Forget The New MacBook Pro, Apple Has Something Much Better

Forbes Innovation Consumer Tech Forget The New MacBook Pro, Apple Has Something Much Better Ewan Spence Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Storyteller exploring digital worlds, mobile, music and podcasting Following Feb 4, 2023, 04:33pm EST | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Last month’s launch of Apple’s 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops promised the most powerful macOS laptops yet. Tim Cook’s team delivered, albeit with some compromises on the lower specced units .

Yet the extra performance and the price premium to unlock that potential has pushed the MacBook Pro into a niche reserved for those with high demands from their macOS machine rather than day-to-day work. The MacBook Pro is no longer the ‘automatic’ choice for users. Apple Macbook Pro 16 inch with touchbar.

Focus on MacBook Pro logo getty Perhaps one of Apple’s greatest move has been to lift the MacBook Pro’s performance into the workstation territory while ensuring the public still consider it a ‘regular’ computer they can invest thousands of dollars in , just to get the biggest numbers on the spec sheet as possible. Thanks to Apple Silicon lifting the performance bar, the MacBook Air delivers more than enough power for consumers looking for a day-to-day machine. Amateur creators will find the MacBook Air (even in the M1 machine that opens up the portfolio at $999) will be sufficient to meet their needs.

It’s also worth considering if you need the portability of a MacBook. No doubt the iMac and Mac Studio will see updates to the M2 platform during 2023, matching the Mac Mini. Given Apple’s push towards unifying the Mac and the iPad, you might be better served with a more powerful desktop and a more portable tablet.

MORE FOR YOU $100M Magic: Why Bruno Mars And Other Stars Are Ditching Their Managers A Preview Of Sunday’s Derby Between Inter And AC Milan Calling 911 On Sleeping Robotaxi Passengers And Other Hot Future Of Transport Issues Of Early 2023 And if it’s the power you want, we’re all still waiting on an Apple Silicon powered Mac Pro . The new MacBook Pro laptops build on the success of the first M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro laptops, but do they build sufficiently to be considered as new machines? Those investing in the MacBook Pro for heavy-duty work will always like more power, but is twenty percent enough? In terms of raw performance, that’s what the M2 family offers across the board. The idea of a regular update cycle of the MacBook Pro that echoes the iPhone may be one that Apple’s accountants would love to see, but a relatively small bump in the processor is not going to be enough for existing owners .

Given Apple kept the entire package pretty much as is, any temptation to update to get new hardware tweaks simply isn’t there . Apple is certainly working on bringing new elements into the macOS laptop platform. A quick look through Apple’s patents over the last few years show ideas that are both very Apple and very commercial.

There are discussions of a laptop screen that spans both sides of the clamshell, replacing the keyboard with a haptic touchscreen, multiple examples of taking the trackpad and expanding it out to cover the entire lower case assembly, and offering new styles of keys and input methods. While patents don’t always make it to final hardware, Apple is being forced into a corner over its stubborn refusal to add touch to its laptop screens. The closer integration of macOS and iPadOS, the commercial pressure, and indications of more extensive orders in the supply chain all point to the addition of touch to macOS laptops in the future.

MacBook Pro is seen in a shopping center in Krakow, Poland on January 11, 2023. (Photo by Beata . .

. [+] Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images The latest MacBook Pro models from Apple are certainly new laptops, but are they new enough to match the expectations behind that word? For me, these MacBook Pro laptops are a great choice for those who need a significant amount of power, be they new to the platform or updating from one of the Intel MacBook Pros. These laptops certainly feel like the iPhone “S” models that offered a mid-cycle upgrade.

Maybe Apple should have labeled this as the “MacBook Pro S” series? Now read the latest Mac, iPhone, and iPad headlines in Forbes’ weekly Apple Loop digest. . .

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