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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2019-08-22, 17:51

Quote:
Originally Posted by kscherer View Post
Also, it is highly likely that this rumored 16" MacBook Pro thing is not going to be a "redesign" other than a larger screen within the same space.
I strongly disagree. I mean first, I don’t think it’s going to be exactly the same space, if they keep the 16:10 aspect ratio – the body will have to get slightly wider, I think. But more to the point, Apple never really changes screen sizes without redesigning the product, because the screen size is integral to the design. Also, if it has a new keyboard with more depth, that requires major internal changes to make everything else fit.

Now, will it share the same general design language, edge-to-edge screen excepted? Almost certainly. It might even be the exact same thickness as the existing MacBook Pro (I’m not expecting it to be thinner). But even that would still require an internal redesign if the keyboard is changed, just like how the iMac Pro is a vastly different design on the inside despite being externally the same form. Changing the keyboard’s depth takes a ton of volume out of the very core of the computer. It’s going to have to be a very different machine; building that machine around new standards like LPDDR4 makes sense.

I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a new finish option, or perhaps even a new material. They’re going to want the MacBook Pro to not get heavier, despite the larger screen. Apple hasn’t used titanium in sixteen years, and then suddenly there are two new titanium products within a month of each other? That’s the sort of thing that makes me raise my eyebrows.

Plus, the current MacBook Pro design is three years old this fall – it’s a little late in the game to just be iterating on the old design. And it’s safe to say that the current design hasn’t been as universally beloved as previous generations, which each lasted four years. Even three years later, I still see way more 2012-2016 MacBook Pros in the wild, and I’ve stopped thinking that’s a fluke. I think Apple is pretty eager to get off this keyboard design and put this mess behind them and signal that with a new MacBook Pro design built around a new keyboard.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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