum space, and you can't do that here without eating into your main apps' vertical space. the notch also reminds people of iphone features, and makes a touch screen an even more obvious omission, as well as Face ID. https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
I'm not a big fan of Apple's naming schemes these days, but M1 Pro and M1 Max feel like they make a lot more marketing sense than ‘M1X’ and ‘M1Z’. Much more appealing
@parrots Curtis Herbert on x
Plus it looks like the M1 Pro 14" gets 4hrs less battery than the M1 13"? I've been enjoying my “you'll forget you have to plug it in” levels of battery life. https://twitter.com/...
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
I cannot stop looking at it. I'm making it my phone wallpaper. https://twitter.com/...
@mattblaze Matt Blaze on x
The new models feature a modernized, streamlined keyboard design that power users will be relieved to learn retains the escape key. However, the vowel keys have been eliminated, but can be accessed through an intuitive pulldown menu option.
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
The notch is fine. I mean I guess a hole punch would be nicer since we're not getting FaceID, but complaining about the notch feels like grasping at criticism straws.
@ryan Ryan Block on x
2015: We removed your computer's connectivity. Courage! 2020: We completely ruined your computer's main input. Our latest keyboard is better than ever! 2021: We restored your computer's connectivity. That's “what pros need”! Apple: profiles in courage ✊🏼
@pinboard @pinboard on x
I dare someone to make a TouchBar dongle for the new macbooks
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
FaceID is trending... These new laptops have a notch, but there is no FaceID. It's weird. I have a video in the works for all the good and bad of these new machines 🤓 https://twitter.com/...
@asilbwrites Amanda Silberling on x
chaotic evil https://twitter.com/...
@panzer @panzer on x
My notch take is basically that if the end result was net negative surface area, I would be offended because no face id etc. But the net is _positive_ screen real estate (.2"x) so it's a bit eye rolling but hard to really care that much about in the end. Aesthetically, etc...
@imranchaudhri Imran Chaudhri on x
welcome back, mac! so sorry about the notch...
@donal888 Don Clark on x
With the best processor, biggest SSD and 64 gig of DRAM the new 14-inch Mac Pro costs close to $6,000
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
The era of laptops is still over for me, not even slightly tempted by MacBook Pros — but boy do I want that M1 Max (or better) in a desktop! As of right now, it's a toss-up between a future 30" iMac and a Mac Pro as to what machine I eventually upgrade to from this mini
@dcseifert @dcseifert on x
dying to know if the SD card slot is UHS-III
@dcseifert @dcseifert on x
apple's spec sheets do not clarify how fast the SD card slot is (SDXC is a capacity spec, not speed) https://www.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@lukemiani Luke Miani on x
The 14 inch MacBook Pro also lets you spec a 14 and 24 core GPU option, that's interesting nobody called that! https://twitter.com/...
@ow @ow on x
most people won't care about the notch but it is kinda weird that they added a whole notch.....and no Face ID
@backlon Dieter Bohn on x
[Chanting continues] PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS PORTS
@ow @ow on x
#1 app for new macbook pro: make the menu bar fully black so you can't see the notch 🥴
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
These MacBook Pros are going to sell out *fast*. Gave everyone nearly everything they wanted. In some ways by bringing back old favorites. Admit when you're wrong. And, of course, insane new chips. Well played. #AppleEvent
@can @can on x
In Defense of the Touchbar | Opinion
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
The new MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch versions 120Hz ProMotion HDR display HDMI, Thunderbolt 4, SD card slot M1 Pro or M1 Max silicon New keyboard, no Touch Bar Longer battery and fast charging 14": $1999 16" $2499 https://twitter.com/...
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
“The physical keys replace the TouchBar.” I almost cannot breathe. https://twitter.com/...
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
This is gonna be a very expensive computer. https://twitter.com/...
@tim_cook Tim Cook on x
Introducing the groundbreaking and completely reimagined 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro - our most powerful notebook ever. 💻 https://www.apple.com/...
@vladsavov Vlad Savov on x
Man, that's one expensive HDMI port. https://twitter.com/...
@stshank Stephen Shankland on x
I hope you don't have 16-inch MacBook Pro FOMO. 2 months and counting for high-end configs. 14/ #AppleEvent https://twitter.com/...
@lukemiani Luke Miani on x
The max spec 16" is now $600 less than the previous model thanks to SOC meaning you don't have to pay the hefty $600 the outgoing high end graphics used to cost; now you get twice the performance included with no upgrade! https://twitter.com/...
@munster_gene Gene Munster on x
5) My surprise takeaway from today's event was price increases. 16 in. MacBook Pro up 4%, entry-level AirPods up 13%, and 14 in. MacBook Pro up 54% compared to previous 13 in. model.
@kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x
$2k for a new macbook pro. How high could Apple realistically go here? https://twitter.com/...
@andrewmartonik Andrew Martonik on x
It's so wild that Apple is going to keep selling the M1 MacBook Pro 13. The M1 Air is a fantastic entry-level machine. If you feel you need anything more, you should be going to a new MacBook Pro 14. The Pro 13 shouldn't exist anymore. https://www.digitaltrends.com/ ...
@dewitt DeWitt Clinton on x
A very modestly upgraded 14" MBP—32GB RAM, extra GPU core, 2TB SSD—came to a whopping $3,900 with tax. So that's not happening. This still feels like an entry-level model compared with the 16" MBP or a more fully upgraded 14". That's a steep starting price point.
@gregjoz Greg Joswiak on x
Powered by the breakthrough M1 Pro and M1 Max, with the world's best notebook display, the amazing performance and extraordinary battery life of the new MacBook Pro is going to blow you away! https://www.apple.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
11/ To ease transition, power of PowerPC was used for 68k emulation. This allowed lagging apps (Photoshop) to at least run on new hardware, but performance was marginal at best. BUT Apple learned a great deal in this transition—tooling (like Universal), emulation, and compilers. …
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
6/ This is really key in terms of understanding the present. Apple was essentially left hanging by a partner for chips, when their core deliverable to customers was a computer. That seemed an impossible situation.
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
24/ The M1 chip was a realization of all the iPad and iPhone work (sensors, OS port, security, power management, graphics, and more). The M1 not only aimed at fixing what ailed Intel, but also PPC. It was learning from the past decade+.
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
21/ In 2008, proving it could innovate and even do with with Intel, Apple introduced the MacBook Air. It was the first laptop on a new Intel chipset (though everyone would eventually have this for Windows, no one built a MacBook Air-like PC). Until Ultrabooks there was no PC. htt…
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
23/ As Apple progressed with ARM it became clear that the breadth of the ecosystem was a benefit for ARM but was holding Apple back in terms of innovating. iPhone success gave Apple the resources to realize its chipset dream. Thus the System on Chip from Apple began.
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
15/ In the meantime, Apple began to use ARM processors for the iPod. ARM was a RISC design, but had only achieved success in small devices and peripherals. Intel and many other companies were all ARM architecture licencees. This is how Apple got into chips. No one worried.
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
14/ Of course first came the most famous PowerPC Macintosh of all time. By focusing on consumers and the internet, the weakness of PowerPC could be ignored. The industrial design was a hit too. The G3 then G4. https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
28/ That's why this transition to M1 is so fascinating. Back when Apple went on its own with the A-series chips, one could easily be concerned that they would end up in the same place as PPC—not enough volume to win against Qualcomm/Samsung doing their ARM designs.
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
9/ This led to a bet on PowerPC and the release of the first Power Macintosh 6100 in *March 1994*. The project was a very bumpy ride with IBM but also an enormously difficult software project. https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
29/ Apple, by virtue of being vertically integrated, raced ahead. Because of their units and revenue/R&D investment they are in a globally unique perspective. Today, Qualcomm is closer to Intel than it is to Apple Si/Ax/Mx.
@chrillings Christain Billings on x
Sigh, no external display. I did end up going with 14" MacBook Pro - Space Gray. That 120Hz ProMotion definitely got me.
@kiwilark Andrew Lark on x
It's always amusing to see the excitement around a feature that should be in every M1 Mac - dual monitor support. Ridiculous. New M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro support up to four external displays. https://9to5mac.com/...

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MacBook Pro updates show Apple listened to pro users, who never warmed to the Touch Bar or lack of ports

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