A MacBook Pro design refresh is probably years away

AppleInsider

Apple probably won't be changing the design of its MacBook Pro for a few more years, as the company continues to increase the longevity of its products.

An example of a current-gen MacBook Pro

Apple's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are iconic in the world of notebooks. But, when consumers look for new features and designs to justify upgrades, Apple is pretty much sticking to what it already has.

The MacBook Pro uses a form factor that was introduced by Apple in 2021, making it three years old. According to Bloomberg estimates on Sunday, the next major refresh of the design may not happen until 2025 or 2026.

Likewise, the MacBook Air was last redesigned in 2022. Another design change will probably take years to arrive, based on Apple's usual timescales.

The iPad Pro, another productivity-focused product, has only just been given a big update. However, that was an update that took approximately six years to become a reality.

With Apple's continued push to make its hardware as long-lasting as possible, this makes it a great proposition for consumers to buy hard-wearing hardware, the report reasons. However, it's also making it harder for consumers to regularly upgrade.

The upshot is that Apple still has the potential to bring in customers, thanks to software and AI upgrades.

Rumor Score: Likely

Read on AppleInsider

macxpress

Until the current design restricts them from what they want to accomplish it probably won't receive a completely new design for some time. That being said, I'm sure they are looking to make it thinner and lighter though. The current design is a little bulky. Perhaps sometime after the M4 when they don't have to worry so much about thermals and fan speeds. 

Chris_Pelham

I don't really need the MacBook Pro to be less bulky per se, and not at the expense of the speakers or functionality, but weight reductions are always welcome. The current MacBook Air is a dream for what it is. I'm always surprised by how light it feels. The only improvement I'd reasonably ask for is another Thunderbolt port on the other side for extra convenience.

tht

Was it not one week ago that the rumor was that MacBooks were slated to get thinner due to the M4 SoC’s perf/W?

9secondkox2

No need to redesign. The current one will look awesome 10 years from now and has room to grow in terms of performance overhead. She’s a keeper. 

Apple and Porsche seem to be able to get it so right from the hit that they don’t need to change designs for a long time and when they do it is only interative - because any real deviation is a backward step. That’s great design right there. 

The only thing I think would be cool is to color the keys the same as the casing, like the aluminum PowerBooks. 

Kierkegaarden

I would like to see the Dynamic Island on the MacBook.  Either that or just eliminate the camera altogether.  I don’t use it for anything — and if needed, I will just use my iPhone.  Waste of screen real estate.

Eric_WVGG

it's bizarre to even speculate — Apple is very predictable about design changes. New iPhone chassis happen every three years, modestly changed Watch every three years, new MBP every four years. (iMac, Mac Mini and iPad practically never.)

Every Macbook Pro design has had roughly four major releases (a fifth here and there for an extremely minor spec bump) since the 2004 Aluminum G4. Usually these design changes coincide with a major screen change (retina, micro-LED + notch). 

Given that OLED panels are rumored to debut around the same that M5s should be due to release, it seems like a sure thing that we'll see a redesign in late 2025/early-'26.

libertyandfree

Eric_WVGG said:

it's bizarre to even speculate — Apple is very predictable about design changes. New iPhone chassis happen every three years, modestly changed Watch every three years, new MBP every four years. (iMac, Mac Mini and iPad practically never.)

Every Macbook Pro design has had roughly four major releases (a fifth here in and there for an extremely minor spec bump) since the 2004 Aluminum G4. Usually these design changes coincide with a major screen change (retina, micro-LED + notch). 

Given that OLED panels are rumored to debut around the same that M5s should be due to release, it seems like a sure thing that we'll see a redesign in late 2025/early-'26.

See no reason for a redesign until something significant changes aka OLED screen. 

charlesn

Eric_WVGG said:

it's bizarre to even speculate — Apple is very predictable about design changes. New iPhone chassis happen every three years... 

Ummm... the iPhone 16 Pro, if leaks about the design prove correct, will mark the fifth year that Apple has retained the same flat-sided design introduced with the iPhone 12 Pro. I don't count the 15 Pro's swap out of SS trim for titanium to be a "redesign." 

michelb76

Kierkegaarden said:

I would like to see the Dynamic Island on the MacBook.  Either that or just eliminate the camera altogether.  I don’t use it for anything — and if needed, I will just use my iPhone.  Waste of screen real estate.

cool outlier of a use-case. that's why they will keep the camera obviously.

ravnorodom

They can always make the corners slightly curved. Then, the following year, slightly less curved. I guarantee it will sell like hot cake like iPhones.

Eric_WVGG

charlesn said:

Eric_WVGG said:

it's bizarre to even speculate — Apple is very predictable about design changes. New iPhone chassis happen every three years... 

Ummm... the iPhone 16 Pro, if leaks about the design prove correct, will mark the fifth year that Apple has retained the same flat-sided design introduced with the iPhone 12 Pro. I don't count the 15 Pro's swap out of SS trim for titanium to be a "redesign." 

I disagree. Now that the iPhone is basically a "piece of glass" that's how minor design revisions will be going forward. (Not unlike the Watch, whose changes many wouldn't consider to be changes at all)

blastdoor

The Mac mini has had the same enclosure since 2010 and still looks great. I know it’s a lower volume and lower priority device, but I think it’s still a good example of how it can make perfect sense to stick with the same design for a long time.

uffenman

Chris_Pelham said:

I don't really need the MacBook Pro to be less bulky per se, and not at the expense of the speakers or functionality, but weight reductions are always welcome. The current MacBook Air is a dream for what it is. I'm always surprised by how light it feels. The only improvement I'd reasonably ask for is another Thunderbolt port on the other side for extra convenience.

There is nothing “AIR” about the current MacBook Air. They’ve stopped printing MacBook Air below the screen. It will become just a “MacBook” and true AIRs will be released within 24 months. They will weigh around the 2 lb mark and restore “Air” to the product line. You heard it here first.

9secondkox2

What’s interesting is that Apples designs are so strong that -outside of the 2013 trash can Mac Pro - we haven’t seen any true from change in Mac form factors in a very very long time. 

The current iMac looks just like the old white iMac g4, just different colors, thinner profile, and slimmer bezels. 

The latest MacBook pros have the same general look as the PowerBook g4. 

The Mac Studio looks like a tall version of the original Mac Mini minus the cheap plastic back. 

The Mac Pro looks like an artsier version of the power Mac g5. 

Of course they don’t look EXACTLY the same, but the overall form, even the clean way the laptops hinge back, with the bottom of the lid elegantly covering the back, the speaker perforations on the sides, etc. 

the iMac chin, l-shaped stand, square shape

the Mac Pro handle placement, leg placement, entire front and back perforated, etc. 

heck, the monitors don’t look much different than the old cinema displays beyond thin bezels and shorter cover radius. 

This is the hallmark of great design that has already been established and created an unmatched identity thst more than stands the test of time. It gets better as time goes on. 

I made the comparison earlier to Porsche and it really fits. 

There is no need for any radical design change snd in fact, such a change would be a negative. 

There will always be iteration and that’s for the best. But it will still have the obvious and character defining dna of modern Mac design. 

From a much of pieces of metal and plastic screwed together to the unibody, from giant screen enclosure to tiny bezels, from thick to thin and back, etc. there will always be a need and a desire from iterative improvements based on technology improvements and that’s how it should be. But, also as it should be, it will always be recognizably familiar as the highest quality, best designed product out there that we know as the Mac. 

Side note: someone ought to send a not to Microsoft asking them to make their own hardware designs. Copying the entire design of old MacBook Air notebooks is really poor taste. Plagiarism basically.