Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses
Very disappointing the industrial design does not change for the laptops. I was really hoping to see Apple take some design risks with the change to Apple Silicon and make their industrial design a bit more fun and exciting again.
|
That's what I expected as well...what better time to give the lineup a design tweak/overhaul than the transition to a completely new architecture (or whatever the word is).
Two things...
1) The rumors talk about new 13" MacBooks (Air and Pro?) and a 16", with ongoing talk of a smaller 12" model and a 14" MacBook Pro to come. Maybe, for whatever reason(s), development on those new designs has been held up or hit a snag, and they figured "it's better we stick with a promised timeline, get these things out into the world sooner rather than later" (before Christmas, a good time to buy a MacBook Air for some). And then, later on in 2021, we get that new, redesigned 14" and 16" MacBook Pro with a second-generation of whatever they're going to call this processor/architecture? Not ideal, but if that's all they could do to get Apple silicon Macs out into the world before the end of the year, this was probably decided some time ago.
or...
2) Rumors are often spectacularly wrong (usually in the negative, but we have been pleasantly surprised a few times over the years as well). If they've had this transition in mind for a good while, there's no telling what they've had cooking up in the design labs the past few years to coincide with this transition (with or without Jony's finger in the pie). There's
still a chance we get just that: new 14" and 16" MacBook Pro with a sleek, snazzy redesign and Apple guts
and a successor to the Air in the form of that rumored "return" of a 12" MacBook? Three models, two inches apart, with a small, affordable(?) 12" MacBook (forget the "Air" designation...they're all "air" at this point; nothing in their lineup is bulky and ungainly, and hasn't been for years...it's a meaningless designation at this point, IMO), and then the higher-powered, more capable 14" and 16" Pro models?
That certainly makes the most sense - all new
everything, "a new era for Apple", etc. - but we don't know what they've run into behind-the-scenes.
I personally don't like the idea of the new guts going into old designs, but, psychologically, maybe that's Apple's way of easing the transition? Those first Intel notebooks kept the PowerBook G4 look, correct? I've gotten fuzzier in my memory on these things over the years. People are funny, now more than ever...they need soft transitions, training wheels, a place to suck their thumbs, etc. God forbid they had to deal with a new industrial design, new architecture/naming scheme
and new OS, all in one sitting.
I think that makes a lot cleaner, clearer distinction across the notebook line. Yeah, it kinda sucks that size would still be tied to price (and vice versa), but that 12" MacBook a few years ago had a perfectly usable display, and some may prefer that for basic, everyday tasks (and great portability for students and the like). So instead of having three models all occupy that 13" space (Air, not-so-Pro MacBook Pro and then the proper MBPs that start at $1,799), just have a totally capable 12" model for The Rest of Us™, and then the new 14" and 16" Pro models. Ideally, maybe those pro models could start closer to $1,599 with the 16GB RAM, etc.?
I don't know what this new in-house Apple guts bodes for pricing, but I'd like to think Macs won't go
up. They cost enough already. So I'll be happy if they stay where they are. And I'd be thrilled if they even came down a bit (but I'm not holding my breath on that just yet).
So the optimist in me hopes for scenario #2 (new design to go with the new architecture), but the realist is prepared - and okay with - #1, knowing that before 2021 is out, we'll surely see the fully "new", redesigned notebooks across the lineup.
But it seems if people knew the "real" new stuff was coming in just a year or so, that might affect sales of whatever's announced next week (if they just shove the new guts into the existing bodies). So that's why part of me is thinking "they're not going to blow that opportunity to pair both...and make a real 'new era' impact". But I'm wrong on this shit more than not, so don't listen to me...
This is one of those times where I hope the rumors are way off, and we're dazzled with redesigned models next week...12" Air successor, 14" and 16" Pro models. And, I suppose the Mac mini could be part of it as well, since they're already kinda making those anyway? Just hope it comes in Blue Dalmatian.