Chris Matyszczyk
for Technically Incorrect
| October 21, 2021
| Topic: Hardware
Just their imagination, running away with them?
Image: Apple
It’s hard to peer through excitement.
Please forgive me for mentioning it, but isn’t this the 2015 MacBook Pro being reborn, with wonderful, entirely technical enhancements, as the 2021 edition?
MagSafe is back with its power chords. Magic is back on keyboards. The removal of the Touch Bar and the return of all those ports means no one will wonder Cui bono? It’s to everyone’s Bono. (Yeah, sorry about that.)
I’m of course delighted that the new machine will be faster and more power-efficient. So much faster. How much faster? Well, you’ll only really know when you try it.
Is it now time, though, to attempt a little post-euphoria realization? So that one’s (re)imagination doesn’t go too wild, you understand.
May we start with the notch?
Some were appalled at this alleged regression toward the ugly. But every iPhone user has become so used to it that it’s almost become a branding device, one that gets copied time and time again by Android phones.
Let’s not, though, imagine the notch is there for anything other than Face ID.
I’m prepared to bet at least two of my vintage H&M t-shirts against one of your brand new pairs of Air Jordans that Apple was going to ta-da Face ID with this MacBook, and supply chain issues ruled otherwise.
So here we have a perfectly passive notch that will become perfectly normal and unnoticed. And, on subsequent Pros, perhaps even useful.
Ought one also to mention weight? No one did, but the 14-inch Pro is now 3.5lbs. That’s half a pound heavier than the current 13-inch Pro. And 0.7lbs heavier than the MacBook Air.
The 16-inch with M1 Max is now 4.8lbs.
You’ll tell me that of course, they’re going to be heavier because they’re filled with so much more stuff. And I’ll tell you that it’s sad that Apple’s quest for a lighter life has left its imagination. Its quest for a brighter life, too.
Instead, being professional is a heavier duty.
Hate the ‘notch’ on the new MacBook Pro? You’re totally missing the point
As I’d feared, there was no true visual excitement. No attempt at using the imagination to lift this laptop to greater aesthetic heights. Perhaps it’ll be different in real life, but visually there was nothing to stir even the remotest emotion.
If you’re trying to appeal to creative professionals, don’t you think they want to be clutching something uniquely inspired, reflective of the future, rather than an obviously penitent harking back to the past?
Related Topics:
Apple
PCs
Servers
Storage
Networking
Data Centers
Chris Matyszczyk
for Technically Incorrect
| October 21, 2021
| Topic: Hardware