Mark Gurman, Jungah Lee, writing for Bloomberg:
Apple Inc. is developing new features for the iPad to cater to professional users, along with new Mac laptops and desktops, according to people familiar with the matter.
Upcoming software upgrades for the iPad include wider operating-system support for Apple’s stylus accessory, while hardware performance improvements are also in development, according to the people. The refreshed Mac hardware line includes new versions of the iMac desktop, MacBook Air laptop, and a 5K standalone monitor in collaboration with LG Electronics Inc., in addition to a thinner MacBook Pro laptop.
The company hopes to ship the updated iPad software next year, while the Macs are expected as soon as late 2016, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing unannounced products. Apple has not updated any Macs, besides the 12-inch MacBook, since last year. The company declined to comment.
This can’t come soon enough for me. I’ve long wanted a more powerful MacBook Pro, thought I wouldn’t care about thinner. But then I spent some quality time with the new MacBook. Thinness and lightness matter.
That said, I would sacrifice that thinness for power and, more importantly, for availability.
It’s silly to say thin doesn’t matter, because weight absolutely matters. Try using a 2008 MacBook. Apple has improved the MacBook a lot by reducing its weight.
I’m with Dave, thin is fine but power and battery trump it for me. The current retina MacBook pros are a decent trade off in power for weight.
Precisely. Our 2008 MacBook is likely going with us on our next vacation. I’d much rather have replaced it with an MBA, but we generally don’t replace such hardware until it stops doing the job.
What baffles me is why Apple now rarely updates the interior components (CPU, GPU, motherboard controllers, etc) when Intel introduces new lines.
A lot of things “matter”. Weight matters. Power does too. Some product lines, thinness matters more than power. But there needs to be a line where power matters more than thinness. Apple even might choose to call those its pro line. I had a Toshiba laptop that weighed 14 pounds once upon a time. I currently tote a 17″ MBP that weighs 6.4 pounds. People get so histrionic about weight. It’s just one variable among many. By the time I put the thing down and start using it, all that matters to me is its power. (Or increasingly, it’s lack thereof)
Microsoft PCs updated to Skylake immediately upon its arrival and had a butt ton of problems. I’d rather Apple wait and get it right than have to deal with a load of rev. 1 crap.
Oh, let it be so.
Go ahead and compare power to that same 2008 MacBook.
What has come out in the last two years that people NEEEEEEEEEED a more powerful Mac?
For what tasks?
Sounds like you don’t accept there there are situations where power trumps weight. Fine. 3D modeling and sculpting. Also, I prefer the 17 inch screen of my MBP to the smaller retina displays. My eyes aren’t what they used to be. Everything is retina display to me.
So, not for the tasks that the great majority of computers are bought to do. That’s why I asked you to clarify.
New, shortened attention spans?
Hopefully, you’re being obtuse on purpose and aren’t really this dense. The point is that there are 2 countervailing trade-offs. Weight shouldn’t always trump everything. Some people desire power. Just because you don’t do anything demanding with your computers and just because you might have company doesn’t mean other people don’t share my own needs. That’s why there was supposed to be a regular and pro line. I guess a lot of people want a “pro” machine in order to flatter themselves, rather than for more genuine reason. There’s people out there who use CAD, or BIM, or lots of other compute-heavy tasks. And not all of them want a desktop. (And considering that the iMacs only have mobility graphics cards… and seeing as the Mac Pro is a 2013 computer…)
Not being a PC guy, I’m curious: what were the butt ton of problems? How much of that was intel’s fault, and how much Microsoft’s?
Actually, let me be a bit more specific. Working…. 🙂
Speaking of flattering oneself.
Thanks for nerdsplaining it all to me.