jdw

This is the article AppleInsider should have written...

http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-surface-book-2-is-what-the-next-macbook-pro-should-be-but-almost-certainly-wont/

It’s spot on.

This man played a major role in bringing Apple to where it is today, but primarily because Steve Jobs held his minimalism in check.  That remains true even though Jobs was a fan of minimalism.  Steve has been gone 6 years and it shows.  Ive is the man responsible for gutting the MacBook Pro of pro features (e.g., built-in functionality that allows us to live a happy MBP lifestyle without endless dongles and card readers), and Ive is responsible for touting a new iPhone with an unsightly Notch as being something "lovely to behold."  I therefore could not care less what Ive thinks these days.  I used to think Apple made brilliant things because of Ive.  I no longer feel that way today.

Just because someone has done great things doesn't mean they always will.  And Ive has been monetarily compensated for his work far more than any of us would be compensated even if we worked through 4 life spans.  Ive therefore needs no special thanks or worship from us, the Apple faithful.

Steve Jobs once said, "It's rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something."  Steve was obviously talking about people other than himself because he contributed in a powerful way until the day of his death.  But Ive has just been coasting on the memory of Steve since 2011.  It's time to get some young blood into Apple to not merely "surround" Ive (with ideas) but rather to "replace" Ive.  Apple started as a company with kids in their 20's.  They had a youthful fire that rocketed them to greatness through Steve Jobs.  Look at who gets on the Apple stage these days.  They are mostly aging men with gray hair and very little fire in their eyes.  I say this as a man of 46.  Despite my age, I know the importance of youthful ideas to keep a company alive and kicking.  It's time for Ive to go.  He's run a great race, no question.  But it's time he pass the baton to someone better than himself.

 I concur with those here who say Apple is reserving the 15W tech for the iPhone 9 so as to have something compelling for would-be buyers of the iPhone 9. Seriously, those of us who have been Apple enthusiasts since the 1980s know Apple very well. This is nothing new.  Apple has long put "old tech" in their devices so as to make more money and to compel people to upgrade when the next "latest and greatest" Apple device comes out. And that is precisely why Power Computing other Mac clone makers were so successful in taking away business from Apple when Apple decided to license macOS in the 1990s. It was because those clone makers departed from Apple's strategy and instead put modern technology in their devices, along with greater expandability and upgradability, which is what the lured customers away from Apple's comparatively sub par machines.  Even though Apple had a better industrial design than those clone makers, customers flocked to the clone makers because of faster performance, more ports, and better overall hardware functionality. 

randominternetperson said:

Sorry jdw, you might not be the master of laptop design.

Actually, Apple just terminated Johnny Ive hired me to replace him.  
Here's the new plan at Apple under my watch:

1. Our "thin-and-light" emphasis will be transitioned primarily to the MacBook and MacBook AIR lines.  The MBP line will remain thin and light, but removing of "PRO" features from the MBP is now a thing of the past. We will eliminate ports and hardware features only when they are truly no longer used by our professional users, which include video and photography enthusiasts.
2. MacBook AIR will get a Retina display in the next version as well as a Space Gray option.
3. We will restore the SD card slot and 1 USB-A port to the 15" MBP, while retaining the 4 USB-C TB3 ports; and we can do this without increasing size or thickness.
4. Bezels around the display on all 3 product lines will be reduced to near zero -- similar to that of the DELL XPS line.
5. MBP will get an OLED screen and a glowing Apple logo on back.  But this time the glowing Apple logo will be driven by its own light source so no light leakage or visual distortions will appear on the front of the display.  The other advantage to the separate light source is that it will allow us to empower the user to change the color of the Apple logo on back, since the illumination source will be RGB.  And yes, you will even be able to choose the legacy rainbow striped Apple logo if you like.  We will also introduce a new anti-glare coating that, like all of our iOS devices, will never come off over time.  And because OLED technology allows us to go thinner, we can retain the same display dimensions as we have now, while adding that great new functionality.
6. The MBP 15" price point will remain the same, but we are restoring the extension cable.  We also are filing a new patent for a USB-C Magsafe solution that will blow your mind -- and yes, it will come with an LED to indicate charging.
7. All customers unhappy about PRO functionality being restored to the MBP 15" will be directed to either the MBP 13" or MacBook or MacBook AIR product lines, which offer more than enough power and functionality for those customers who clearly have limited needs.
8. External GPUs will not only be "supported" by Apple, but we will release our own Apple branded TB3 dock which will include a powerful dual GPU setup.
9. We will be releasing our own external 5K display with onboard speakers and a TB3 hub built-in.  This will be our Apple-branded product, not some flawed product produced by our partners like LG.  It will be the world's first 30" OLED Retina display that's made for Mac with a design that is nothing short of the term "outstanding."
10. The 15" MBP will no longer have a trackpad as we know them today.  The entire front end, in front of the keyboard, will be the "trackpad" and you will be able to use Apple Pencil on it as a graphics tablet.  And because this entire area is a touch sensitive surface, our anti-palm rejection software will function much better than on existing MBP models while typing.
11. We will incorporate 3rd generation butterfly key switches to make typing feel significantly better.
12. We found a way to fit a larger battery inside the existing chassis, such that the mA specification will match that of the 2015 MBP, offering greater battery life regardless of the apps you use and love.
13. As you may expect, we have "one more thing" surprise features in store for the MBP line, but I cannot release details of those because we have to hide something stunning for the actual product release.  But suffice it to say, those new features will lure even die hard Windoze users to the Apple fold.

I would implore my fellow Mac users to stop worshipping the status quo and think beyond the box.  Only then can we create really great products again that appeal to an even broader audience of people.

Best wishes.

 If Apple wants it's Watch to become a significantly greater success than it is now, it must do more than just cut the cord between the Watch and the iPhone. But that doesn't mean making it even more expensive than it already is. Indeed, Apple needs to reduce the base cost of the watch further and certainly not add additional monthly fees to the mix!   Even if those monthly fees were 1/5 the cost of an iPhone's monthly fees, it's still too high.   And as others have correctly pointed out, any kind of cellular connection would worsen the already short battery life of the Watch. 

My 14-year-old daughter received an Apple Watch as a Christmas present from a generous relative this past Christmas. She doesn't have an iPhone and I'm certainly not going to buy her one at her age. Even if the Watch had a cellular plan, I wouldn't pay the monthly fees for it. As such, the Apple Watch is pretty much  a fancy toy that does very little.  I'm not at all impressed and neither is she.

We need a lower-cost version of the Apple Watch that doesn't rely on the iPhone or on a cellular connection to work, all at a lower cost than Apple charges now for a baseline Apple Watch.