[Capella]

• Welcome to the new MBP, in 14” and 16”
• Thicker enough to support new ports: 14” is 3.5 lbs and 15.5mm, 16” has 4.7 lbs and 16.8mm
• new thermal design to move 50% more air while still quiet, and often the fans just don’t turn on
• No TouchBar, physical function keys, TouchID key
• SD port, HDMI, headphone jack, 3 Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe3 power port OR charge via Thunderbolt/USB 3
• The M1 Pro can run 2 ProDisplay XDR and the M1 Max can run 3 and a 4K TV
• 3.5mm border with a camera notch, and the menu bar wraps around the notch
• 14” resolution is 3024x1964 (5.9M pixels) ; 16” resolution is 3456x2236 (7.7M)
• Liquid Retina XDR display, 1 billion colors, miniLED from iPad Pro - 1000 nits of sustained full screen brightness, 1600 nits of peak brightness, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
• refresh rate adjustment with ProMotion, stepping down the rate when content is static for battery life
• 1080p camera, 4-element lens and a new aperture, 2x better low-light performance and uses neural engine to help boost video
• 6-speaker sound system with 2 bigger tweeters and 4 woofers, 80% more bass and half-an-octave deeper & spatial audio support
• the new M1 Pro/Max GPUs are supposedly up to 2.5 – 4x faster than the Radeon Pro 5600M of prior models
• 14” MBP can have the M1 Max as well, it’s either 9x (Pro) or 13x (Max) faster on GPU than the 13-inch MBP with integrated graphics (because of the GPU processors and the unified memory)
• 14” model 17 hours of video playback on battery, and 16” model gets 21 hours. Fast charge now supported: 50% charge in 30 minutes
• enclosure is 100% aluminium and rare earth and they’re aiming for 100% carbon neutral
• up to 8TB storage
• 14” model is $1999 ; 16” model is $2499
• silver and space grey only
• They’re keeping the 13” MBP with M1 around

[Maciej]

Not in love with the new shape. It just looks frumpy and not flattering.

[Frank777]

Well that went well. It's amazing how Apple, bringing back features they never should have dropped, makes life better.

[psmith2.0]

It's encouraging that hubris/ego isn't preventing them from doing so.

I imagine they've spent the past several years getting an earful from their actual customers/users (and not just sycophantic bloggers, YouTuber chatterboxes or those who put sleekness and style over all else).

That's encouraging to know that they're willing to listen and correct course if/when needed. I don't think that's something we would've seen 3-5 years ago. They fixed the keyboard a while back and now they brought back a few useful ports.

That notch, though. People at MacRumors, as they're so good at doing, are surely filling their diapers as we speak.

Whoa, I just noticed the pricing...that 14" jumped up $200.

But that's okay...it's quite a powerhouse, and it's nothing I'm in the market for at this point. It can cost whatever it wants if those numbers are all legit. It truly earns/warrants its name now, and for those needing that performance/power, they'll happily pay for it. Kinda makes sense that the pro stuff is $2,000+, I guess.

That M1 model, despite being named wrong, should nicely cover that $1,299-1,999 space (with various BTO, etc.).

[turtle]

16" with M1 Max, 64GB RAM and 8TB is $6,099.00. (Please note the lack of .99 on that. )

A more modest is Max with 64GB and 2TB at $3,899.00. $4,299.00

Compare that to the M1 Pro with 32GB and 2TB at $3,499.00.

Max and 64GB seems like a no brainer.

Edit: oops, my screen refreshed and I grabbed the wrong numbers. Those aren't right.

Also interesting that it comes with a MagSafe port but not the MagSafe charger:

Customize your 16‑inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray Apple M1 Max chip with 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine 64GB unified memory 1TB SSD storage 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port 140W USB-C Power Adapter Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID - US English

[709]

16GB base RAM, +$400 to get to 32GB or +$800 to get to 64GB. Apple making bank on RAM, as is tradition.

[turtle]

And now it REALLY feels like extortion. We can't buy third party RAM. We have to buy it upfront or do without now.

[Bryson]

Originally Posted by Maciej Not in love with the new shape. It just looks frumpy and not flattering.

The shape (from the side) is reminiscent of the 12" Powerbook.

[709]

Originally Posted by turtle And now it REALLY feels like extortion. We can't buy third party RAM. We have to buy it upfront or do without now.

It's infuriating.

Originally Posted by Bryson The shape (from the side) is reminiscent of the 12" Powerbook.

Instantly what I thought too when they did the reveal.

[turtle]

You know, with these chips I don't see why they can't really cram this power into something the size of the mini. Even if they make it slightly taller it could house the Max and a few more ports, or even comparable ports to the new Pros.

This would make the new Pro seem absurd, unless you need Intel still. I mean, industrial needs could dictate the Mac Pro as is, but most shops seem like they would be able to work with the Max chipset instead of Intel and the GPU options. I'm guessing the real life benchmarks will be out in about a week and we will have a better picture of that.

[psmith2.0]

Yeah, it's a little poochy. But not horrifically so, or anything ugly. They just realized it doesn't need to be paper-thin for the crowd/market it's targeting. They can continue getting cute with the fanless, consumer-oriented Air if they want and nobody will mind. But they did the right thing here...on a "pro"-named model, you put power and performance above sleekness/thinness nobody is really asking for.

That's very encouraging to see from them, after years of the opposite.

As for the RAM thing, that's been the case for quite some time now, right? With the exception of the 27" Intel-based 27" iMac and Mac Pro - neither of which will probably be around come summer 2022 - everything else has been welded shut and "buy what you need on the day of purchase or else" for years now?

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by turtle You know, with these chips I don't see why they can't really cram this power into something the size of the mini. Even if they make it slightly taller it could house the Max and a few more ports, or even comparable ports to the new Pros. This would make the new Pro seem absurd, unless you need Intel still. I mean, industrial needs could dictate the Mac Pro as is, but most shops seem like they would be able to work with the Max chipset instead of Intel and the GPU options. I'm guessing the real life benchmarks will be out in about a week and we will have a better picture of that.

I'm sure that's coming. And that's why I said a few days ago that I can almost imagine the tower, as we know it, going away. All this performance crammed into two thin notebooks...absolutely they could put out a nice, tricked-out Mac mini (even a tad wider and/or taller if needed) that would really satisfy the needs of thousands and thousands of users and departments.

I'm sure 2022 will see quite a bit on the desktop front...we've got a Mac mini, larger iMac and a Mac Pro (in whatever form it may take) kinda lurking in the shadows. Their two-year mark is WWDC 2022, so they've got a solid 7-8 months to work with. I'm better we see several things in the first half of 2022.

[psmith2.0]

Not much to squawk about on these things, huh? I've spent part of the afternoon reading about them, etc. A solid, powerful update. For people preferring professional performance in a portable package (Mr. Alliteration ), they're getting it...and then some.

I know real-world tests/benchmarks are always the clearer, more accurate picture. But the M1 was already impressive, and those leaps shown from it - not to mention all the other chips - is quite impressive.

I think the Mac will be in good shape for some time to come. Kinda makes me look forward to 2022...new Airs, updates to other models, etc.

Think about what we saw today, the M1 Pro and Max...and then realize, a year or so from now, those will be "old hat" or look like "last year's news".

Can't wait to see what happens on the next 24" iMac refresh.

[drewprops]

I love it.

Seriously love it.

My machine is SEVEN years old this month.

This machine seems like the natural successor to this MacBook Pro.

It has a similar range of ports.

Some of my dongles will need replacing or further donglization (ethernet, firewire, etc).

But dang.

Aside from the excruciating migration of data, this may feel like crossing over to the same machine.

I am very excited.

Good job, Apple.

There is indeed life after Jony Ives.



...

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by turtle And now it REALLY feels like extortion. We can't buy third party RAM. We have to buy it upfront or do without now.

Originally Posted by 709 It's infuriating. Instantly what I thought too when they did the reveal.

But, it's been that way, now, for 10 years.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by turtle Also interesting that it comes with a MagSafe port but not the MagSafe charger:

Actually, it does. It comes with a USB-C-to-Magsafe cable.

[kscherer]

Oh, and the SSD in these things is 7.4 Giga *BYTES* per second!

[drewprops]

Originally Posted by kscherer Oh, and the SSD in these things is 7.4 Giga *BYTES* per second!

This is clearly a typo.

Data simply cannot move that fast.



...

[Frank777]

And if anything goes wrong with that monster of an SSD, or the RAM, it's a whole logic board change, right?

I might take a chance jumping out of an airplane, but I'll never buy one of those MacBook Pros without AppleCare.

[Ryan]

I might just have to jump on that $2500 model.

[709]

Originally Posted by kscherer But, it's been that way, now, for 10 years.

And I am still very salty about it, obviously.

Still though, as great as the M-chips are you have to admit that they take a lot off the table as far as upgradability goes. Do we even know if the new chips allow for external GPUs or breakout boxes yet?

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by 709 Do we even know if the new chips allow for external GPUs or breakout boxes yet?

This has been a big question. I expect we'll have an answer by the end of the week.

[Frank777]

We do know now that the HDMI port is 2.0 not 2.1.

[psmith2.0]

I do have one thing I’m not crazy about (and that I don’t see as an improvement): the entire keyboard area, including the surrounding, non-key part, being all black.

I think when just the keys were black and the surrounding are was either silver or space gray, it made the keys themselves - the important part - pop out and each one be a distinct, separate square.

Visually that had to help people orient themselves or place their fingers/find stuff a bit easier and quicker.

Now it’s just a large chunk of black - the keys and the surrounding area/material -and I’m not sure what the benefit or improvement in that change is. On top of that I just don’t think it looks good. Looks cheaper somehow, I don’t know.

After nine-plus hours of looking at/reading about these new models, that’s really the only gripe I have. And it’s minor.

But I do think it looked, and functioned, better when just the keys themselves were black.

Any thoughts on that? Anyone with me?

Google “from above, looking down onto the keyboard” pics of the previous 13” model and then the new 14”…see the difference? Which do you prefer? Isn’t even a contest to me.

This change, along with the notch and the M1 naming, all appeared over the weekend, 24-48 hours before today’s event. Whatever person/outlet put those out obviously has some sources/inside info so they should probably be listened to in the hours leading up to the next release (rumored Air redesign coming in 2022, larger iMac, etc.). I certainly never would’ve predicted/expected any of those things!

[drewprops]

As someone who can touch type, I'm not bothered by being unable to pick out the keys; I'm worried that my ashy skin (psoriasis) will leave a mountain of obvious debris on the keyboard.

But that's not even a complaint!

...

[chucker]

The bad:

• you can have any color, as long as it's Boring™, or Dark Boring™
• the price tag. Hoo boy.
• …that's about it.

The good: just about everything else. What a beast.

Originally Posted by Maciej Not in love with the new shape. It just looks frumpy and not flattering.

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 It's encouraging that hubris/ego isn't preventing them from doing so.

Agreed. It's an honest design that says "I'm a mobile workstation" not "we tried to make it as pretty as possible and then put stuff inside". The MacBook Air exists; the Pro does not need to be "Air, but with more power". I'm glad that misguided direction from the 2016 era is dead.

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 I imagine they've spent the past several years getting an earful from their actual customers/users (and not just sycophantic bloggers, YouTuber chatterboxes or those who put sleekness and style over all else). That's encouraging to know that they're willing to listen and correct course if/when needed. I don't think that's something we would've seen 3-5 years ago. They fixed the keyboard a while back and now they brought back a few useful ports.

Yes. For half a decade(!), the MacBook Pro, Apple's flagship professional laptop, was seriously compromised. This is over today. Excellent.

[Dr. Bobsky]

The crazy thing is that these computers have to last 8-10 years to be 'worth it'. Do we know what computing will look like in 8-10 years or if we'll be alive?

[psmith2.0]

It was a good day, and saw the return of a product that truly earns its name. If I were a demanding professional who truly needed that kind of performance//convenience on-the-go, I’d be super happy with today’s unveiling. Happy to see such a serious machine. At $1,799 it was already out of my range, so having it go up to $1,999 doesn’t really impact me…I wasn’t waiting/planning to buy (that $1,299 model, bumped to 16GB RAM more than serves me, should I ever need a Mac notebook). But I know people will jump on the $1,999 (and beyond) and not even blink.

I didn’t realize there were so many BTO options on the cores front..both the Pro and Max have several tiers to choose from. Everyone should be able to find a configuration (and price) they’re happy with.

They’ve been waiting quite some time - five years - for such a thing. That extra $200 is partially offset by no longer having to buy several dongles/adapters. Having HDMI and that card slot on board will matter to some

[drewprops]

Just wanting a second set of eyes here:

Do I need to get the:

"Power Adapter Extension Cable"?

Also:

What about the "USB-C to MagSafe 3" cable?

I want to avoid unnecessary purchases while accommodating Apple's quiet accessory omissions.



:::

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by drewprops Just wanting a second set of eyes here: Do I need to get the: "Power Adapter Extension Cable"? Also: What about the "USB-C to MagSafe 3" cable? I want to avoid unnecessary purchases while accommodating Apple's quiet accessory omissions. :::

Comes with the USB-C to MagSafe cable.

You only need the extension cable if you need an extra 6 feet of cord. Check with a local, 3rd-party shop. We have about 50 of those things that we get from recycled stuff, and we sell them in "new condition" for $10, and "smokers and pet lovers dirty condition" for 5 bucks.

And, sometimes I give them away.

So, there may be no need to pay Apple's $20 for one.