Kuo: Redesigned MacBook Pro models with MagSafe, no Touch Bar, more ports coming in Q3
Apple is predicted to release two new MacBook Pro models sporting an "all-new design form factor" and a multitude of hardware changes in the third quarter of 2021, according to noted TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo in a note to investors on Friday said he expects Apple to launch MacBook Pro variants boasting 14- and 16-inch displays, both of which will sport a new "flat-edged" look that is more in line with the company's modern design language. The first of those angular devices was the 2018 iPad Pro, with last year's iPhone 12 series closely following suit.
The next-generation MacBook Pro models are anticipated to resurrect MagSafe for Mac and ditch the much-maligned OLED Touch Bar in favor of physical function buttons, according to the analyst. Some users laud the Touch Bar's flexibility, but the component's utility has not been fully realized as only a handful of developers incorporate dynamic controls in their respective apps.
It appears Apple is listening to calls for more connectivity options in its high-end laptop lineup, as Kuo says the upcoming devices will feature a wider variety of ports. Exact specifications were not shared, though the analyst believes most users will no longer need to tote around converter dongles.
According to Kuo, Apple will move the new models to heat pipe thermal designs similar to the current 16-inch MacBook Pro, enabling more headroom for high-performance, high-heat chips.
Intel versions of the upcoming MacBook Pro models are not expected, meaning Apple will rely on the M1 chip or a more powerful version that has not yet been announced.
MacBook shipments are predicted to grow 25-30% year over year to hit 20 million units in 2021, with the redesigned models accounting for 60-70% of all shipments, according to Kuo.
Kuo in a note to investors on Friday said he expects Apple to launch MacBook Pro variants boasting 14- and 16-inch displays, both of which will sport a new "flat-edged" look that is more in line with the company's modern design language. The first of those angular devices was the 2018 iPad Pro, with last year's iPhone 12 series closely following suit.
The next-generation MacBook Pro models are anticipated to resurrect MagSafe for Mac and ditch the much-maligned OLED Touch Bar in favor of physical function buttons, according to the analyst. Some users laud the Touch Bar's flexibility, but the component's utility has not been fully realized as only a handful of developers incorporate dynamic controls in their respective apps.
It appears Apple is listening to calls for more connectivity options in its high-end laptop lineup, as Kuo says the upcoming devices will feature a wider variety of ports. Exact specifications were not shared, though the analyst believes most users will no longer need to tote around converter dongles.
According to Kuo, Apple will move the new models to heat pipe thermal designs similar to the current 16-inch MacBook Pro, enabling more headroom for high-performance, high-heat chips.
Intel versions of the upcoming MacBook Pro models are not expected, meaning Apple will rely on the M1 chip or a more powerful version that has not yet been announced.
MacBook shipments are predicted to grow 25-30% year over year to hit 20 million units in 2021, with the redesigned models accounting for 60-70% of all shipments, according to Kuo.
Comments
The only issue with it: it doesn’t default to function keys during boot, but is blacked out. This makes dealing with booting a boot-camp partition in Windows recovery mode problematic without external USB keyboard.
And that’s a problem the ARM based Macs won’t have to worry about until M$ officially releases Win10-ARM.
So, yeah, I’d miss the Touch Bar!
I’ve never found much use to the Touch Bar, can’t help but feel that if they’d properly opened it up a bit then it could have been made awesome.
Look forward to the return of MagSafe, they should never have dropped it in the first place! My brothers MacBook Air got smashed last week by a child running through the cable ripping the laptop off the table.
https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/1349973715623178241?s=21
I don't have a Touchbar, but still Better Touch Tool makes the already excellent trackpad even more useful - and keyboard shortcuts and more..
https://folivora.ai
"Currently BetterTouchTool supports:
Normal Mouse Gestures Normal Mouse Buttons Keyboard Shortcuts Key Sequences / Text Triggers BTT Remote (iOS) Triggers"
There's even a preset for the Touchbar at their website:-https://community.folivora.ai/t/goldenchaos-btt-the-complete-touch-bar-ui-replacement/1281
"I love the Touch Bar. That's why I was so upset that Apple just sat on its useless user interface. So, inspired by Vas3k's popular blog post 1.6k on the subject, and determined to make good on the promise that Apple broke, I've spent a (ridiculous) amount of time reworking the foundations of the Touch Bar into GoldenChaos-BTT: a true general purpose Touch Bar UI with support for tons of apps that's intuitive enough to make you love your Touch Bar again - or, more likely, for the first time."
More variety of ports, bad;- sure there’ll be someone who wants a VGA or RS232 port but why lumber the rest of us with obsolete ports 🤷♂️
I have liked USB-C just fine for charging, especially being able to share a charger with an iPad Pro, but I did kill one third party charger by lifting up the Mac from the couch and ripping out the USB-C plug from the built-in cord.
I call bullshit on the variety of ports thing though. Like what? USB-A won't be happening. HDMI makes sense for only those who use HDMI, but what about those with mDP? or DP? Same with card slots. I'll believe it when I see it. USB-C is the future, and Apple doesn't go backwards.
You mean the one that just came out a couple months ago?
I have zero problems with hard wired buttons so a non Touch Bar option would have been the way to go.
As for ports it's more of the same thinking. I'm not against USB-C/Thunderbolt but I am against wholesale switching of ports.
I'm against Apple putting a huge hoop in front of users and saying 'jump'.
Up to the end of 2016 no one was complaining about port options. Then came the MBP butterfly refresh and suddenly those people who only defend Apple's every move were out to tell the world that all previous ports were 'legacy' and unneeded. Completely missing (or outright ignoring) the point. Apple didn't even include any kind of dock in the box. All users were given was the hoop.
Then the iMac got refreshed but those 'legacy' ports were still there. Four years later they are still there. They are still everywhere.
Apple didn't transition to USB-C on the MBP. It switched. There is a massive difference between the two.
In late 2016 I was very much looking forward to the refresh. When it came I ran to the hills. Butterfly keyboards, a port massacre, virtually unrepairable and massively expensive.
My current Macs are now more than vintage but here's the thing. They do what I want of them. I upped the RAM, changed the battery and put an SSD into the MBP and they meet my needs perfectly well.
Thanks to fibre and COVID, I do more work via video conferencing and Google Docs now, too and they handle that perfectly well.
It's a shame that repairability and upgradeability also got killed off but who knows, this seems to be a 'new' Apple.
Virtually everything those people (who clearly thought they knew more than even Apple) said about the changes that were introduced along the way - got it wrong. Very wrong. Especially in the handset business. If this rumour proves true, it might just be another example.
From the switch to intel, legacy ports, iPhone strategic business model changes...
Maybe with 'right to repair' nipping at the heels of industry, things will change a little.
Would having a desktop keyboard option help adoption, using an ecosystem approach and offering a more consistent 'user experience' ?
If Apple does drop touchbar entirely Duet on iPad may be able to be used as a workaround for touchbar fans or those with workflow investments:
https://www.imore.com/how-use-duet-have-touch-bar-your-mac
I wish that if they do use MagSafe, that we aren't REQUIRED to use it and we can use a USB-C cable instead, we just lose using that port for something else.. AND, if they do have MagSafe that they make the cable detachable from the power brick so if the cable needs replacing, we don't have to replace the power brick along with it..
It's true though that MBPs have sold in 'sufficient' numbers to keep Apple happy so they might pocket any cost savings and not pass them on to the customer. I just hope they don't plunk them into some other dubious development. Ive is gone so I hope 'thin' is out of fashion.
I'd love to see native ethernet back.
In fact, my main gripe with it (apart from the relative lack of third-party support) is that I can't buy an external keyboard with a Touch Bar. If that were available, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
It sucks not being able to use the Touch Bar in the studio, where its variable commands are most useful, but the 'Book is up on the rack, off to one side.
d t of some commands that are buried in menus is very welcome for me.
But q3?