Macs 2021 – Here come the redesigns!

No more Touch Bar, the return of MagSafe and the end of the dongle life? New iMacs with an all-new slim bezel and chinless design, and new Mac Pros with M1… and M1 inside? That’s right, according to supply chain extractor extraordinaire Kuo Ming-Chi and Bloomberg’s own Mark Gurman, Apple might be gearing up to fix everything about the current era of MacBooks Pro that brought so many professionals beyond. salty it for so long, and then take your desktop Macs to the next level … and beyond.

Two new MacBook Pro models equipped with 14-inch and 16-inch displays

This makes the kind of sense it makes to me, given that the 15-inch ones have already gone down to the 16-inch at the end of 2019, and the 13-inch ones are crying out, screaming in their heart, for a similar makeover that break the bezel. .

However, Kuo doesn’t seem to say anything about any of those screens going mini-LEDs, which is something that was previously rumored … a lot. I like it very, very much. Mark says they have better contrast and brightness, which is what the mini-LED offers, but doesn’t mention the technology directly. So is this an iterative or alternative rumor report? Let me know what you think.

The new MacBook Pro models cancel the curved design at the top and bottom and adopt a flat edge similar to that of the iPhone 12

So… Current models already have the side parts, the round flat and rectilinear edge parts of that design, which makes it sound mostly like they’re going to squash the currently curved bottom. Pancake

But does that mean Apple will literally cut it, like with a Beskar spear or a lightsaber or something like that, or will they keep some or all of the thickness and make it uniform? I guess it depends on how much space and efficiency savings you get by not having Intel inside. Because Apple is always going to be thinner and lighter if it can.

‌MagSafe‌ charging connector design returns to MacBook Pro

Bloomberg’s headline editors used “magnetic charge,” but MagSafe only sticks magnetically; it charges inductively. Either way, does this mean the old MagSafe? What was MagSafe 2? Or does it mean some variant of the new MagSafe that Apple just reinvented for the iPhone 12?

It seems unlikely that Apple would move the MacBook Pro to magnetic inductive charging with a large set of coils and a disk that needs to hit a surface. It doesn’t matter how ASMR feels. Unless it’s bi-directional and you can charge your iPhone on it too?

But that still feels like a patent fanfic at this point. So if it’s not something old, then maybe something new… new? Another version of MagSafe reimagined for the modern Mac that’s even better than the old one?

Because right now, USB-C charging may not be MagSafe, but it works from any port anywhere, and that’s very useful, very convenient, and losing that would be as much of a pain as losing MagSafe to begin with. with.

Still, I don’t see Apple doing MagSafe on both sides, right?

The OLED touch bar will disappear and the physical function buttons are back

Kuo seems to think that Apple is about to kill the Touch Bar only to watch it die. Mark sounds more like he’s still up for debate. Now, I know that some people really like the Touch Bar, and occasionally I’m one of them. So we can discuss whether removing it is the best thing to do. But what’s indisputable is that after introducing it in 2016 with the last major MacBook Pro redesign, Apple quickly and rapidly improved and expanded it … not at all. As a number no greater than zero times. They changed it to reduce accidental contact events. A little. But not Taptics. No simulation of texture. It is not compatible with Mac desktop. No, nothing.

So if Apple isn’t going to prioritize it enough to get a single significant update in 5 years, maybe that means the Touch Bar had its chance, and you’re ready to join the retirement home button club now.

Same heat pipe-based thermal system as current 16-inch MacBook Pro, but no Intel CPU option

That will be great for all those cores expected by M1X. But also, duh. There’s probably only room left for an Intel update, if any, on Apple’s roadmap. And these are not. (Spoiler: It will come out later in this column!)

The following MacBook Pros are equipped with more types of I / O, and most users may not need to purchase additional dongles

So this legit one confuses me because Apple seems to have a habit of killing ports, not resurrecting them.

Would they bring USB-A back? For a professional market? When they don’t even ship iPhones with USB-A cables anymore?

SD card? That makes the kind of sense sorta makes. Some of my cameras use CFExpress cards now, but they all also accept SD cards. So that could at least have a lot of appeal to photo and video professionals.

HDMI? Does that really rank high enough on Apple’s MacBook Dongle sales chart to really qualify? Traditionally, it’s been a draw for people who give presentations or love home theater, but if the Mac mini M1 is any indication, maybe Apple just wants to support an additional screen?

New MacBook Pros in Q3 2021

Is this calendar the third quarter, which runs from July to September, or Apple’s fiscal third quarter, which runs from April to June, because that part is something important to my MacBook Pro purchase plans, you know?

I guess if it’s a new design, Apple will want to do a new episode of season 2 of their Event Show to highlight them. They could certainly do an event in April as they did an event in November last year. Otherwise, WWDC in June seems likely. If it’s later, it could be anytime this fall, maybe even in conjunction with the iPhone 12s / iPhone 13.

And … my first instinct is to say it sucks, it totally sucks. But if we’re getting a really honest redesign this year and we don’t have to wait for a second update next year, I’ll take it. I will absolutely accept it. Even if it only comes in the fall.

Which is pretty much what I’ve been using in my mockups since 0.3 seconds after Apple announced Pro Display. Because, aside from the recent lack of updates, Apple kept its iMacs and its LED and Thunderbolt designs pretty much the same time as they lasted.

And the iMac is truly the only great battleground left in the rapidly ending war of the bezels. Also, getting rid of the bulge at the back and ultimately laying flat will fit perfectly into Apple’s current design language. The one that started with the iPad Pro almost three years ago.

Since part of the appeal of the iMac has always been how good it looks in the living room, on the desk, and in front-of-house settings. Or at least it will be a profit when the world stops ending. And when everything is modern and boxy, it will look good again.

Current 21.5 and 27-inch iMacs will be replaced

Mark does not specify whether the displays will remain the same size, with Apple reducing the bezels as it did with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, or whether they are going to increase the screen size as they did with the 11-inch iPad Pro. .

There have also been several reports of a third option: all-new screen sizes: 24-inch and 32-inch. Which…. Yes, it might be too large for some desktops and some users. But for others, it might finally be big enough.

Count on me at that camp. From IPS to 5K to P3 and nano-textures, the iMac has always focused on that screen. So while we may still be a year or so away from Mini LEDs at that scale, I think Apple is going to do everything else.

New iMacs will use next-gen versions of Apple Silicon

Okay so if next gen really does mean next gen, as in next gen silicon IP, then we’d be looking for something on the M2 line. In other words, based on the same architecture as the A15 chipset that is expected to come with the iPhone 2021. And with something like the usual single-core performance boost and multi-core multiplier, that would come with it.

If not, if next-gen media really does mean the next version, then we’d be looking at something like the M1 but with just a plethora of additional performance and graphics cores. 12, 16, 32, 64, more? It would be similar, if not the same single-core performance, as the M1, depending on how fast and fast you let it run, but multi-core would be ridiculous.

New Mac Pro with the same design as the current version and may continue to use Intel inside

Which, I think … I mean, I don’t know. I suppose Apple has given itself two years to transition the entire Mac line to its own silicon and the Mac Pro, like last time, just has to be the last on that list.

But, by giving the current version of Intel a final update before then, so that people who want or need to stay on the Intel platform as long as possible due to the software compatibility and maturity of the M series, the best possible version to stay, it just makes the kind of sense it does, and it’s exactly what Apple did with the iMac last year.

New mid-size Mac Pro with a design that could evoke nostalgia for the Power Mac G4 Cube

So just taking out all that massive, hot, power-hungry silicon Intel Xeon and AMD Navi could allow Apple to shrink the case a bit.

Hopefully though, this isn’t just the space gray version of the Mac mini with an M1X chip. Mac mini is a sealed device. Mac Pro is a modular tower.

That means if Apple really wants to make every Mac nerd’s feverish dreams come true, then finally making the hitherto mythical xMac, or mini-tower, come true, especially by incorporating a more retro-looking future-chic design, would be hell. in a way to do it.

New lower-priced Apple display also on the way

And yes, it talks about making dreams come true. When Apple canceled its displays a few years ago and teamed up with LG to produce the same panels as the iMac, but with nothing that came close to Apple’s fit, finish, or design style … it was very depressing for everyone who wanted one. fully Mac setup.

Then the Pro Display came out, basically $ 6K for 6K, and it was beyond the needs and budget of anyone outside of the independent studio or YouTube’s evil flex work.

However, a proper iMac-level panel on a properly priced Apple display, and that sells itself.

So what are you looking forward to the most? What will your next generation Mac be?