Apple's MacBook Pro Models Get a Redesign, New Chips and MagSafe Charging (techcrunch.com)
- Reference: 0153856623
- News link: https://apple.slashdot.org/story/21/10/18/186258/apples-macbook-pro-models-get-a-redesign-new-chips-and-magsafe-charging
- Source link: https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/18/apples-macbook-pro-get-a-redesign-new-chips-and-magsafe-charging/
> The new system is powered by the new M1 Pro and Max, souped up versions of the chip the company unveiled at today's event. The company says the 10-core chip is capable of allowing up to 3x the memory bandwidth and up to of the M1, coupled with a 16 core GPU. The Max, meanwhile, bumps the GPU up to 32 cores. What's clear is that the company is targeting its bread and butter creative pro demographic in ways it didn't with last year's models. Unlike last year's model, the new models, which are available in 14- and 16-inch models offer entirely new redesigns. They also feature built-in fans for high-performance applications, though the company says it will rarely turn on. The system also marks the end of the middling-received Touchbar, with a full function key in its place.
>
> As one feature leaves, an old favorite returns. Magsafe is back. The third-gen charger sports a proprietary port, but users will be able to continue charging via the Thunderbolt/USB-C ports. And, yes, this thing has ports. Three thunderbolt 4, HDMI and an SDXC card slot, to be exact. The bezel has been reduced, instead opting for an iPhone-style notch at the top to house the webcam. The camera has -- thankfully -- been upgraded for these teleconferencing days at 1080p (no 4k, sadly, but an improvement over the long-standing model) with a larger sensor and wider aperture.
The 14-inch starts at $1,999, while the 16-inch runs $2,499. The Max version of the M1 is available as an upgrade, adding an additional $200 for the 24-core GPU and $400 for the 36-core version.
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/18/apples-macbook-pro-get-a-redesign-new-chips-and-magsafe-charging/
MBP 16" M1 Max, 64 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD (Score:1)
$4,299 + $400 AppleCare (for reference) ETA is "Nov 5-10th". I noticed while ordering that the site was sluggish and that the ETA shifted a week between pages loading.
Re: MBP 16" M1 Max, 64 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD (Score:2)
Ouch! But I still want one!
Re: (Score:2)
Does it run Linux?
Re: MBP 16" M1 Max, 64 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD (Score:2)
> Does it run Linux?
ARM Linux, yes.
Re: (Score:2)
Not really. Virtualizes it well enough, though. On that vein, though, of course it runs Linux... x86 too.
The native ports are... not quite tech demos.
Re: (Score:1)
I think the Framework is better down your alley.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes and no.
The earlier M1 chip based MacBooks and Mac Mini run Linux.
So I guess for this one it is only a matter of time. What I'm sceptical about at the moment is if they have decent hypervisor based VM support. As I would love to run Linux in a VM. I mean a native VM, not an x86 "interpreter".
Re: (Score:2)
> The earlier M1 chip based MacBooks and Mac Mini run Linux.
Not really.
I have an M1 MacBook.
You can virtualize, of course, but natively, you can't really run Linux on them. You can boot it, but none of the peripherals will work.
Re: (Score:2)
You can boot it, but none of the peripherals will work.
That should have changed meanwhile. Linux 5.13 should at least run so far that it is useable. Hm, seems they are focusing on the Mini atm, probably we have bad luck for a while :(
[1]https://github.com/AsahiLinux/... [github.com]
[1] https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/Developer-Quickstart
Re: (Score:2)
That's the one I've been keeping an eye on.
I've done a few test installs.
Graphics are unaccelerated, so framebuffer is mind bogglingly slow at full resolution, and no wifi.
Re: (Score:2)
The best hope would be that Apple themselves offer a decent VM/hypervisor.
I think Parallels runs, but I doubt they run native ARM linux, but a x86 one - with all the side effects.
Re: (Score:2)
> The best hope would be that Apple themselves offer a decent VM/hypervisor.
They do, actually!
HVF, it's called... for I assume "Hypervisor Framework" or some such.
QEMU supports it (you can build from Homebrew), and so does UTM (Just a pretty wrapper around QEMU, with all the hard work of building virgl+HVF support done for you
> I think Parallels runs, but I doubt they run native ARM linux, but a x86 one - with all the side effects.
Parallels and QEMU+HVF both run native ARM64 binaries via HVF. x86 has to be emulated (which is sad- I'd love to see Rosetta2 operating in the HVF layer so we could have mostly-peppy x86 virts too)
Less and More (Score:2)
$4,299 + $400 AppleCare
Interestingly you have the option of doing a $99 per year AppleCare for as long as you like, so it's cheaper up-front, more expensive long term but it would take care of issues that might crop up on laptop after four years...
AppleCare for the 16" model is $149/year though!
Re: (Score:1)
Yeah I definitely debated switching to the $149/yr option, because I kinda do expect to wear this thing out for the next 5 or 6 years. Hmm, may end up regretting that decision. Might see about switching that plan now that you've got me chewing on it a little more.
Re: They "notched" the screen (Score:2)
Think of it rather than a notch out of your screen; your gaining the sides of the camera as more display. 3456 x 2234 is more than 16:9. Itâ(TM)s slightly less than 16:10. So, you still can represent video on your display in the proper aspect ratio and hit the sides left and right without seeing the notch.
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Instead of giving me a notch out of the screen to placate the webcam, let the webcam protrude from the top.
Re: They "notched" the screen (Score:2)
> Instead of giving me a notch out of the screen to placate the webcam, let the webcam protrude from the top.
They have arranged it so the only thing that is "protruded upon" is the Menu Bar. Content stays below the notch.
And if you run the Menu Bar in Dark Mode (actually, black), you can't even see it.
Re: (Score:2)
And if you have something in a full screen mode where the menu bar is hidden but you still get a title bar, now there is a notch in the middle of the label in the title bar. I had a Dell laptop, from the days before webcams were standard, that did what I suggest with a protruding webcam tab. It was nice, a lot nicer than having a notch in the screen.
Re: (Score:2)
> And if you have something in a full screen mode where the menu bar is hidden but you still get a title bar, now there is a notch in the middle of the label in the title bar. I had a Dell laptop, from the days before webcams were standard, that did what I suggest with a protruding webcam tab. It was nice, a lot nicer than having a notch in the screen.
Have you even watched the Keynote? I think not.
If you had, you'd probably realize how stupid you sound.
Re: (Score:2)
I'll be curious to if applications properly render menus around the thing - if you open Xcode or Photoshop, which have 8+ menus on the bar, does it slide to the right of the notch? I would think that this would drive visual designers fucking crazy, but I'm not one.
Re: They "notched" the screen (Score:2)
> I'll be curious to if applications properly render menus around the thing - if you open Xcode or Photoshop, which have 8+ menus on the bar, does it slide to the right of the notch? I would think that this would drive visual designers fucking crazy, but I'm not one.
You call the API, it adds/removes your Menu(s). It has worked that way since The 128k Toaster Mac.
You don't paint your own Menus. The Menu Manager handles that.
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It's on-package RAM. I don't know why you'd expect that to be cheap. If we're honest, this is smaller rip-off than their RAM normally is, since you could very often buy it from a third-party vendor.
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On the contrary. Apple can charge much more this time, since you can't go shop elsewhere.
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So because they made a design decision to not use industry standard components, I should be glad they're only gouging me 2x the retail cost of RAM?
That's quite the logic you're using there.
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They didn't use industry standard components because they are trying to deliver better performance with their SOC. They could also make a computer out of rubber bands and have easily replaceable components, but the performance would be awful.
So goodbye intel (Score:2)
Can't buy MBPs with intel chips anymore... No wonder intel campaign to discredit MBPs is in the full swing... use marketing to replace lost sales.
Re: (Score:2)
You definitely can via 3rd party retailers (http://gravis.de). No idea if you can via Apple itself. Did not find it with a quick glance.
Interesting, similar i/ and i9 (similar as in size of RAM and SSD) cost _significantly_ more then this two new models.
Re: So goodbye intel (Score:2)
> Interesting, similar i/ and i9 (similar as in size of RAM and SSD) cost _significantly_ more then this two new models.
So, in other words, an Apple Tax Rebate!!!
"drop"? (Score:2, Troll)
Does that mean they're not selling it anymore?
Seriously, slang like that (especially slang that makes no sense) doesn't really belong in the summary.
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Bro the scheduled refresh that's been on my calendar for a year just dropped fr no cap shit's :fire: pog
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> Does that mean they're not selling it anymore?
> Seriously, slang like that (especially slang that makes no sense) doesn't really belong in the summary.
Yea, /. editors often forget a large part of the /. audience was born during the civil war and doesn't keep up with the slang the kids use these days.
No.... (Score:1)
Your cheaper PC laptop does not even come close to the performance, battery runtime, or features of these laptops.
Re: (Score:2)
> Your cheaper PC laptop does not even come close to the performance
Ya, it does.
> battery runtime
Right there. Nowhere even fucking close.
> or features of these laptops.
Not sure what that means. About the same, really.
The battery life + performance for that amount of battery life was enough to compel me to get an M1 MacBook Air for work when I'm on the move.
I still have a workhorse ASUS that I use and love, but the MacBook is pretty close performance wise, has no fan, and has insane battery life while actually being used.
For those reasons... I just placed my order for my new 64GB MacBook Pro. It'll be nice to finally
Re: (Score:2)
You know the MacBooks were limited to 16GB due to Intel chipsets only supporting a maximum of 16GB (until recently) for the ultra low power memory right?
Re: (Score:2)
> You know the MacBooks were limited to 16GB due to Intel chipsets only supporting a maximum of 16GB (until recently) for the ultra low power memory right?
Let me see if I've got this right.
You're telling me that at some point in the past, the MacBook was limited to 16GB on Intels. But not recently.
I'm unsure what your point is? If you were trying to argue that MacBooks used to suck before recently, you won't hear me arguing.
Curious choice: 3x USB-C (Score:2)
I guess 99% of us would prefer having one USB-A and two USB-C. I also bet most people will never use more than 1 USB-C at the same time, and the most common use will be charging.
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I’m 100% in agreement. A USB-A port would solve so many headaches related to external mice, PC docks, and thumb drives. Time to go find my adapter.
Re: Curious choice: 3x USB-C (Score:2)
> Iâ(TM)m 100% in agreement. A USB-A port would solve so many headaches related to external mice, PC docks, and thumb drives. Time to go find my adapter.
Just. Shut. The. Fuck. Up!
Seriously.
Re: (Score:3)
And it should have a floppy drive and a parallel port too...
Re: (Score:2)
yeah right, nobody uses thumb drive, USB keyboards, mouse, printers. Or they all moved to USB-C, right?
It's called adaptors (Score:1)
yeah right, nobody uses thumb drive, USB keyboards, mouse, printers. Or they all moved to USB-C, right?
Well actually new ones generally have (expect printers which are mostly WiFi)
But you can get adaptors for the old devices for around $8, and just leave them on the USB-C plugs. That has been true for many years now...
Re: (Score:1)
At some point you're either not portable and are talking about docking, or you are portable and therefore aren't carrying a printer around. I personally would not consider a laptop where the keyboard wasn't suitable enough that I had to carry around a keyboard with me at all times. Docking at "home base" is a different story of course. I have used a mouse on the go, but prefer wireless as the cable gets in the way. Thumbdrives are readily available in USB-C. So I guess I'm trying to figure out where t
Re: (Score:2)
A single USB A port would mean no dongle required 90% of the time. Then again, no opportunity to sell people USB C versions of things they already own.
Re: Touchbar (Score:2)
> Touchbar would be great... in addition to function keys. But not to replace them. At least not for most professionals using actual productivity software.
I always got the feeling that the Touchbar was kind of a high-cost component for Apple.
At least they actually listened to all the complaints about it.
I thought it was kinda cool; but, as a Dev, I understand the desire for Fn keys, tooâ¦
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> Touchbar would be great... in addition to function keys. But not to replace them. At least not for most professionals using actual productivity software.
That's the part Apple keeps fucking up on, and I don't understand why.
The Touchbar is an awesome fucking idea. As a function key replacement? It's complete shit.
Re: Touchbar (Score:2)
Touchbars on my office and personal Macs. I seldom touch them where I don't want to go throw something 'cuz I've fucked up.
The Touchbar is the chrome tits on a car with too much chrome already.
Re: (Score:2)
> The Touchbar is the chrome tits on a car with too much chrome already.
I have an ASUS with a second screen above the keyboard. 3840x1080 (4K/2?)
Like the Touchbar, I think it's an awesome idea... but ultimately, finding a function that it's actually good at is pretty difficult.
Ultimately, since they didn't do something as fucking boneheaded as replacing the function keys with it, if I don't use it... it just sits there out of the way and minds its own business.
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The touchbar was a high-cost option that never was used for anything that regular function keys can't do outside of some very narrow edge cases. It was an interesting idea, but didn't ever achieve "omg I must have that" status.
High cost + low demand = winner product feature for sure. /sarcasm
Re: (Score:2)
Unlike a lot of people, I liked it. Conceptually, I thought it was really innovative.
Too innovative. Because even remembering that it had a Back button for my web browser was just plain beyond me. I did use it. Just not consistently.
I guess the lesson is that moving control interfaces around all the time is just not intuitive. You want to know where to find stuff.
Re: (Score:2)
Why in the world was this modded as troll? Touchbar is a very cool idea, but it doesn't make a good replacement for physical function keys. So ideally there would be both, with Touchbar doing stuff like showing browser tabs, search boxes, etc above you standard row of function keys. For most professionals using dedicated apps, like XCode, IntelliJ, Adobe products, etc, we need function keys that we can quickly access common commands by feel.
Touchbar is more useful to casual users who don't use those kinds o
Re: (Score:2)
I bought an M1 Macbook Air for my wife last year. It is as fast as my i5-10600 XPS but weight half as much and last all day on one charge, for approx the same price. I would trade my XPS for a MBA any day if Linux was reasonably optimized for it., so chances are your ryzen powered thinkpads don't come close to that deal either.
As for the notch, I don't see what the big deal is. They decided to cram more pixels on the right and left of the cam, so what? You want less pixels now? In full screen those pixels w
Re: (Score:2)
The display ratio is such that if they make those pixels black it will be exactly 16:9. So it is a safe bet that putting your movie into full screen mode will remove the notch.
Re: Great until the notch. (Score:2)
The notch lives ABOVE the screen-content; in an area that the Menu Bar now occupies.
Re: (Score:2)
Hmm, if in full-screen mode that part of the screen is blocked out, I would not be against it. My aversion is fuelled by the fact I had to spend a lot of time modifying my full screen iphone apps, because those tiny screen areas around the notch were part of the logical screen and thus part of my app was not visible.
Re: (Score:2)
> Hmm, if in full-screen mode that part of the screen is blocked out, I would not be against it. My aversion is fuelled by the fact I had to spend a lot of time modifying my full screen iphone apps, because those tiny screen areas around the notch were part of the logical screen and thus part of my app was not visible.
As SuperKendall pointed out, Application Windows don't intrude into the Notch region. The only thing up there is Menubar.
As he said, think of it as getting the Menubar area "for free".
Face it. They thought this through pretty thoroughly.
From the sublime to the ridiculous (Score:5, Informative)
Magsafe, SD, HDMI are great additions, and a big improvement on previous models.
But the notch: WTF? This will be smack in the middle of the fucking menu bar, a place that's occupied regularly on my 16" MBP screen, let alone a 13". A screen should be a fully usable rectangle.
Re: (Score:2)
Black out the extra pixels on either side of the notch and move the menu bar down. Now you have no notch and the same aspect ratio as before. I imagine they will be able to make such a change in software. It is an obvious solution for viewing full screen content. I personally like the idea of the menu bar consuming less vertical space then previous so I am all for the new design. So long as the pointer can not get stuck on the inside of the notch - it should travel like the notch was not there.
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Are you running Big Sur?
It collapses several menu bar items into the Control Center, which can free up a good chunk of the menu bar.
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It's a very weird flex for Apple to celebrate bringing back the ports they took away.
The notch is an interesting choice. Most non-Apple phones have moved to off centre punch holes. They are less annoying because they can be hidden out of the way by simply moving whatever normally goes in the corner over a bit.
Could be difficult to put a cover over this notch.
Dropping the screen? (Score:2)
I wonder how long it's going to take before someone hacks the display driver to drop the top of the screen to just below the notch so that we won't have to watch its ugliness.
Notch, ports disappearing and coming back, and there now being "M1 Max Macs" (Max^2 ??) sound like some major trolling on Apple's part now.
Re: Dropping the screen? (Score:3)
> I wonder how long it's going to take before someone hacks the display driver to drop the top of the screen to just below the notch so that we won't have to watch its ugliness
Watch the Keynote. Apple already did that.
The previous model must have sold horribly (Score:2)
For Apple to backtrack something and listen to their customers the last gen Macbook Pros must have been an utter disaster for the company.
Re: (Score:2)
I suspect the reason they didn't sell well is the same reason I bought an Air instead of a Pro...
There was no compelling reason to spend more money, because there was no significant difference in features or performance, and the Touchbar sucks ass.
The only difference between my M1 MacBook Air, and the Pro, is that the Pro has fans (and as such can push longer before thermal throttling) and the Touchbar.
I don't suspect we'll see an "M1 Max" in the Air whenever it gets its refresh, so there may be a compe
Day 1 buy for me (Score:1)
I've been using a 2010 macbook pro since it can out and the situation has gotten pretty dire. I'd been holding off because everything Apple put out had some issue (too slow, not enough RAM, touchbar, etc.) but this generation of Apple laptops caught me hook line and sinker. First time in years that it's been possible to buy a no-compromises Apple laptop (well I'd argue trading a thunderbolt port for an HDMI port is a compromise, but 3 is probably enough for me).
Notch? (Score:2)
I'd rather have a bigger bezel than a hole in the screen for a webcam.
There's a lot to like about this laptop... (Score:2)
Processors with great performance per watt, the return of MagSafe as well as usable ports, and the eradication of the Touchbar, are all very welcome changes. On the other hand, these laptops are completely incapable of being upgraded or properly repaired, which means that after AppleCare has expired, you could very well have an expensive paperweight. That alone is enough to steer me clear of any Apple laptops, regardless of how amazing their processors and battery life may be.
Sticker shock - $3500 starting price?!?! (Score:2)
Am I getting old or is $3500 a shocking starting price for the M1Max 16"? If work wants to buy me one, kewl...I hope I am never foolish enough to spend that much of my own money for one.
I was naive enough to hope that dropping the touchbar and introducing their own silicon would contain costs, not hike them. That was foolish of me.
This is great news for competition! (Score:2)
Very happy to be reading these news. Hopefully this will be a giant kick in the butt to other PC laptop makers to get on that SOC level of performance with reduced power consumption and the accompanying noise from cooling systems.
As someone who's abandoned the Apple walled garden a few years ago, my use case doesn't really warrant getting one of these machines because it's first and foremost about the software available, and most of what I use runs natively on Windows (or to a lesser extend Linux, which
So much for Humdrum Refreshes (Score:5, Interesting)
Sounds like Apple has listened to a large extent!
Pretty stellar update, IMHO. The performance is simply outstanding; particularly considering the battery life.
Now cue the haters regarding âoeNotchbookâ. Those will be the same people that whined about âoeBig Bezels!â For the past years.
Well, you canâ(TM)t really have both.
Re: (Score:3)
> Those will be the same people that whined about âoeBig Bezels!â For the past years. Well, you canâ(TM)t really have both.
They might be different people. The internet is big.
Re: So much for Humdrum Refreshes (Score:1)
Does it support multiple displays? Why I have held onto my 2017.
Re: (Score:2)
> Does it support multiple displays?
Four external screens with no dongle, so 5 screens total. That's what they said.
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Does it support multiple displays? Why I have held onto my 2017.
Yes up to four, depending on the model.
Re: So much for Humdrum Refreshes (Score:1)
Historically multi monitor support was good. The initial M1 devices were pretty limited tho.
Re: (Score:1)
Huge screen update, more plugs, a stupid notch, and $1000 more while ignoring the 13" which is already a year old. The 13" is now basically an air and the pro is pro again?
What in the fuck is Apple doing over there?
Re: (Score:2)
> Huge screen update, more plugs, a stupid notch, and $1000 more while ignoring the 13" which is already a year old. The 13" is now basically an air and the pro is pro again?
> What in the fuck is Apple doing over there?
Innovating.
What's everyone else doing?
Re: (Score:2)
Oddly, no other laptop manufacturer has had a problem with fitting a camera in the bezel, and having to carve a notch into the display. They manage it quite nicely. Granted it may not be a 1080p camera, but does everyone really need 1080p cameras for shitty Zoom calls that can't plug in a USB camera that will still be better?
Re: So much for Humdrum Refreshes (Score:2)
> Oddly, no other laptop manufacturer has had a problem with fitting a camera in the bezel, and having to carve a notch into the display. They manage it quite nicely. Granted it may not be a 1080p camera, but does everyone really need 1080p cameras for shitty Zoom calls that can't plug in a USB camera that will still be better?
â¦and there it is, right on cue!
YEARS of bitching about the 720p camera. Years!
Now they listened, put in a nice 1080p camera with a decent image sensor (they claim 2X better low-light performance). Great!
Now, here come the complaints saying "Who needs a 1080p camera?"
Make up your fucking minds!
Re: (Score:2)
The old camera really did suck. Especially in a room that didn't have particularly good light. Although, the earlier M1 laptops supposedly did some tricks with the GPU cores that improved image quality, even though the glass was essentially the same. I haven't personally verified that, though.
But I agree ... "who needs a 1080p camera" for "shitty Zoom calls"? My dude, do you have have a job? Where have you been for the last 18 months?
Re: (Score:2)
I have never bitched about the camera built into any of the the Macbook Pros I have been given to use at work. And why would I? It's a damn webcam, and on the rare occasions it gets used, it's for tele-meetings where the image quality is of no importance to me. 1080p? Low light performance? Sorry; don't care. Video in those meetings is a distracting nuisance anyway when there are more than a handful of people involved. I'd much rather have the old camera and not have a notch. Actually, I'd be perfectly fine
Not that odd (Score:1)
Oddly, no other laptop manufacturer has had a problem with fitting a camera in the bezel
They either have smaller screens or larger bezels (thus a larger case).
Who doesn't want a laptop with as much screen as possible?
The bezel doesn't even impact usable space as it's in the menu bar, many apps would not run into it with menus and it doesn't cut into application windows.
Instead of thinking of it as less screen, think of it as getting a menu bar worth of extra screen compared to other laptops of the same size
Re: (Score:2)
My Dell XPS 15 is one year old and has [1]small bezels with a front-facing camera above the screen and no notch [dell.com]. It can be done and I'm surprised Apple didn't make a better attempt when someone else has already done it.
[1] https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/dell-laptops-and-notebooks/new-xps-15-laptop/spd/xps-15-9510-laptop/ctox15w11p1c3000
Re: (Score:1)
My Dell XPS 15 is one year old and has small bezels with a front-facing camera above the screen and no notch
Does it have a 1080p low-light camera?
Nope it has a 720p 30FPS camera, with a smaller sensor.
Since the bezel only impacts the menu bar I'd way rather have the better camera.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, that is a personal preference. Since I rarely use the camera, I have no use for a larger sensor and would prefer to have a rectangular screen, but to each their own.
Re: (Score:2)
> Since the bezel only impacts the menu bar
See that little round green button, third from the left at the top of your application's window? Click it to go into full-screen mode and look for your menu bar.
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> Those will be the same people that whined about ÃoeBig Bezels!Ã For the past years
I seriously doubt they are considering it's extremely rare I hear any complaints about bezel sizes. I don't think I've heard a single complaint in the last ten years about any bezels, let alone Apple's.
Also I know there's only been one laptop, a Dell Lattitude from 2011, I ever felt had too enormous a bezel, and I've never publicly complained about it, and I think the notch is a fucking stupid idea.
Re: (Score:2)
>> Those will be the same people that whined about ÃoeBig Bezels!Ã For the past years
> I seriously doubt they are considering it's extremely rare I hear any complaints about bezel sizes. I don't think I've heard a single complaint in the last ten years about any bezels, let alone Apple's.
> Also I know there's only been one laptop, a Dell Lattitude from 2011, I ever felt had too enormous a bezel, and I've never publicly complained about it, and I think the notch is a fucking stupid idea.
The Notch ONLY intrudes into the Menubar area! It doesn't affect content at all!
Apple actually thought this through.
Re: (Score:2)
It usually comes up in reviews because other laptops have been reducing the bezels for years. Apple was an outlier in the mid range.