MacBook Pro (2021) hands-on: re-adding ports and removing the Touch Bar is welcome, miniLED display looks great, and 1080p webcam is an improvement
New chips, familiar ports, and actual volume buttons — it might be love — It's easy to be excited about the new MacBook Pros …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s 2016 redesign treated the Touch Bar as an app-integrated control surface, but subsequent coverage recorded a widening mismatch with pro users’ preference for physical controls and ports. The 2019 16-inch revision had already begun restoring hardware features users said should not have been removed.
The 2021 models turn that correction into a broader redesign: Apple pairs its new chips with MagSafe, HDMI, an SD card slot, ProMotion displays, and the removal of the Touch Bar. The hands-on assessment reinforces the contemporaneous view that pro users never embraced the port-less, Touch Bar-led direction.
First-order effects
- MacBook Pro buyers regain direct HDMI and SD-card connectivity plus dedicated volume controls, reducing reliance on adapters for common display and media workflows.
- The Touch Bar’s removal ends Apple’s attempt to make a dynamic strip the primary function-key interface, while the miniLED display and upgraded webcam raise the baseline for the new machines.
Second-order effects
- Apple’s laptop design team must now differentiate the MacBook Pro through performance and display advances while retaining the physical workflow features that the 2021 redesign restores.
- Accessory makers serving MacBook Pro users face less demand for basic HDMI and SD-card dongles from these models, shifting the value of add-ons toward needs not built into the chassis.
Third-order effects
- The MacBook Pro line points to a more segmented Apple hardware strategy: “pro” models prioritize compatibility and predictable physical controls over a uniform minimalist design language.
- If Apple continues this approach, high-end laptop competition will increasingly combine chip and display performance with the practical I/O choices that determine whether professionals can work adapter-free.
The trend: High-end laptops are moving toward hardware designs that pair custom silicon advances with the return of workflow-specific physical features.