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Apple Hardware Technology

Apple Plans To Launch an 'All-New' 16-inch MacBook Pro and 32-inch 6K Monitor This Year, Says Report (theverge.com) 211

Posted by msmash from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.
Apple is planning an "all-new" MacBook Pro design for this year, well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said. From a report: The lineup is reportedly led by a model with a screen of between 16 and 16.5 inches, which would make it the biggest screen in a Mac notebook since the 17-inch models stopped being sold in 2012. Kuo says the lineup may also include a 13-inch model with support for 32GB of RAM; right now only the 15-inch MacBook Pro can be configured with that amount of memory.

[...] More interestingly, Kuo has the first credible details of the external monitor that will mark Apple's return to the pro display market. It's said to be a 31.6-inch 6K display with a "Mini LED-like backlight design." Apple discontinued its last monitor, the Thunderbolt Display, back in 2016; right now the best option for owners of more modern Macs is the Apple-sanctioned but imperfect 27-inch LG UltraFine 5K.
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Apple Plans To Launch an 'All-New' 16-inch MacBook Pro and 32-inch 6K Monitor This Year, Says Report More

Apple Plans To Launch an 'All-New' 16-inch MacBook Pro and 32-inch 6K Monitor This Year, Says Report

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  • Neat. I moved on years ago. (Score:3)

    by DogDude ( 805747 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @05:17PM (#58141998)
    Neat! I gave up on Apple making serious hardware years ago. I get my *nix meets met via Virtualbox on Windows on *any* size laptop with *any* amount of RAM and *any* size hard drive I want, thanks.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • And no updates at all after 1-2 years? no put it on a small pci-e ssd.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Margins are thin and even if you just get a Chinese OEM to build the laptop for you, you still have to provide on-going support for it. There probably just isn't enough money in it, especially with the relatively small volumes they would be selling, and when the competition is someone like Lenovo with world-wide support coverage and established business relationships.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by EvilSS ( 557649 )
        There were a couple of attempts by different companies to make client-side type 1 hypervisors a thing but they never caught on.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Kjella ( 173770 )

        My guess it's probably related to OEM pricing, you can use "any" OS but Apple doesn't license OS X and Microsoft is sure to put some clauses requiring it to boot Windows natively and exclusively to get the best price. After all Microsoft has their own virtualization technology and is a direct competitor plus they don't want to give any other OS a foothold, like I've never seen any OEM offer dual-boot. Even if they can't formally do it because of anti-trust I'm sure anyone who did would be put on the unoffic

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Neat! ... Windows ...

      HERETIC!!!

  • I have long awaited the return of the 17" Macbook Pro ever since Apple stopped selling them - mine is still used to this day every day for work in my house.

    The 15" I have been using primarily is fine as it has the same resolution, but I really missed the physically larger screen of the 17".

    With Apple's reduction in bezel sizes the new 16" should have about the same screen size as the old 17" in a slightly smaller form factor.

    The only downside to having a larger laptop is a surprising number of bags or lapto

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:Finally! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by b0s0z0ku ( 752509 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @06:09PM (#58142222)
      It will be the glued-shut, no-port, soldered-everything version of the old 17" MacBook Pro ... this thing will be to power laptops like the Jeep Compass is to off-road vehicles.

      • We'll see... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @06:14PM (#58142250)

        It will be the glued-shut, no-port, soldered-everything version of the old 17" MacBook Pro

        That seems very unlikely given what they did with the iMac Pro, and even the MacBook Pro updates - more ports and some flexibility in expansion.

        I am even fine with all USB-C ports, as long as there's four or so. In a larger form factor they will probably include more ports.

    • Re:Finally! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @07:04PM (#58142428) Homepage

      With Apple's reduction in bezel sizes the new 16" should have about the same screen size as the old 17" in a slightly smaller form factor.

      I hate to break it to you but that's not how screen sizes are measured. A 16 inch screen will be 1 inch smaller screen size than a 17 inch, regardless of bezel size.

      • I hate to break it to you but that's not how screen sizes are measured.

        True, I forgot that was really referring to screen size and not the laptop dimensions itself

        Still should have a decently larger physical display in a substantially smaller physical package than the older 17".

    • I believe that a 16inch screen, with almost no bezels, would easily fit "on" the form-factor of my 15.4inch 2013 MBP. Backpack problem easily addressed.

      • That 's a good point, maybe they would pretty much keep the existing form factor and just increase screen as much as possible - that makes more sense than building out the case size much.

    • I'd switch to a briefcase. Aluminum, with the detachable handles like the models I saw on GITS-- triggers would unnecessarily draw attention (and possibly return fire)

    • I loved my 17” MacBook Pro back in the day... but I can’t believe I allocated that much weight to backpacking around Southeast Asia back in the day. About 8.5 pounds when the power cords and stuff were factored in.

      Now I have moved on. MacBook Air and a couple iPads really serve me better. A dock with a 27” monitor is a hell of a lot better ergonomically than the laptop form factor, and portability really trumps all for a laptop.

      • I try to travel with an iPad too when I can, but I'm a consultant who has to work on site sometimes - for that I prefer a larger portable screen, which is what I really liked the 17" for (though I have to admit I also did my fair share of international travel lugging the 17" around and you are right that it weighs a LOT!).

  • I can see the store page now. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by pushing-robot ( 1037830 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @05:46PM (#58142112)

    The MacBook Pro Pro. Starting at $3999.

    I miss the days when minor new features and upgraded components were part of a normal product refresh and didn't justify a new name and pricing tier.

    • Eh, the days we're in now don't seem that different from the past, at least as far as Apple laptops go. The current touch bar models are abominations that got me off the Mac after more than a decade, but they've had the same design for several years and gone through multiple incremental updates.

      Over that decade it was Powerbook, then MacBook Pro, then unibody MacBook Pro, then Retina. The pace seems about the same to me. I'm not sure what days you're missing?

      • Here's base model MBPs by year:

        2006: $1999 / 2.0GHz x 2 Core 2 / 1GB RAM / 120GB HDD / Classic
        2007: $1999 / 2.2GHz x 2 Core 2 / 2GB RAM / 120GB HDD / Classic
        2008: $1999 / 2.4GHz x 2 Core 2 / 2GB RAM / 250GB HDD / Unibody
        2009: $1699 / 2.56GHz x 2 Core 2 / 4GB* RAM / 250GB HDD / Unibody
        2010: $1799 / 2.4GHz x 2 i5 / 4GB RAM / 320GB HDD / Unibody
        2011: $1799 / 2.2GHz x 4 i7 / 4GB RAM / 500GB HDD / Unibody
        --- Tim Cook becomes CEO
        2012: $2199 / 2.3GHz x 4 i7 / 8GB RAM / 256GB SSD / Retina
        2013: $1999 / 2.0GHz x 4 i7

        • I suppose what you mean is closer to "I miss the days where they didn't couple incremental upgrades with useless, mandatory, horribly expensive features I don't want in the first place." In which case I'm with you. If I could buy the 2018 MBP in the body of the 2015 without paying $400 for a touch bar, I'd still use a MacBook Pro. Instead, I moved on.

          Though still, it seems to me to only be the one cycle (the introduction of the touch bar) you (we, lots of us) really have a problem with. The Retina only move

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          I bought a first generation Retina MBP for $2900. To get a replacement MBP today with the same clock speed, RAM, and storage, I'd pay about $2800. Six and a half years later.

          Yeah but it has a touch bar instead of F keys, and the lowest travel/tactility keyboard on the market! And USB-C! Progress!

  • "Support" for 32GB of RAM... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by b0s0z0ku ( 752509 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @06:05PM (#58142192)
    Does "Support for 32GB of RAM" mean you can plug in two 16GB modules, or does it just mean that you can pay 3x the street price of the RAM extra to buy a laptop with it soldered to the motherboard?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by melted ( 227442 )

      It's Apple, so you don't get to "plug in" anything, likely including your headphones.

  • TB3 can't drive 6K so what is there plan there?
    Full DP 1.5 port?
    HDMI 2.1?
    Display with build in video card (linked by pci-e X4 over TB3) at a cost of $1500-$2000?

    • TB3 can't drive 6K so what is there plan there?

      Nothing keeps them from designing TB4 with support for up to 8K (or maybe even more).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by guruevi ( 827432 )

      It can drive dual-4k displays, 6K is "only" ~6Gbps whereas the bus can push 40Gbps. Why wouldn't it be able?

  • Crappy Keyboards (Score:3)

    by DatbeDank ( 4580343 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @07:10PM (#58142452)

    Will we see a return to the non craptacular keyboards that don't let dust freak them out?

    If no, then I'll continue to stick with my aging 2015 Macbook Pro. No reason to ever upgrade until they either change the style of keyboard or revert back to a design that works.

    Steve Jobs is clearly turning in his grave at what has become of Apple.

    • Yeah, it’ll be hilarious if this large 16” laptop has a grand total of four ports - all Thunderbolt 3, natch - and that awful low-travel keyboard.

      Or - even better - if it’s the first Apple laptop with a glass, no-actual-keys “keyboard”. It seems reasonable to assume one big reason for their current crap keyboards is to get people used to typing on an immobile surface (like a phone or tablet) in a larger form factor.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Misagon ( 1135 )

      I find it more likely that they would use the same keyboard mechanism as the Ipad Pro's "Smart Keyboard".
      It is the "butterfly" switch with a flexible keyboard condom on the [i]outside[/i] to protect it from dust. It looks and feels even worse than the "keyboard" on the recent MacBook.

    • Will we see a return to the non craptacular keyboards that don't let dust freak them out?

      The new keyboards work fine these days as long as you don't hammer them like blacksmith and clean them out with a dust buster or compressed air once in a while. If you are irked by the 'feel' of the thing you really are on you own. The next step in this arena will probably be fixed keys with haptic feedback. Call me schadenfreudig, but I am actually looking forward to the loud-voiced outpourings of religious indignation we'll get when those things hit the market.

      If no, then I'll continue to stick with my aging 2015 Macbook Pro.

      That's what I thought until I got a MBP with

  • Amazing! I cannot wait. (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I have been a hard core OpenBSD developer and user for two decades but this laptop has me and many of my colleges drooling. A huge number of us will be making the switch permanently to Apple and at this point I see no reason to ever consider any other product. Apple absolutely rules when it comes to technology.

  • Gonna be hard to tell from a 15" (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @07:26PM (#58142528)
    A 15" Macbook Pro actually has a 15.4" diagonal screen (16:10 aspect ratio, vs 15.6" 16:9 aspect ratio for most PC laptops). So you're going to be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a 16" and the existing 15" model. A 16.0" screen would have 16^2 / 15.4^2 = 1.07944 or just 8% more screen area than the 15". Most people won't be able to tell them apart unless they're side-by-side. A 16.5" screen would have 16.5^2 / 15.4^2 = 1.148 or 15% more screen area than the 15", which might be noticeable.

    By contrast, the 17" model (17.0" 16:10 aspect ratio, vs 17.3" 16:9 aspect ratio for most PC laptops) was 17^2 / 15.4^2 = 1.2186 or 22% more screen area than the 15", which is definitely noticeable.

  • And a pro tower? (Score:3)

    by sandbagger ( 654585 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @07:36PM (#58142566)
    Wharrr. Wharrr pro tower?

  • Learn to code (Score:3)

    by AHuxley ( 892839 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @07:52PM (#58142648) Journal
    your next app at 6K.
    Got the needed GPU?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      When the did a 5k monitor with LG there was a decent reason for using Thunderbolt, in that DisplayPort wasn't quite there yet. Now it is, even for 6k... But it looks like they are going for Thunderbolt again.

      Shame because that could be a good PC monitor, but if it's like the LG one it will lack any controls or decent software to drive it. Forget about calibration outside of OSX.

      6k at 32" is ideal. Basically you want to keep the DPI to 2x the base 2k/24" to make scaling perfect.

      4k @ 24"
      5k @ 27"
      6k @ 32"

      • DPI does not matter for Macs ...
        You can plug in as many monitors as you want and have windows spanning them, the UI/OS scales them accordingly.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          It just scales the bitmaps, it does't re-render fonts and vector elements for example. Windows has the same problem, one display is the master and the other renders at the master's DPI and then scales the resulting bitmap.

          There is also an issue with non-integer scaling of bitmaps looking kinda bad, and older apps that don't support proper DPI awareness. For those having exact 2x scaling is the best option.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by AHuxley ( 892839 )
            It depends on the skill and the ability of the people who have to look after the OS.
            Is the OS ready for 6K, 8K support? Fonts, color accuracy, a GUI that's ready for that resolution, support for people making a software, a full list of supported GPU.
            Once an OS lists that 6K, 8K as a supported resolution everything on the OS side has to be ready to look great and to code any software with.
            Fonts, a/the supported GPU, color, code to create applications that look the same at 4K, then 6K.
            Thats different fro

          • it does't re-render fonts
            Yes, it does, or why do all 4 corners of a window stretched over four displays with different DPI look equal?

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              Every screenshot I've seen doesn't look like it re-renders. Do you have one to demonstrate?

              • Not at the moment, and it would not be a screenshot, but a shot with the camera showing multiple screens and a window spanning them.

  • Maybe, just maybe they are listening (Score:3)

    by Snufu ( 1049644 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @09:07PM (#58142900)

    I understand the most recent Macbook pro has more modular components and ports, suggesting they are responding to criticism of the glued together, fake pro direction they had been taking. Is it an inflection point in design philosophy after burning the goodwill they created for pro users?

    Not a fan boy, but typing this on a 2009 17 inch MB pro that has been used every day for the last decade and still works like new. Possibly the best machine I have owned of ANY kind. That level of quality earns loyalty. It was assumed they would never again make a laptop larger than 15 inches because the profit margins are too small. Selling a loss leader product to command respect from the pros is the kind of strategy they displayed when Jobs ran the show. Could be a good sign.

    (But not holding my breath.)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Megane ( 129182 )
      The only bad thing about the (pre-Retina) Unibody era is those fucking Nvidia GPUs that were manufactured improperly and fall apart inside after a few years. Say what you will about modern Apple laptops and planned obsolescence, but Nvidia beat them to the punch.

  • Monitors and laptops are hardly new for Apple.
    A company of that size should be diversifying, before they find it is too late, and they implode like Kodak, Nokia or Xerox.

    Sony and IBM may not have their former glory, but are still alive and making big money. As well as diversifying, they actually did basic research and genuine innovation. Why doesn't Apple?

    Apple makes wonderful products, don't get me wrong, but the closest they have ever come to an original invention is probably the App Store.

  • More features no one is asking for...... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Proudrooster ( 580120 ) on Monday February 18, 2019 @09:17PM (#58142932) Homepage

    Quick Survey. did anyone ask for?

    • Face ID on their MBP laptop
    • 16" Display on their MBP laptop
    • 6K on their MBP laptop
    • Face ID on their MBP laptop

    Here is what was on my list:


    • Better keyboard
      Option for Touch Screen
      Better Repairability (See Louis Rossman, easy to replace keyboard and battery)
      Better Upgradability (Not Soldered in HDD and RAM)
      Better Water Resistance
      Return of the MagSafe
      More Ports on the Pro Model including a classic USB3.0 port
      eGPU Options for High End Cards with Plug N Play
    • Modern Apple has never been the company to respond to what consumers want. They create a product and then convince the consumer why it will make their life better. And in many cases, they have succeeded! The iPhone and iPod are the darling examples. “Truck” hardware is hard to innovate upon because it’s pretty much plateaued. Apple did take a chance—it’s called the iPad.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I wonder if the touchpad could double as a pen input pad. A lot of artists would love that I think. Then again I'm sure Apple would rather sell them an iPad Pro for that kind of use, but then they don't get the functionality of OSX and a proper keyboard.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ReneR ( 1057034 )
      +1 where are my moderation points when I need them?! recently swapped my brothers MacBook battery, OMG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • I work with iOS and the only reason I have a Macbook is because of that. I tried going Mac-only at home and I lasted about 6 months before I went back to PCs where I could get software I wanted besides graphic design apps.

    Every time I see a pitch for Apple's next "oooh" product, it's like getting an email from the car dealership who ripped you off on that jalopy you just sold at a loss.

    • I can just see the commercials. But they get it backwards. A 32-inch Macbook Pro, and a 16-inch 6K monitor.
    • Serious question: What software *can't* you get for Mac? About five years ago, I worked in an MS Office environment where no one knew I was using Pages, Numbers or, in a pinch, NeoOffice/LibreOffice. I used OmniGraffle for Visio needs. Nowadays, I do embedded development for Cortex chips using MCUXpresso natively on the Mac. When I was playing with the nvidia Jetson platform, it needed a Linux environment to perform the firmware updates, but I was able to run a Linux instance under VirtualBox for that.

  • can you believe those apple fans?
    unless it's a screen with an apple logo on it, it's imperfect.
    only a real apple thunderbolt display will do!

    pure lunacy

  • Sager/Clevo just released a line of 16.1" screens in the same chassis as their previous 15.6" models. They just reduced the size of the bezel. This isn't a massive step forward, exactly.
  • Air doesn't like to make the right-angled turns required from a thin laptop. Apple will likely not produce a notebook computer with the big heatsinks and power brick necessary for serious work. A small heatsink is fine when you apply an occasional Photoshop filter, or nudge something in a CAD program, but when it comes time to export video, or animate something, render something, or compile something, or run a solver, then a computer needs proper cooling.

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